Business of the Week: Mainspring’s Adam Davis Shows Businesses Where They’re Losing Money

Adam Davis doesn’t start by telling business owners what to change. He starts by showing them what they may not realize.

In one recent case, a local liquor store owner didn’t know his payment processing setup was quietly costing him tens of thousands of dollars a year. After reviewing the numbers, Davis estimated the business could save between $40,000 and $60,000 annually by switching systems.

“That’s college tuition,” Davis said. “That’s meaningful money.”

Davis, who lives in Fayetteville and serves as a Georgia-based Senior FinTech Consultant with Mainspring, spends much of his time doing exactly that—helping business owners understand the systems behind their day-to-day operations and where those systems may be working against them.

Finding the hidden costs

Many of the issues Davis encounters aren’t obvious. They’re built into contracts, fee structures, or equipment decisions that seemed simple at the time.

One of the most common examples is credit card equipment.

“A lot of businesses rent their terminals,” Davis said. “They might be paying $50 a month for something they could buy for $400.”

Over the course of a typical three-year contract, that rental can cost more than four times the price of owning the equipment outright.

“Most business owners don’t know there’s an alternative,” he said. “They sign a contract, and they don’t realize what they’re signing up for.”

Those kinds of decisions—often made early and revisited rarely—can quietly chip away at already thin margins.

Looking beyond transactions

In the case of the liquor store, payment processing wasn’t the only opportunity.

Davis said the owner was also able to reduce payroll costs by switching systems—another area where fees and pricing structures can vary widely.

“Payroll is expensive,” Davis said.

By simplifying how those systems work together, he said businesses can often find savings in places they weren’t looking.

“We want to give businesses the power to realize their vision,” he said. “There shouldn’t be all these obstacles in the way.”

Meeting businesses where they are

Davis’ approach is less about selling a product and more about understanding how a business operates.

“I don’t want to be the ‘credit card guy,’” he said. “I want to help businesses scale.”

That means sitting down with owners, walking through their current setup, and asking questions they may not have thought to ask themselves—about how they accept payments, how they run payroll, and how those systems connect.

“There’s a lot of solutions that people just don’t even know exist,” Davis said. “They don’t know how to look for them.”

In many cases, he said, even a small change—like accepting credit cards when a business previously didn’t—can open the door to entirely new customers.

“If you process credit cards, you suddenly gain access to all the people who don’t ever touch cash,” he said.

A Fayetteville base with a broader reach

Though Mainspring is a growing financial technology company, Davis’ work is rooted locally. From his home in Fayetteville, he works with businesses across Metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia, often meeting owners face-to-face.

“I want to really embed myself in the community,” he said.

That local focus is intentional. Davis has watched businesses come and go—sometimes not because the idea was flawed, but because key pieces were missing.

“They don’t take credit cards, they don’t market themselves well, and they don’t get in front of people where the people are,” he said. “And then they fizzle out.”

His goal, he said, is to catch those issues early—before they become the reason a business struggles.

More than a transaction

While Mainspring provides payment processing and payroll services, Davis said the company’s philosophy is built around flexibility and relationships rather than long-term commitments.

“My whole agenda is not to shoehorn somebody into something that doesn’t fit their business,” he said.

He often reviews a business’s current setup even if there’s no immediate change to be made.

“If you don’t buy this from me, we’ll still be friends,” Davis said. “I just want your business to flow.”

That mindset, he said, reflects how the company operates as a whole.

“We’re a boutique,” he said. “We consider ourselves a family business.” 

Mainspring is privately owned and operated, rather than publicly traded, which Davis says “translates to true business advocacy, as opposed to stock holder enrichment.”

Looking ahead

As he continues to grow his client base across the state, Davis said the focus remains the same: helping business owners understand what’s happening behind the scenes—and keeping more of what they earn because of it.

“We want to invest in helping you grow,” he said. “That’s the model.”

Mainspring’s Georgia-based Senior FinTech Consultant, Adam Davis, works directly with business owners—from his home base in Fayette County to clients across Metro Atlanta and throughout the state—to deliver simpler, more affordable systems. To learn more, call or text 470-480-6565 or email [email protected]..