by Andy Shaw

Joan Hauser was expecting a lot from Vigilant. Knowledgeable about both computers and accounting software, Joan had high expectations about what Vigilant could do for her Expecting More maternity clothing business in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Hauser and a business partner opened the 2,000 square foot retail outlet in the fall of 1998. And Vigilant has been there since the moment of birth.

"We went to a consultant and computer store in Minneapolis to get our equipment and software," she recalls. "And they recommended Vigilant. I knew of other accounting packages but those applications didn't match what Vigilant offered for the price. And since then Vigilant has more than exceeded my expectations." While Joan's partner contributed maternity-clothing retail experience to their store, Joan brought business and computer savvy. "I'd been a travel agent so I knew about running a small business and using computers. Also, I had even taken some programming courses at college."

To familiarize herself with Vigilant, Joan declares that she was not in need of computer expertise. "It was very easy to use from the start. I just read the manual and got going. And within three months, we'd pretty well experienced all the variety of uses we're now making of Vigilant. So now, we're very comfortable with it."On the occasions that she does need assistance, Hauser praises the excellent support from Vigilant. "About the only reason I ever have to call them is for very occasional diagnostics," she explains. "If we think something has gone wrong with the system, they'll help us diagnose the problem and work with us to fix it right over the phone."

As the only maternity shop within a 100-mile radius, Expecting More expected to do over $150,000 worth of business in its first year. In order to achieve their goal, Joan and partner stocked about 2,000 items and $45,000 worth of inventory, consisting of dresses, tops, pants, business suits, underwear, nursing apparel, support hose in a wide range of colors and sizes, just to name a few.

"That's one of the things I like about Vigilant the best is its size and color matrix," Hauser reveals. As Hauser relates, Vigilant's Size-Color Matrix saves much tedious inventory input. Expecting More enters just one product code to cover the full range of colors and sizes for a particular style. Through Vigilant's Advanced Sales Analysis tool, a few keystrokes will reveal how the style's various colors and sizes are selling. The Matrix also makes re-ordering easier, quickly printing out how much of each style, color, and size is still on hand.

"I can hardly wait until we have completed our first year," Joan confesses. "Not only will we be able to create reports that show how we did, but we can start using that information to predict how we'll do in future. That's the real key to budgeting." In the meantime, Joan is thrilled that with Vigilant she can pull up her current situation at any time of the day and see exactly how Expecting More's sales are going, the status of its inventory, and what the profit margins are.

Joan Hauser is also considering expansion, increasing Expecting More's hundred-mile reach with e-commerce involvement. Clearly, Expecting More is expecting more from Vigilant...and receives it.