Jade Communications
Jade is one of the UK's leading Mobility Solution
providers. The company specialises in the design, planning and
management of a wide range of mobility solutions enabling
businesses to leverage mobile voice and data capture technologies
to optimise business performance, improve communications and reduce
operating costs.
The Challenge
Jade's drive for a new system was tighter integration between
the consultancy
side of its business and the core financials to provide
time-savings and visibility of project-related costs.
"Accurately tracking installation costs was hard work on our
existing system" says Peter Thomson, Finance Director.
"Project-related data was held in a customised project-management
system that was neither accessible to the wider workforce nor
fully integrated with the accounts. So even carrying out standard
calculations, such as WIP, had to be done
manually - and without a process to ensure the accuracy of the
information, I didn't have much confidence in the end result."
This lack of integration also meant that there was no easy way
to accurately track and invoice work complete. Thomson continues
"We'd receive invoices from sub contractors, but because we didn't
raise purchase orders on sub contractors there was a chance that
we'd end up paying more than had been agreed. That's how you lose
money." Thomson was also keen that the new system would have a
modern look and feel. "Our Sage system was outdated. We're an IT
company selling cutting-edge solutions and we wanted our back-
office to be in line."
The Search
Jade sought out information about the Access offering via their
accountants, leading them to their local Access Specialist
Centre.
Jade then undertook a needs analysis followed by demonstration
of Access Dimensions and
FocalPoint. The latter is a browser-based solution that
enables many more project-based staff across the company to enter
and access management information.
For Thomson, this meant that data around the areas of timesheets, expenses and purchase
requests could be easily captured and routed to the accounts,
removing the need to manually reconcile two sets of data. "It was
the tight integration between the two products that did it for us"
Thomson continues. "While Dimensions does the financial side very
well, it's the ability to put the FocalPoint functionality into our
organisation that will ultimately save us time… and give us
better information."
Implementation
An implementation plan was drawn up,
comprising installation with test data and training for users prior
to Go Live. The changeover period proved a good time for a fresh
look at stock coding systems and the chance to double-check actual
balances, with the system up and running by the start of the new
financial year as planned.
Purchase control benefits
"We've reduced WIP by 60% - anything that helps our
cashflow is important." Peter Thomson
Finance Director
With the solution installed, Jade's Project Coordinators are now
easily able to raise purchase requisitions in FocalPoint, providing
visibility that was previously absent, for example - "When the
invoice arrives, we put the order number in and the system tells us
what it's for.
This enables us to check the detail - if it doesn't match, then
we don't pay. FocalPoint has given back control over what we're
doing, and made my life a lot easier."
Improved cashflow
System
integration has also freed up time in other key areas,
including calculation of WIP. Thomson recalls "this could take me
all day - now it takes me a couple of hours. And because the
system's better, the WIP's a lot less because we're invoicing
earlier. We've reduced WIP by 60% - and anything that helps our
cashflow is obviously important."
A sound solution
As part of Jade's overall strategy to better integrate their
financial and project based data, their solution also includes
two-way linking with Microsoft Excel. Previously, Thomson would
have to jump through several hoops to run, manipulate and refresh a
report. Microsoft Office
integration makes this a thing of the past. "This has been
absolutely brilliant." Thomson says. "I just press a button to
export to Excel, manipulate the data, and then send the updated
information back to the accounts in one go. And the little things -
like removing the need to manually carry out complex calculations,
such as GRNI, is an accountant's dream."
Concluding
Thomson concludes. "Our Access solution continues to provide us
with the information I need to inform our business decisions, and
from a management information perspective, has taken a lot of the
pain away."
Benefits
- Time savings - Integration between financials and projects
removes the need for manual reconciliation, so time-consuming
calculation and checks are eliminated.
- Better decisions - The integrity of information is always
maintained - safe, secure integration with Microsoft Excel also
allows figures to be worked on and exported for faster
decision-making.
- Increased efficiency - Built-in work-flow reduces the number of
transactions and prevents time-consuming re-keying. For example,
data relating to a purchase request is entered, and once approved,
hits the accounts for processing.
- Control over costs - The system lets you see at a stroke what
orders have been raised and whether they've been invoiced; control
over process facilitates improved cashflow.
- Ease of use - FocalPoint is designed to be simple for
non-finance users to use; Thomson says that 30 minutes training is
all that's required for a new starter.
- Low cost of ownership - FocalPoint is available via a browser,
making financial sense for companies who have a large number of
users who might only need to enter timesheets, for example.
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