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Case studies

Eight systems, and what changed in the office

The clearest way to show what we do is to walk through the work. Each study below sets out what a firm was running on, what we built, what changed and how the price and timescale worked. They are drawn from the systems we build for firms like these; sectors, towns and figures are typical rather than tied to one customer, because we don't publish client details.

Book a 20-minute call How a project runs
01

An eleven-person practice, Prestwich

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Deadlines, records chasing and work in progress for an accountancy practice

The practice software handled the accounts and the filings well. What it didn't do was tell the partners where every client's job stood, chase the clients for records, or show who in the team was at capacity. That lived in email, a planner spreadsheet and the partners' memories, and it showed every January.

They wanted the chasing done for them, and a true picture of work in progress.

What we built

A workflow layer on top of the practice software. Every client's filing dates in one view, worked back to the dates records are needed. Record requests go out automatically on a schedule the practice set, with a secure upload page for clients, and the chasing continues until the documents arrive. Each job moves through the practice's own stages, with the hours against it, so partners can see work in progress per person and per client. Documents clients upload are filed to the client automatically.

Every document filed to the client it belongs to, with the compliance records and the dates that drive them on the same screen.

What changed

Records arrive earlier because the system asks three times without anyone drafting an email. Partners see capacity before it becomes a problem rather than after. Last January ran on normal hours for the first time in years.

Time and price

Priced in writing after a one-hour assessment. Live in five weeks before the year-end rush, with the client upload page added in week six. Hosted in the UK with nightly backups kept for thirty days.

02

An eight-person agency, Manchester

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Timesheets, invoicing and margin for a recruitment agency

Candidates lived in a recruitment package, client contracts in another, timesheets arrived by email every Friday, and invoices were built by hand from them. The weekly run took one person a whole day, and a disputed timesheet could hold up payment for a fortnight.

They wanted Friday back, and to know the margin on a placement before the invoice went out.

What we built

The piece in the middle. Placements with their pay and charge rates, weekly timesheets submitted by the contractor and approved by the client online, and from the approved hours the client invoices and the contractor payment run generated in one go. Margin per placement and per consultant is visible live, and the approved timesheet is attached to the invoice so there's nothing to dispute.

The week's timesheets, approved by the client online, ready to become invoices and the contractor payment run.

What changed

The Friday run went from a day to under an hour. No disputed timesheets since go-live, because the client approved the hours before they were billed. Consultants can see their margin, which changed how they priced the next placement.

Time and price

Fixed price before anything started. Live in four weeks with the first client, the rest moved across over the following month. One monthly fee covers hosting, backups, monitoring and changes.

03

A six-person lettings agency, Bury

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Certificates, maintenance and landlord statements in one place

Properties sat in a lettings package, landlord and tenant conversations in a shared inbox, and compliance in a spreadsheet with a tab per certificate type. It had kept 180 properties legal for years, but every renewal depended on someone remembering to check the tab, and month-end statements took the best part of three days.

They wanted the dates chased by the system rather than by the office manager, and statements out in an afternoon.

What we built

One record per property with everything attached: landlord, tenants, tenancy dates, gas, electrical and EPC certificates with renewal dates calculated and chased automatically, first to the contractor and then to the office if nothing comes back. Maintenance jobs raised from a tenant report, sent to the contractor with the access notes, and closed with photos from their phone. Landlords log in to see their statements, documents and open jobs, and the monthly statement run is produced from the rent received and the jobs invoiced.

Every certificate for every property, with what is due this month counted at the top, and the same register on the office manager's phone.

What changed

No certificate has lapsed since go-live. Landlord calls about maintenance roughly halved, because the landlord can see the job and the photos. Month-end statements now take one afternoon, and the lettings package is still there for the parts it does well.

Time and price

Fixed price agreed after the assessment. Core system live in six weeks, landlord login two weeks later. Monthly fee covers hosting, backups, monitoring and the small changes.

04

A 14-person building supplies merchant, Rochdale

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Quotes, orders and stock in one place

The office ran on three things that didn't talk to each other: a quoting spreadsheet, an accounts package, and the counter staff's knowledge of what was in the yard. Every order was typed at least twice, stock was counted on a Friday and believed until about Tuesday, and the owner found out about a late delivery when the customer rang.

They wanted the day to run itself a bit more, and to know what was in stock without walking out to look.

What we built

One system for the office and the counter. A quote becomes an order with one click, the order reserves stock, the delivery goes on the driver's run for the day, and the invoice is raised and sent to the accounts package when the driver marks it delivered. Stock counts live, with reorder prompts when a line drops below its level. The two counter PCs, the office and the owner's phone all see the same screen.

The day's orders moving from picking to loaded to delivered, and the driver's run on the phone.

What changed

Orders typed once instead of three times. Stock accurate enough that the Friday count stopped. Invoices out the same day as delivery rather than the following week, which pulled payment in by about nine days on average. The owner now checks the morning's deliveries from the kitchen.

Time and price

Priced in writing after a one-hour assessment. Live in five weeks, with the accounts link added in week seven. A fixed monthly fee covers hosting, backups, monitoring and the small changes that come up.

05

A twenty-person provider, Oldham

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Enrolment, attendance, certificates and funding evidence for a training provider

Bookings came through a website, enrolment forms were on paper, attendance was a register in the room, certificates were produced in Word, and the funding paperwork was assembled from all of it when the audit came round. Every stage worked, and every stage was done by hand.

They wanted the audit to prepare itself, and past learners to come back without being telephoned.

What we built

One system from enquiry to certificate. Online enrolment with the funding questions built in, attendance taken on a tablet in the room, certificates generated and emailed on completion, and renewal reminders to learners whose certificates are due to expire. Trainers see their week and their rooms on their phones. The funding evidence pack for any cohort is produced from the records already in the system.

Training and tickets per person, with what expires in the next ninety days and the evidence pack a click away.

What changed

Audit preparation went from about a week to a couple of hours. Renewal reminders now bring in a steady run of repeat bookings with no outbound calls. Paper enrolment forms have gone, and with them the retyping.

Time and price

Fixed price agreed after the assessment. Live in seven weeks, with the renewal reminders switched on after the first full term of data. Hosted in the UK, monitored around the clock.

06

A 25-person workshop, Heywood

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Works orders, quoting and traceability for a precision engineering workshop

Jobs moved through the shop on paper travellers, quotes were built from memory of similar work, and delivery dates were promised from the office whiteboard. Experienced people made it work, and the customers who needed material traceability waited while someone found the paperwork.

They wanted to quote from real numbers, keep the dates they promised, and answer a traceability request in minutes.

What we built

Works order tracking with a tablet at each machine: operators book on and off operations, record material batches and quantities, and the office sees every job's position live. Quotes are built from the actual times of past jobs of the same kind. A delivery view shows which promised dates are at risk while there's still time to do something about it. Traceability certificates are produced from the batch records on demand.

Works orders by work centre with hours booked against estimate, and the operator's job card on the machine tablet.

What changed

Quotes now come from real job times rather than instinct, and margin on repeat work has improved as a result. Delivery date performance is tracked and has gone up. A traceability request is answered the same day instead of the same week.

Time and price

Priced in writing after the assessment, which included an afternoon on the shop floor. Live in eight weeks, machine by machine. Monthly fee covers hosting, backups, monitoring and changes.

07

An aesthetics clinic group, two sites, 15 staff

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Bookings, consent, treatment records and stock for a two-site clinic group

Bookings came through an app, consultations and consent were on paper, treatment notes were in folders, and the owner compared the two sites by asking. Each piece was adequate. Together they meant a lot of filing and no single view of the business.

They wanted paper gone, fewer no-shows, and both sites on one screen.

What we built

A clinic platform: online booking with deposits, consultation and consent completed on a tablet in the room and signed on screen, treatment records with before and after photos held against the client, products used recorded against stock, and reporting across both sites for the owner. Reminders go out before appointments, and the record of what was done and signed is there for any follow-up.

The diary across practitioners and rooms, and the client's booking on their phone with the deposit taken.

What changed

Paper forms have gone entirely. No-shows fell once deposits were taken at booking. The owner opens one screen in the morning and sees both sites' day, takings and stock. Staff moving between sites work the same way at each.

Time and price

Fixed price agreed before anything started, in phases: bookings and consent first, records and stock second. Hosted in the UK, backed up nightly and monitored around the clock.

08

A 22-person commercial heating and ventilation service firm, Trafford

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Jobs, engineers and a companion app for a service firm

Twelve engineers in vans, two people in the office allocating the day, and a lot of phone calls in between. Jobs were booked in a diary and given out by text in the morning, engineers rang in when a job was done or needed a part, photos arrived on WhatsApp, and timesheets came in at the end of the week. It worked because the office knew the engineers and the engineers knew the customers.

They wanted the office to see the day as it happened, jobs to go to the nearest engineer with the right skills, and the paperwork for each visit to be done on site rather than written up later.

What we built

A job system for the office and a companion app for the engineers, built as one thing. The office books a job against the customer and the site, and the system suggests who should take it based on skills, location and the day's existing work. The engineer gets it on their phone with the history of the site, the access notes and the parts fitted last time. They clock in when they arrive and clock out when they leave, which fills the timesheet and the customer's visit record at the same time. Progress photos, the checks done, parts used and the customer's signature are captured on the phone and are on the office record the moment they're taken. With the engineers' agreement, their location during working hours shows on the office map, so a reactive call-out goes to whoever is closest and the customer is told an honest arrival time. Parts requests raised from the app go straight to the office, and a follow-up visit is booked while the engineer is still on site. The app keeps working in a plant room with no signal and catches up when it finds one.

Engineers, jobs and call-outs on the office board, and the engineer's checks, readings and sign-off on the phone.

What changed

Morning phone calls to hand out jobs have gone. The office sees every job's state and every engineer's position on one screen, and reactive calls are allocated in under a minute. Timesheets are done by lunchtime on Friday with nothing to chase, because clocking in and out built them during the week. Customers get the visit report with photos the same day, which cut the queries about what was done. The firm has taken on more contracts without adding anyone in the office.

Time and price

Fixed price agreed before anything started, covering the office system and the app together. Office side and the app for two engineers live in six weeks, the rest of the team moved across over the following fortnight. Published for iPhone and Android, hosted in the UK, monitored around the clock, with a monthly fee that covers hosting, backups and changes.

09

Which of these is closest to your office?

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