Baker Tilly Case Study: Consumer Services Company Revolutionizes Financial Operations

Client background

HomeServe USA is a consumer services company that has been providing home repair solutions in North America for nearly 20 years, helping their customers save over one billion dollars on home repairs by providing home repair coverage and local repair services. They work with leading utilities to provide customers with optimal service plans while delivering a seamless experience.

The business challenge

HomeServe had been relying on disparate general ledger and accounting systems and lacked access to accurate and reliable data, resulting in time-consuming accounting processes, especially with bank reconciliation procedures.

They were also burdened by software that required a substantial amount of manual data entry, forcing them to physically run checks through a remote deposit capture machine (RDC) and manually enter cash receipts into the accounting system before reconciling the entries in a massive Excel file to match the checks against a batch deposit in the bank. With so much time spent inputting transactional accounting data, HomeServe didn't have time to sufficiently analyze it.

HomeServe needed a solution that could:

• Provide better visibility between their technology systems
• Automate manual transactional accounting processes
• Provide impactful data output visualization for executives

Strategy and solution

HomeServe worked with Baker Tilly to implement Sage Intacct and ServiceTitan home services software to bridge gaps between their accounting and finance technology stack and automate workflows. The benefits they experienced were immediate. With Baker Tilly’s support, HomeServe was able to connect their disparate systems, eliminate data silos and gain real-time access to information anytime, anywhere.

“I was impressed with the Baker Tilly implementation team. We got responsiveness, and we didn’t just feel like a number in the queue. We got real-time solutions to actually fix the problems and make them work better going forward.” - Joel Vander Eeems, Director of Accounting for HVAC and Energy Services, HomeServe USA

In addition, HomeServe also moved forward with implementing Baker Tilly’s Home & Commercial Services Module (HCSM) and Home & Commercial Services Intelligence (HCSI) products. Through HCSM, HomeServe has revolutionized its financial operations by automating payment deposits imported into Sage from ServiceTitan, streamlining their refund processes. Additionally, batched payments from ServiceTitan now automatically reconcile with their bank statements, significantly reducing reconciliation time and ensuring accurate financial records. By minimizing manual tasks and discrepancies between accounts, HomeServe has freed its employees to focus on revenue-driving roles.

“We leveraged the Home & Commercial Services Module and migrated to ServiceTitan, which enabled the mobile check capture. The bank reconciliation process time went down to one quarter for one individual and we were able to take that person that was just doing a cash receipts function and they became more outwardly focused on helping our technicians give the best financing solutions in the field and actually helping drive revenue rather than just button clicks.” - Joel Vander Eeems, Director of Accounting for HVAC and Energy Services, HomeServe USA

Lastly, with the in-depth analytics software provided through HCSI, HomeServe no longer needs to pay a third party for market research as they now have access to their service data on an interactive, visual dashboard alongside relevant demographic data. The dashboard’s interactive heat maps also drill down to specific zip codes, allowing them to analyze detailed metrics for each area.

HomeServe expects the resulting insights into membership and revenue trends to create new opportunities to optimize marketing efforts, analyze churn and identify potential memberships. They also plan to use the data for developing targeted advertising and marketing strategies, particularly in areas with low market penetration, to ensure customers are aware of all their services.

“Having Home & Commercial Services Intelligence will give us metrics around membership churn and opportunities for new memberships. That's going to be a tool for analytics that not only is great for accountants, but great for the operational side of the business.” - Joel Vander Eeems, Director of Accounting for HVAC and Energy Services, HomeServe USA

To learn more about how Baker Tilly’s home and commercial services solutions can help your business, contact us today.