HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical SupplyDemo Case Study

Multi-Branch Trade Supply Payments: A Sample Scenario

A five-branch trade supply group discovered identical contractor business cost different amounts at different counters.

Level 3 OptimizationCost ReductionAR AutomationERPAccounting
Client
Wexler Trade Supply
Client type
Multi-branch trade supply distributor
Company size
120–300 employees
Locations
5 branches
Processing volume
$4.1M / month
Average savings opportunity identified: 18%7–14 day onboardingUnder 24-hour support responseDemo proof points — verify before final launch.

Executive summary

This is a hypothetical example created to illustrate how this service could work for a business with these needs. It is not a description of an actual client engagement. The company is invented and every figure below is an illustrative assumption, not a measured result. Assume the following scenario. Wexler runs five branches that had drifted onto three processors and four pricing models. Identical contractor business was costing meaningfully different amounts depending on which counter it crossed, and nobody at the group level could see it.

  • Line-item data reaching the networks on every commercial card transaction.

  • Qualification reported monthly.

  • AR out of the standalone terminal.

Client profile

Industry
HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Supply
Locations
5 branches
Monthly volume
$4.1M / month
Average ticket
$1,850
Software used
ERPAccounting suiteStandalone gateway

The challenge

Five branches, three processors, no consolidated view of cost to collect.

  • Commercial card volume downgrading to non-qualified.
  • Required Level 3 fields absent from the transaction record.
  • No visibility into cost to collect by customer.

Why the previous setup was failing

Previous setup
  • • Payments keyed into a standalone virtual terminal.
  • • Tiered pricing obscuring qualification.
  • • No line-item data reaching the card networks.
Why it failed
  • • A virtual terminal cannot transmit Level 3 line-item data.
  • • Tiered pricing hid downgrades inside a qualification bucket.
  • • No single owner was accountable for payment cost.

Our assessment

  • Twelve months of statements normalized to one baseline.
  • Transaction-level downgrade analysis by card type.
  • Field mapping of ERP data against Level 3 requirements.

The recommended solution

  • Move to interchange-plus so qualification is visible.
  • Integrate payments with the ERP.
  • Monitor qualification monthly.

Implementation Process

  1. 1

    Week 1 — Statement review

    Three months of statements plus a sample invoice, normalized to a single interchange-plus baseline so every line is comparable.

  2. 2

    Week 2 — Downgrade analysis

    Transaction-level review identifying which card types downgraded and which required data fields were missing.

  3. 3

    Weeks 3–4 — Connector and field mapping

    Payment connector installed against the existing ERP; invoice fields mapped to the Level 2 and Level 3 requirements.

  4. 4

    Week 5 — Test transactions

    Live test transactions confirmed qualification per card type before any production volume moved.

  5. 5

    Week 6 — Cutover

    Cutover between billing cycles, with the previous setup kept available for rollback for one full cycle.

  6. 6

    Weeks 7–10 — Verification

    First full month compared against projection; qualification reported by card type and customer.

Technology and integrations

Integration changes

  • • ERP payment connector installed.
  • • Line items, freight and tax mapped to Level 3 fields.
  • • PO and customer reference populated from the order.

Processing changes

  • • Tiered pricing replaced with interchange-plus.
  • • Qualification reported by card type.

Obstacles and resolutions

Obstacle

Freight billed separately, missing from the transaction.

Resolution

Freight would move onto the invoice as a line item.

Obstacle

AR staff accustomed to the virtual terminal.

Resolution

Integrated flow would be piloted with a fallback available for one cycle.

Measurable results

Illustrative only — modeled at 50 to 85 basis points across the group, concentrated at the two branches on legacy tiered pricing.

Operational improvements

  • • Payments taken against the invoice rather than re-keyed.
  • • Settlement written back to the ledger daily.

Reporting improvements

  • • Qualification rate by card type.
  • • Cost to collect by customer.

Funding improvements

  • • Consistent settlement timing.
  • • Deposits reconciled to invoices automatically.

Customer experience improvements

  • • Customers pay against an invoice rather than reading a card over the phone.

Before and after

Before and after comparison for Wexler Trade Supply
MeasureBeforeAfter
Commercial card qualificationNon-qualified on most volumeLevel 3 where card and data support it
PricingTieredInterchange-plus
AR workflowKeyed into a standalone terminalTaken against the invoice in the ERP

Related services

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Frequently asked questions

Are these results guaranteed?+

No. This engagement is demonstration content built on realistic scenarios. Actual outcomes depend on your volume, mix, software, and current pricing — which is exactly what a review establishes.

How long did the Wexler Trade Supply engagement take?+

The implementation ran across 6 phases; most comparable environments cut over in 7 to 14 business days once scope is agreed.

Do we have to change software to see similar results?+

Usually not. Most of this work happens in merchant structure, pricing, data capture, and integration configuration around software you already run.

Can we see a version of this analysis for our business?+

Yes. A payment review returns the same structure — assessment, recommendation, projected impact — against your own statements.

Want this analysis for your business?

Send us your current setup and we'll return a written assessment covering cost, integrations, reporting, and funding.

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