Real businesses. Real problems. Real results.
We've worked inside 14,000+ businesses over 30 years. Here's what that looks like in practice.
All Case Studies
Makia Creations
BACKGROUND
In true garage start-up fashion, Makia Creations (Makia) was created and developed by two entrepreneurial-minded mothers, Alison Prince and Missy Smith. Makia was established to help women everywhere dive into the world of creativity and self-expression through innovative crafting. Makia operates the successful daily deal site www.pickyourplum.com and has been experiencing triple-digit growth over the last few years.
CHALLENGE
Makia’s accounting staff consisted of an outsourced bookkeeper that downloaded bank statements at the end of the month, reconciled them, and provided a cash-basis financial statement. The CEO needed a part-time, outsourced accounting support that could produce GAAP financial statements, provide real-time interim financial information, set up budgets, and help with strategic financial decisions.
SOLUTION
Ampleo put into place a hosted accounting system, technologies to make the office paperless, and a team consisting of an outsourced bookkeeper, controller, and CFO. Within short order, they began producing financial reports and analyses the CEO could use to make key strategic decisions about running the business.
CONTINUED SUCCESS
Ampleo continues to successfully assist the original owners in managing their growth, improving efficiencies, and maintaining full visibility of the operations and financial health of the company.
Chargeback
BACKGROUND
Chargeback is redefining dispute management through a SaaS-based platform that helps businesses recover lost time and revenue while transforming any negative customer interaction into one that drives brand loyalty and increases acceptance rates. Chargeback is an enterprise-grade solution in use by hundreds of companies worldwide.
CHALLENGE
Chargeback’s previous outsourced controller wasn’t closing the month in a timely manner and didn’t complete complicated invoicing processes on time.
SOLUTION
They hired Ampleo that placed a controller in their accounting department who implemented processes and procedures to close the month and complete invoicing. Chargeback’s historical financials were cleaned up and procedures were implemented to close the month quickly, and the invoicing process was improved and completed on time.
CONTINUED SUCCESS
Ampleo was instrumental in assisting Chargeback as it sold in a private transaction to Sift.
Burt Brothers
BACKGROUND
Ron and Wendel Burt started in the tire business in 1977, working for Goodyear Tire and then for a local independent tire sales and install shop. In 1991, the two brothers decided to set out on their own. After mustering courage (and scraping up resources), they opened the first Burt Brothers store in Bountiful, Utah. Building on the motto of “Burt Brothers Does It Better”, the chain expanded to currently 15 operating locations, with more planned for the future, becoming the largest independent tire sales and auto service business in northern Utah. At the end of 2018, Ron and Wendel decided it was time to start transitioning out of the business and sold a majority share of the business to their five sons who had been working in the business. In 2021, Burt Brothers were voted the “Top Shop” by Tire Review magazine for being the best independent tire and service dealer in the US.
CHALLENGE
The sale of majority ownership of the business to the next generation of Burt Brothers resulted in moving from a fairly simple organizational structure to multiple companies with multiple owners having varying interests and objectives. Further, operational oversight responsibilities were divided up based on the skills and interests of the now five Burt Brothers who had worked in the business. One of the new owners, Brandon Burt, who had taken the lead in finance and administration of the business when his father left on a sabbatical, realized through overseeing the accounting department that Burt Brothers current accounting, finance, and planning capabilities needed to improve. They did not have accurate internal financial statements, cash flow planning was lacking, and strategy/longer-term planning was not well-coordinated. He knew the Board could not keep making strategic decisions to grow and open more stores solely based on whether or not there was money in the bank. The ability to effectively manage the company buy-out program with the fathers, who were also board members, was also lacking and a significant challenge based on how it was structured. In early 2019, Brandon concluded the accounting and finance support team did not have the expertise to provide the leadership with the needed information, insight, and guidance, so they reached out to Ampleo for help.
SOLUTION
Burt Brothers engaged an outsourced Ampleo CFO to provide mentoring and leadership, working with the current finance and accounting team to tighten up processes and start down a planning and budgeting path. After four months into the mentoring engagement with Ampleo, Brandon realized the company had outgrown its current finance leadership and needed someone with more experience and expertise. In June of 2019, Burt Brothers engaged Ampleo to provide “full-time expertise, part-time support” to help them get to the level they needed to better run the business and manage the affairs. With Ampleo’s help, Brandon Burt said, “We are now light years ahead of where we were before.” Now they have a plan for their sales and expenses, monitoring for their processes, programs to watch where they are making money and losing money, and a better handle on when, where, and if they can grow. They have even grown their accounting department by adding two more people through the direction and guidance of their outsourced Ampleo CFO.
CONTINUED SUCCESS
Before Burt Brothers hired Ampleo, they were a good, growing family-owned business. However, with the added insights and direction from Ampleo, they have been able to better manage their current business and future growth in ways they had never thought of before. Now Burt Brothers’ goal is to use the increased knowledge and strategic guidance that Ampleo has provided to continue to grow rapidly and manage the health of their stores.
“Whether you feel like your company is successful or not, I would encourage any business to hire Ampleo to come in and look at their company’s processes, financials, and how you are making decisions. Don’t be afraid to let Ampleo tell you what you don’t know.”
– Brandon Burt, Owner of Burt Brothers Tire and Service
Better Butter
BACKGROUND
Founder David Shamy gave homemade garlic butter to friends and family each holiday season as a thoughtful gift. As this family favorite grew in popularity, he realized there was a market for gourmet butter. So, he moved his operations to a small, commercial kitchen and began to increase his production levels. He began to add sweet and savory flavors to his repertoire and Chef Shamy gourmet butters took off. In March of 2021, Chef Shamy was sold to a private equity group and has now rebranded as Better Butter. Since that acquisition, the company brought in all new leadership and is positioning itself for continued growth.
CHALLENGE
After the acquisition, Ken Bayne was brought on as the new CFO. Ken quickly realized there were a lot of inconsistencies with the financials and little to no processes and procedures in place. Before the acquisition, Better Butter had never closed the books at the end of each month, so Ken needed to quickly get in place some month-end close processes and account reconciliations. Ken’s team was very lean and he needed to hire someone that could quickly join the team to assist without having to hire someone full-time for a short-term role.
SOLUTION
Ken Bayne reached out to Ampleo for help with these short-term projects. One of Ampleo’s consultants quickly assisted with organizing month-end close processes, building a cash flow forecast, and training the staff on how to use it. Ampleo also assisted in building a new chart of accounts in QuickBooks, providing ongoing feedback to the staff, and keeping things moving along while Ken focused on the big picture. Ken said, “The things Ampleo helped me with were things I could have done myself, but I didn’t have time for. Having Ampleo as a resource that I could turn on and turn off in 6 months was really valuable and super helpful.”
CONTINUED SUCCESS
Ampleo’s ability to quickly deliver an experienced consultant to assist in these projects allowed Ken to focus his time on staffing a high-performing team and establishing the fundamental building blocks of a best practice-driven financial organization. Ken said, “Without Ampleo’s help, I’m sure we would have eventually gotten everything done, but we wouldn’t have been as far along as we are now.” As the company grows, implementing robust and scalable processes and platforms is important to the success of the company. Furthering the private equity owners’ goals, Ken’s goal is to build a financial organization that delivers timely and accurate financial information and enhances the value of the company.
“It was so helpful to have high-quality, part-time talent available to us through Ampleo.”
– Ken Bayne, CFO at Better Butter
“If you are looking to hire Ampleo, make sure you first know what you want from them. You are hiring premium people at a premium price and you will want to hit the ground running instead of running in circles. Utilize them and get the most out of them.”
– Ken Bayne, CFO at Better Butter
“Knowing I had a resource like Ampleo that I could turn on and turn off in 6 months was really valuable. You are not paying a cheap price but you will get a lot of value out of them. Ampleo gave us the opportunity to get things done quicker.”
– Ken Bayne, CFO at Better Butter
Red Sky Solutions
Background:
Red Sky Solutions, initially a modest IT consulting, design, and cybersecurity company, faced challenges as it rapidly scaled from 10 million to 30 million in revenue. Realizing the need for robust financial infrastructure and processes to sustain and accelerate further growth, the company sought the expertise of Ampleo, a fractional executive firm recommended by their financial advisor, Matt Zundel from Coign Capital.
Challenges:
Red Sky lacked a CFO, controller, and scalable processes despite increasing demand for their services. The existing QuickBooks software and inadequate financial management threatened to impede their growth trajectory.
Engaging with Ampleo:
In 2013, Red Sky partnered with Ampleo to address their financial and operational challenges. Chris Barney, Red Sky’s CEO, recalls, “I was focused on sales growth rather than on financial operations. While I knew our business well, I had to recognize that I was not a controller or a CFO. I needed smart, experienced people in those roles. Partnering with Ampleo added immediate value to our company that fueled our growth and eventually led us to be acquired for top dollar.”
Ampleo’s CFO and controller conducted a thorough assessment, streamlined financial processes, and facilitated the transition from QuickBooks to Netsuite. This overhaul included refining systems from quote to cash, ensuring effective cash management, and providing clarity on accounts payable and receivable. Ampleo not only revamped financials but also played a pivotal role in creating scalable processes. They trained Red Sky’s team in adopting these new systems, ensuring a smooth transition and fostering a culture of financial efficiency.
Chris emphasizes, “If you aren’t preparing for growth with your financial systems, and processes, then it can really hurt you if you do grow. Whatever inefficiencies or challenges your business might have, they grow too, and often faster than revenue. You can’t just sell your way to growth. Ultimately, your business is a vehicle that moves you from point A to point B. The engine must be tuned and running on all cylinders for the journey ahead, or else you risk not making your exit. I cannot stress enough the need to plan and prepare for growth early.”
Results:
With Ampleo’s assistance, Red Sky achieved remarkable growth. Growing the business from 30M to 100M in revenue in under 5 years. Soon after, Red Sky Solutions was acquired by Presidio, a 5B dollar systems integrator. During the acquisition due diligence by Presidio, Red Sky received praise for having “the cleanest books” ever seen for an organization of its size. Chris reflects, “To this day, it still makes me proud,” highlighting the enduring impact of the partnership.
Chris Barney attributes the increased valuation to Ampleo’s contributions. The acquisition by Presidio not only validated Red Sky’s success but also garnered top dollar due to repeatable and scalable processes and meticulously maintained financial records.
Post-Acquisition Success:
Chris Barney continued with Presidio, post-acquisition, as the SVP of Strategic Business Development, and applied the systems and processes introduced by Ampleo at Red Sky. Chris grew Presidio’s cybersecurity division from ~400M to 900M in just three years. Chris said, “It turns out that the systems and processes Ampleo brought to Red Sky Solutions not only scaled at a regional level but nationally as well.”
Lessons Learned:
Chris emphasizes, “Finance should be treated as a strategic part of your business. It’s what enables and propels growth. If businesses ignore this fact, it is to their own peril. Finding and partnering with a company like Ampleo can help you prepare and maintain sustainable growth even if you believe you can’t afford a CFO now. At Red Sky Solutions, we couldn’t afford not to!” He urges businesses to invest in financial systems and processes as early as possible in the growth cycle.
Conclusion:
Red Sky Solutions journey from a 10M startup to a 100M acquisition success story is a testament to the transformative impact of Ampleo’s strategic financial guidance. By addressing crucial financial and operational challenges, Ampleo became a true partner in Red Sky’s growth, ensuring not only success but also an optimal exit strategy through acquisition. Chris Barney’s endorsement of Ampleo as a strategic advisor reflects the lasting impact and value the partnership brought to the organization.
Peisner Johnson
Peisner Johnson Hits Annual Revenue Goal 3 Months Early with a Fractional CMO
Background
Peisner Johnson (The Sales Tax People) has been helping businesses and trusted advisors for over 30 years stay sales tax compliant. Its team of specialized accountants has consulted with thousands of companies in virtually every industry across the United States and Canada.
Challenges
In 2022, after Peisner Johnson’s full-time CFO departed, CEO Jason Parr and COO Paul Johnson turned to Ampleo for a fractional CFO. While Peisner Johnson had built an incredible business, the leadership team did not have visibility into the company’s year-over-year business performance. Financial reporting was based on cash rather than accrual accounting, making it difficult to track business growth and profitability. Additionally, accounts receivables continued to increase, with 17 percent of all receivables overdue by more than 90 days.
Engaging with an Ampleo CFO
When Ampleo’s fractional accountant and CFO stepped in, they quickly identified the financial changes needed to help the leadership team understand an accurate representation of the company’s financial health. Ampleo’s accountant and CFO implemented accrual-based accounting and restructured their QuickBooks with classes, which helped track and compare profitability across multiple business units.
Ampleo’s team not only made accounting changes but also automated financial forecasting through Giraffe, created dashboards and KPIs, and implemented new reporting and review processes for accounts receivable. As a result, clients began to pay, on average, 10 days faster, decreasing the receivables overdue by 90 days from 17 percent to 6 percent.
Engaging with an Ampleo CMO
“The partnership with our Ampleo CFO proved so successful that when we learned Ampleo also provided marketing expertise, we didn’t hesitate to bring in an Ampleo fractional CMO,” said Paul Johnson. Peisner Johnson had a talented sales team and a dedicated marketing manager but lacked a strategic marketing leader needed to achieve its ambitious annual revenue goals.
With the direction of an Ampleo CMO, Peisner’s marketing team had a leader who helped it create strategies and align its work toward the same goal. In collaboration with Ampleo’s CFO and Peisner Johnson’s leadership team, Ampleo’s CMO developed clear strategies, implemented KPIs for each team member, and created campaigns to drive more leads, resulting in hitting the annual revenue target three months ahead of schedule.
Paul Johnson said, “I’m not a marketer, I don’t do marketing, I don’t even know the first thing about marketing, but having someone with the experience to come in and show the way, create the process, and hold people accountable through KPIs and then seeing the direct results from those efforts is amazing.”
Results
The unified efforts of Ampleo’s financial and marketing consultants to set KPIs, ensure accountability, and deliver results that directly affect the bottom line have resulted in Peisner Johnson’s operating income increasing from 7 percent to 29 percent. With more leads coming from marketing efforts and converting at a higher rate, the team is now able to use the extra revenue to reinvest in its growth and build for an even stronger future.
What began as a solution to fill a CFO vacancy has led Peisner Johnson to not only achieve its immediate revenue goals but also gain stronger financial controls, strategic marketing direction, and improved operational efficiency, allowing it to prepare for continual growth in the future.
