Before Trintech: Long Hours, Spreadsheet Chaos, and Limited Visibility

Q: Nikelle, can you introduce yourself and describe what life looked like before Trintech?

A: Hi, I’m Nikelle Sabb, and I’m a Sales Audit Specialist for Cash at Five Below. We’re a leading retailer originally focused on teens and tweens, but today we really serve everyone—it’s all about fun.

When I first started, we were reconciling everything in Excel spreadsheets. And honestly—it was brutal. Reconciling took long hours, sometimes days, just to get through the work. By the time we finished reconciling, there was barely any time left for research. We knew there were issues happening, but we couldn’t see them because we were too busy just trying to reconcile. That’s when we realized we needed a solution that could not only do what we were doing—but do it faster—so we could actually investigate and solve problems.

Choosing Trintech: “Wow. What a Difference.”

Q: How did Five Below land on Trintech?

A: A group was formed to evaluate reconciliation solutions, and after several meetings, Trintech was selected. I was part of the implementation from the very beginning—and once it was live, all I can say is wow.

What used to take us half a day or more was suddenly being handled by the system itself. It was eye-opening and honestly breathtaking. Over the years, Trintech has continued to evolve, rolling out updates and enhancements that make things even better for us as end users. I can say with complete confidence—I never want to go back to spreadsheets. Ever.

Measurable ROI: From Days to Hours

Credit Card Reconciliation: From Nearly 2 Days to ~6 Hours

Q: Can you quantify the time savings you’ve seen?

A: Absolutely. Credit card reconciliation used to be one of our biggest challenges. Early on, we had it set up at a summary level, which made it very difficult to drill into issues. So we went back, redesigned it as a detail-level report, and everything changed.

Before Trintech:

• 1.5 to 2 full days to reconcile a single day of credit cards

After Trintech:

• ~6 hours to complete the same work

Across the board, spreadsheets used to take all day—a seven-hour day just reconciling, plus maybe an hour to research. Now, we can reconcile and research in about four hours total. It’s completely changed our lives.

Cash & Credit Visibility: Turning Blind Spots into Action

Q: Beyond time savings, what other benefits have emerged?

A: When you’re dealing with cash and credit cards, visibility is everything—especially cash, where fluctuations are constant. Before, if you couldn’t get through reconciliation quickly, money could literally be walking out the door without you realizing it. Now, we can hone in on specific stores and say, “Something isn’t right here.” Maybe it’s a training issue. Maybe processes aren’t being followed correctly. But now we can see it.

Risk Mitigation & Stronger Partnerships with Loss Prevention

Q: How has Trintech helped reduce risk?

A: We’ve mitigated a lot of risk. Trintech gives us the insight we need to partner closely with our Loss Prevention team.

Now we can say:

• Why a store has an issue
• Where the issue is happening
• What process may be breaking down

That level of insight simply wasn’t possible with spreadsheets. The partnership between Loss Prevention and Sales Audit is now amazing because we’re all working from the same, reliable data.

Partnership & Support: “You’re Always There for Me.”

Q: How would you describe your relationship with the Trintech team?

A: I love y’all. Everyone is great to work with.

I’m someone who likes to learn, so when I call support, I’m watching everything they do. I ask why they’re doing it, what it impacts—and because of that, I’ve become the back-end expert for the product at Five Below.

And Trintech is always there for me. Always.

Advice to Others: “Don’t Be Scared. Just Do It.”

Q: What would you say to companies still relying on spreadsheets?

A: Don’t be scared—just do it.

If you come in every day and you’re staring at spreadsheets, you really need to think about making a change. Life moves too fast. Things happen on the fly. Spreadsheets had their time—but that time has passed.

Work-Life Balance Restored: “I Can Breathe Again.”

Q: Trintech talks a lot about giving time back. How has that shown up in your life?

A: I have work-life balance now.

Before, my time was completely consumed by work. Now I can breathe again. The stress of constantly trying to get everything done is gone.

And honestly? My husband is happy to have his wife back!

It’s given me more than just time back—not just professionally, but personally. When things are done, they’re done. And that peace of mind is everything.