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Success Story

Monkless Belgian Ales

“Without Ekos, there would be a heck of a lot of data entry and a lot of disconnect. It's how we ensure invoices are paid. Having QuickBooks sync means that our off-site bookkeeper can work less and get more because our numbers are automatically organized.”

- Robin Clement, owner

about

  • Ekos customer since 2016
  • Inspired by founder Todd Clement’s business trips to Belgium
  • Two locations in Bend, Oregon
  • Distribution in three states

results

  • 20+ hours per week saved with accounting functions
  • Improved on-the-go distribution and invoicing
  • 1.2k bbl production in 2021

integrations

overview

Todd Clement founded Monkless Belgian Ales in 2016, drawing inspiration from the many business trips he’s taken to Belgium and elsewhere in Europe. He and his team started out in a one-barrel nanobrewery in Bend, Oregon, and now operate in a 10-barrel facility where the team produced 1,200 barrels in 2021. Today, Monkless Belgian Ales products can be found across Washington, Wisconsin, and Oregon.  

challenge

Both Todd and his wife, Robin — who manages the brewery’s sales, marketing, and distribution — used to work at software companies, so they knew when they started the brewery that they’d want a solution like Ekos. The brewery’s growth since its opening means its needs have become more complex. They have more space, more products, wider distribution, and more technology. The team needed a program to grow with them and help manage all of these changes. Ekos is the driving force behind Monkless’s tech stack, and empowers the brewery’s growing product lineup.

results

Monkless Belgian Ales embraced Ekos before opening its doors and hasn’t looked back since. Ekos’s seamless integration with QuickBooks Online ensures that Robin’s off-site bookkeeper can keep the brewery’s numbers and data organized with the click of a button. “Without Ekos, there would be a heck of a lot of data entry and a lot of disconnect,” Robin said. Plus, the ease of the QuickBooks Online integration means Monkless’s bookkeeper only needs to work part time — saving the business money.

Robin’s team utilizes a lot of technology to get the job done. From recipe and production tracking to POS and distribution software solutions, the Monkless team has a thorough and connected tech stack. This is something that Robin says gives the brewery a competitive advantage compared to others their size. “We’re definitely more agile on the road with mobile apps and creating and adjusting invoices on the fly,” Robin said. These mobile capabilities mean that Robin’s sales team can adjust inventory and invoices with the ease some other breweries’ tech stacks might not accommodate. Although they are a small team, Monkless is thinking strategically about how to leverage technology and extract insights at every touch point from grain to glass to make decisions that will lead to future growth.

The Monkless team is also moving more and more data over to Ekos all of the time, according to Robin. She says that with the software’s development, there have been more opportunities to utilize Ekos’s functions for everything from cost of goods sold on the accounting side to the batch notes and planning calendar on the production side. Robin says that the consistent desire to improve is something she loves about the Ekos team, especially compared to the way legacy software companies operate. “The fact that Ekos is a constantly evolving platform is super important to me as a business,” Robin said. “We’re not dealing with old school softwares in which you bought what you bought and if you want an increased functionality, then you have to pay more for it.”

Take a tour to see how Ekos can help your business just like Monkless Belgian Ales.