How a Retail Cooperative Automated Its Purchasing and Finance Workflows
Controller & Head of Systems
“We used to track POs in Notion and pray for alignment. Now SmartSuite gives us full visibility, automation, and cash forecasting in real time.”
Customer Name
Retailer – Saskatchewan
Industry
Retail
Team
Vendor Management, Supplier Relations, Finance, Accounting, Operations
Region
North America
Company size
Small Business
Pain point
Disjointed purchasing, inventory, and finance systems
Products replaced
Notion
About the company
A member-owned cannabis distribution cooperative in Saskatchewan that supports dozens of small retailers with a lean team.
Problem
Scaling Exposed the Limits of Disconnected Systems
A member-owned cannabis distribution cooperative based in Saskatchewan, supports dozens of small retailers with a lean team and limited operational overhead. But as the cooperative scaled, its internal systems couldn’t keep up. Procurement, accounting, and communication were scattered across Notion, QuickBooks, and Slack—leaving the team without a single source of truth.
Purchase orders lived in Notion, financial records in QuickBooks, and key updates were buried in Slack threads. This fragmented setup created major visibility gaps. The team struggled to track order statuses, payment timelines, and short shipments in real time. More critically, there was no way to forecast cash flow across hundreds of vendor terms—introducing uncertainty into liquidity planning and risk management.
To operate efficiently and sustainably, the company needed a centralized system that could unify procurement and finance workflows, provide real-time insight, and reduce reliance on disjointed tools—all without the overhead of enterprise software.
Q1
Solution
SmartSuite Rebuilt the Backbone of Procurement and Finance
The firm's Controller & Head of Systems rebuilt the entire procurement engine in SmartSuite, creating a high-visibility, high-efficiency workflow from vendor intake to QuickBooks integration. Key components included:
- SmartSuite Purchase Order System linked to inventory and vendor credit modules
- Slack Alerts for new orders, short shipments, and credit issues via Make
- QuickBooks Integration to sync POs and bills for finance team automation
- Forecasting Dashboards that calculate cash flow impact by due date and payment term
- Email Templates embedded in SmartSuite to resolve vendor invoice discrepancies
Leadership created forward-looking dashboards showing incoming payable timelines, allowing the team to see when net-30 and net-60 vendor terms converge. This insight has helped avoid cash shortfalls and improve supplier communications.
Q2
Results
High Efficiency Achieved with a Lean, Unified System
The company now manages procurement and finance through SmartSuite with unprecedented accuracy and automation. Results include:
- 100% PO visibility across team roles with audit trails and attachments
- Real-time cash flow projections triggered by PO approval dates and vendor terms
- Slack and email automations that eliminate manual check-ins
- Reduced reliance on their external developer as internal knowledge grows
- Inventory and sales data synced into vendor-facing portals for transparency
“SmartSuite enabled us to build an internal system that rivals enterprise ERPs—without the complexity or cost. We’re not a big company, but SmartSuite lets us operate like one,” said the Controller & Head of Systems
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