“The actual setup is seamless! Despite initial perceptions, we found the integration to be very straightforward and can be completed in under 10 hours, especially with the right guidance.”
“The most quantifiable benefit was the reduction in labor costs. Instead of hiring a full-time employee to manage sales tax, we were able to let the platform do the work. This cost saving extended to our tax returns and annual taxes, as Avalara’s platform provided accurate, ready-to-use reports, reducing the workload for our CPA and ensuring compliance.”
It’s a classic tale: a coffee meet-up with an old college friend that started with chit-chat and evolved into sketching a business plan on napkins.
One orders: The Pink Drink.
The other: Americano Black.
Both have distinct personalities and strengths.
Much like the collaboration between Chris Ploessel and Charlotte Ouwehand, co-founders of RedNight Consulting. What may have burgeoned over a Starbucks drink, quickly blossomed into a flourishing business.
“Our drinks are representative of who we are and a piece that helped us in our success. Chris and I have very different strengths and interests. What we often see is a bunch of friends try to start a company and they're very similar, they all want to do the same thing. That often creates chaos and disagreements. We shared a vision to create a long-standing business, not just a job for ourselves. We invested, rented an office and hired staff. We faced common challenges – like affordability of staffing or outsourced services and solutions; therefore, many business functions remained in-house and often on our plates,” said Ouwehand.
Commitment to the Cloud
Based in Orange County, California, RedNight is a cloud-focused Managed Service Provider (MSP) that serves small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with 20-100 users nationwide.
“Chris [Ploessel] had previously worked in IT for 10-15 years and saw the change in the industry that was coming. When we started in 2015, Amazon Web Services (AWS) was the only advanced platform available, with Microsoft Azure catching up in later years. We were very early on in that journey at the time. Our early adoption of cloud technology and scalability really set us apart.”
Since day one, RedNight Consulting didn’t waver from this commitment, which consequently put them in a prime position in 2020. When everyone else was adapting to the ‘new way of working’, RedNight was prepared, and battle tested.
Unlocking Possibilities Through Integrations
RedNight Consulting is continuing to grow and thrive; and with integrated solutions, it is paving the way to a bright future.
“Chris came from a ConnectWise MSP. He was most familiar with ConnectWise Manage [PSA] and quoting tools [CPQ], but we quickly committed to the whole stack. We wanted everything to be easily integrated, the platforms to communicate with each other and the existing features to easily scale our business.
Overcoming Challenges
The team has grown to 20 people, with additional external support, such as an outsourced accounting team. As their business grew, they encountered complexities in managing sales tax across multiple states and locations, which became increasingly time-consuming and cumbersome.
To address this, they turned to Avalara around 2017. Avalara, a certified ConnectWise Invent Vendor, provided a comprehensive and automated tax management solution AvaTax that integrated seamlessly with ConnectWise PSA™. This integration allowed RedNight Consulting to streamline their tax processes, ensuring accuracy and compliance without consuming valuable time and resources.
“By leveraging Avalara, we can focus on growing our business rather than getting bogged down by tax complexities. This decision not only provided us peace of mind but also supported our vision of scalability and efficiency,” said Ouwehand.
Seamless Integration
Initially, Ouwehand managed the tax setup manually, but as the business expanded, it became clear that this approach was unsustainable. They needed a solution that could handle the intricate and ever-changing tax regulations efficiently. This led them to Avalara around 2017, which provided a comprehensive and automated tax management solution.
The integration of Avalara with ConnectWise PSA™ was straightforward, facilitated by an API, and did not require specialized accounting knowledge. This ease of use allowed their operations manager to handle the setup without needing an accounting specialist.
Ouwehand emphasized the simplicity of the process.
“The actual setup is seamless! Despite initial perceptions, we found the integration to be very straightforward and it can be completed in under 10 hours, especially with the right guidance.”
Benefits and Results
There are significant benefits of integrating Avalara’s tax management solution. Initially, managing sales tax manually was a daunting task, especially as their product catalog grew. Avalara simplified this process by allowing tax codes to be set up in bulk, saving considerable time and effort.
“The most quantifiable benefit was the reduction in labor costs. Instead of hiring a full-time employee to manage sales tax, we were able to let the platform do the work. This cost saving extended to our tax returns and annual taxes, as Avalara’s platform provided accurate, ready-to-use reports, reducing the workload for our CPA and ensuring compliance.”
Additionally, using Avalara mitigated the risk of costly errors in sales tax management, which could complicate future business sales. By ensuring accurate and compliant tax practices, RedNight Consulting could confidently plan for growth and potential acquisition without the fear of unresolved tax liabilities.
The key benefits of using Avalara included:
- Cost Efficiency: Avalara’s service cost is affordable, significantly less than hiring a full-time employee to manage sales tax.
- Operational Efficiency: The platform simplified tax management by allowing bulk setup of tax codes, reducing the workload for their CPA and ensuring compliance.
- Scalability: Avalara’s tools for registering in new states and managing tax submissions supported RedNight Consulting’s vision of scalability and efficiency.
- Risk Mitigation: By ensuring accurate and compliant tax practices, RedNight Consulting could confidently plan for growth and potential acquisition without the fear of unresolved tax liabilities.
From Starbucks to Successful Startup
Their achievements are partly due to the complementary strengths and interests of Ouwehand and Ploessel, which has helped them avoid common startup pitfalls. It has been rewarding and recognized. RedNight Consulting just earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list for the fifth consecutive year.
Cheers to your continued success, RedNight.
