The UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG) is an independent, not for profit membership organisation created to support the Oracle ommunity in the UK. Established 30 years ago, UKOUG now has over 8,500 member contacts. UKOUG leverages the collective strength of the combined Oracle community, acting as a single independent voice to influence the future design, functionality and technology that is key to all Oracle users.
“By using BookCheck we now avoid double working, errors and wasted time”
Before BookCheck - in summary
- Membership software was not integrated with the Sage accounting system
- Producing monthly accounts was very time consuming
- Costs and revenues did not reconcile
- Management Information was lacking
With BookCheck - in summary
- The customer relationship management system now reconciles with Sage
- Monthly accounts are prepared promptly and without hassle
- Full reconciliations (including accruals and prepayments) with certainty that the information is accurate
- Monthly, insightful, bespoke Management Information reports
- Saving of £10,000 per annum
Before BookCheck - the problems
UKOUG had two major issues with their accounts. The first was reconciling their Membership software Integra to the sales ledger and bank on their Sage system. This was a serious ongoing problem and despite spending a huge amount of time, was still unresolved. The second issue was the complex and time consuming effort involved in producing monthly accounts. UKOUG had a very complicated and unwieldy Chart of Accounts which was causing a lot of confusion and extra effort in reporting.
“Overall these two tasks were consuming a lot of my time as the General Manager, all non productive, a real chore and it was rather uncomfortable” commented James Haslam, Director of Operations UKOUG until 2015. “By the nature of our business, with courses throughout the year, it's essential that costs are matched with revenues in reporting, otherwise the information is meaningless”.
With BookCheck - the solutions
BookCheck resolved the major task of reconciling to Integra.
“We now avoid double working, errors and wasted time, which is a huge relief. Our accountants are delighted with the new clean data” added James.
James Haslam describes what it felt like working with BookCheck and what were the benefits:
“They made themselves totally familiar with everything in the accounts. They liaised with our accountants with regard to understanding the whole of our Balance Sheet so that they could correctly control matters monthly. This was very important as we have deferred income and it's essential that this is handled correctly.
We were very impressed that our BookCheck qualified accountant Emma quickly gained a full grasp of all the numbers and what's behind them - essential if we are to receive sound MI rather than just a print of what is on Sage. The accruals and prepayments are now spot on. It's great to have the reassurance that the control accounts reconcile.
They completely overhauled our Chart of Accounts so it became 'fit for purpose'. This was then the basis for their superb BAR - BookCheck Advanced Reporting with its now 18 pages of analysis, shaped to the specific requirements of our Board, including our Commercial Director and our Financial Director.
We particularly wanted an offsite book-keeper to avoid the extra responsibility and distraction of another person onsite. BookCheck was able to achieve this by putting our Sage system online at their secure server which we can access live, 24/7. They've built up a really good relationship with our admin staff and good communications are a constant feature of working together.
It's very valuable being able to trust that all the control accounts are reconciled and therefore avoid problems at Year End. It's also very good to have consistency in the application of accounting policies e.g. with the accruals & prepayments.
It's a great feeling that we can now rely on BookCheck to produce sound MI from a qualified accountant. This saves us a lot of time, including my own, which I can now spend on more beneficial matters. It's reduced our annual costs by about £10,000. We have a great relationship with Emma and the team who provide us with an independent and professional service to ISO 9001 standards.”
The BookCheck perspective from Anthony Pilkington, Managing Director, BookCheck
“We were delighted when UKOUG decided to work with us. The problems that they were experiencing were typical of what we come across day after day. It's particularly satisfying to receive the very positive feedback on the transformation we have been able to achieve and their experience of working with BookCheck”.
Find out more TODAY how BookCheck can help your business - call us on 0800 883 0711