Sapphire Gas Solutions streamlines operations and cuts month-end close time by 80% with Rand and Dynamics 365 Business Central

Sapphire faced operational strain as it scaled rapidly, with disconnected systems causing inefficiencies and a 45-day month-end close.

Partnering with Rand, Sapphire implemented Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics 365 Sales, and Power Platform to unify accounting and sales systems.

Transforming its business practices, Sapphire freed its accountants and salespeople from duplicate work and reduced manual processes by more than 50%. It is more compliant and better prepared to scale to meet its projected 10 times business growth.

Natural gas solution provider Sapphire Gas Solutions (Sapphire) is powering its rapid business expansion by transforming its core business operations. Facing the complexity of rapid growth and increasing demand for clean, reliable energy, Sapphire partnered with Microsoft and Rand Group (Rand) to modernize its accounting and sales systems using Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform solutions.

With this integrated solution, Sapphire reduced its month-end financial close from 45 days to just 9 days—a 400% improvement—and cut manual data entry by more than 50%. These gains have freed teams to focus on strategic, value-added work while improving compliance and audit readiness.

“We have set ourselves up in this moment to be ready for 10 times scaling, and that’s the road map we have now, thanks to Rand and Microsoft.”

Jeff Nelson, Director of Special Projects, Sapphire Gas Solutions

Modernizing energy business operations for scale and resilience

The energy industry is facing mounting pressure to deliver reliable power while navigating regulatory and operational complexity. Sapphire is leading by example. Founded in 2005, the company has rapidly grown into a $100 million business delivering natural gas solutions across the United States.

But with growth came operational strain. Disconnected systems and spreadsheet-heavy processes slowed decision making and limited visibility. Month-end reporting took 45 days, and sales teams lacked real-time insights.

“We made the decision in 2023 to focus on systematic improvements for everything in the business,” says Jeff Nelson, Director of Special Projects at Sapphire. ”Payroll, operations, finance, safety, sales—you name it.”

“One of the big drivers for selecting Business Central was our ability to load budget information into the system and to compare budget to actual spend, a feature that we did not have in the systems that we were using before.”

Mariela Perez, Assistant Controller, Sapphire Gas Solutions

Accelerating financial operations in the energy sector

To support its swift growth in the natural gas industry, Sapphire initially prioritized transforming its financial operations. The company partnered with Microsoft and professional services firm Rand to modernize its accounting systems using Dynamics 365 Business Central.

“One of the big drivers for selecting Business Central was our ability to load budget information into the system and to compare budget to actual spend, a feature that we did not have in the systems that we were using before,” says Mariela Perez, Assistant Controller at Sapphire.

The results were dramatic. Sapphire’s accounting team reduced its month-end close process from 45 days to 9 days—a 400% improvement. The new system also enhanced compliance readiness and audit preparation, giving the finance team the tools to operate with greater speed, accuracy, and confidence.

“In 2025, we’re at a place where our teams’ pain points have been solved. Now, we’re just getting smarter and more efficient.”

Jeff Nelson, Director of Special Projects, Sapphire Gas Solutions

Building an integrated business system and reducing manual work by more than 50%

For the next step, Sapphire wanted to empower its sales teams with real-time insights and remove duplicate customer entries. The company tasked Rand with updating its customer relationship management software and integrating it with the accounting solution.

Sapphire worked with Rand to incorporate Dynamics 365 Sales, adding in the capabilities of Power BI and Power Automate to deliver real-time insights, remove duplicate customer records, and automate reporting. This integration not only improved data accuracy and visibility across departments but also empowered both sales and finance teams to make faster, more informed decisions.

The results speak for themselves:

Sales onboarding time dropped by 40%, accelerating field readiness
Manual work was reduced by over 50%, freeing teams to focus on strategic, high-value activities
Employees reported an improved work-life balance.

“In 2025, we’re at a place where our teams’ pain points have been solved,” says Nelson. “Now, we’re just getting smarter and more efficient.”

Laying the foundation for 10x growth in the energy sector

With modernized accounting and sales systems in place, Sapphire is now equipped to scale its operations in step with the growing demand for clean, reliable energy. By incorporating Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solutions across its core business functions, Sapphire has built a resilient digital foundation that supports agility, compliance, and data-driven decision making.

This infrastructure positions Sapphire to embrace emerging technologies like AI and the Internet of Things, capabilities that will be critical as the company prepares to lead innovation in the natural gas industry.

“We have set ourselves up in this moment to be ready for 10 times scaling, and that’s the road map we have now, thanks to Rand and Microsoft,” says Nelson.

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