Case Study: Wilson & Scott save up to 15 days on financial reporting

The challenge

Time lost to the inefficiency of finance and accounts, the business processes over a thousand invoices a month, which could take up to two weeks to report on once manually inputted into their previous solution.

As a result, this was costing the business in terms of duplication of effort, unnecessary communications and room for error. Stephen Scott, Managing Director for Wilson and Scott explains, “With old systems in place, it would take us at least 10-15 days to process a job and invoice the client.” This is largely to do with the current system lacking the ability to consolidate key data.

Wilson and Scott uses different cost rates for all of their individual items and clients, with a total of around 2,000 items that need to be priced independently. Clients have unique prices, and as a result there are a variety of ways to calculate the cost per project, per client.

An integrated system that would enable complete visibility, control and automation of processes was crucial for the business to grow.

The need for a solution that could automate and integrate processes would be crucial in reducing manual administration, errors and enhancing decision-making confidence.

“A mobile solution has always been something I’ve envisioned. Going back thirty years when technology was becoming popular, I had imagined crews having a mobile solution to do just that and dramatically improve the way a business is managed. Now we’re at a time where this is a reality, we just needed to find the right business partner to work with to deliver our goals,” said Stephen.

Payroll was also another problem area for the business as they were looking to become more efficient with their processes. The workforce is paid weekly and requires two people working two and a half days each week to manage and process payroll. As the business is looking to strengthen efficiencies this area was also reviewed for improvement with the goal of cutting the administration of payroll processing.

The solution

An integrated, mobile, finance and accounting solution Wilson and Scott required a mobile solution to overhaul their management processes, the focus was on finances and reports, invoicing and billing. The business shortlisted three software suppliers, ultimately it boiled down to Access.

To automate invoices, billing and management of finances and projects, Wilson and Scott invested in an accounting and finance solution along with payroll services from Access.

This solution integrates neatly so that information can be consolidated and automated, delivering accurate, key information in real-time. Furthermore, the solution was tailored exclusively to Wilson and Scott.

Stephen explains, “We bought into Access’ offering and expertise for the job of developing a system that would transform our business.

We also brought in a third-party software development agency to collaborate with Access on the project, specialists in building mobile applications for businesses.”

During the project the solution was developed by Access and optimised as an app, being rolled out through trials, tested and fine-tuned to Wilson and Scott’s specific requirements before rolling it out company-wide. This included office-based staff and the remote workforce who carry out each job.

Now workers have remote access to Access Dimensions enabling greater visibility and control over finance, accounts and projects. The Access solution automates reports, allowing for detailed analysis and drill down resulting in greater insights for decision making, the automation of invoices and billing (which streamlines the entire project process), consolidation and accessibility of data within Dimensions.

Outsourcing payroll

Wilson and Scott turned the focus back over to payroll. The solution was simple; reduce the administration and workload of payroll by outsourcing to Access Payroll Services. This enabled the business to eliminate the administration cost of 20 days per month, resulting in more resources to continually develop the organisation.

The results

Reducing administration by 100%

The integration between the tablets used by the mobile workforce and Access’ solution is seamless, reports can be generated accurately and in real-time when required and invoices can be generated instantly, eliminating the 10-15 days previously taken by manual processes.

“As the business relied on manual processes, the leap to technology shows us dramatic improvements. We were weeks delayed, now we’re invoicing and billing in real-time. Now we’ve eliminated that and collectively reduced our administration process. Up to 15 days have been saved on sales and costing, 20 days have been reduced through payroll and reports can be generated instantly.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without Access, making the transition from manual processes to technology, we’ve integrated automated and consolidated processes that streamline the way our business management is delivered.”

The workforce bought into the new processes and management of information through the tablet devices with no issues. Staff witness the benefits from reduced administration and improvements to management, allowing them to become more efficient and empowered, day to day.

Clients can be updated of projects and costs in real-time, allowing for greater transparency of jobs The accuracy level with the mobile solution is 100%, the reduction in errors from manual handling data has been completely eliminated.

This has improved customer service, removing any discrepancies through user handling of information. Clients can be updated of projects and costs in real-time, allowing for greater transparency of jobs.

Streamlining job costing

Additionally, the organisation struggled to accurately measure stock usage and the ability to allocate individual jobs was tricky. Now information is readily available and the business can keep complete control over stock levels allowing for efficient job allocation and management of stock. “We can now cost small and large contracts, quickly and with confidence,” adds Stephen.

True control over credit

“Credit control is now a dream compared to our previous processes, the accuracy and timeliness of invoicing has improved the way we manage our debt. The credit control department can now make informed decisions and follow up on debts without any errors.”

Elimination of the payroll processing burden

“The results of Access Payroll services match that of our finance and accounting with Access. Whereas previously payroll required five days per week to process, we’ve reduced that to 30 minutes with Access’ Payroll Services.”

Summary

Access worked closely with Wilson and Scott to research, develop and deliver a solution that was tailored to their needs. Improving the business's efficiencies through accounting, finance and payroll the organisation now has greater control and visibility over key processes, whilst removing manual administration through automated processes.

The implementation and induction processes didn’t require any additional downtime due to the sophisticated planning strategy from both parties that ran parallel to the legacy system during implementation and kick-off.

From a business management point of view, the dashboards within the solution made sales visible and all key information is accurate and detailed through a visual display that can now be accessed by staff company-wide.

This allows real-time generation of management reports, jobs and other KPIs. Stephen comments, “The ability to generate high-level management reports instantly and accurately is a blessing. Dimensions is the backbone of our financial management.”