For over 30 years, Culver's guests have been treated to cooked-to-order food made with farm-fresh ingredients, served with a smile. The ever-expanding franchise system now numbers more than 600 family-owned and operated restaurants in 24 states. The restaurants' nationally-recognized customer service is based on small-town, Midwestern values, genuine friendliness and an unwavering commitment to quality. Signature items include the award-winning ButterBurger®, made from fresh, never frozen, beef, and Fresh Frozen Custard, including the famous Flavor of the Day program. For more information, visit www.culvers.com, www.culvers.com/facebook, www.twitter.com/culvers, https://plus.google.com/+culvers or www.instagram.com/culvers.
Situation
Culver’s franchise partners are committed to the principles of freshness, quality, and hospitality, and Missouri’s Brian Addotta is no exception. Addotta bought his first Culver’s restaurant in 2004. He now owns and operates five Culver’s operations in and around the south and central part of the state. Three of his five restaurants were newly opened in 2012, and employment at the various locations ranges between 25 and 45 workers.
Addotta’s stores have a considerable distance between them. That requires him to spend considerable “windshield” time traveling between locations. Like many entrepreneurs, he continued to manage his operations’ books. When he more than doubled his business in 2012, it was time to make honest choices about priorities, so he outsourced the day-to-day bookkeeping and accounting to Wipfli.
Strategy
Wipfli worked to make the transition seamless, stepping in to become Addotta’s back office and taking full charge of the franchise’s accounting needs. The team helped to build out accounting processes for the three new restaurants and delivered comprehensive bookkeeping and accounting services for the entire business, including:
- Payroll accounting, processing, and reporting.
- Management of cash flow and keeping accounts up to date.
- Processing and payment of vendor bills.
- Reconciling of all bank and credit card accounts monthly.
- Preparation of monthly financial reports and custom reports for Culver’s corporate offices.
- Providing tax planning, consulting, and compliance.
- Wipfli also created a monthly, consolidated report showing financial information on all five restaurants and giving Addotta a custom snapshot of his business.
Benefits
Today, Addotta is able to focus his energies on the core competencies that make his business successful—developing his restaurant managers and employees and integrating customer service with the Culver’s culture in order to elevate the customer experience.
In addition, with Wipfli’s dependable financial accounting services, the timeliness of monthly financial statements is now consistent, providing Addotta with sound information he can use to make better, more confident business decisions.
