Locale, a curated food marketplace delivering the best foods from the best brands, was founded in 2020. Consumers can mix and match items from iconic restaurants and bakeries in one shipment. Locale offers an all-in-one delivery for a flat $5 fee and no subscription. Locale is a Y Combinator alum. They are in high growth mode, have many gig workers, and contend with inventory and delivery logistics.
Startup Accounting & Controller Services
Locale engaged Burkland in January 2022 for controller and accounting work. Their Burkland Controller and Accountant cleaned up prior financials and accounting processes, like accruals. They set up processes and systems like Quickbooks, Bill.com, Airtable, and Expensify. The Burkland team also helped with pre-pays. After completing this work, Locale started working with Burkland on inventory and delivery challenges and a COGS improvement.
Strategic Financial Guidance
In April 2022, Locale had a successful Series A fundraise led by a16z. After their raise, they brought on a Burkland CFO. Locale’s most significant challenge at this time was operational efficiencies, especially around billing and inventory. Deferred revenue and invoicing challenges are prevalent in startups with inventory and delivery components of their business. There were also issues with needed workflow processes, packaging costs, and discount evaluations. Burkland’s CFO has not only helped Locale in these areas but has also served as a trusted advisor to the Locale team. He provided and continues to provide high-level strategy support. He has also helped with unit economics, revenue recognition, and margin improvement.
Tax, HR, and Payroll Support
Locale has also engaged Burkland’s Tax team. Their Burkland tax advisor performed a sales tax analysis and Locale plans to work with Burkland on income tax next year. Locale engaged Burkland’s People Operations team for some HR work, including payroll.
Locale is poised for success. Burkland looks forward to continuing to work with them as they grow their national product offering.