The Challenge
CANNA, a horticultural product distributor servicing Australia and New Zealand, was grappling with outdated financial systems that could no longer support the company’s evolving operational needs. Relying on MYOB Premier, a legacy desktop software, the finance team encountered significant limitations, particularly in managing landed costs, prepayments, and kit assemblies, all critical for a business importing products from a single overseas supplier.
Their accounts payable (AP) process was especially problematic: it was entirely manual, paper-based, and conducted by a small in-house team. Invoices were printed, sorted, and entered manually into the system often only at the end of the month. As a result, critical tasks such as credit card reconciliation were perpetually delayed, with the finance team falling as much as a year behind. The absence of automation, combined with rapid business growth during the COVID-19 period, led to operational bottlenecks and a constant pressure to “catch up” on financial tasks.
The Solution
In 2021, CANNA turned to Stratus Consulting Group to implement MYOB Acumatica, a modern cloud-based ERP. The implementation addressed several longstanding pain points: it introduced robust landed cost tracking, enabled kit assembly and prepayment workflows, and laid the groundwork for integration with third-party logistics partners. Stratus delivered a hands-on migration experience, including tailored training for key staff and real-time go-live support to ensure a smooth transition.
Building on the success of the ERP upgrade, CANNA took another leap in 2022 by implementing TrailD to automate its accounts payable function. TrailD was chosen for its deep integration with MYOB Advanced and its user-friendly interface. It digitised the entire invoice lifecycle from receiving and coding to approval and reconciliation. Staff could now simply forward invoices to TrailD, and return later to approve them with pre-filled data already captured and matched.
TrailD’s implementation was supported by Stratus, ensuring technical alignment and continued support. The result was a seamless AP automation layer that became second nature to the finance team.
The Results
The combined implementation of MYOB Acumatica and TrailD dramatically transformed CANNA’s finance operations. Most notably, the company achieved a 50% reduction in accounts payable processing time, turning a once time-consuming, end-of-month bottleneck into a manageable and largely automated workflow.
Tasks like credit card reconciliation which previously took weeks and were often delayed by months became routine and timely. “I used to be a year behind on credit card reconciliations. Now I’m on top of it every month,” shared Jessie, CANNA’s bookkeeper.
TrailD’s intelligent invoice capture system also improved accuracy, recognised recurring patterns, and flagged potential high-risk supplier details, helping reduce manual error and increase financial confidence. Its intuitive interface made onboarding effortless temps could start using the system immediately by referencing historical invoice entries, with little to no training required.
Perhaps the most impactful result was scalability. With minimal additional headcount, CANNA’s lean finance team now manages a growing multi-warehouse, multi-country operation with confidence and clarity. The company is also better positioned for future initiatives, such as eCommerce integration, thanks to a reliable, centralised finance stack.
This case illustrates the compounded value of pairing expert-led ERP implementation with intelligent AP automation—delivering measurable operational efficiency, stronger financial control, and a scalable foundation for growth.
