overview

Keith Bishop is a fifth-generation family farmer who oversees his family’s 150-year-old farm and Farm Market in Guilford, Connecticut with his three children running operations and finance. In 2005, he started a winery on the property which has grown to be a local destination. Bishop’s Orchards Winery is known regionally for its award-winning fruit and sparkling wines and hard cider. They welcome over 500,000 visitors a year.

challenge

When Keith Bishop first started the winery, he handled nearly all aspects of the operation on his own, so it was easy to rely on his own experience and memory. “As soon as you bring in other people and delegate, you need a trackable system for record keeping. Verbal or paper records can lead to discrepancies, inaccuracies and a lack of communication,” said Keith. As the winery and cidery has grown, delegation is critical. With more people involved in winemaking, it became more important to have a robust system of record, which is why Bishop’s Orchards Winery selected Ekos as its business management software.

results

Bishop’s Orchards uses Ekos for batch management, sales invoices, tax reporting and inventory management. Keith found tax reporting to be “an onerous piece of record keeping,” but Ekos helped to streamline that process and ensure accuracy. The winery and cidery continue to grow and Bishop’s Orchards has its eyes set on increased online ordering and local distribution. The right software can help Bishop’s keep track of valuable information and ensure alignment among employees. “Ekos allows us to track from raw ingredients all the way through production and provides valuable management information and tax reporting that has improved our record keeping from previous paper methods and spreadsheets,” said Keith.

Take a tour to see how Ekos can help your business just like Bishop’s Orchards Winery.