How Sheet Society launched into hypergrowth by automating its financial processes

Introducing Sheet Society

Hayley and Andy Worley dreamed up Sheet Society in 2017 with a simple idea: to create a memorable, uncomplicated, and stress-free night’s sleep. From humble beginnings in a shared working space to their second warehouse expansion, the team has experienced a staggering increase in sales since COVID-19. The bedding mecca is now gearing up to launch in the US and the UK.

Sheet Society has blown apart the industry standard of buying in ‘sets’ and its overemphasis on thread counts. With Sheet Society, it’s simple to ‘mix and match.’ Customers don’t need to worry about ‘matching sets’ anymore, with a timeless color palette to choose from that complements all ranges.

The challenge

With explosive growth, Sheet Society's currency conversion and transaction fees quickly added up to a significant monthly amount. The team needed a simple, cost-effective, and scalable way to manage global expenses.

Expensive FX fees when paying international suppliers in USD

Sheet Society used a domestic Australian bank account to pay its international suppliers. This resulted in expensive currency conversion fees on its growing supplier orders.

Physical corporate card with 2.5% foreign transaction fees

The team used one corporate card to pay for its global SaaS subscriptions, including Shopify subscription fees and other USD-based eCommerce tools. With the team growing, making card payments with a single physical card became challenging.

Hayley Worley

Founder of Sheet Society

“We couldn’t just look at the cost of the product, but also the cost of selling that product. We needed to factor in things like digital marketing spend, merchant fees, and currency conversion fees on each sale.”

The solution

By paying its global suppliers and SaaS subscriptions through Airwallex, Sheet Society transformed how it manages payments and international transactions. Instead of handling payments manually, the team automated recurring transactions, ensuring suppliers were paid on time while reducing administrative work. Integrating Airwallex with Xero also allowed them to reconcile multi-currency payments in real time, giving them greater visibility and control over foreign exchange.

To optimize spending, Sheet Society began using Airwallex virtual cards for SaaS subscriptions, which helped them manage growing Shopify fees and onboard new employees quickly by issuing virtual cards in seconds. As the company prepares for expansion into the US and UK, setting up Global Accounts eliminates the hassle of opening foreign bank accounts, allowing it to collect payments in local currencies and connect directly with AfterPay.

The result

With Airwallex, Sheet Society has saved over A$12,000 monthly on global supplier and SaaS payments, freeing up capital to reinvest in growth. The ability to preemptively convert AUD into USD using transparent FX rates has directly impacted the bottom line, ensuring they can make payments at the right time and cost.

The shift to 0% international card transaction fees on Airwallex virtual cards has significantly reduced expenses, especially as SaaS costs grow alongside the business. Meanwhile, the integration with Xero and automated batch payments have saved the team four hours each week, reducing manual work while creating scalable financial processes as they expand.

With expansion into new markets on the horizon, Global Accounts is fast-tracking Sheet Society’s entry into the US and UK, removing the complexity of setting up local bank accounts and giving them the flexibility to scale seamlessly.

Andy Worley

Co-Owner and Director of Sheet Society

“These small percentages here and there add up over time with a real bottom line impact. When I see the rates are good, I’ll convert my AUD into USD, knowing that I’ve saved money that I can re-invest into the business in the long-run.”