Industry-Specific POS and Payment Processing Solution Reaps Big Savings, Accelerates Processes and Eliminates Frustrations
Nestled in the stunning North Georgia Mountains is the historic town of Clayton, known for its farm-to-table cuisine, outdoor recreation, and wineries. Residents of the rural area know and trust each other. When Lora Toller and her husband became the new owners of Clayton Paint & Flooring Center in 2007, they inherited a business with deep roots and a stellar reputation—one they’ve worked hard to maintain for the past 17 years. Clayton and surrounding areas of Rabun County have a population of just over 17,000 and to double in the summer months and holidays, so the Tollers know most of their customers and are seen regularly around town. Pride of ownership is a meaningful asset with tangible implications, helping keep the company relevant and growing even in the face of big box stores such as Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams opening stores just down the road.
Lora Toller, Owner of Clayton Paint & Flooring Center, shared, “The most important thing is giving people what they want and being available to help them. Our customers know that if something goes wrong, we're here, and we’ll help.”
Along with the store and well-earned customer loyalty, Toller inherited Pacsoft, a Windows point-of-sale software package that was moving toward end-of-life. She recalled, “We were familiar with Epicor Decor Fusion from another store we owned and wanted to bring it onboard here. The fact that the solution is specifically designed for paint and decorating retailers made all the difference—allowing us to streamline and automate many of our processes. And being cloud-based, the pricing was right.”
Toller added, “We’ve been with Epicor Decor Fusion since Fall 2020, and we love it.”
She cited some specific examples of Epicor Decor Fusion’s benefits, including improved inventory management, helping to speed up the order entry process, and enhanced customer service. Because Epicor Decor Fusion is already connected to suppliers such as Benjamin Moore and Lancaster, downloading product information is fast and easy. “And something as simple as the ability to email purchase orders, invoices, and statements has further streamlined operations,” Toller explained.
We were familiar with Epicor Decor Fusion from another store we owned and wanted to bring it onboard here. The fact that the solution is specifically designed for paint and decorating retailers made all the difference – allowing us to streamline and automate many of our processes. And being cloud-based, the pricing was right.
For the flooring business, a significant improvement has been the ability to create a master list for each vendor that has exactly the data the business needs, which can be used for custom pricing. “With the quotes feature, we can create multiple quotes for one customer with minor changes without redoing the whole write-up,” Toller clarified.
“For example, if we are selling tile from Daltile, we have a master list set up with the size, color, and number per carton, and the system will prompt me for each, which is a huge benefit, especially for training and ensuring all the right information is captured,” she expanded. “It matches back to the vendor information and prepopulates the PO, eliminating the need to re-key the information as we did before. Plus, it helps with inventory by matching the SKU to the PO.”
Toller also cited improved ease of inventory management, which helped enable the Clayton Paint & Flooring Center team to easily search for a product and populate it in Epicor Decor Fusion. She noted that given the size of the operation, the business isn’t taking advantage of all the Epicor capabilities available, such as automatic ordering. Still, she does utilize reporting functions to look at data, such as order history.
Toller further appreciates that month-end closing is hassle-free and alleviates her from being in the office on the last day of the month. “Before, if my husband and I planned to be out of town, it was a task that had to be covered,” she highlighted. “Now, I have the flexibility to do it any time, and it’s super easy, requiring less than 30 minutes of my time.”
Clayton Paint & Flooring Center’s previous credit card processing system, was challenging. Not only was the feature set limited, but costs were rising, and customer service was non-existent.
A key challenge was verifying credit card information. Toller disclosed, “Because we live in a second-home market, we often deal with contractors who purchase on customers' behalf. We’d need to call and confirm information for every transaction, which was frustrating for customers and a time sink for us.”
I would highly recommend Epicor Decor Fusion to any paint and décor business. It saves us money and time, and the benefits have made our daily jobs more streamlined and efficient and enhanced how we service our customers.
Toller decided to integrate Epicor Payment Exchange with Epicor Decor Fusion, which changed everything.
“We didn’t even realize how much of an issue the credit card processing was until we started using Card on File tokenization,” Toller acknowledged. “Now, all the data is embedded in customers’ records without compromising their information. It has been a lifesaver.”
In addition to saving significant time and eliminating frustration, Clayton Paint & Flooring Center is also realizing substantial savings.
"Since integrating Epicor Payment Exchange with Epicor Decor Fusion, we are saving approximately 36% in processing fees annually.” Toller elaborated, “The effective rate went from 3.17% in June 2023 with another processor down to 1.98% in April 2024 with Epicor Payment Exchange” The money saved in processing fees will be channeled back into the business to help build a new warehouse, add staff, and invest in enhanced customer service.
On a more human note, Toller finds Epicor customer support a good match for Clayton Paint & Flooring Center’s focus on exceptional service.
Since integrating Epicor Payment Exchange with Epicor Decor Fusion, we are saving approximately 36% in processing fees annually.
“Epicor customer support has been very responsive and helpful, in marked contrast to other merchant services companies where it was difficult to get answers or understand security procedures,” she emphasized. “I have peace of mind knowing the Epicor team is quick to respond if an issue does pop up, something that used to be frustrating and expensive.”
Toller observed that Epicor is helping Clayton Paint & Flooring Center keep its promises to customers, saying, “I would highly recommend Epicor Decor Fusion to any paint and décor business. It saves us money and time, and the benefits have made our daily jobs more streamlined and efficient and enhanced how we service our customers.”
