Good Times Regains Control and Increases Transparency with Tablespoon and Sage Intacct

The Situation

As Good Times continued to grow, it became clear that its outsourced accounting model was no longer meeting its needs. Managing multiple brands and entities demanded more flexibility, visibility and oversight than the existing structure could provide.

"Just over two years ago, I joined Good Times Restaurants, initially in a consulting role to help bridge the gap between the company and its outsourced accounting provider, a nationally recognized firm specializing in accounting, payroll, and reporting for multi-unit restaurants and franchises. I had previously led the outsourced team responsible for Good Times. I was familiar with both their accounting structure and the unique complexities of managing multiple brands and entities," Keri August, SVP Finance and Accounting at Good Times.

After a few months, it became clear that the best path forward was to bring accounting in-house — a move that would allow Good Times to regain control, improve transparency, and elevate the quality and timeliness of financial reporting.

This decision stemmed from a series of persistent challenges that made the outsourced model increasingly difficult to sustain as the business evolved.

Challenges:

1. The outsourced provider was navigating staffing shortages, which impacted consistency and responsiveness
2. Unpredictable month-end close timelines
3. Limited visibility and control over financial workflows and reporting timelines
4. Multiple brands and companies, which made accounting transitions more complicated
5. Unique accounting needs that didn’t always align with a standardized outsourced model
6. Desired a more direct oversight of financial processes
7. A growing need for more reliable and timely financial reporting to support decision-making
8. An overall need for more control and transparency in their accounting operations

The Solution

To successfully bring accounting in-house, Good Times needed a solid and flexible cloud-based accounting system that would integrate seamlessly with its existing tech stack. After vetting both Sage Intacct and NetSuite, Sage Intacct fit that vision.

Why Sage Intacct:

• Delivers a solid, reliable accounting system that meets core needs without unnecessary complexity
• Supports the development and scalability of an in-house accounting team
• Easily integrates with the existing tech stack
• Enables workflow enhancements through add-on products
• Offers future-forward features, such as real-time bank reconciliations
• Well-suited to handle the complexity of multi-brand, multi-unit operations

Why Tablespoon:

• Offered responsive expert guidance during the selection and implementation process
• The implementation team provided deep technical expertise and hands-on support
• Brought a strong understanding of restaurant-specific accounting needs
• Helped bridge the gap between existing processes and the new system
• Understood the complexities of multi-brand accounting
• Helped evaluate different software solutions (Intacct vs NetSuite)
• Provided honest and transparent recommendations about system capabilities
• Continues to provide ongoing technical and strategic support
• Maintains a strong post-implementation relationship

"Tablespoon is a great partner and was instrumental in the selection process; they even helped us identify the right AP partner. We ultimately chose Factura, whose flexible and collaborative approach aligned well with our needs. The combination of Sage Intacct, Factura, and the support from Tablespoon has enabled us to achieve greater efficiency, visibility, and control in our financial operations."

The Results

Good Times successfully reduced its financial close time after transitioning to an in-house accounting team using Sage Intacct. Although their outsourced accounting team had worked to reduce the close window to six business days, it still fell short of the 5-day target. With the new in-house team in place:

• First close using Sage Intacct: 6 days
• Subsequent closes: Reduced to the targeted 5 days
• On the horizon: 4 days

"The new team, with Tablespoon’s system knowledge and guidance, delivered our very first close in six days, which meant we didn't lose any ground, and I was very happy with that. Within a few periods, we brought it down to five days, which was our target. Now that we have a solid foundation and improved efficiency, I'm looking at enhancements. There's a real opportunity to leverage additional Sage Intacct functionality, such as real-time bank reconciliations, to make the process even more efficient and make our lives a little easier."

What's Next

The Good Times team is continuing to collaborate with Tablespoon exploring expanded functionality within Sage Intacct to increase efficiency, such as implementing real-time bank reconciliations and leveraging more advanced system functionalities.

"I've been very pleased with our relationship and work with Tablespoon. They were helpful throughout the implementation. From my experience, Tablespoon is a great group of people."