Meet Sydney Eaton, our spreadsheet-slaying AP superhero

You might think accounting is all about numbers, but for our accounts payable supervisor, Sydney Eaton, it’s about something much more powerful: relationships. Whether she’s making sure vendors get paid on time, fielding early payment requests from worried carriers, or tracking down every last document in a paper trail, Sydney brings a human touch to a high-pressure role.

We’re lucky to know her, and we’d love for you to know her, too.

So give our recent chat a read. Sydney talks about the current freight market, her unexpected path into logistics, her love of crafting and thrifting, and the power of treating people with compassion.

Let’s get into it.

Q: What’s your day-to-day like, and what’s something most people wouldn’t guess your role involves?

Sydney Eaton: Every day is different—there are peaks and valleys to how busy it can be working as the accounts payable supervisor. Some days I’m just handling paperwork, and other days I’m helping establish our credit score with factoring companies or responding to claims.

I’m that final check before payables go out, or any payables come in.

Something people might not know is that my work is very customer service-oriented. Even if I’m not speaking directly to customers, there’s a lot of relationship building that goes on. It always helps to establish a nice relationship with the carriers. If there are any issues, just an honest mistake, that human relationship helps.

Q: What brought you into the logistics world? Was that always the plan?

Sydney: This is definitely something I stumbled into. When I first found the job opportunity, there were a lot of things I knew I could do or easily learn.

One really good thing about McClay’s is that I’ve had a lot of co-workers help me throughout this learning process. It’s a very collaborative space for everyone.

Q: The McClay’s culture really embraces problem-solving. What scratches that itch for you outside the office?

Sydney: It’s nice to have a decompressing moment after the fast pace of everything that happens here.

I really like thrifting. It’s a hobby I’ve done with my dad since I was little; we enjoy going to thrifting conventions or thrift alley.

I’m also an avid crocheter, and I like doing crafts with my niece—she thinks I’m a craft lady. I was helping my sister at her house, and I found a bag of my craft stuff. She told me that when my niece has school projects, they come to my apartment and take my crafts. <laughs>

Sorry, I’m looking over to the side—my cat is outside waiting for me.

Q: They are burgling you! And, hold on, how many cats are in there?

Sydney: Only one.

I’ve finally breached that crafty Catwoman stage of life.

Q: Are you Catwoman? How do you conceptualize yourself as a fictional character when you go into superhero mode in your head?

Sydney: I would love to say that I think of a hero, but what I see is a generic guy in a cape, just floating away. Sneaky, but not really sneaky.

Q: If your job had a mascot (besides your cat), what would it be?

Sydney: The Phillie Phanatic! He’d be a good fit for McClay’s. He’s fun, he’s weird—but he’s down for business.

Q: So, are you hearing more stress from carriers lately, given all the state of the freight market?

Sydney: Yeah, a lot. Most aren’t forthcoming with their financial situations but you can sense a lot of desperation. People want more communication so they can anticipate when funds will get to their company, and I can’t blame them for that. There’s definitely an uptick of carriers reaching out for payment way before their payment terms, or trying to get payment before the service is actually completed, too.

I think a lot of people are just wary of the current situation in the market, and just doing the best they can to survive and support their employees.

Q: How do you keep things smooth when tensions are high? What’s your secret sauce?

Sydney: Be human.

There’s only so much we can do as a company, but I find that approaching people with that customer service and trying to deal with situations as humanely as possible does a lot. I don’t treat it as if I’m speaking to someone who’s working at another business—I’m speaking to them as if it’s their business and those funds go directly to helping them, which they technically do. There may be instances where they may not receive the answer that they want, but just being sensitive, caring—it helps out in situations like that.

Q: What’s your favorite small win at work?

Sydney: I have an extensive spreadsheet. <laughs>

I track any carriers that reach out for payment status directly, just so we have a physical, maintained list. Every time I’m done updating that for the day, it’s kind of like, “Yeah!”

Q: Fraud is pervasive in the industry today. What advice would you give to carriers or shippers trying to protect themselves from fraud?

Sydney: Our company is really good at catching it before it gets to my department but I’d say document everything. It sounds a little antiquated, but communicating via email gives you the best paper trail. As soon as you’re done speaking to someone on the phone, type out exactly what you said, or if you want to do better, type exactly what they’re saying while it’s happening. You could even have your phone calls recorded.

If there’s an issue, keeping a paper trail, a physical record, really helps.

Q: Any tips for carriers who want to get paid quickly?

Sydney: I would suggest that carrier partners work with a factoring company, 100%.

In my experience, there’s a lot of legal documentation that comes with that factoring partner, and that protects the carrier. Even the small ones do their due diligence. It also guarantees payment at the exact net term—it’s just the best way to make sure that they’ll get paid on time.

Q: What’s a recent moment that made you laugh out loud?

Sydney: I recently had a birthday. I finally turned 30, and my niece is nine, a little fresh one—and she’s learning to be a smart alec. I love that.

Since she was five or six, I would ask her, “Hey, do you think I’m a real adult, like your mom, your aunts, and your grandparents?” She’d say, “No, you’re a kid-adult. When you turn 30, you’ll be a real adult.” So on my birthday, I reminded her—I turned 30 today. She siiiiighed and said, “You’re finally a real adult.”

Yeah, I guess I am.

Q: Bad news: Robots have taken over the world. Good news—you can now, Matrix-style, download any skill instantly. What do you choose?

Sydney: I’d want to download the ability to speak any language possible. Oh, yeah, that way I could go incognito. I feel like it would be fun to eavesdrop on other conversations, and those people may not know.

Q: Any final thoughts?

Sydney: The people at McClay’s are very nice people, and it’s a family-oriented vibe.

They didn’t tell me to say this!

I appreciate the fact that you can come as you, even down to silly conversations or just needing a moment away. Co-workers feel free to bring their kids in, and their dogs. I’m 91% sure if I needed to bring my cat in, I could, and it wouldn’t be an issue.

It’s just nice to work with another group of humans that also know that we’re humans. Things come up and, at the end of the day, we make it work.

Well done, Sydney. We’ll follow up with Mark immediately, and let him know you read the script.

Thanks for keeping it real — and for reminding us that spreadsheets can be heroic, too.