Strutt & Parker

International Property Consultants

The Need for Change

The immediate driver for Strutt & Parker’s move to Access was the need to unify operations from multiple accounting centres into one central location, giving them better access to their business data. They also had a business driven deadline by which to complete the change, so needed to employ a package with straightforward set-up, data migration and staff training. Martyn Reed, Finance Manager for Strutt & Parker, says “We began searching for a new system in the trade press, and then decided we would benefit from some professional guidance. We employed a consultant with a strong accounting background to help us find the right solution and after short-listing four packages, decided on Access Dimensions as the way forward. We needed a system powerful enough to handle all our data, and fast enough to give us better management reporting. Dimensions was exactly what we wanted and at an affordable price! Our Access Specialist Centre made the transition so easy, and after interpreting our needs so accurately, they really worked hard to meet them.”

Implementation

Strutt & Parker worked with their Access Specialist Centre to establish a stringent implementation plan enabling them to be fully trained and up and running within the time constraints set. Martyn was pleased with the service provided: “It was comforting to know that the consultants were committed to building a strong working relationship with us, which was crucial to the successful implementation and installation of Dimensions. They worked hard to adapt the software to our specialised requirements which made our transfer as trouble-free as it could be.”

Challenges

The major challenges facing Strutt & Parker were the need to manage the centralisation of their accounts and the need to streamline operations. Dimensions solutions have the ability to build a single, central database for all business activity, eliminating time-consuming data rekeying and duplication, whilst maintaining the ability to enter the data by branch. “Centralising the datasets from 27 locations into one system required a complete shift in our methodology and mentality, but using Dimensions made it straightforward – and as a result we’re working much more efficiently” explains Martyn. He continues, “Another great benefit for us is the Costing module, which allows us to set up every property and estate we manage as an individual job. Each record clearly details the costs incurred and the fees charged so we can see the profitability by property and cost centre at a glance.”

Results

Martyn concludes: “Centralising our accounts under one roof has undoubtedly enabled us to access better reporting and analysis, and the level of integration it delivers gives us much faster communication with Microsoft Excel, saving us hours of time that we used to spend re-entering information. Dimensions was definitely the right choice – it was delivered within our budget and strict time constraints, and has already actively improved the way we do things.”

Key Benefits

Streamlined operations in one central location
Improved management reporting
Fully integrated system allows faster communication with Microsoft Office productivity suite
Time and cost constraints met
Improved efficiency overall

We needed a system powerful enough to handle all our data, and fast enough to give us better management reporting. Dimensions was exactly what we wanted and at an affordable price!