Jun 07, 2022
“Resolve Pay helps make sure that we streamline our payment process, so we can continue to work without relying on customers paying early. That makes things a lot less stressful.” - Benjamin Klingner, Owner, GB Fabrication
About GB Fabrication: Building the base for commercial laundry businesses
Since 1992, GB Fabrication has built hard and soft mount commercial laundry machine bases using quality materials. Built to withstand the abuse of daily use, these bases are an integral part of successful commercial laundry operations, ensuring the longevity and smooth operation of the machines they support.
With over 25 years of experience in the industry, GB Fabrication has developed the unique expertise to create custom solutions for tricky installs. With a focus on quality, the company works closely with laundry machine manufacturers to create built-to-order bases when existing cement slabs, awkward spacing, and drains create challenging mounting situations.
With its expertise and commitment to excellence, GB Fabrication has grown from a garage in Southern California to a 6,000 square foot warehouse with a growing team. In 2020, the company shipped enough bases to mount over 5,000 commercial laundry machines!
The challenge: A destabilizing increase in the price of raw materials
The sharp increase in the price of steel
In 2020, GB Fabrication was thriving, but a sharp price jump in raw materials created unexpected challenges. With steel prices rising, the company’s average monthly spend on raw materials quickly jumped from $30,000 to $80,000. Since GB Fabrication had net 30-day payment terms with its supplier–and its customers were also accustomed to paying on 30-day terms–the price increase had a significant impact on the company’s cash flow. When the steel supplier refused to extend a higher credit limit to GB Fabrication, it was clear that they would need to find a new solution.
Accounting software limitations
Initially, GB Fabrication’s accounting team considered asking customers for a 30% deposit on new orders. This solution would improve cash flow and ensure that the company had enough cash on hand to cover the cost of steel and other raw materials for each new order. However, it created a new challenge: the company’s accounting system, QuickBooks Online, could not track partial payments. The accounting team began to search the QuickBooks App Store for an integration that would allow it to manage deposits easily using its existing accounting system.
As luck would have it, the QuickBooks App Store search returned an interesting alternative: Resolve.
A happy accident: finding the right QuickBooks Online Integration
More than an accounting solution, Resolve offered a solution that would allow GB Fabrication to receive instant payments on its sales orders in just one day, while continuing to extend net 30-day terms to customers. However, the leadership and accounting teams were reluctant to turn over their receivables management to a third-party.
Resolve is an innovative AR technology solution
Having investigated traditional invoice factoring solutions in the past, the team at GB Fabrication was historically concerned that factoring would mean handing over receivables to a third-party and losing control over the entire payment collection process. Committed to creating a positive experience for every customer, the company recognized that a third party might not offer customers the same experience through their in-house managed payment collection process. The leadership team also worried that working with a third party for invoice financing might signal to customers that the company was experiencing financial trouble, negatively impacting the company’s reputation in the long run.
Putting these concerns to rest, Resolve proved to be very different from traditional invoice factoring and financing solutions. From the start, what stood out for GB Fabrication’s owner, Benjamin Klingner, was that Resolve’s solution could be white labeled, which would allow the company to offer a seamless experience and manage customer perceptions.
“We initially started looking at loan options and we saw platforms that could manage receivables and reach out to our customers who were also very, very thorough with reference checks. But when it came to invoices, these would come from a third party–grey label at best. If using this type of service, customers generally think you are strapped for cash by using a funding company to manage invoices. We didn’t want our customers to think that. We wanted a solution that was seamless and fluid, to ensure our customers knew that we were doing fine and just invoicing them as normal.” - Benjamin Klingner, Owner, GB Fabrication
Further investigation revealed to the leadership team that Resolve in fact was not a traditional financing solution. Resolve was an innovative solution improving the way companies manage their receivables using technology.
More importantly, the process of evaluating, and eventually integrating Resolve was simple. The accounting team at GB Fabrication found it easy to connect with Resolve, arrange a demo and free trial, and have all questions answered. Once they were ready to get started, Resolve integrated seamlessly with QuickBooks Online.
With Resolve, it all comes out in the wash
Since integrating Resolve, GB Fabrication has streamlined cash flow and transformed the company’s accounts receivable process. This, in turn, has removed concerns about meeting accounts payable obligations to suppliers. Most importantly, Resolve has allowed GB Fabrication to make this transformation without impacting the customer experience that the company has strived to create over more than 25 years. GB Fabrication’s customers continue to enjoy net payment terms and the invoices they receive are not only white labeled, but easy and convenient to pay online.
A bright future
As GB Fabrication continues to grow and support commercial laundry machine businesses, the company plans to add more of its customers to Resolve. Using the platform to get paid in just a day, while continuing to offer net terms and streamline accounts receivables allows the company to maintain strong customer relationships and successfully navigate times of price uncertainty for raw materials. For a company that’s poised to continue to grow, Resolve Pay ensures that the future is bright.
“Our biggest concern with using a third party to manage our invoicing was the potential impact on how we would be perceived by our customers. We wanted a system that was seamless and fluid, to make sure our customers know that we’re doing good, business wise. But everything that Resolve set up from our branding on the invoices to the platform is very professional. I am not worried about what our customers see and experience.” -Benjamin Klingner, Owner, GB Fabrication
Interested in how you can use Resolve to streamline your B2B accounts receivables and payments process while integrating with your accounting and eCommerce solutions? Discover our free business credit checks and book a demo.
