Eagle Rock Distribution Company HR Software Testimonial

Beverage Distributor Enjoys Long-Term Savings With Sage Abra

Eagle Rock Distributing Company is the exclusive Anheuser Busch distributor for nine Metro Atlanta counties. The company delivers beer to more than 2,000 retailers, restaurants, and bars throughout its service area. With an 80,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse and computer-based inventory system, Eagle Rock Distributing ensures that its customers get the freshest, highest-quality product. The company has a deep commitment to exceptional customer service and community involvement. Eagle Rock Distributing relies on Sage Abra HRMS and the professional services of Dresser & Associates to ensure its 180 employees benefit from the same commitment to service that its customers do.

"We've used Sage Abra for years," says Lisa Jones, controller at Eagle Rock Distributing. "It continues to work for us as we grow. We have no reason to switch."

Integration with Business Applications

More than half of the Eagle Rock Distributing's employees receive commissions, based on the volume of product sold and delivered. An industry specific program is used to calculate commissions, and Dresser & Associates designed an import utility that brings the commission amounts into the Payroll module, saving the time and potential data entry errors associated with rekeying it. In addition, Eagle Rock Distributing uses Sage MAS 200 ERP for its accounting and financial reporting needs. Dresser & Associates configured the Abra Link module to import postings from the Sage Abra HRMS Payroll module into the General Ledger module of Sage MAS 200. "The service we receive from Dresser is just outstanding," says Jones. "They approach a support issue with the attitude that my problem is their problem. Usually they know the answer right away, but if they need to research it, they're always back to us quickly with a resolution."

Customized Reporting

To ensure fair pay, Eagle Rock Distributing's management needs to review and evaluate employee compensation. The large number of employees receiving commission pay complicates such analysis.

"We need to look at trends in pay, by route, by employee, and by date," explains Jones. The consultants at Dresser & Associates were able to develop reports that provide management with the information they need. "Dresser has been able to work magic for us," Jones continues. "They are very talented report writers. I've seen them do things others say can't be done."

Preventing Check Fraud

Check fraud is an increasing concern for all companies. In response, many banks offer Positive Pay, a service that validates checks submitted for clearing against a customer-provided file of valid check payees and amounts. Dresser & Associates created a Crystal Reports report file which contains the data elements in the bank's required format. Eagle Rock Distributing sends the file to its bank after each check run. "We receive a notice from the bank if a check is submitted that does not match the file," explains Jones. "It's a huge benefit to have this protection as fraud is becoming more sophisticated."

Broad Feature Set

Most employees take advantage of the Direct Deposit option, a feature supported by Sage Abra Payroll. "Our employees really appreciate that they are able to split their deposit into multiple accounts," says Jones. Managers at the company's second location are able to access Sage Abra remotely over the company intranet, and answer benefits and payroll questions for their staff members. Jones says that the Sage Abra HR module easily handles even the most complex payroll deductions. "We've got deductions that involve both an employee and an employer component, like disability and life insurance," she says. "It's straightforward to set these up within the HR module."

More Efficient Than Outsourcing

Thanks to the efficiency of Sage Abra, Eagle Rock Distributing is able to process its weekly payroll for 180 employees with a single half-time payroll clerk. "I often get solicitation calls from outsourced payroll providers, but I tell them they don't have anything to offer us," concludes Jones. "Sage Abra is easy to use and cost effective, plus we have the personalized support from Dresser & Associates. If we outsourced, it would cost more, we'd still need a part-time employee to handle the data entry, and we'd lose the control of the process that we enjoy now."

Read more customer testimonials, or contact Dresser & Associates to discuss how we can help meet your business' HR needs.