Ashtabula, a Brisbane-based licensed apparel company, supplies retailers across Australia with officially licensed merchandise for major sporting brands including the NRL, AFL, Cricket Australia, the Wallabies, the All Blacks and the PBR. With customers ranging from small family-run shops in regional towns to large national corporates, Ashtabula needed a streamlined way to onboard accounts and keep payments flowing smoothly.

The Challenge

Before PencilPay, Ashtabula relied on old-fashioned PDF account application forms. Retailers had to print, scan, sign and manually return documents. Every application required follow-ups, checks and back-and-forth communication.
As the business grew, this manual approach became slow, inconsistent and difficult to scale.

At the same time, Ashtabula wanted a better way to encourage faster payments. With varied customer types and payment terms, they needed a system flexible enough for upfront payments, 14-day terms, or large corporate accounts — without adding administrative stress.

The Solution

Through a partner introduction, Ashtabula implemented PencilPay to digitise and automate onboarding and payments.

With PencilPay:

• Account applications shifted from PDFs to a fast, fully online process.

• New customers could instantly provide details, agree to terms and set up payment preferences.

• Payments became more flexible, with customers able to pay immediately via credit card or EFT.

• Xero and Shopify sync seamlessly, ensuring orders, invoices and payments stay aligned.

Ashtabula’s tech stack now flows cleanly:
Shopify → Xero → PencilPay → Xero, eliminating double entry and reducing manual admin.

The Impact

The results were immediate and significant:

• Faster account approvals thanks to digital applications.

• More upfront payments, with many new customers choosing to pay before dispatch.

• Cleaner reconciliation inside Xero, reducing errors and admin time.

• Speed and convenience for retailers, leading to better customer relationships.

• Stable cash flow, with fewer delays and smoother payment cycles.

Reliable Support

Ashtabula also highlighted the quality of PencilPay’s onboarding and ongoing support. Unlike other systems they had implemented in recent years — many of which were costly, clunky or delivered little value — PencilPay stood out for being simple, smooth and backed by responsive support.

The Result

PencilPay has helped Ashtabula modernise their wholesale operations, strengthen cash flow and create a frictionless experience for retailers nationwide.