How This Event Company Successfully Pivoted
and is Now Paid 50% Faster

Success Story: AE&ES and Goodshuffle Pro

SUMMARY

Gary Bordman is the owner and Chief Creative Designer of Las Vegas’s event services company, AE&ES. As a member of ILEA since 1999 and a board member of NACE, he has decades of event industry experience and leadership. He made the switch to Goodshuffle Pro from his previous software because he needed flexible software that could empower his business’s transition as they pivoted during COVID-19. He also wanted to save both time and money, as well as get paid faster. With Goodshuffle Pro, he got paid 50% faster and managed to save hours of time that he then used to launch a brand new division of business.
50% INCREASE IN PAYMENT SPEED
50% LESS TIME SPENT ON ACCOUNTING
90% LESS TIME SPENT ON WEB UPDATES
75% CONVERSION RATE FROM WISHLIST LEADS
aees-1080x550

GOODSHUFFLE PRO'S IMPACT ON AE&ES

  • Successful launch of AE&ES’s new divisions, Virtual Game Show and Meet Friendly, during COVID-19
  • Paid 50% faster (within an average of 2 days) because of Goodshuffle Pro’s integration with the payment processor, Stripe
  • Hours of time saved during the quote process because of live quote updates, photo-driven proposals, and the Website Integration
  • 50% decrease in time spent on accounting because of the QuickBooks Online Integration
  • Increased organization and better communication with clients due to the CRM tools
  • 90% decrease in time spent on updating the website because of the Website Integration
  • 75% conversion rate of leads coming in from the Website Integration
  • SEO benefits to the website due to the Goodshuffle Pro Marketplace’s automatic sync with his inventory

STORY

Gary Bordman has been in the industry for over 20 years, and started his most recent company in 2014. Today, Amusement, Exhibit & Event Services, or AE&ES, is one of the most well-known names in the special event and trade show industries. Based out of Las Vegas, the business specializes in interactive and experiential rentals and activations. Their mission is to make clients' dreams a reality. Gary goes above and beyond this idea— everyone knows they should #JustCallGary, because if he doesn’t already have what you need, he’ll find it for you. He strongly believes in “collaboration, not competition” and partners with many other event businesses in the industry to bring clients their dream event.

Prior to subscribing to Goodshuffle Pro, AE&ES was using another software. However, the system was not user-friendly, and the customer service was slow. Accounting was tedious and took hours of time, and clients were slow to pay. AE&ES was taking on large events with lots of moving parts, and their software couldn’t provide what the team needed to stay organized and efficient. On top of this, COVID-19 was beginning— Gary knew his team would need to pivot, and that their software at the time wasn’t flexible enough to empower this transition. This is when he decided to search for a new software solution.

Gary was first introduced to Goodshuffle Pro at The Special Event and Catersource trade show. He was very excited after seeing the free demo and even more convinced after meeting the friendly team at their happy hour! He could tell they were the partners he needed for his future company vision. As he began using the software, he was pleased with many of the features, including:

  • Digital quotes that update in real time
  • Photo-driven proposals
  • CRM tools and organized client messaging
  • QuickBooks Online Integration
  • Website Integration

RESOLUTION

The switch to Goodshuffle Pro had an enormous impact on AE&ES, especially as the company pivoted to virtual games in the wake of COVID-19. This new division of his company is called Virtual Game Show, and brings the fun to any device screen. While it’s comprised of completely new concepts for the business, everything still lives within Goodshuffle Pro. The flexibility of the software has empowered Gary to grow this new part of his business in an extremely difficult time.

On top of this, the company is paid 50% faster than before due to Goodshuffle Pro’s integration with Stripe, as well as the simple digital contracts that clients can quickly sign and pay. On average, AE&ES is paid within 2 days of a client submitting their payment online. The time in the sales process has also been cut down, as Gary can quickly update contracts when needed. These updates happen in real time on the client’s end, so there’s no need to recreate a contract from scratch. In addition, clients love the photos that are included on the proposals because they can easily see the vision behind the event. Even in a tough time for the events industry, AE&ES has gotten paid fast with Goodshuffle Pro.

AE&ES has also saved countless hours when it comes to website maintenance. The time spent on this effort has been reduced by 90%. Even though Gary isn’t a website developer, he’s able to create the content he wants and edit it how he likes with the Website Integration. The inventory in his Goodshuffle Pro account automatically syncs to both his website and to the Goodshuffle Marketplace, which is great for SEO.

In addition, the time spent on accounting has been reduced by 50%. It is also made easy with the QuickBooks Online Integration, and advanced reporting can be done with a few clicks of a button so Gary can monitor business health. Stefanny Avera, Head of Staffing and Marketing Management, says, “I no longer have to put a separate invoice into QuickBooks, or have to physically add the payment in QuickBooks either.”

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 has disrupted the events industry, which has led AE&ES to pivot into virtual games. Even with this business pivot, Goodshuffle Pro was flexible enough to accommodate the transition. Despite the terrible impact, Gary has been able to see some stronger cash flow due to the quick turnaround in payments. AE&ES’s next endeavors are to build out Virtual Game Show, as well as promote their new virtual event platform, Meet Friendly. With Goodshuffle Pro’s flexible software, Gary and his team are ready to take on the future.

CURIOUS HOW GOODSHUFFLE PRO CAN EMPOWER YOUR BUSINESS?

Get a free 1:1 demo with one of our team members today to walk through how Goodshuffle Pro's all-in-one solution can work for your event company.
GET A FREE DEMO