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Tuffy Tightens Screws to Thwart Thieves
Shawn Gregory was seriously ticked off when his Jeep Wrangler was vandalized and all its contents were stolen. So the 19-year-old searched through trade magazines, hunting for a secure, bolt-down box to keep his belongings safer in the future. When he couldn't find what he wanted, he built one himself in his parents' living room. The sturdy console container he invented was perfect and served as the prototype for what has grown to be a multimillion dollar business just eleven years later.
To get his fledgling company off the ground, Gregory got a loan from the Young Americans Bank in Denver. He placed ads in Peterson's 4 Wheel and Offroad magazine, among others, and found a local job shop to make his metal security products. He expanded to manufacturing a wide variety of locked systems for trucks and SUVs, as well as Jeeps. Soon Tuffy Security Products had enough orders to warrant in-house manufacturing operations.
The company's success led to national recognition. In 1992, Gregory was named Youth Entrepreneur of the Year by Merrill Lynch and Inc magazine. Today, Tuffy ships thousands of lock boxes to Jeep and truck owners all over the world.
Old System Not Tough Enough
Several years ago, Dani Gregory, Shawn's wife and vice president of the company, had an accounting nightmare on her hands. Tuffy had outgrown its original off-the-shelf bookkeeping software package, which continually corrupted files and performed out-of-balance transactions. Because of all the errors and computer crashes, Dani was typically spending about 80 hours a week in the office."It was such a mess," she says. "I knew there had to be a better way to do things." A thorough search of more robust products resulted in the purchase of Sage BusinessWorks. Experiencing double-digit growth every year since, the Gregorys have found Sage BusinessWorks to be a good match for their booming business.
A Smart and Sturdy Solution
Now Dani's workload is just half what it used to be, thanks to the way Sage BusinessWorks has streamlined the company's books. "Our clerks enter purchase orders
Learning to use Sage BusinessWorks was simple. "To tell the truth, I'm still learning about all of its features," she adds, laughing. "Every now and again I'll discover something else that it can do for us and I'm amazed."
Dani and Shawn Gregory rely on Sage BusinessWorks for management data that was never available to them before. They run balance sheets, income statements, flash reports on daily activities, and aging reports for accounts receivables. "With Sage BusinessWorks we know at a glance what's going on in our company," says Dani. "And the reports are based on what happened today, not last month. The best part is we now have the time to look at management reports and use the information that's in them!"
The Gregorys have recommended Sage BusinessWorks to at least five other companies. "When people ask us what software we're using, we say that you can't beat Sage BusinessWorks for the money," Dani comments. "We know how bad it can be with an inferior product, so we have an excellent understanding of the value we've received. For a small to midsized business like ours, it's perfect." Dani feels confident that Sage BusinessWorks will be able to handle future growth projected for the firm.
"Sage BusinessWorks has done a lot more than just improve the work environment around here," she says. "It's given us a life."
