Building an automated bookkeeping system for a fast-growing product brand
Client
Catalog
industry
Consumer Goods / DTC
location
Portland, Oregon
Catalog was a growing product brand juggling multiple sales channels and a nonstop order flow. While the business was picking up momentum, their backend systems weren’t built to handle the scale. Bookkeeping became a weekly headache, and financial visibility was slipping further out of reach.
Before we stepped in, the founders were spending long nights trying to make sense of mismatched numbers and unfinished reconciliations. They needed structure, and a system that could finally keep up with them.
Challenge
Catalog was growing quickly, but their internal bookkeeping couldn’t keep up. Every transaction had to be tracked manually, and reconciliations were often done late at night or on weekends. With multiple sales channels and rapid order volume, their books were constantly behind, and quarterly tax prep felt chaotic.
The founders knew they needed a clean, automated system, not another year of patching spreadsheets together.
Approach
Lysterra started by mapping their entire financial workflow, from payment processors to inventory systems. We automated transaction imports, created clear categorization rules, and built a unified ledger that matched their actual operations.
Monthly reconciliations were scheduled, review cycles were tightened, and real-time dashboards replaced outdated logs. Most importantly, we made the system simple enough that the team could understand their numbers without digging through raw data.
Impact
Within the first month, Catalog eliminated over 40 hours of manual work. Their reports became consistently accurate every quarter, and tax filings — which used to be stressful — became three times faster to complete. With automated bookkeeping in place, the founders now spend weekends resting, not reconciling. Their financial clarity now matches the momentum of their brand growth.
$12,000
Annual savings from reduced manual errors
100%
Satisfaction in quarterly review
Seamless
Payroll setup for 6 staff
“Lysterra didn’t just clean up our books — they gave us a system that finally works. Everything is organized, automated, and easy to understand. It changed how we run the business.”
—
Erika Harper
,
Co-Founder
