After a bad experience with another supplier, worktop
manufacturer Landford Stone chose Exchequer from IRIS Enterprise
Software for effective job costing and stock control.
Landford Stone Limited is a provider of marble, limestone and
granite worktops based in the South of England. It works
directly with a network of kitchen and bathroom resellers, handling
40-50 quotes a day. As a rule, the customer sends over a
drawing of a kitchen or bathroom they are currently manufacturing
with specifications of the worktop required. Landford Stone
then draws up a quote and sends it directly back to the
customer.
When looking for a system to handle Job Costing and stock control
functionality, Landford Stone installed Great Plains accounting
software from Microsoft Business Solutions. However, this
product was unable to handle the functions required at Landford
Stone in the day-to-day management of the business, without
additional expensive
customisation.
Duncan Lofts, Managing Director at Landford Stone comments,
"After a bad experience with Great Plains, we decided to cut our
losses and find a new system. We short listed Access Accounts and
Exchequer, opting for a 7 user licence of the latter as it did
everything it said it would do and more."
At Landford Stone, every job is a one off and quotes are based
on job detail, price band etc. "Exchequer gives us easier
access to information and improved productivity," continues
Lofts. "The software supports the seamless integration of
information between the job quotations and Job Costing modules,
which provides a very effective method for monitoring and
controlling business costs. "The overall level of integration
within the product means that we can now access the information we
need far more easily which supports the decision making process
within the business and ultimately helps us to improve our service
to customers."
The versatility of the OLE functionality is bringing
significant benefits to Landford Stone, which it is using to
provide a seamless link between Microsoft Excel and the financial
management data held within Exchequer. This enables Landford
Stone to integrate information with ease from one database to
another, providing access to real live data at any given
time.
Landford Stone makes extensive use of the batch number
tracking functionality to manage raw material stocks. "Being
able to easily report how much stock we have is invaluable.
It comes in particularly useful when trying to match stock
previously used on a job, as each piece of stone is unique. I
have to say that the improved productivity we have experienced as a
result of using Exchequer has demonstrated more than a return on
our investment," states Lofts.
In conclusion, Lofts says, "Exchequer has fulfilled our
expectations and I have a happy team of staff operating an
effective financial management system that includes quotes,
ordering and stock control.
Integration of the product was extremely smooth and I just wish we
had installed the system in the first place!"