How Hiline Streamlined Tax Services to Support Wildgrain Growth

About Wildgrain

Wildgrain is a subscription business for bread, pasta, and pastries delivered to your home, all made from artisanal, healthy ingredients. Ismail Salhi and his wife Johanna founded the company in 2020 and they now deliver to 48 states nationwide. What makes Wildgrain unique is their bake-from-frozen approach – customers receive their items frozen and bake them at home, ensuring fresh, warm bread, croissants, pasta, and cookies whenever they want them. 

The Challenge

As a profitable, fast-growing e-commerce business with 18 full-time employees, Wildgrain is laser-focused on maintaining accurate financials that support their growth trajectory and investor relationships.

But as Wildgrain grew, the company cycled through multiple accounting firms that looked promising until tax season arrived. The pattern was always the same: processes seemed fine during the year, but when it was time to file, reports were inaccurate, requiring countless meetings and time to fix.

One large SaaS tax company that came highly recommended ended up delivering bad advice, bad reporting, and bad strategy. The experience was so frustrating that Ismail decided he wouldn't hire anyone unless they were recommended by five different e-commerce founders – which is how he found Hiline. 

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The Solution

Hiline implemented a comprehensive tax management approach designed specifically for e-commerce businesses like Wildgrain. The approach included:

1. Unified Tax Management

Rather than fragmenting services across multiple providers, Hiline handled federal, state, and sales tax under one roof. This eliminated the complexity of coordinating between different firms and the finger-pointing that came with it. The team's expertise in navigating the peculiarities of every state's sales tax requirements was particularly valuable for a nationwide subscription business.

2. Year-Round Tax Preparation

Instead of scrambling during tax season, Hiline spread the work throughout the year. The team established regular monthly processes to ensure bookkeeping, P&L, balance sheets, and prepayments were all ready well before filing deadlines. This proactive approach transformed tax season from a chaotic, time-intensive period into a simple formality.

3. GAAP-Compliant Financial Systems

Hiline helped Wildgrain build internal processes by directing them to what was standard and expected. The team guided them toward GAAP compliance and helped create a P&L and balance sheet that were both accurate and easy to audit. Setting up these precise financials helped Wildgrain determine tax obligations, bonus structures, and support investor communications.

4. Responsive Problem-Solving

Understanding that Wildgrain and its leadership team operated at a fast pace, Hiline matched the tempo. Rather than scheduling meetings weeks out, the team addressed problems as they emerged with quick calls to discuss, fix, and move on.

The Results

Partnering with Hiline transformed how Wildgrain handled taxes and financial operations. The shift from high-touch involvement to a hands-off approach freed Ismail to focus on running his business during the busiest seasons, rather than getting dragged into tax preparation.

The partnership resulted in:

• Accurate, audit-ready financials that inform critical business decisions
• A streamlined tax process with no last-minute scrambling or corrections
• Consistent service from the same trusted team members
• Expanded relationship to include HR and bookkeeping services
• Peace of mind knowing tax compliance is handled by experts who understand e-commerce

How Hiline Can Support Your E-Commerce Business

Are you tired of tax season chaos and unreliable financial partners?

Hiline offers comprehensive tax services designed for fast-growing e-commerce businesses. From managing multi-state sales tax complexities to building GAAP-compliant financial systems, we handle it all so you can focus on scaling your business. Our team becomes your team—consistent, responsive, and expert.

Set up a time to chat with one of our financial experts today to learn how we can transform your tax operations.