Aletha Health invented the Hip Hook to help relieve hip, knee, and back pain. The device was created with the philosophy that “simple changes lead to profound results”.
Burkland started working with Aletha Health in January 2021. In this short time, some simple (and not so simple) changes to the startup’s finance and accounting processes have led to profound results.
Cleaning Up the Books
Better Bookkeeping Accuracy
Like many startups, Aletha Health began by performing much of its bookkeeping manually. The manual accounting processes worked well enough in the very early days, but as Aletha entered their first rapid growth phase, accuracy and efficiency became a challenge and started to drag on the startup.
Burkland’s accounting team started by analyzing, cleaning, and organizing Aletha Health’s book of accounts and accounting for 2020 and 2021.
Integrated, Scalable Accounting
Accounting Automation & Efficiency
Burkland implemented improved accounting processes including automation. For example, our accounting team recommended and set up a tool to integrate Aletha Health’s Quickbooks accounting software with their sales platforms. The third-party application extracts sales data from Shopify and pulls it straight into Quickbooks. Burkland then reconciles all the sales transactions at the end of each month. Burkland looks at the net amounts vs. the gross amount. Aletha Health now has clean accounting books and processes in place that are accurate, automated, and scalable.
Sharper Business Intelligence
The accounting upgrades also give Aletha a better picture of their business health through more accurate sales and revenue tracking. They have made key discoveries around revenue recognition with their clean accounting. Aletha Health is also audit-ready, with Burkland reconciling their books each month. More accurate revenue numbers, forecasts, and metrics will make it easier for Aletha Heath to raise investment funds.
Aletha Health can see how their sales channels are performing now, and know which channels provide the best returns. This allows the founders to focus their sales efforts and maximize their time.
Tax Services
Professional Peace of Mind
On the tax side, Burkland prepares Aletha Health’s tax returns and has also implemented a sales tax process and application, cleaning up backlogged sales taxes in the process. Aletha Health’s founders now have peace of mind knowing their startup is collecting and filing the correct sales taxes, which will be critical for future due diligence around investments.
Inventory Management
Optimized Inventory, Shipping & Supply Chain
Burkland’s inventory management team set up processes and systems for Aletha Health’s finished product, the Hip Hook, as well as the raw materials needed to build the product. The startup can now optimize product inventory levels in their warehouse, and also manage the scheduling and quantities of raw materials to be purchased for production. Burkland’s team implemented a dropship model and set up a shipping agent for Aletha Health as well. Aletha Health’s new system for the movement of their raw materials and the finished product has allowed them to maximize their cash – key for their business health.
Challenges:
- Aletha Health’s accounting books/records were not accurate and thorough.
- Altetha Health did not have scalable accounting processes in place. For example, sales were being manually entered in QuickBooks.
- Aletha Health was not collecting accurate sales taxes.
- Aletha Health had inventory issues – with both their finished product and raw materials.
Solutions:
- Aletha Health now has clean accounting books and accounting processes in place that are accurate, automated and scalable.
- Burkland also set up accurate sales tax collection and reporting.
- Burkland’s Inventory team implemented a system and solution that manages Aletha Health’s finished product and supply chain of raw materials.
Results:
- Aletha has a better picture of their business health. They can now accurately track sales and revenue. They have made important discoveries around revenue recognition with their clean accounting.
- Aletha Health is collecting and reporting accurate sales taxes which will protect them during due diligence and with investors.
- Aletha Health is maximizing their cash with their new inventory systems and processes around both their finished product and raw materials.