PIPPA’S PARLOUR PORTLAOISE
Pippa’s Parlour is a family owned ice cream shop selling ice cream, waffles and great coffee. Their speciality is ‘making you happy’! Crazy as it may seem Tadhg Muldowney decided to launch and open a new business selling ice-cream in the middle of the pandemic and in the middle of an Irish winter in Portlaoise, Co Laois
Tadhg’s research showed that there was a gap in the market for the supply of an ice-cream and waffles shop in Portlaoise. Now just a few months in business they have reached a number of important milestones.
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To give his new venture the best possible chance of growth and sustainability, Tadhg decided to set up a cloud accounting system from the very start of the business. He choose Xero Cloud Accounting because it seamlessly integrated with a team management app called Tradify.
OPENING A BUSINESS IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC
“Opening a business in the middle of a pandemic meant we had to keep a close watch on the bottom line and work smart to reach our breakeven point without wasting valuable resources”, said Tadhg.
Gareth Keogh, his account Partner at Lalor O’Shea McQuillan continued: “The benefits of using Xero from the start of operation meant Tadhg could obtain live information on their margins, turn over, breakeven point. Because the data is live and on Xero, their account manager here at Lalor O’Shea McQuillan also had access to up-to-the minute information.
APPLICATIONS THAT SYNC together BEAUTIFULLY
Tadhg uses a sales app called Tradify which is linked to Xero. It automatically syncs bills, payments, suppliers and customers to Xero automatically through athe two-way synch feature. This means that Pippa’s Parlour can access cash flow information in real time so Tadhg and his account manager here at Lalor O’Shea McQuillan can understand their true position on a day-to-day basis. Likewise purchases on Hubdoc collect digital data and brings in bank reconciliation. While his account manage here finds it easier to file the VAT returns.
We weren’t only able to provide Pippa’s Parlour with accurate information but we were also able to offer strategic business advice
When Tadhg calls Lalor O’Shea McQuillan with a question we are able to look at the data and give him accurate information and business advice. We were also able to use the live data to answer questions that make or break a start-up. There are so many unknowns when starting out, for example –
- What are our requirements for payroll?
- What turnover do we need to obtain in relation to staff costs?
- How do we manage being busy with starting out versus being busy with customers?List Item
- What turnover do we need to obtain in relation to staff costs?
- How do we keep customer flow working well at the counter?
- How do we balance the cost of wages with the peaks and troughs of demand over daily opening hours?
- How do we predict busy times and slow times and balance staff accordingly?
- What is our breakeven point?
Advice for Irish Start-ups
whatI asked Tadhg advice he has Irish start-ups working in the service industry. He pointed out that there are four things to pay attention to:
1. Be bold
2. Be brave
3. Understand the gap in the market
4. Trust the data. Accurate data doesn’t lie
Advice to Irish Start-ups from Tadhg Muldowney
CONTACT PIPPAS PARLOUR PORTLAOISE
Pippa’s Parlour is located on Main Street, Portlaoise, Co Laois
Their Facebook page is << here >>