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OpenTable is the leading supplier of reservation, table management and guest management software for restaurants. In addition, the company operates www.opentable.com, the world’s most popular website for making restaurant reservations online.
Privately Held Corporation
Offices in San Francisco Services 5,000 restaurant customers throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Hong-Kong, Japan and Mexico.
“AIS has been responsive and has the subject matter expertise. They’ve helped us achieve our goals”
– Kendra Niedziejko, OpenTable’s Senior Director for Accounting and Finance
Case Study
AIS TACKLES THE FINANCIAL MENU AT OPENTABLE
Overview:
OpenTable supplies reservation, table management and guest management software to over 5,000 restaurant customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, and Mexico. Between those wide-reaching sales and the over one million people who book restaurant reservations through its Web site each month, OpenTable is the leading company in its space.
The firm’s hardware and software system replaces archaic pen and paper at host stands, automating the reservation and table management processes in real-time while allowing restaurants to gather diner information that’s used for repeat business as well as targeted e-mail marketing. OpenTable’s distribution partners include AOL CityGuide, Citysearch.com, Yahoo! Inc., and many other Web sites.
Challenge:
As OpenTable’s business grew by leaps and bounds, the company implemented Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly known as Great Plains, to handle core accounting and invoice processing. They hit a roadblock, however, when their existing reseller became unresponsive to their need for new functionality.
Kendra Niedziejko, the company’s senior director for accounting and finance, explains that OpenTable needed a new partner to help them with ongoing projects, including a major reorganization of their chart of accounts. Like many businesses, OpenTable was also concerned with achieving Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance for its accounting systems.
Solution:
OpenTable made a reservation with The AIS Group, bringing the company in to dish up a wide variety of projects. After one phone call, AIS was able to offer OpenTable an unlimited support plan for 12 months, which would help guide them through their initial menu of needs.
AIS first tackled a chart of accounts reorganization in Microsoft Dynamics GP, completing the task without losing any of OpenTable’s financial history. AIS then moved on to implement a Web-based requisition system that integrates Dynamics’ Purchase Order Processing module and Fixed Assets, achieving SOX compliance in the process.
“As we learn to adapt a tool,” Niedziejko explains, “we say to them: ‘How can you help us work with this better?’ And they respond to that.”
She adds: “Simon is hands-down the subject matter expert guy. He seems to have good application and database knowledge. On a variety of occasions, Simon has walked over to the office to help us out. He’s really gone above and beyond the call of duty a few times.”
AIS has also worked on a variety of ad hoc projects for OpenTable, such as modifying forms, tweaking existing systems, and installing the business portal component of Microsoft Dynamics GP. AIS is also currently working on a way to better transmit PDFs of invoices to a mail house that prints and sends them out on OpenTable’s behalf.
“They’ve been responsive and have subject matter expertise,” Niedziejko notes. “So far, they’ve helped us achieve our goals.” She also points out the fact that OpenTable is currently working on its own internal processes so it can get its house in order and begin looking once again at improvements to its financial systems. When it’s ready, The AIS Group will be there to serve their needs.