The Company

Chuy’s is a Tex-Mex restaurant chain established in Austin, Texas, in 1982 by Mike Young and John Zapp. Since then, it has grown to 102 stores in 19 states and prides itself on serving authentic and fresh food in an appealing atmosphere. All food is made from scratch daily, which means the company must maintain considerable equipment on the preparation lines, cook lines and elsewhere.

 

“vx Maintain has saved us significant time across multiple departments, including 25% in Accounts Payable, 20% in Fixed Asset Accounting, and 10% in Operations. Accruent does an amazing job listening to our needs and helping us streamline our processes to get the most value from the solution.”
— Sarah Mason, Development and Accounting

 

The Challenge

A paper-based asset management system couldn’t keep up with the scaling of the business. Chuy’s needed to get a handle on what it was spending and why, while being able to automate the approval process, track spend over the equipment lifetime, and create accurate budgets and forecasts based on those known costs. The company lacked a true preventative maintenance (PM) program, and siloed information caused difficulties managing vendor compliance and communicating across stores.

  • Time-consuming and error-prone work order processes
  • Inability to track equipment history and repairs limited repair/replace decisions
  • Uncontrolled vendor costs and payments due to lack of invoice integration
“Accruent has improved our vendor accountability and helped us develop the right relationships as we continue to expand into new markets. We can sift through the noise and keep a line of sight on costs in real-time, allowing us to be more proactive.”
— Shaun Coe, Area Supervisor

 

The Solution

Chuy’s implemented vx Maintain to manage its stores, assets, vendors, and work orders. More than 300 staff in Operations, Accounting and Maintenance use the system to create quotes and estimates, streamline equipment purchases, and manage work orders. Additionally, 500+ vendors have access to the solution to ensure accountability, while integration with the company’s accounting system, Restaurant Magic, facilitates invoice payments with automated approval workflows.

  • $658,000+ in maintenance work orders managed per month
  • Centralized data with repair history for cost comparisons across stores
  • Established PM program with warranty tracking to create work orders
"With vx Maintain, we can prioritize repairs to get the right vendor on the right job at the right time. This has contributed to a 25% reduction in equipment downtime and given us back time to focus on ensuring a great customer experience in our restaurants.”
— Mike Mason, General Manager

 

The Result

With vx Maintain, Chuy’s created efficiencies and cut costs across its stores. Accounting no longer wastes hours hunting down invoice details and approvals. Pinpointed vendor comparisons across markets and an improved line of sight on work performed has decreased overpayments, while faster payments have increased vendor satisfaction. Improved visibility and time saved dispatching vendors has helped management ensure that store equipment is down less often, resulting in an enhanced restaurant experience to better serve customers.

  • 25% reduction in equipment downtime across stores
  • $10,000 savings for Operations in 1 year across just 5 stores
  • 10% time savings for Operations
  • 60% faster payment to vendors via streamlined invoicing
  • 25% time savings for Accounts Payable
  • 20% time savings for Fixed Asset Accounting