Irvine-Whitlock is a leading specialist contractor, with expertise in natural and reconstituted stonework, bricklaying, block work, terracotta and rain screen systems, volcanic lava cladding systems and general build activities. It is no run-of-the-mill building company. Their work and commitment to excellence is recognised throughout the industry and their awards list is testament to this.

"We don't just bring practical expertise to a project, but a whole raft of other skills. These
include design, IT and system know-how, financial stability, value engineering and critically, a number of controls which ensure that projects will be on time and within budget," says Geoff Irvine, Managing Director

The brief

Multisoft Software had been used by Irvine-Whitlock for years and with impending end
of life of the product, they decided it was time to replace that system with a new contracting-specific package. Irvine-Whitlock needed a solution that could cater for key business requirements including Contract Costing, CIS Management, Procurement and Contract Sales Applications.

TSG had previously been providing Irvine-Whitlock with support for Multisoft - but this by no means meant that they were not going to look around. "I'd been compiling a file of useful material for over a year or more, knowing that we were looking to change our system pretty soon," comments Justin Irvine, IT Manager. "I spent time researching on the web, talking to others in the industry and then short listed three systems with a construction bias."

The approach

Justin Irvine explains: "We asked the three companies to demonstrate their specific solutions, with the emphasis on our key business requirements. We decided to implement TSG's Sage L200 Contracting solution, as it offered the best combination of user interface, database platform, construction features and value for money. We felt some of the other solutions put too much emphasis on construction-specific features at the expense of basic accounting functionality."

The decision on the new system had to be made in good time to allow implementation to coincide with the end of their financial year in March 2003. This meant a comprehensive review of Irvine-Whitlock's business processes took place immediately in October. Installation and piloting were carried out before Christmas, with training and further customisation following in the New Year. The system went live in two stages, leaving
the payroll and subcontractors to be switched over to the new system in April 2003.

The solution

A 10 user licence for Sage L200 Contracting, designed to address the specific needs and
legislation requirements of the construction industry was identified as the most suitable
solution for Irvine-Whitlock. The most visible difference between the old and the new system is the way the information is presented to the users in a more intuitive manner.

Laser printers have replaced old dot matrix printers, offering greatly improved  presentation. "And if you don't like the terminology used on the screens or printouts, you're able to call it what you want. I can change things myself - which is great," enthuses Justin Irvine. In fact the solution is so intuitive that untrained users are easily able to interrogate the system to obtain management information. "I like the fact that this frees up resources, and the ease with which you can obtain data means that staff can be more informed and accurate in their reporting."

The benefits

One of the most immediate benefits has been to make payroll timesheet processing a much
less cumbersome event. Employee costs can now be input by multiple users, entering different site timesheets without the risk of overpaying employees as timesheet details are accumulated.

Dave Hill, Payroll Manager, states: "We now have much more control. Each time we enter
an employee's time, it's saved as a separate entry. Processing is flexible and not  dependent on one person. If anything goes wrong and needs to be changed, it's not a problem."

Contracts can now be set up uniquely in hierarchical relationships which enables the business to monitor all costs at contract level whilst analysing their relationships with associated contracts. Contract Managers can explore every aspect of financial information held in their contracts. They can associate separate contracts as variations and drill down to specific detail relating to the contract, be it costs, budgets, forecasts, commitments, work in progress or revenue and over any given period of time.

"The Contract Sales module provides us with the tool to control the management of our
applications, invoices and subsequent certificates, be it at a detail or summary level. Historical information for payments and tax on changing CIS details can be kept in relation to the Sub Contractor and we now have the ability to hold electronic documents against contracts, so all key personnel can view these details without having to hunt around to locate them," comments Justin.

The future

Irvine-Whitlock intends to continue development of the system to meet business needs as they arise. Everyone is so at ease with the new system that it will become the centrepiece for all their business processes.

"We're looking at putting together a system for scoring performance of sub-contractors - in fact every information-based process will be tied in - it would be silly not to. It will be linked with all future business information development," concludes Justin Irvine.