Exec summary

Torchy’s Tacos is known for innovation in the kitchen. But behind the scenes, the company still relied on a manual, paper-based accounts payable process. Each week, more than 100 restaurants sent invoices via FedEx to the company’s headquarters, where the AP team manually keyed, coded, and routed them through approval workflows. Lost invoices, tedious statement matching, and delayed payment were all-too-common challenges.

Today, Torchy’s has modernized accounts payable with Ottimate. All invoices now enter a centralized system through electronic data interchange (EDI), email, or scanned documents and are automatically routed through approval workflows. The shift to modern AP has reduced manual work, accelerated invoice processing, improved visibility for store managers, and freed the accounting team to spend more time on proactive analysis.

About Torchy’s Tacos

Torchy’s Tacos is an inventive fast casual Mexican restaurant brand with more than 130 locations across 17 states. Founded in Austin, Texas, in 2006 as a single food trailer, the company has grown rapidly while maintaining its reputation for fresh, original flavors, a welcoming atmosphere, and “damn good food.”

The challenge

Torchy’s Tacos has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a single food trailer. But while the brand continued to grow and evolve, its paper-based accounts payable process stayed largely the same.

Each week, more than 100 restaurant locations shipped invoices to headquarters, where they were manually entered, coded, and routed for approval.

“Before Ottimate, our process was very manual,” explained Beth Willis, Accounting Manager at Torchy’s Tacos. “We had paper copies of invoices floating everywhere.”

Approvals created even friction. Invoices moved through physical folders and manual workflows, which often led to delays and lost paperwork.

A lack of centralized visibility made matters worse. The team struggled to effectively track invoice and payment status, and statement matching became a major source of stress.

“Trying to stay on top of whether we’d received everything and whether it had been paid just slowed the whole process down and made it hard to ensure the payments were made on time,” said Willis.

As Torchy’s continued expanding, it became increasingly clear that their manual, paper-based AP workflows couldn’t support growth. The accounting team needed a modern solution to centralize invoice intake, streamline approvals, and provide real-time visibility across restaurant locations. 

The solution

Operating a geographically dispersed, multi-location restaurant brand comes with unique challenges. The team at Torchy’s Tacos went in search of a partner that understood the nuances of managing invoices across more than 100 restaurants and could offer a solution tailored to their needs.

Several Ottimate capabilities stood out during the evaluation process, including statement matching and configurable approval workflows. But ultimately, what set Ottimate apart was its flexibility.

“It’s a great partnership for us to be able to modify what [Ottimate] was providing to us and tailor it to work better for our situation,” said Willis.

Together, Ottimate and Torchy’s Tacos customized a solution aligned with the restaurant brand’s needs. This included setting up departmental and location-based general ledger (GL) segments, which ensures invoices are coded correctly and routed appropriately from the start. Torchy’s also configured custom approval workflows based on invoice type and value, which eliminated the need for physical folders and manual routing.

Today, all invoices flow through Ottimate, whether they come in through EDI, scanned PDF, or email. Each invoice is automatically read, coded, and routed to the appropriate approvers – all within one integrated platform.

In addition, restaurant managers now have real-time visibility into their invoices. This allows them to spot discrepancies and address them right away, before they impact margins.

The results

Since rolling out Ottimate, Torchy’s Tacos has experienced meaningful efficiencies and time savings across its accounting operations. Invoices are processed faster and more accurately, which means payments are made on time.

“We’re processing invoices in a more timely manner than we ever have before,” noted Willis.

These efficiencies have allowed the accounting team to manage a growing volume of invoices from more restaurants, without adding headcount. 

Modernizing AP with Ottimate has also changed the way the accounting team spends its time. Instead of being bogged down in manual tasks like data entry and approval routing, the team can focus on providing more proactive financial oversight. 

“We can take that time savings and use it to do better analysis for our stores and provide a more detailed review of their P&Ls,” said Willis.

Ottimate has also provided visibility at the store level. Restaurant managers have real-time access to their location’s invoices, allowing them to flag discrepancies, request credits for missing items, and correct overcharges before they affect margins. 

On the technical side, automation through EDI and AI mapping has further streamlined workflows and increased efficiency for the finance team. 

“EDI has been amazing for us,” said Willis. “The AI mapping is already there, it’s learned, and we can trust it. That makes our lives a lot easier.”

Ottimate has also delivered significant time savings during month-end close. Incorporating department and location segments within the general ledger has simplified data validation and eliminated what was once a time-consuming, manual scripting process.”

“That has saved me hours and hours of time,” said Willis.  

Beyond efficiency gains and margin protection, Torchy’s values Ottimate’s ongoing support and commitment to innovation.

“We appreciate the partnership and look forward to new innovations and ways we can be more efficient,” concluded Willis.