ZEBRA PENS | UNITED KINGDOM

Zebra Pens Success with Sage Intacct & itas

Zebra Pens had outgrown their legacy finance system, which couldn't keep pace with their growing UK operation or the reporting demands of local management and their Japanese parent company. Getting meaningful insights meant manually exporting data into Excel and building reports from scratch, so they needed a modern, scalable platform to streamline finance, improve reporting, and give them full control over their data. To meet these needs, they moved to Sage Intacct.

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Who is Zebra Pens?

Zebra Pens is a well-established wholesaler of pens and writing instruments, supplying the UK retail market since 1992. Backed by a Japanese parent company with a heritage dating back to the early 20th century, the business combines
long-standing tradition with a modern commercial approach.

With a growing UK operation, Zebra Pens required a finance function that could keep pace with increasing demands from both local management and international head office. The finance team, led by Financial Controller Matthew Robinson, plays a central role in ensuring accurate reporting and supporting business decisions.

“What surprised me about Sage Intacct was how, in a word, freewheeling it can be. You can take it in any direction you want, it’s not locked, and you’re not tied into a developer’s idea of how accountancy should be run. I can place and choose for myself how our department should be run."

MATTHEW ROBINSON, FINANCIAL CONTROLLER, ZEBRA PENS

The Challenges Faced by Zebra Pens

As Zebra Pens grew, their finance function faced mounting pressure from an ageing system, manual processes, and the need for better-structured data without the right support to manage it all.

Their existing software no longer offered the flexibility or efficiency needed to support a modern finance function.

Extracting insights meant downloading data, working in Excel, and building reports from scratch.

The business needed to overhaul its chart of accounts to better organise financial data.

Restructuring data during a system change added complexity, without the right implementation support in place.

Hear from Zebra Pens

Zebra Pens is already seeing measurable benefits since going live with Sage Intacct. The system's flexibility and dimensions have transformed reporting, giving the finance team the ability to slice and dice data quickly rather than relying on manual Excel work.
One of the most noticeable improvements is in the month-end process. Previously taking three and a half to four days, the team has brought this down to approximately two days with further improvements expected as the system matures.

“It's the slickness of the system - being able to get all the data we need into Sage Intacct very quickly”

MATTHEW ROBINSON, FINANCIAL CONTROLLER, ZEBRA PENS

Perhaps most telling is the shift in how the finance team now experiences their working day. Sage Intacct's intuitive design and logical navigation has reduced the learning curve for new processes, while the freedom to build and adapt the system around their own workflows rather than working around a developer's vision of how accounts should be run has given Matthew Robinson and his team a genuine sense of ownership over their finance function.

"It's been really first rate and it's been really refreshing"

MATTHEW ROBINSON, FINACIAL CONTROLLER, ZEBRA PENS

Seamless Implementation with itas

After an initial implementation that fell short, Zebra Pens turned to itas Solutions for support and immediately saw the difference. The team quickly grasped the business's goals, particularly around reporting and data structure, and provided clear, practical guidance on how to achieve them.

From the outset, itas took the time to understand not just the system requirements, but the wider business operations. This hands-on approach ensured the solution was aligned with how Zebra Pens actually worked day to day.

As soon as we picked up the phone and had initial calls, itas totally understood what we were trying to do. Not only understood, but they actually then suggested ways of how we can improve that and make it make more sense. That was something that’s just completely understood in our case

MATTHEW ROBINSON, FINANCIAL CONTROLLER, ZEBRA PENS

Sage Intacct and itas Impact

Since going live, Zebra Pens has seen immediate, measurable results:

Faster Month-End Close

Zebra Pens has significantly reduced its month-end close from around three and a half to four days down to approximately two days, with further improvements expected. This has been driven by faster data processing, improved reconciliation, and better system integration.

More Efficient Reporting

Ad hoc reporting has become far simpler and quicker. What once required extensive Excel manipulation can now be achieved directly within Sage Intacct, allowing the team to respond to requests from management and head office with speed and accuracy.

Greater Data Visibility

With the introduction of dimensions, the finance team can now analyse data in far more detail. This has made it easier to "slice and dice" information, providing deeper insights into business performance.

Flexibility to Scale and Adapt

Sage Intacct gives Zebra Pens the freedom to design processes that suit their business. The system is not restrictive, allowing the team to evolve their financial structure and reporting as the business grows.

Why choose itas as your Sage Intacct partner?

At itas, we believe in working in partnership with you to deliver the perfect solution that you want and need for your business. As a multi-award winning Sage Partner, our approach is to help you maximise technology to transform the way you work.