Finesse Leisure Partnership
Finesse Leisure Partnership is a not-for-profit
organisation. Formed in 2004 by Welwyn Hatfield Council, it was set
up to manage and develop facilities and services at four of the
council's established leisure and recreation facilities in Welwyn
Hatfield.
The challenge
Formed in late 2003 by Welwyn Hatfield Council, Finesse was
tasked with being ready to commence trading in January 2004. This
meant that in just a couple of months, a business and accounting
system needed to be selected and implemented, without a hitch.
| Industry |
Leisure |
| Geographic |
Hertfordshire |
| Employees |
180 |
| Turnover |
£2.6m |
| Solution |
Dimensions |
| Modules |
Core
ledgers
Purchase order processing
Invoice register
Payroll |
Philip Nye, Financial Director and Company Secretary, had
extensive knowledge of accounting packages having sold Sage in the
past, and took on the task of finding the right package for
Finesse. Having attended numerous Softworld Accounting and Finance
Exhibitions, Philip was aware of a variety of packages that could
be suitable. Although the timescale was tight, Philip wanted to
choose the right solution for the business, and after reviewing
Sage, Pegasus, Sun Systems and Access among others, he narrowed
down the field to two solutions: Sun Systems and Access' flagship
Dimensions.
"The main criteria that I was looking for in a solution were
flexibility, robustness and ease of use" explains Philip.
"Flexibility in the coding structure was essential as I would need
to analyse the figures by group, by site, by individual facility
and at times, even by activity. I was also looking for the
robustness and reliability of a SQL Server based system, and ease
of use was essential. Access provided all of these - at the right
cost. I wrote a paper for the board with my recommendation for
Access Dimensions, and they agreed that it was the right way
ahead."
The real challenge
"Access has given us a flexible, intuitive and robust
solution, at a very reasonable price." Philip
Nye
Financial Director
Once the decision had been made, it was essential that the implementation followed a
strict and intensive plan. Philip comments, "Our specialist centre
put together a very detailed project plan and although we didn't
follow it to the letter, we got there in time! The implementation
itself was very straightforward - no modifications were required
and we only needed three or four days of training, despite the fact
none of us has any previous Access experience."
As Finesse had only just been formed, there was no transfer of
data to be taken into account or balance conversions to run. "Our
sights then were set on achieving our aim - to generate sufficient
trade to have a surplus that could be re-invested into the
facilities. I knew that a reliable accounts system was at the heart
of that aim" commented Philip.
The results
"Following a three month introductory period, we have now
completed one full year's trading. Over the year, we have developed
great confidence in our Access solution. We have experienced no
major issues and therefore no system downtime. We haven't yet
discovered anything in the system that we want to do but can't -
the functionality is good. We have also recently changed to Access
payroll which handles our complex needs well. Because we have
multiple sites and have seasonal changes in personnel, we need the
ability to allocate costs individually. With Access payroll, we can
easily analyse pay types and cost them separately."
Philip continues, "We have found Access to be a very intuitive
solution. I particularly like the way that you can set up user
menus to protect the integrity of the data - I have no worries, and
neither do the users, that they will inadvertently change the
data." Finesse has also been very pleased with the support that it
has experienced. "We chose a local Access Dealer so that they
would be nearby in case of problems. I can honestly say they have
been excellent in understanding our needs, interpreting and
delivering them, without fail."
Strong reporting
"One of the main benefits of Access is the strong management reporting
function that is provided. I am easily able to analyse our costs and
income to the level that is required. I use the separate budgeting
facility to run a rolling forecast, that - because it is fully
integrated with the accounts - is secure and not in danger of
corrupting spreadsheets, as I have experienced in the past. These
facilities allow me access to better information, better control
and visibility over where the business is now and where it is
going, and ultimately, better, easier management reporting."
Phillip concludes, "It has been a successful year for us all
round. As far as our Access solution is concerned, it has been very
smooth sailing. From the initial implementation (that came in under
budget as we needed less training than we initially thought!)
throughout the whole year, we have no complaints at all. Access has
given us a flexible, intuitive and robust solution, at a very reasonable
price."
Looking to the future
Philip is planning to extend Finesse's use of Access, to include
more detailed usage in the leisure facility sites. He explains, "At
the moment, I send the reports to the sites in spreadsheets. I am
planning to roll out Access to the sites so that they will be able
to use them for more direct enquiries."
Make mistakes when you’re paying staff and you’ll quickly realize you have a real problem on your hands. Compared to other areas of your business, payroll is often seen as a purely back office, operational function, something that’s ‘just there.’ The problem with payroll is people only notice it when it goes wrong.
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