Summary: Meeting focused on automating the manual, frequent data-pulling process for invoicing and addressing current cash flow issues. A multi-phase solution was proposed: Phase 1 — daily automated shipment reporting into Google Drive; Phases 2–3 — direct QuickBooks integration for invoice generation and approval. UPS address validation was identified as a quick win (~$20K/year in avoidable carrier adjustment fees).
Andrea DeLucia reported that data retrieval from Camelot is manual, time-consuming, and outdated — run via a web interface generating a "plum report" for each brand. Resulting Excel files are very large and frequently freeze the computer.
Reports contain 10,000+ lines. Camelot does not differentiate wholesale from other transactions, so non-wholesale data must be manually deleted every run. Reports are pulled weekly or every few days to keep up with invoicing schedules.
Diego noted that wholesale vs. e-commerce identification rules (typically a hashtag in the reference number) are already maintained per brand, making automated filtering straightforward. An automated report could run as frequently as needed.
Andrea currently checks a Google Sheet maintained by Elaine to know when a PO is entered, then manually checks Camelot for shipment. For some clients (e.g., Swede), every line item must be typed into QuickBooks individually — described as "inefficient and painful."
Danny exports two reports (shipping + fulfillment charges) monthly. Andrea cleans them up, pivots by client, and attaches to QuickBooks invoices. Andrea would prefer weekly billing to stop floating 60 days of shipping costs. Danny's manual checks catch weight entry errors — these can be replicated as automated flagging rules.
Daily automated process checks all brands for new shipments and generates individual files in Google Drive. Structure: YYYY-MM-DD/ → brand folder → one file per sales order number. Andrea reviews and approves before invoicing.
Phase 2: Andrea approves files, invoice auto-created and sent via QuickBooks. Phase 3: Full automation once trust is established. Requires external QuickBooks API approval and admin access from Andrea.
Andrea introduced the problem of uncaptured carrier adjustment fees — ~$20,000/year — from address errors (residential vs. commercial misclassification, missing apartment numbers). Diego proposed a pre-shipment UPS API check to flag bad addresses before orders go out. Further definition needed with Danny on criteria.
Diego's retainer rate increases in May. Andrea suggested invoicing every 15 days or monthly with 15-day terms. Monthly invoicing paid by the 10th of the following month agreed as acceptable.
Notes by Gemini — reviewed and published to DataStudios doc portal.