How A2X Has Given Central 23 More Time For Fun
How A2X Has Given Central 23 More Time For Fun
Even if you have zero background in accounting, A2X is uncomplicated and designed to grow with you and your business.
Entertainment company Central 23, was founded in 2016 by entrepreneurs and now co-CEOs Luke Shelley and Marcus Ereira.
What started as selling just a single greeting card design to lifestyle retail giant Urban Outfitters, has now expanded into an entire product range. A range that continues to evolve and expand. Fast-forward to 2020 and they now sell to over 5000 stores globally and maintain a strong and growing online presence.
Prior to 2020’s life-altering pandemic, Central 23 was primarily sold through brick and mortar stores. With widespread closures of retail stores as a result of lockdowns, a rapid shift in their sales strategy was adopted. This was a move which led to increased online sales, specifically Amazon sales. Central 23 needed to find a solution that could ease this transition. Co-CEOs Luke Shelley discussed this shift stating:
‘When we started selling on Amazon and our accounting processes became more complicated, we started searching for suitable integrations and A2X came up multiple times, as well as through direct references.’
A Mess In The Making
With their increased online presence, Central 23’s ERP system began to falter. Their business needed a more intelligent solution that could integrate to track not just their Amazon store, but their Shopify sales too. As any business owner will attest, clear accounts are an essential component of running a successful business.
With the rapid increase in sales, and in multiple currencies due to a global clientele, manually moving data between an ERP and Xero was no longer viable. Greater risk of errors and missed transactions being just one of the downsides. Challenges in understanding Amazon’s reporting also contributed to difficulties in how Central 23 planned their next move during this growth period.
Accounting and bookkeeping have always been a huge focus for Central 23 with Luke stating that the business went through 10 different accountants before finding the right fit. An indicator of just how discerning Central 23 was when it came to finding an ecommerce accounting solution that would work for their business. They needed a solution that could collate their Shopify and Amazon sales with ease.
A solution they found in A2X.
‘With Amazon the ERP/Xero integration wasn’t robust enough, that is where A2X came in handy and we now send all transactions from A2X to Xero.’
The automated and integrated communication between Central 23’s selling platforms has positively impacted Central 23’s business in a number of ways.
With clear insights and visibility into what the real costs are associated with selling on both Amazon and Shopify, Central 23’s path to continued growth is clearer. Data relating to gross sales and cost breakdowns makes planning ahead with clarity a real possibility. It also provides sellers with an opportunity to anticipate busy periods and understand sales patterns.
Central 23’s continued growth comes hand-in-hand with more complex accounting challenges - a challenge A2X is more than capable of taking on. Better positioning Central 23 for success.
Small Team, Big Impact
With a core team of just nine people and selling to over 5000 stores globally, Central 23’s focus is on creating new products and diversifying into the toy and game product category - leaving them with little time to iron out complications from new software. However, as Luke pointed out, the onboarding process couldn’t have been smoother. Of the customer support staff he only had praise:
‘Fantastic, lovely people, very helpful. We had 3 calls during the setup process to ensure everything was working correctly.’
Ongoing, A2X has run smoothly, without fault.
‘No issues and for me, that is great news.’
Even if you have zero background in accounting, A2X is uncomplicated and designed to grow with you and your business.
More Focus, More Fun
At the core of Central 23’s business is their mission ‘to make today more fun than yesterday’.
‘We create products and experiences that entertain people at every touchpoint. We obsess over the smallest details because when you add all the small details together, they have a gigantic impact.’
The same can be said for accounting. Every transaction, no matter how small, contributes to the bigger picture. When small details are missed, big problems can arise - especially where finance is concerned.
By utilising A2X, Central 23 has simplified their accounts process, leaving them with more time to focus on the parts of their business that leads to growth. A2X allows improved visibility across multiple sales channels, making it ideal for Central 23. Strategic approaches to scaling their business are easier to plan and implement with A2X’s insights.
When asked if he would recommend A2X to other ecommerce sellers, Luke was unequivocal in his reply.
‘Yes, 100%. Easy, saves you time that you can focus on building your business.’
Providing assurance for any seller that A2X should be part of your business - especially if you’re on a growth trajectory.
With reduced stress and no time-consuming data entry, there’s now more time for fun at Central 23. Which can only be beneficial when your whole business motto is to make every day more fun than the last - something that we are only too happy to contribute towards.
‘We are very excited about our expansion into the toy and game product category. You will find out more very soon!’
If your business accounting is taking away time for the things that matter, A2X is the accounting solution you need. By helping your cloud accounting system to integrate with Shopify, Amazon, Walmart and eBay, it’s accurate ecommerce accounting without the fuss.
Sign-up today and see how we can help you to free up time to focus on growing your business.
