HVAC contractor aligns finance and field to fuel performance

Client background

Founded in 1927, GSM Services is a family-owned HVAC and roofing business serving North and South Carolina’s Piedmont region. While many similar firms have sold to private equity groups, GSM remains independent — a point of pride for co-owners Joel and Steven Long, whose grandfather started the company nearly a century ago. Their sons now work in the business as well, helping to continue a legacy of strong customer service, deep community roots and smart, sustainable growth.

The business challenge

With over 260 employees and a fleet of 100 vehicles on the road at any given time, GSM manages a complex mix of residential and commercial HVAC, as well as commercial roofing projects — spanning both service and installation. For years, the team relied on ESC/FieldEdge, a system that had served them well but couldn’t keep pace as the business grew. A period of rapid expansion leading up to 2022 highlighted the cracks in their aging software stack and made it clear they needed a more scalable, integrated solution.

“It absolutely was the growth that made leadership say, ‘We need better systems if we’re going to keep scaling,’” says Becky Wells, GSM’s accounting manager.

To support its next chapter, GSM chose Sage Intacct and ServiceTitan, with Baker Tilly as the implementation advisor and long-term strategic guide.

Strategy and solution

The right systems for sustainable growth
Becky joined GSM just as the transition was getting underway. Though new to the HVAC world, she quickly took the reins of the Sage Intacct implementation, working closely with Baker Tilly’s consultants. “I didn’t know Sage Intacct or the industry, but Baker Tilly was fantastic,” she says. “They were responsive, knowledgeable and really helped guide us through the tough decisions.”

Among those decisions was how to best structure operations in Sage Intacct. GSM operates as a single legal entity but tracks performance across multiple service divisions using dimensions — a setup that’s now delivering flexible, customized reporting tailored to management’s preferences. “In the old system, I had to manually format each report; now I build it once and it’s always available when I need it.”

With ServiceTitan handling day-to-day operations and Sage Intacct serving as the financial system of record, the two platforms work together to streamline everything from job costing to payment processing. Baker Tilly ensured the integration supports both systems — and the people using them. Additional functionality is provided by Baker Tilly’s proprietary Home and Commercial Services Module.

Efficiency gains from every angle
The impact of the transformation shows up clearly on GSM’s balance sheet — and its organizational chart. Before the change, finance staff were consistently working overtime just to keep up. “No one is working overtime these days,” Becky says. “Despite adding new responsibilities to finance that the divisions used to handle, we’re still getting more done in less time and were able to reduce corporate headcount by two.”

That’s no small shift. Previously, each division was responsible for managing and entering its own AP invoices. The conversion centralized work within the finance team — made possible by the switch digital workflows and better systems. “Previously, we had six full-size filing cabinets outside my office. Currently, all documents are stored digitally, which has resulted in a significant time savings.”

In addition to the time savings, the move also helped free up divisional staff to focus on customer service — rather than chasing down payables. “It allowed our co-workers to focus on their intended roles.”