How Duradry Uses Finaloop to Stay Focused on Profitability
Challenge
- Tired of working with accountants that don’t get ecommerce
- Lacked financial visibility he needed to focus on profitability
- Spent too much time trying to get his books for loan applications, supplier credit accounts, and year-end taxes
Solution
- With Finaloop, he works with bookkeepers who fully understand ecommerce
- He has trust in the accuracy of his numbers
- Can better monitor his expenses and improve profitability
- Full visibility into the financial health of his brand month-over-month
Financial Stack
- Finaloop for bookkeeping & accounting
- Founder-led financial ops with the help of Head of Operations
Meet Duradry
Jack Benzaquen, a long-time entrepreneur, started Duradry in 2017 as a subscription-based solution to control hyperhidrosis (AKA excessive sweating) effectively.
He built Duradry from the ground up using his extensive experience in CPG and fueled by his frustration after years of suffering from hyperhidrosis.
The Challenge
With Jack’s long-time entrepreneur and angel investor background, he understood how important it is to have reliable numbers. Still, he found it very difficult to create a process that worked for his growing brand.
Initially, he kept his numbers in Excel and didn’t keep his books up to date. Instead, at the end of the year, he would rush to get everything ready for taxes.
He tried working with several accountants, and the whole process and results were always messy. He consistently found that traditional bookkeepers and accountants didn’t understand how ecommerce worked.
For example, if you sell on Amazon, your payouts result from many different fees and components. They didn’t understand how to break out the fees and record the sales, refunds, shipping, etc.
He had a grasp on the general health of his business but was completely flying blind when it came to the granularity he needed to truly focus on his brand’s growth. With Duradry scaling fast, he knew he needed a better process.
The Solution
Jack learned about Finaloop in its early days when researching a better accounting solution for ecommerce. He jumped on a call with Lio, the founder and CEO of Finaloop, and quickly became one of Finaloop’s earliest customers.
“I worked with many accountants in the past, and they could never wrap their heads around ecommerce - like how to break down Amazon payouts between sales, refunds, shipping, fees, etc….. Then I spoke to Lio [the CEO], and we saw eye to eye. He understood the problem. I knew I had to jump in.”
He found that Finaloop has a complete stack for businesses in the DTC and ecommerce space, and he’s seen the steady progress over the years as Finaloop consistently added more features.
He trusts Finaloop to focus on the bookkeeping and simplify the process for him, in order to give him the numbers he needs. He goes into his Finaloop account and provides the input he needs to add to give him the best data for his business.
“I go in each month and do my part. Working with my Head of Operations, we upload the COGS data needed and I also classify unknown expenses. Adding this input gives me even more trust in my numbers. The rest is the Finaloop team running it.”
The Results
Jack finally has a sustainable process in place to really know his numbers and completely focus on profit. Every week, Jack logs in to his Finaloop account and checks his real-time P&L to see how Duradry is doing.
“We’re all trying to be profitable. That’s the focus, especially this year. So, I review the P&L month by month. It’s not rocket science, but it's there, up to date, and extremely useful in keeping an eye on profitability. Having this visibility is key.”
Jack has also found that having up-to-date financials saves him tons of time when he needs to request a loan or open an account with a supplier and request credit. In most of these cases, you’ll need to provide financial data. Now, he has everything he needs to send them in just a click of a button.
As a mentor to many young founders in DTC, one of Jack’s biggest pieces of advice for profitability is ensuring every expense helps your bottom line.
“Be frugal, always negotiate everything and consider whether each expense will help you make more money. Use your financials as a lens to study each expense and think about how it will help you actually make money, whether it's this month or a year from now.”
To do this, you need consistently up-to-date financials that provide you with the granular visibility you need. This is where Finaloop’s real-time bookkeeping has made all the difference.