Backpocket Brewing mitigates risk through use of Concur Expense

Craft brewers are facing some pretty stiff competition these days. As more breweries enter the space, owners are faced with making tough, strategic business decisions. To determine their next move, Backpocket Brewing first needed increased visibility into business finances, including employee expenses and travel costs.

Backpocket Brewing is a family owned business, with a 60-plus staff spread out over three locations in Iowa, including the company’s headquarters in Coralville, just a mile from the University of Iowa campus. General Manager Aaron Vargas knew the brewery needed to take some necessary risks on what to brew and how to promote their company to stay competitive. Making these decisions required financial visibility, including the ability to measuring resources invested in different markets, and the ability to analyzing ROI. Backpocket Brewing and Aaron Vargas turned to SAP Concur for help.

By implementing Concur Expense, Backpocket Brewing now has the financial data needed to make risk assessments and ultimately move forward with strategic initiatives. Concur Expense streamlines employee expense and travel management, not only making it easier for employees to submit expenses through the mobile app, but also increasing the processing time for faster reimbursements. This automated solution makes pulling financial data easy, and allows Aaron Vargas to set-up dashboard views with the most up-to-date information at his fingertips.

The craft beer industry is highly competitive. You can’t afford to get married to a style of beer or business. You’ve got to take chances. The story of us in five years will be that we’re a good family business, conservative, but growing because we’re not afraid to take a good risk. -- Aaron Vargas, General Manager

Takeaway Tip: Integrating an automated expense management solution allows you to brew up just the right amount of business risk.

It’s National Small Business Week and SAP Concur is honoring our small business heroes. At SAP Concur, we create spend management solutions for all businesses, regardless of size or industry. Read more about how SAP Concur has helped Backpocket Brewing and other small businesses overcome obstacles to build a better future.