Automation and FP&A Supercharged a $2M Travel Company’s Growth
Most people think automation and FP&A are just about saving time and beautifying numbers, but it’s much more. It can totally flip the script for a business. In the first quarter of 2023, we collaborated with the founder of a fantastic travel company based in California. The brand is known for curating unforgettable travel experiences for women. But its profitability was stuck in the slow lane behind all those wanderlust trips.
With $5M in annual revenue and a growing client base, the client struggled with outdated processes. They even hired additional in-house resources, yet things didn’t work. Here’s how we turned things around:
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Automation and FP&A = Visible Growth and Scalable Business
1. No More Guesswork: Trip-Level Profitability at Fingertips
She had no clarity on which trips were profitable and which weren’t. Revenue came in from customer installments over six months, while vendor payments were released a year later. That made it hard to see where the cash was coming from—or where it was leaking.
We brought in Zoho One to increase the capabilities of Zoho Books and Zoho CRM to identify trip revenue and costs. The integration helped us build a real-time FP&A dashboard to give the founder crystal-clear insights into each trip’s profitability, resource allocation, and costs. For the first time, she had all the numbers in one place—and the results were amazing. With the new level of clarity, the company saw a 15% increase in profits. Now, she could make decisions based on data, not whims, and optimize resources in low-yield trips.
2. Automating Invoice Reconciliation: From Hours to Minutes
This client managed over 10,000 invoices annually. Think about that for a second—without a solid reconciliation system, they were missing payments and leaving money on the table. At least 3-4 invoices were being delayed or missed every month due to the old way of doing things.
We automated the entire reconciliation tracking process through Zoho Analytics, transforming what used to take hours of manual checking into a 5-minute task. With automated tracking and reporting, they uncovered previously unrealized revenue, leading to a 10% increase in overall profit. Not only did they recover lost income, but they saw overall operational efficiency improve by 33%.
3. Real-Time Cash Flow Insights: Keeping the Business in the Green
Considering the 12-month gap between payments received and vendor payments for each trip, the company struggled with managing its cash inflows and outflows properly.
We integrated Zoho Books and G-Sheets to create a real-time cash flow report. Now, the client can see the whole picture: revenue earned, vendor payments, and even marketing and petty expenses—all in real time. With this new level of visibility, the cash flow position improved in the first six months itself.
4. Data Integration Done Right: A Unified View
It was hard to ignore the fragmented data. The financials were scattered. Financial data maintained in QBO, Ops data in Zoho Invoice, Zoho CRM, Zoho Forms, and spreadsheets made it hard to get an accurate overview. We brought all their data sources together under Zoho Analytics, giving them a unified platform to manage everything.
With all their financial and ops data in one place, we built KPIs to help the client make strategic decisions faster and more confidently.
The Game-Changer: Automation and FP&A
Here’s the real lesson for anyone in a similar position: automation isn’t about reducing manual work anymore—it’s about adding more % to the profitability. By fully automating processes like invoicing and reconciliation and building a custom FP&A dashboard for profit visibility, we gave the team the right tools to scale without extra headcount or complexity. (A penny saved is a penny earned!)
This is a strong message for CFOs, founders, and finance leaders. If you’re not leveraging automation and FP&A together, you’re only making it harder for yourself, your team, your customers, and your business to succeed.