Juggling multiple systems for all aspects of the business
Transitioning to Dockwa to streamline all transactions into one system
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Jax Vanderveen, owner and president of Carousel Marina in Boothbay Harbor, took over the marina in June 2022. Dedicated to maintaining the strong customer relationships built by the previous owner while modernizing the business, Jax faced several challenges before switching to Dockwa.
With 50 slips, 30 moorings, a marine store, and busy fuel dock, Carousel Marina previously operated on three different POS systems and relied heavily on pen and paper. This disjointed approach left Jax spending hours each day on bookkeeping. By switching to Dockwa, Jax was able to streamline operations, integrate their entire business into one platform, and reduce their daily administrative workload from six hours to just one.
Before switching to Dockwa, Jax's fuel and ship store operations at Carousel Marina were cumbersome and time-consuming. Managing fuel inventory relied on pen and paper, making it difficult to track sales and anticipate fuel needs accurately. Similarly, the marine store's vast inventory of over 8,000 items and the market’s 2,500 items were managed through separate systems, which added complexity.
After adopting Dockwa, these operations became seamless. Fuel sales, ship store inventory, and market data were integrated into one system, allowing Jax to easily track inventory, anticipate fuel deliveries, and quickly generate reports. This transformation significantly reduced administrative tasks and improved overall efficiency.
Having 2, 5000-gallon tanks, we turn over fuel extremely quickly. We used to rely on pen and paper to read our veeder root, but now everything is seamlessly connected to Dockwa's point of sale right on the docks.
Before switching to Dockwa, Jax spent around six hours each day reconciling her books, managing different aspects of Carousel Marina's operations, including transient and long-term dockage, fuel management, and inventory for the marine store. This manual and fragmented process consumed most of her time and kept her tied to the office. Dockwa simplified this by consolidating everything into a single interface, which also integrates seamlessly with their accounting system, QuickBooks. Now, Jax spends just an hour reconciling her books daily, with Dockwa automatically transferring data for accurate and efficient accounting, saving her time and making financial management more straightforward.
Dockwa has cut down a lot of my time in the office and allows us to be more feet on the ground with our customers versus us sitting in an office trying to pull together all of our loose ends.
Jax decided to switch to Dockwa to manage their entire marina operations including transient and long-term reservations and contracts, dockage assignments, fuel dock, and ship store.
"We have the marine store, the market. We have thirty moorings, fifty slips. We have seasonal customers, transient customers, and it was always really difficult to find a system that could just encompass all of those things – until Dockwa." - Jax van der Veen
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If you really want to increase your profit margins, find the holes in your business, have better relationships with your customers, make boating easier for them, whether transient or seasonal, this is a no brainer. I don't think anything else can even compete with it.
"When we created that relationship with Dockwa, we couldn't have asked for a better customer service oriented company to work with. They value their relationship with their boaters. They value their relationship with their marinas." - Jax van der Veen
When you have an issue or you're trying to ask questions, you can get on a phone with somebody right away.
Along with ongoing customer support, Jax was assigned a dedicated Marina Success Manager who provides reassurance and guidance, reducing any sense of isolation or confusion during her day-to-day operations. Her Marina Success Manager also makes sure she’s aware of any new features that can make her life as a marina owner is easier.
Jax expects to see a 5-6% increase in revenue due to the fact that her boaters are now held accountable for their payments.
- Saved time
- Saved money
- Streamlined operations
- Increased Revenue
Adopting Dockwa has reshaped processes, ensuring greater convenience for boaters and significant time savings. The move to an online platform has not only optimized operations but also increased accountability and revenue reliability for this vibrant harbor.
30% of all Dockwa employees are former marina operators.