Harwich Haven Authority
“Accounting software should be thought of as a business tool…and Access provides the sharpest tools in the box."
Harwich Haven Authority was formed almost 140 years ago, to protect the best natural harbour on the East Coast of England. It encompasses five independently operated but closely linked ports, including Harwich International, Felixstowe and Ipswich. Collectively, these now handle over 42% of the UK’s deep sea container trade.
The emphasis placed upon protection has gradually shifted away from the strategic value of the ports in favour of environmental and commercial issues. Today, this non-profit making organisation must balance the interests of shipping companies and port operators with the wider concerns of the local community. Providing a safe, efficient and cost-effective harbour service is the only way to accomplish these goals.
HHA Financial Controller, Colin Finch, started reviewing his accounting software in December 2000, following installation of a new Vessel Traffic Management System (VTS) in the Harbour Control Room. The VTS highlighted an urgent need to upgrade the entire HHA network – including DEC Vax system used by the Accounts Department.
The selection process began on the Internet. After checking the web sites of several software vendors, Mr. Finch turned to Access Accounting. “I noticed that Access provided comparable functionality at significantly lower cost. I wanted to find out more about Access, so I contacted our auditors, Scrutton Bland. When I discovered that they recommended Access software, the decision was made.”
Mr. Finch was keen to implement a Local Area Network (LAN) solution to safeguard the security and integrity of his accounts data. But he also needed something powerful enough to cope easily with existing workloads and flexible enough to handle any future requirements. Finally, the package had to link with a number of other applications, including Charts (Computerised Harbour Transaction System) software from Honeycomb Information Systems Ltd. This led to the purchase of a 5-user Dimensions package, optimised for Microsoft SQL Server.
Dimensions integrates seamlessly with Charts – an application that sits between the VTS application and the core accounts, gathering and interpreting data on various harbour activities, including docking schedules, freight details and pilotage services. Real-time exchange of data from Charts to Dimensions is essential, because the Authority aims to invoice ship operators within 24-hours of vessels berthing.
With over 100 active shipping agents and more than 23,000 commercial ship movements a year, producing invoices and tracking payments is a major challenge. Today, it can be accomplished with ease. Charts generates the invoices (using a complex set of criteria and charging structures) and passes an invoice summary (complete with all the relevant nominal codes) straight into the accounts, using the API facility built into Dimensions. This integration is greatly appreciated by the Sales Ledger Supervisor, Jo Burton, who says, “the removal of the need for any re-keying of data is a huge benefit to the department. It has freed up an enormous amount of time for other activities.”
Initially, the Accounts Department was hesitant about changing its software – after 13 years of continuous operation, using Vax had become second nature. Yet the whole team has been impressed by the ease with which Dimensions and Charts have slotted into place.
Confidence in Dimensions was boosted from the outset, with the completion of a trouble-free implementation and training programme. The Vax system had no export facilities, so transfer of 21-months of legacy data was achieved using a specially written programme. This successfully mapped 33,000 transactions into 500 different nominal codes. Training commenced in September and was structured around 8-days of tuition, spread over a 4-week period and based on an agenda set by the HHA itself.
Dimensions and Charts went live together, on 1st October 2001… just two months after the selection process ended. In a further show of confidence in Access and Honeycomb, it was decided that there was no need to run the old system in parallel. As Chris Clark of Honeycomb says, “The installation process turned out to be remarkably simple. It’s true to say that things worked extremely well from day one.”
Mr. Finch feels that the intuitive, highly consistent ‘look and feel’ of Access software helped to smooth the way, saying, “Once you understand one Access module, you understand them all. A green tick always means the same thing.” Jo agrees, adding “There is never any confusion over what information is being displayed, and all you need to enter to understand a given transaction is shown on a single screen.” She concludes, “With Access, there is no jumping around, trying to find things like account codes and nominal categories. We already feel relaxed and confident in our new system.”
If speed, accuracy and ease of use are the key benefits of Dimensions as far as Jo and her colleagues are concerned, for Colin Finch major advantages lie in the depth and quality of management information his new system can offer.
He explains “Ship operators pay a single fee to cover all the services HHA provides. In the accounts, these fees need to be split between three main areas: conservancy, piloting and ‘other services’ such as dredging. In addition, dredging revenues must be ring-fenced in relation to a £49 million loan. In the past, I had to carry out all these calculations manually, using a Lotus spreadsheet. Now, because Dimensions profiles income across a number of designated accounts in the Nominal, everything is automatic and I can instantly see the precise allocations to each of our core activities.”
Having immediate and effortless access to in-depth reporting and analysis has been something of a revelation. “In Dimensions there are an astonishing number of pre-configured management reports, all of which draw on the data we have already entered. I no longer waste countless hours finding, extracting, re-keying and formatting data… instead, the reports I need are ready when I am.”
The financial analysis provided by Dimensions is paralleled by the reports on shipping movements, tonnage bands and other logistical criteria available from Charts. Coupling the two solutions has given HHA a system that comes as close to straight-through processing as one can imagine. Now, administration is fully automated, from the second a blip appears on the radar screen to the moment an invoice arrives on the desk of the blip’s owners.
Although improved management information is a huge plus for Colin, he feels that the most important aspect of his new system is not software or hardware. Rather, it is the strength of the relationship that has been formed between HHA, Access Accounting and Honeycomb: “I have to say that I have never received a ‘No’ from either company… they have responded quickly and positively to my every enquiry. This is a very refreshing attitude for IT suppliers to have. We feel that we have purchased excellent software and levels of service to match.”
In a short space of time, this combination of software and service has generated a sense of security for HHA. Mr Finch concludes, “The conditions under which the Authority must discharge its obligations are constantly changing. However, I am happy that our accounts system has been ‘future-proofed’ to the maximum extent possible. The many benefits of our new software are already showing through… and I can look forward to the next 10 years with confidence.
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