RSEA Safety is Australia’s largest independent retailer and B2B provider of workwear and safety products. Since opening its doors, the company has become a market leader and trusted wholesaler of workwear, footwear, personal protective equipment, road safety equipment and more. RSEA Safety boasts a large lease portfolio of 95 properties across Australia and New Zealand. Head of Finance, Trent Bond, has overseen the management of these properties for the last three years.
The challenge for RSEA Safety
With the adoption of IFRS 16 accounting standard, managing a large lease portfolio in a spreadsheet can become overwhelming. As RSEA Safety grew, Trent says they experienced this challenge first-hand.
“We were managing our portfolio in a spreadsheet - and that doesn’t work,” Trent explains.
“Because of the change in accounting standards, we needed a comprehensive solution to document all our leases, especially as our portfolio grew.”
The rapid growth of the business was also a primary factor in the decision to adopt lease management software.
“We grew to a large business mindset fast, and needed systems to match,” Trent says.
“Before, our leases were paper-based and stored in someone’s office, with property management completed by the Chief Financial Officer. By implementing lease management software, we were able to develop processes and procedures as we grew, while easily managing all our properties.”
The end-to-end solution
Realising the value of an end-to-end lease management solution, Trent reached out to Nomos One after a recommendation from company auditors.
“I saw a demonstration of the product and was impressed,” Trent says.
“The software feels professional and is also easy to navigate. I felt confident showing it to C-level executives in the business, and also comfortable giving it to admin staff to use. From an accounting perspective, it does everything that we need it to do. These combined, we realised RSEA Safety had found the tool to move forward with.”
Strong, robust results
Thanks to Nomos One, RSEA Safety now enjoys improved accuracy with their lease accounting.
“After implementing Nomos One, we conducted an audit to compare the software to previous spreadsheets,” Trent says.
“We could see the discrepancies between the spreadsheets and Nomos One - and we knew that the software was correct based on recalculations. The accuracy we gained from a financial accounting perspective is incredible.”
Trent also praises the lease management features of the platform, saying it has streamlined property management and internal communication.
“With a lease portfolio of our size, it can be difficult to track events,” Trent explains.
“The software provides pop-up notifications when events like a rent review, extension or end of lease are approaching. It enables us to provide information to our CEO and general counsel quickly and easily.
“Even from an audit perspective, the software has been invaluable. We give the auditors read-only access, and they have everything at their fingertips. By having all the information online and in one place, we save time on back-and-forth communication.”
Trent also praises the responsiveness of the customer support team, particularly during their year-end reporting period.
“We can send through as many as 10 questions a day - and receive responses promptly,” Trent says.
“The responsiveness of customer service is the best I have seen. You feel like you are supported.”
Trent is positive about RSEA Safety and their continued use of Nomos One: “It has all been positive. The software is quick, efficient, easy-to-use and pain-free. It’s streamlined our lease management and accounting, and made us more efficient as a business.”
*In exchange for RSEA Safety's time, compensation was received for this case study interview.
