From Frazzled to Freedom
How Jody Delgado of Farm to Table Reclaimed Her Time — and Peace of Mind — with Wholesail's Automation
Jody Delgado goes out of her way to ensure Farm to Table’s customers are happy. As the office manager and accountant for this Texas-based distributor of local meat and produce, she’s all about creating positive customer experiences. Yet as the company expanded, so did its accounts receivable, which began to impact Jody’s sleep—literally.
“I would dream about numbers, morning, day, and night—constantly, numbers,” she said.
It’s no wonder. Part of her job involved processing piles of checks every day and manually charging credit cards. Jody kept a detailed calendar of the local restaurants Farm to Table supplies, tracking each one’s payment terms and preferences with a complex system of sticky notes, spreadsheets, and checklists.
Then, Wholesail called.
“At this point, I was so frazzled and stretched. I didn’t think I had time to talk to them about how stressed and frazzled I was.
But Jody made the time. She listened to Wholesail’s team explain how the platform could streamline her processes and give her back valuable time in her day. She had her doubts. Change can be hard for herself and their customers. And, would her boss approve?
After presenting her detailed paper-based system to her boss, she explained how Wholesail automation could save her 2+ hours per day by shifting customers from paper checks to ACH or credit cards. It would also give customers self-service access to their account standing, simplify new customer onboarding, and keep Farm to Table PCI-compliant.
Best of all, Wholesail would manage the entire transition including setting up the platform, creating email campaigns to drive adoption, and offering technical support to any customers needing help with the new system.
Once they decided to move forward with Wholesail, the system was up and running within weeks. Jody was “floored” when her Wholesail rep suggested she check how much had been collected just after launch.
“It definitely worked from the start! By the end of the week, a huge number of customers were using Wholesail to make their payments. We had very few issues. Most jumped on board right away, which was a relief.”
Jody still can’t believe she found time to take Wholesail’s initial cold call. Now, she uses her extra hours to focus on more joyful parts of her job, like building relationships with Farm to Table’s customers. She’s even planning vacations again that don’t revolve around her AR calendar.
“Wholesail’s support has been crucial. They listen. They make things better. I wish they were all closer so I could put a lasagna in and say, ‘Pop over, let's eat.’”
Farm to Table added Wholesail to automate Accounts Receivable. They’ve saved time and money while reducing the risk of error–and saving Jody from the nightmare of paper-based processes.
Maximizing Efficiency: Less Stress, More Time
Before Wholesail, Jody spent her day processing piles of checks and manually charging credit cards, based on her system of checklists, spreadsheets, and sticky notes. She was nervous about managing change, but Wholesail’s team made it simple for her and her customers.
Now, Jody saves 12+ hours a week, because she receives 90% fewer checks and processes zero (yes, ZERO) credit cards manually. Plus, she no longer fears making mistakes now that everything is automated.
Jody is using the time she saves to tackle tasks she couldn’t prioritize before, like cleaning up and organizing her workflow. She now has time to personally connect with Farm to Table's customers and thank them for their business. This allows her to provide the same level of support to their customers that she receives from the team at Wholesail.
“The level of service we receive from Wholesail is not typical when compared to working with other vendors. Without Wholesail’s platform and their amazing service, my stress levels would be maxed.”
—Jody Delgado
Better AR Systems Lead to Better Results
More than 50% of Farm to Table customers now use Wholesail to pay by credit card or ACH. And 70% of these customers chose to set up Autopay, meaning every payment is exactly on time. The business gets paid five days faster compared to non-Wholesail payments. Also with Wholesail, Farm to Table can now easily pass along credit card convenience fees to customers (instead of absorbing them), saving them $70,000 annually on fees alone.
New Customer Form Makes Onboarding Easy
Wholesail isn’t just helping Jody in AR. It’s also making life easier for the sales team by speeding up new customer onboarding. Prior to Wholesail, the sales team would email new customers several PDF attachments and 20+ questions for them to complete. Customers would return the documents and they’d be routed to Farm to Table team members for processing. The process was inefficient and not as professional as it could be.
Now with Wholesail, the sales team can simply email each prospective customer a link to a customized New Customer Form. The form captures all the information Farm to Table needs. 75% of customers complete the form within 30 minutes, and 77% save a credit card or ACH payment method on file or sign up for Autopay, which ensures reliable payments from the start. After a form is submitted, the Farm to Table team can view the responses in Wholesail and use the information to efficiently collaborate and set up the new customer.
“We’ve had many people say they like the streamlined onboarding process. It’s not a pat on the back for me, but I take it as one because we did something right!”
—Jody Delgado
Greater Transparency Means Happy Customers
Farm to Table customers quickly adopted the new system. They appreciate being able to see all their invoices, payments, and credit memos in one place, eliminating the need to call and email Jody with their questions. Even the “old school” customers are getting on board. But if they prefer the old way, Jody is easily able to adjust their settings in Wholesail to accommodate their preferences.
Knowing her customers can access their account information reduces Jody 's stress. Now when she goes on vacation, she no longer has to worry about returning to a backlog of accounting tasks and customer questions. Wholesail’s got her back.
“Our goal is to make sure that our customers are happy. To me, as long as they're happy, I've done my job correctly.”