Bidwells operates a remote book-keeping and accounting bureau for 300-plus clients,and controls in excess of 400 bank accounts. The company had been using an old DOS-based legacy system since the 1980s. Bidwell associate Larry Hammond, who is responsible for land and business, says this “had been cosmetically re-decorated with Microsoft lipstick.”

Upgrading the legacy system to the latest version wasn’t an option – just converting the data would have exceeded the cost of purchasing the Greentree system the company eventually chose.

Despite being in close contact with the field agents responsible for the day-to-day running of its clients’ businesses, Bidwell’s accounting team was struggling to meet the need for timely management information. Business data needed to be extracted from the property management system line-by-line and reports needed to be faxed or posted.

“Improvements to the reporting for clients and agents had stopped in 1998, when the latest version of the report writer had proved far too complex and time-consuming for the team to write reports, let alone improve them,” says Hammond.

Payments to suppliers involved the raising of cheques in various shapes and sizes to meet the requirements of 20 different banks.

More importantly, Hammond is certain that two significant clients were lost in the 24 months prior to implementing Greentree because of the cost of delivering services. To maintain its long-standing reputation as a top-notch UK property consultancy, Bidwells needed to significantly speed up its dissemination of critical business management information.

‘Live’ demo clinches it
Hammond says Greentree’s UK business partner “took the time to understand what we do. It was a case of ‘Wow, these guys are actually more interested in understanding our accounting services than talking up the features of the software.’ The other vendors left us to figure out how the Bidwells’ business model would fit into their system – that wasn’t what we were looking for.”

“In a second meeting, and demonstration, they took some live client data and showed the evaluation team how this could be improved in Greentree – that simply blew us away.”

The implementation process, from the buy decision to go-live was less than three months and went according to plan, which was fantastic, says Hammond.
“We initially projected a three-year payback period. However, as we have uncovered more of Greentree’s powerful capabilities, the reality has been half that time.”

Data now accessible to all
Greentree’s easy-to-learn and familiar Windows environment has ensured staff and agents feel confident using it. This has immediately put information within reach of the entire organisation, not just those with proprietary knowledge about how the system works, says Hammond.

Younger staff members no longer need to consult senior staff to find out how to complete tasks or query data.
 
Productivity increase
Client data is automatically imported overnight into Greentree from the property management system. This ensures that data is no longer double-handled, saving thousands of hours of staff time. Since Greentree was implemented, electronic payments to suppliers have increased by a whopping 97 percent.

The task of managing over 300 client businesses and 400 bank accounts, with about 20 different banks, plus ensuring suppliers get paid promptly, has been simplified and streamlined.

Hammond says one of the most dramatic efficiency gains has been in staff productivity. Staff numbers have been reduced by 18 percent, and workflow efficiency per staff member has improved as a direct result of greater accessibility to organisational data.

NZ and Greentree ‘light years ahead’
During the evaluation phase, Hammond looked at the sorts of activities New Zealand and Australian Greentree customers were involved in.

“I could see that in the event of our clients diversifying, to take advantage of new opportunities, Greentree had a module that would enable us to meet their needs. It’s amazing to think there’s a company like Greentree on the other side of the world that is thinking light years ahead of what businesses might need in the future.”

More competitive
The electronic payment of supplier invoices, combined with the email distribution of business management reports to agents and clients, has enabled significant efficiency outcomes. Bidwells can now more accurately manage the cash position and reporting of the 300-plus businesses under its stewardship.

Hammond says he is absolutely confident that this has greatly improved Bidwells’ competitive position in the property consultancy market. Next on his wish-list is web-enabled access to agents, which will effectively make up-to-the-minute business information available to them when out and about.






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