The Tech Behind the Table: How One Restaurant Cleared the Financial Fog with Real-Time Visibility
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In restaurants, we rely on our senses: the rhythm of a busy shift, the satisfaction of a well-run operation. But when it comes to the back-office, too many finance teams are still operating in the dark.
For First Sun Management, a leading Wendy’s franchise group with 19 restaurants across the Southeast, that fog came in the form of outdated desktop systems, quarterly reconciliations, and little to no financial visibility between reporting cycles.
Until they partnered with Tablespoon.
Lost in the Fog of Manual Accounting
First Sun was running its financials on RTI—a legacy desktop solution that required manual journal entries, lacked integration, and complicated even the most basic accounting tasks.
Bank reconciliations weren’t just inefficient—they were practically an afterthought, done quarterly in Excel. When a key accountant had to step away due to a personal emergency, the team realized just how fragile and inaccessible their processes really were.
Even routine reporting became a bottleneck. And when the board asked for real-time insights? The finance team was left guessing.
Clearing the Fog: Tablespoon’s Tailored Solution
When we met First Sun at the Wendy’s Franchise Association conference, they didn’t just need a new system—they needed a smarter approach. And that’s exactly where Tablespoon stepped in.
We didn’t just implement Sage Intacct—we brought in the full Tablespoon toolkit:
- Custom Bank Reconciliation Automation: We built workflows that enabled daily reconciliations and eliminated the need for manual matching.
- Payroll Integration: We connected ProLiant to Sage Intacct to automate batch imports and reduce errors.
- Restaurant-Specific Reporting Templates: Tablespoon deployed dashboards tailored for restaurant operations, giving finance and ops real-time, actionable visibility.
- Wendy’s-Specific Configuration: With deep knowledge of franchise chart structures, royalty reporting, and labor/food cost categories, our team built a solution that felt familiar—just faster and smarter.
- Guided Onboarding and Strategic Coaching: From whiteboarding the chart of accounts to training First Sun’s team, Tablespoon led the transition every step of the way.
“The Tablespoon team brought restaurant expertise and system smarts. They didn’t just drop in software—they understood how we operate and built a solution around that.” — Timothy Jacobs, IT Director, First Sun Management
From Quarterly to Daily: The New Normal
Since going live with Tablespoon’s configuration of Sage Intacct, First Sun has transformed the way they manage their financials:
- Reconciliations now happen daily—no more waiting on quarterly reviews.
- Reports are easier to access, clearer to interpret, and more timely.
- Dashboards provide visibility across all 19 locations.
- The finance team spends less time fixing issues—and more time driving strategy.
“We had real concerns about moving from RTI. But Tablespoon delivered above and beyond. Now I’m getting clean financials faster and with fewer questions.” — Clark Mizell, CFO, First Sun Management
You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See
“Visibility Drives Better Decisions” isn’t just a tagline—it’s the standard we build toward for every fast food finance team.
Because in today’s restaurant environment, manual systems don’t just cost time—they cost margin. When finance can’t see what’s happening until weeks after the fact, it’s too late to course correct.
Tablespoon equips operators like First Sun with the tools, insights, and restaurant-native support to fix that.
Ready to Clear the Fog?
If you’re tired of squinting at outdated reports or stitching together spreadsheets, let’s talk.
Tablespoon + Sage Intacct = the tech that powers experience.
Because when your back office runs smarter, your entire business gets sharper.