For over 35 years, Shan Ross has been fueling mornings and building community through coffee. As the longtime owner of Central Perk, a drive-through shop in La Pine, Oregon, she’s seen it all. But what she hadn’t found, until recently, was a simple way to manage the paperwork.
Juggling Two Businesses, Two States, and Too Much Paperwork
Shan recently scaled back from three locations to one, but the workload didn’t get lighter.. “I live in Arizona now but still manage Central Perk in Oregon,” she explained. “There was so much paperwork. I was constantly behind on QuickBooks, and my accountant was always frustrated with me.”
With multiple bank accounts, frequent debit card purchases by staff, and pages of transactions every day, keeping the books in order became a nightmare. “There’d be six months where I didn’t touch it, and then I’d spend a full month catching up.”
She looked into syncing QuickBooks with her WaFd account but was told it wasn’t possible. That’s when she discovered FINSYNC.
Finding FINSYNC: A Better Way Forward
After a quick demo, Shan decided to try the platform. She started small, then added more tools as she got comfortable.. When she had questions, she reached out.
“They walked me through everything,” she said. “Eventually, I added the accounting tools, which helped my accountant out a lot.”
One of the biggest time-savers was FINSYNC’s automation. “It uploads everything for me. I just go in once a month and make sure everything’s categorized correctly. Before, it used to take me two or three hours to enter one month’s worth of transactions.”
Now, instead of spending weeks hunting down receipts, she can generate a full year’s worth of categorized, balanced reports in a single email. “I sent my accountant the report, and she had my taxes done in a week.”
Why Simplicity Matters
Shan had been using QuickBooks for decades, but between outdated software, incompatible systems (she uses a Mac, while her accountant uses Windows), and a lack of support, it was no longer working for her.
“FINSYNC is just a lot more simplistic,” she said. “It’s way less stressful. Everything gets uploaded. I reconcile, categorize, and send the reports. That’s it.”
Support That Shows Up
One standout for Shan has been the support team, especially Clark. “I probably annoy him with how many questions I ask, but he always gets back to me. Even when we don’t have time for a call, he’ll help me fix what’s wrong.”
Even when glitches popped up after a WaFd update, the team quickly resolved them.
“Honestly, customer service has been amazing. I never even knew QuickBooks had support, and if they did, they’d charge for it. With FINSYNC, someone actually helps you.”
Getting Back to the Work That Matters
With FINSYNC handling the back office, Shan has more time to focus on the business itself. That means keeping customers happy, managing her team, and occasionally catching up on the books after returning from a trip to Oregon.
“I’ve been in coffee for 35 years, and I’m still passionate about it,” she said. “FINSYNC made it possible for me to keep my original location running while semi-retiring. That’s a big deal.”