IRIS Accounting & Business Solutions

  he group identifies, develops and markets properties primarily in central London for high net worth individuals.

Consultant Miles Harvey comments, "IRIS Exchequer has enabled us to control, manage and report this major growth without an increase in headcount in the accounts department. We would not have been able to achieve this growth without IRIS Exchequer and the dedicated support of the IRIS team."  When looking to replace its accounting solution, Miles Harvey knew that major changes were afoot for property group Fitzroy.  He wanted to work with a company that would become an extension to his team and begin a business relationship that would last a long time.  "I spent a year researching all the industry solutions, using Sage Line 100 as a benchmark" reflects Miles. "IRIS Exchequer stood out from the crowd in so many ways, but I was particularly impressed that it was so proprietary for the construction and residential property development market, specifically its Construction Industry Scheme module."  One other area that has specifically impressed Miles since they went live with IRIS Exchequer over 2 years ago is the way the user interface is tailored to the specific needs of each type of user. He continues, "Whether you are a shareholder, site manager, accounts clerk etc, the IRIS Exchequer interface will work for you.

Usually a user has to conform to the way a system is set up, however IRIS Exchequer is unique in that it seems to be intuitive to the different processes each type of user will follow - something I have never come across in another solution."

Due to the rapid growth of Fitzroy, it was and still is imperative that this growth is controlled and effectively communicated to management.  "Having IRIS Exchequer has given management the confidence they needed during such a period of change. They can see very easily how well the process is being controlled financially by IRIS Exchequer thanks to real time reports being generated and circulated via email or text using alert system, Sentimail. What's more, the system empowers people by giving them information at their fingertips. A director can easily drill-down right to a specific invoice without having to ask the accounts team."  As part of the implementation, Fitzroy was assigned a training manager, with relevant experience, to ensure the smooth running of the operation. "In my professional career I have managed 5 major system changes. This was, by a mile, the best and easiest I have ever experienced; IRIS Exchequer are professional in every sense," states Miles.

"The project planning was superb. The imbedded flexibility of the software is so useable. The experience has just got better and better. IRIS even delivered a quality training manager who had years of experience as an accounts department manageress directly in our industry of residential property development. They knew and understood our business from day one. At no stage did they skimp on the resources that were dedicated to our implementation. They spent a great deal of time ensuring that the coding structure was right for our needs. Implementation was faultless - I have never experienced that before."

There is a saying that accountants never make you money, they merely save you money; a phrase that Miles feels is wrong now he has IRIS Exchequer. "The cost of IRIS Exchequer was equivalent to one accounting clerk's salary for a year and it does the job of dozens. I couldn't run 32 companies with just 3 accounts staff if I didn't have IRIS Exchequer. The solution is helping us to both save money and make money - a pretty unique formula in this kind of industry."

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is a trade association established over 60 years ago to protect the interests of small and medium sized building firms. Today it is the largest trade association in the UK building industry representing over 13,000 building companies.

 The FMB is a source of knowledge, professional advice and support for its members, providing a range of modern and relevant business building services designed to save its members time and money. An independent and non-profit making organisation, the FMB lobbies continuously for members' interests at both national and local levels.  In order to continue to provide a professional level of service for its growing membership, it is vital for the FMB to have complete control of its own business operations and clear reporting capabilities.  The FMB has now been using IRIS Exchequer for over 6 years to accurately record transactions into the various cost centres it operates, and to produce timely and accurate reports for management. As previous users of an outdated Tetra system, the FMB needed to adopt a new financial management solution that could handle its evolving needs. Having carefully reviewed the market, the organisation opted for a Client Server version of IRIS Exchequer including the Financial modules, Stock Control/Bill of Materials, Sales & Purchase Order Processing and Visual Report Writer.

Chief Financial Officer Nazir Haji comments,  "We record all financial transactions via IRIS Exchequer and use the system to raise supplier payments. IRIS Exchequer also allows us to produce numerous comprehensive management reports through its modern technology."  The FMB has been particularly impressed by IRIS Exchequer's unique Visual Report Writer module - an easy to use, fast and flexible tool for creating detailed analysis reports. It allows for the design of any number of reports, which can be grouped by department, type of report, cost centre and much more.  This is particularly powerful when used in conjunction with the live links from Microsoft Excel directly to the rich financial management data held within IRIS Exchequer. This exceptional functionality allows Nazir and his team to easily retrieve vital decision support information via any Microsoft Excel spreadsheet as and when required.  Nazir concludes, "The live links and exporting to Microsoft Excel are of particular benefit to us. The implementation of IRIS Exchequer has helped us to manage our finances and to produce timely reports which help us with producing board level management accounts, budgeting, forecasting, cashflow analysis, consolidations and financial modelling."

Established 1976, TP Fay is the only name in heating elements and catering spares. The company holds the largest stocks of straight length heating elements in the UK. In the early 90's TP Fay was looking at ways it could develop the business, including moving to a flexible financial management solution.

Managing Director David Fay comments, "We previously used MAP Software, which worked to a point but didn't allow us to go back historically. It got to a point where the product didn't fit well with our business and we were also experiencing network difficulties. We read a review of IRIS Exchequer in The Financial Times and organised a demonstration." During that time, TP Fay also considered Sage and Pegasus. David continues, "The other solutions on the market seemed very inflexible for our needs. IRIS Exchequer offered the
best fit and could provide us with the exact accounting traceability we needed."
Since going live with IRIS Exchequer in 1994, TP Fay has grown significantly. As part of this development, the company implemented an innovative system which automated procedures and dramatically reduced manual interaction. Additional IRIS Exchequer modules such as Paperless and Stock Control have helped TP Fay achieve their goals of a becoming a greener organisation.

"The Paperless module is fantastic," states David. "Having the ability to automatically send documents such as statements and invoices at the touch of a button saves us considerable time, money and paper. We also do not print and keep copies of sales invoices, we can reproduce electronic copies on demand from IRIS Exchequer. The sophistication of the sales order processing means we can input enquiries and orders directly into IRIS Exchequer, which also reduces our carbon footprint."

IRIS Exchequer assists organisations in lowering business costs, whilst increasing efficiency. The dynamics of the system enables employees to access the live system remotely, so companies such as TP Fay can now offer the option of working from home which cuts office heating and lighting, emissions and travel time.

TP Fay now runs its entire accounts function via IRIS Exchequer. David and his team now also use the Stock Control module. The interactive stock drill-down provides a unique view of stock groups, sub-groups and stock items. At each level, right down to each stock item, TP Fay can view sales and margin trends for any period and year. Valuable data can also be displayed in graphs and pie-charts.

David says, "In the past, we had a tendency to over stock. With the Stock Control module, we get re-order triggers which means we have reduced the stock we have on site. This in turn saves on transport costs, storage overheads and packaging. Used in conjunction with the Returns module, we have a very impressive system for tracking and tracing stock." It is very important for TP Fay to be able to look back historically over transactions, both from a customer service perspective and to see trends in business activity. IRIS Exchequer's general ledger provides David and his team with a powerful accounting tool from which they can access financial information for any period or year with the ability to drill-down as far as the original transaction entries.

"We frequently get customers calling wanting to repeat an order from years ago," comments David. "Previously this meant going back through dozens of paper files to try to find the original paperwork. Now, we can instantly find the information whilst still on the phone to that customer and tell them what they had, how much it cost and what that order equates to now. It makes our business much more effective being able to offer that level of customer service to our customers."  IRIS Exchequer has become a central part of TP Fay's business, so much so that David says he often doesn't notice all the benefits the system brings. "IRIS Exchequer helps us with so many facets of our business, from straightforward accounting through to marketing to our customers. My staff are very impressed with the solution and it's definitely prevented much of the cost associated with growing a business. The fact it does all this, at the same time as allowing us to become more environmentally friendly, proves its worth and I fully intend to keep using the product and recommending it to others."

To see how other organisations are benefiting from implementing IRIS Exchequer please visit www.iris.co.uk/exchequercasestudies

 

Hot Wheels International, a leading bicycle and skateboard distributor, has invested in IRIS Exchequer in order to keep pace with the company's expansion.

The distributor, which counts Halfords Group amongst its customers, has experienced 40% growth following its further expansion into the mountain bike sector with GT bicycles. Their previous accounting software, Sage Line 50, could no longer support their needs so they chose IRIS Exchequer on the strength of its reporting capabilities, and in particular, the system's Paperless module. The Paperless module processes invoices, purchase orders and statements in IRIS Exchequer and immediately sends them out via email, saving vast amounts of time and money. This is extremely valuable when the accounts team has to deal with the company's distribution office, where daily reporting and speed of response are crucial to fulfill customer orders promptly.

Hot Wheels was very impressed by the features that IRIS Exchequer offered, including its Microsoft Windows XP look and feel, as ease of use was paramount to the team, and its drill-down capabilities which ensure the software follows a logical sequence and mimics the thought processes of an accountant.

Long-term plans for the package include rolling it out to the company's field sales force, using IRIS Exchequer's thin client technology. This will enable them to access real-time stock and accounts information on the move, by accessing IRIS Exchequer over the Internet.

"Our recent expansion means that the accounting function is more important than ever. IRIS Exchequer has proved to be a robust, stable and logical package - exactly what we needed," said Russell Merry, Partner at Hot Wheels International. "Our accounts manager has worked with many different packages over the years, but IRIS Exchequer is the only one which thinks like an accountant. This might seem obvious, but it's amazing how difficult some packages can make it for you to find what you're looking for quickly. You never have that problem with IRIS Exchequer."

"As our business grows, we're relying more and more on the time-saving benefits such as those offered by the Paperless module," he continued. "The bike industry is getting more tech-savvy all the time, so it was important that we invested in a package with a lot of scope for both our current and future needs. We're looking to the long-term with IRIS Exchequer."

 

The National Society for Epilepsy is committed to providing information and support to people with epilepsy. It also provides care for people with epilepsy through medical and residential services.

In late 2006, the organisation replaced its existing accounting solution with IRIS Exchequer. The team were looking for a flexible financial management solution that would save them considerable time within the accounts department.

Richard Cartlidge, Finance Manager at the National Society of Epilepsy comments, "Since going live with IRIS Exchequer we have saved at least 0.8 full time employees which equates to £40k. We have become more disciplined in our data input; IRIS Exchequer is simple and straightforward to use and I feel we have greater control of our finances. Our accounts are more auditable."

The objectives of adopting IRIS Exchequer were to offer the National Society for Epilepsy more control over its financial management information. The organisation was particularly impressed with the interoperability offered between IRIS Exchequer and Microsoft Excel, making regular reporting and sharing of information much easier.

IRIS Exchequer is now used on a daily basis by the Bought Ledger Supervisor, Cashier, Sales Ledger Supervisor, Residents Benefits Officer, Finance Director and Richard himself. Richard continues, "IRIS Exchequer presents data on-screen very clearly and concisely so that you can see your financial position at a glance. The system allows you to easily print standard profit and loss and balance sheet reports. The management accounts are therefore compiled and printed using the live links to Microsoft Excel from IRIS Exchequer via the import function, which is what gives me that sense of being more in control. I can query items just by drilling down into that account and getting the detail I require. I also use the live links to post the monthly journals to the General Ledger.

Richard now feels his reporting processes are much more streamlined and is planning on giving managers access to the database so they can view the accounts and query postings themselves. The National Society for Epilepsy also takes advantage of being able to email the accounts and general ledger listings directly to managers.

In conclusion Richard comments, "IRIS Exchequer has delivered a significant return on our investment both financially and due to increased productivity. I also calculate from efficiencies achieved that there is a further £20k worth of savings yet to be made. We have simplified our accounting processes and are working much more effectively. We are discussing further enhancements of the system with IRIS, including remote access by senior managers via the Sentimail module."

Mediplus is a supplier specialist medical disposables for the hospital market: an industry that is highly regulated, so the traceability of products is vital. When Mediplus looked to change its accounts package, IRIS Exchequer had all the remedies for success. 

"We found it difficult to obtain any form of management information from our previous ystem, Access," comments Emma Gray, Commercial Director at Mediplus. "Also, we deal in pounds, dollars and euros, but the software was unable to fully support multi-currency transactions."

"Our key objective when looking for a new solution was to ensure the financial aspects of the day-to-day business ran smoothly. We also needed a system that would be able to produce reports as and when required. I wanted a product that was able to incorporate the financial and stock areas together and IRIS Exchequer does this better than anything else on the market."

"As a result of adopting IRIS Exchequer, we have seen some key business improvements," says Emma. "The reports give us greater visibility, so we have been able to reduce costs related to stock and overheads. The system is reliable, which means that down time is minimal and process efficiencies are good, such as sales ordering."

In conclusion, Emma comments "The service levels I have received from IRIS during the decision process and since have been very high. We had a complex stock system to set up and we were offered a high level of support, ensuring we now have a financial management package that meets all of our objectives and has delivered a significant return on our investment."

To see how other organisations are benefiting from implementing IRIS Exchequer please visit www.iris.co.uk/exchequercasestudies