How Brown Enterprises Simplified Accounting and Reduced Errors with TargetPay
For over two decades, Brown Enterprises, Inc. has been the go-to destination for outdoor power equipment, rentals, and exceptional customer service in South Londonderry, Vermont.
Starting as Larry Brown Excavating in the 1970s, the business evolved into a full-service rental, sales, and service location in 1987. Today, Brown Enterprises carries everything from Stihl and Husqvarna chainsaws to Massey Ferguson tractors and Arctic Cat snowmobiles.
The company prides itself on customer service, with a skilled team that handles everything from sales to full-service repairs. Brown Enterprises remains family-owned and deeply rooted in its local community, operating from two Vermont locations.
Lori Gotshall, who joined Brown Enterprises in 2004, has been an integral part of the team as the dealership’s accountant. They recently implemented TargetPay, a payment processing system designed to streamline accounting and simplify payment workflows. For Lori, this change has been transformative.
A Problem Worth Solving: Payment Errors and Inefficiencies
Before adopting TargetPay, Brown Enterprises relied on a manual payment process that often caused issues. Credit card payments weren’t integrated with the dealership’s invoicing system, leading to frequent discrepancies. This manual approach often created headaches for Lori and her team.
Lori: “I really like it [TargetPay] because my boys can’t really mess up. When we weren’t using it, they would forget to ring something in, and with this, they can’t. Or they would take a credit card payment and then get out of the invoice. So the invoice wasn’t there.
With TargetPay, they can’t do that. If they take a credit card payment, it’s because it’s on the screen for them to take it. If they’re supposed to collect $149, they collect $149. They can’t transpose the numbers. So it makes my job a lot easier.”
Fewer Errors, and a Better Workflow
For Lori, the transition to TargetPay didn’t just eliminate errors – it also simplified accounting tasks and improved cash flow. Now, instead of juggling invoices and an external credit card processor, payments are tied directly to transactions.
Lori: “When I go to do my bank deposit through IDEAL, it gives me the opportunity to put in the credit card fees in that process. And it’s all figured out for me. That part of the bookkeeping is taken care of.
When I did it manually, I had to put in the full amount, and then I have to go and make adjustments. It’s just a lot more work than it is with TargetPay.”
Getting Paid Faster with Online Payment Links
Another feature Lori loves is the ability to send online payment links to customers. By allowing customers to pay conveniently on their own time, Brown Enterprises has seen a faster turnaround on invoices.
Lori: “We can send the payment link to the customer, and they can pay with TargetPay right online. It sends me an email saying, ‘so-and-so paid for this invoice,’ and then I just go in and finish it out. We get paid a lot quicker that way.”
Looking Ahead
Currently, TargetPay is live at just one of Brown Enterprises’ locations, but Lori hopes to expand its use across all locations soon.
Reflecting on the journey to adopting TargetPay, Lori credits the support from IDEAL’s team and her experience at the user conference for making the transition smoother.
Lori: “I would suggest anybody that is starting with IDEAL should go to those [conferences]. With that training, with the one-on-one, we got a much better understanding of what needed to be done.”
For other dealerships considering TargetPay, Lori doesn’t hesitate to offer her recommendation.
Lori: “I would tell them that they should get it because it just makes everything so much easier. There’s less errors from the staff, and it just makes accounting much easier. And we get paid a lot quicker.”
