Bookkeeping that Pays Off - Bonita Fierce Candles

Melissa Gallardo founded Bonita Fierce Candles in 2020 with a bold mission: to create a home fragrance brand that reflected her Salvadoran-American heritage and the multicultural experience of Latinx communities. In the early stages, Melissa managed finances manually, but as orders and expenses grew, her basic tracking system quickly became overwhelming and inefficient. Since partnering with Magda, Melissa has secured over $100,000 in non-dilutive funding, and optimized pricing across multiple sales channels.

The Challenge

In the early days, Melissa was doing it all, including manually tracking expenses in Excel with the help of her then-boyfriend, now husband. As the brand grew, her makeshift system couldn’t keep up. “I couldn’t even keep up with my receipts. I was spending hours each month trying to build a P&L just to understand if I was profitable.”

The tipping point came when she began applying for grants and realized she needed official profit-and-loss statements, revenue history, and other financial documentation she didn’t have. “I was spending 10–20 hours a month on bookkeeping that I didn’t have time for, and didn’t feel confident doing.”

The Solution

Melissa first encountered Magda founder Vanessa through a webinar in 2020. At the time, she couldn’t afford to hire help, but Vanessa shared a solo entrepreneur budget template that helped her plan her finances, save $9,000, and eventually leave her full-time job.

“When I was ready to go all in, I knew I wanted to work with [Magda]. They offered the framework and clarity I needed to grow.”

Magda provided:

• Payroll setup as Melissa hired her first candle production assistants
• Cost-of-goods and margin analysis to guide pricing and product strategy
• Financial reports tailored for grant and funding applications
• Scenario planning to support new product launches and sales channels

Vanessa’s flexible Growth plan allowed Melissa to scale her services over time. “Her team always meets me where I am. It doesn’t feel one-size-fits-all—it feels like they truly understand product-based, Latina-owned businesses like mine.”

​​The Results

Since partnering with Magda, Bonita Fierce Candles has seen measurable growth and stability:

• Over $100,000 in Non-Dilutive Funding: Clear, accurate bookkeeping helped Melissa win multiple grants and pitch competitions.
• Smarter Pricing & Inventory Decisions: Through cost-of-goods analysis, Melissa identified how to optimize pricing across different SKUs and sales channels, including wholesale, which drives high volume but lower margins.
• Tax Optimization: With transparent books, Melissa’s CPA was able to recommend an S-Corp election that significantly reduced her tax burden.

Today, Melissa is preparing to launch new products, empowered by the clear picture of costs she now has around research, development, marketing, and production. “Vanessa is the gold standard. I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve referred to her. If you’re a product-based founder looking for someone who understands your world (and your culture) you won’t outgrow her. She grows with you.”