Hector Beverages started in 2009, with an idea to explore the functional beverages market. It hit off with Tzinga, which is an energy drink. And then followed Paper Boat in 2013, a range of ethnic beverages.
The teams grew to 700+, from less than 100, and multiplied by about six times. There was a substantial amount of paper work, frantic employees following up on payment status, and an accounting team that manually recorded, and then uploaded all data into the accounting system.
Zoho Expense helped not just the business teams but the accounting team as well. Expense related reports were available at one place. The company could filter based on payment status and could make the payment and uploaded them to the accounting system.
The mobile application of Zoho Expense provided the facility to submit to the reporting manager automatically and regular status updates are given till reimbursement is complete.
Hector Beverages started in 2009, when 3 friends with an idea to explore the functional beverages market, got together. We hit it off with Tzinga, which is an energy drink. And then followed Paper Boat, our range of ethnic beverages, in 2013.
Aamras is like our first-born baby, and is extremely close to our hearts. It’s the thickest drink in the market right now, owing to the generous amount of mango pulp that it contains – 45% to be precise! That is more than double of what our competitors can boast of (10% - 15%). Also every single mango we use in our drink is naturally ripened, as opposed to the usual norm of ripening them artificially in ethylene chambers. Add to this the fact that we don’t include any form of colors or preservatives, and what you have is the purest form of mango juice we could have possibly packaged.
Made from the princely fruit that is loved (and misspelled) by all, Paper Boat Anar is 60% pure pomegranate juice. We get the concentrate all the way from California to offer the best and the richest taste to you – as close to the real fruit as possible. We also have 8 other variants in our roster, ranging from Chilli Guava, to Aam Panna (A tangy sweet raw mango drink that beats the heat of the crazy Indian summers) and Jamun Kala Khatta (A beloved recipe that seems to have time-travelled from the royal halls of the Mughal rulers)
From 2 flavours in 2014, by the end of 2015, we had 7 successful products. The market for us was also spreading across the country, from Jammu to Chennai. Our teams were growing to 700+, from less than a 100, a year and a half back.
This meant understanding how to keep things just as simple and easy for our people, as we multiplied by about 6 times. Also, as a sales centric system, about half our team is constantly on the move. This was when we realized that an easy and efficient solution was needed to support the process of reimbursing travel, fuel and food. And so, we started hunting for a tech solution – one that was mobile, quick to set up and easy to use.
Before Zoho, we used paper based forms and spreadsheets. People attached the receipts with the forms and couriered it to our two offices in Delhi and Bangalore. This practice was giving us a lot of trouble. There was a lot of paper work, frantic employees following up on payment status, and an accounting team that manually recorded, and then uploaded all data into the accounting system. With the cash advance feature in Zoho Expense, the employees are given the funds they need to pay for their trip in advance, without placing an extra burden on the accountants.
We looked through a lot of solutions before we came across the team from Zoho. They instantly struck a chord, with their automatic bill scanning facility, on the mobile app.
However, we still had to be absolutely sure, that our people would find using Zoho convenient. So, we asked for a 1 month trial – which the team instantly set up for us. Our trial users liked it too, and so we moved to Zoho.
Some of the features, that have really helped, are the simple mobile app, the facility to automatically submit to the reporting manager and the regular status updates till reimbursement is complete.
Not just for all business teams, Zoho has helped the accounting team as well. Expense related reports are all available at one place. They can filter it, based on payment status, make payment and easily upload them to our accounting system.
Finally, a remarkable thing about the Zoho experience, is the constant support they give us, for every little query. There has never been a query that has waited for more than 24 hours for a response, in the last 6 months of our use – and they are only willing to help us some more!
Zoho has made life easier for us, at Hector Beverages.
