In this episode, I chat with Brandon White, co-author of the Digital Operations Playbook, about a transformative automation case study from one of their past clients. The client, a large multi-location franchise owner, successfully automated 90% of their finance and accounting operations—saving over 30 hours per week of manual labor.

We break down how AI-driven automation replaced a cumbersome manual process that required employees to email cash receipt images, transcribe data into spreadsheets, and manually input it into QuickBooks. By implementing a streamlined AI-powered workflow using OCR, Google Drive, and automation tools, the business drastically reduced operational inefficiencies, eliminated the need for monthly "Receipt Tuesdays," and saw a significant financial impact.

Timestamps:
(00:00) – Introduction to the episode
(00:45) – Case study overview: Franchise owner with 50+ locations
(02:30) – The finance department's manual process before automation
(05:15) – Breakdown of inefficiencies and pain points
(07:30) – Implementing AI automation with OCR and Google Drive

(09:15) – Financial impact: Saving 30+ hours per week
(10:30) – Cost of automation vs. savings

Key Points:
The Problem: A disorganized, labor-intensive cash reconciliation process involving emailed receipts, manual data entry, and time-consuming audits.

The Solution: AI-powered automation with a unified email inbox, OCR technology, and automated data extraction and input into QuickBooks.

The Impact: A full-time employee's workload was eliminated, allowing finance staff to focus on more strategic tasks.

Cost vs. Savings: The AI automation cost was minimal (under $20 in operating costs) but resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in annual savings.

Scalability: This solution is applicable to multi-location retail, QSR (Quick Serve Restaurants), and other businesses struggling with finance and accounting automation.

Notable Quotes:

• "This automation effectively replaced over 30 hours of manual labor per week." – Brandon C. White
• "Once we implemented this, the head of finance filled our backlog with more automation requests." – Michael
• "For businesses at scale, reconciling daily transactions manually is unsustainable. AI automation changes everything." – Brandon C. White

Guest Socials:

• Brandon C. White on X: @BrandonCWhite
• Trevally - Your Contacts in the Cloud - https://trevally.io/
• LinkedIn: Brandon White - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonwhite