How Blue Ridge Solutions Achieved a Four-Day Close and Eliminated Burnout with Maxio & NetSuite

Blue Ridge Solutions is a SaaS-based company that develops supply chain software primarily for distributors. Their platform manages demand forecasting, replenishment, and related optimization functions, with additional capabilities in manufacturing. With a few hundred customers, Blue Ridge has built a lean, efficient operation that scales effectively.

Maxio is the centerpiece of Blue Ridge’s financial operations, handling revenue recognition, invoicing, and reporting while integrating with NetSuite and Salesforce. This automation has improved accuracy and efficiency, allowing Blue Ridge to maintain a lean finance team without sacrificing operational excellence.

Read the Story
A person stands and smiles, leaning on a table during a meeting. Others sit around with laptops and notepads, engaging in discussion. Nearby, a corkboard displays sticky notes.
Blue Ridge Solutions logo

How Maxio Empowers Blue Ridge’s Growth

The Challenge: Building Integrated Financial Operations

When Charles Dye joined as VP of Finance, Blue Ridge was already a Maxio customer—but only for standalone revenue recognition. The rest of the tech stack (QuickBooks, Salesforce, Avalara) operated in silos, requiring duplicate entry and limiting consolidation capabilities.

Charles understood that achieving operational excellence required more than small fixes. As he explained, “One of our focuses was to keep G&A costs low while also increasing productivity… this is becoming even more important every year as our environment becomes more competitive.”

 

Blue Ridge faced several constraints:

  • Disconnected systems required manual work across multiple platforms.
  • Limited consolidation in QuickBooks Online hindered multi-subsidiary reporting.
  • Duplicate processes created errors and consumed valuable time.
  • Scalability issues made it clear incremental improvements wouldn’t suffice

The Transformation: A Seven-Week Implementation

The finance team launched a comprehensive transformation—completed in just seven weeks—designed to build a scalable foundation:

  • Integration first — connecting Maxio with QuickBooks, Avalara, and Salesforce to automate data flows.
  • Strategic migration — moving from QuickBooks to NetSuite while also implementing Rippling (payroll) and Airbase (expense management).
  • Leveraging existing data — using Maxio’s customer data to populate NetSuite and reduce duplicate entry.
  • Process simplification — focusing on automation and integration instead of customizations.

Results: A Finance Function That Scales

The implementation delivered transformational results for Blue Ridge’s finance operations. Charles highlights the impact:“We close the books in five days… most months, with the systems we have in place, we actually reach a four-day close.”

Key outcomes include:

  • Four-Day Financial Close – board reporting delivered by day five.
  • Real-Time Insights – preview revenue data available by business day two.
  • Lean Team Structure – only four finance staff, avoiding 2–3 additional hires.
  • Zero Burnout – no finance team member has experienced burnout in over three years.
  • Automated Workflows – seamless flow from Salesforce → Maxio → NetSuite eliminates manual entry.

Strategic Impact: From Manual Processes to Strategic Focus

Maxio and NetSuite have shifted the finance team’s role from data processors to strategic partners, enabling them to focus on analysis and insights that drive decisions.

As Charles describes, “With the systems that we have, we can almost provide results in real time. By business day two, we can give a confident preview to our board as to where we’re going to be for the month.”

Other strategic advantages include:

  • Real-time financial previews by day two.
  • Automated subscription billing and revenue recognition.
  • Integrated tax compliance through Avalara.
  • Streamlined reporting with fewer leadership follow-ups.
  • Multi-entity consolidation handled seamlessly in NetSuite.
  • Proven “big bang” success — a full system overhaul in weeks, not months.

Without these systems, Charles estimates the team would need 2–3 more staff. Instead, efficiency gains have allowed them to deliver more value with less stress.

Most notably, Charles emphasizes, “I’ve never had one employee on the finance team reach a point of burnout.”

Conclusion: Scaling Without Complexity

Blue Ridge’s journey shows that with the right technology and mindset, finance teams can scale efficiently while protecting team wellness. Their four-day close is more than a speed metric—it reflects a finance function built for growth, accuracy, and balance.

As Charles puts it, being open to changing processes and adopting new tools has created a sustainable competitive advantage. For growing SaaS companies, Blue Ridge offers a roadmap to operational excellence without burnout.

Blue Ridge’s Tech Stack

Maxio

Revenue recognition, invoicing, and subscription management

The text "salesforce" appears in lowercase, white font centered on a solid blue background.

Salesforce

CRM with automated data flow to Maxio

Avalara

Sales tax compliance (integrated through Maxio)

NetSuite

General ledger, consolidations, and financial reporting

Airbase

Expense management with automated journal entries

Rippling

Payroll and HR with full NetSuite integration

  • We decided to go with the NetSuite and Maxio integration because there is a lot of customizability. We feel very confident that as our business grows, this integration can support any of our future use cases.

    Charles Dye, Blue Ridge Solutions

    VP of Finance

    Blue Ridge Solutions logo
  • Meet other SaaS companies who love Maxio

      What are your biggest financial challenges?

      You can’t expect to build a highly profitable SaaS company through manual processes alone—especially when it comes to managing your finances.

      This guide shows you how Maxio automates accountants, controllers, and SaaS finance leaders’ day-to-day workload, and how it can eliminate your financial headaches for good.

      Download the Guide