Sage Support Ireland - A DB COMPUTER SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY · 2017. 7. 27. · Aisling highly...

IT Support Services Sage Business Solutions

A DB COMPUTER SOLUTIONS CASE STUDYPROPERTY MANAGEMENT IRELANDHARNESSING SAGE 50C FOR MULTI-TASKED CENTRALISED CONTROL

INDUSTRYProperty management

NUMBER OF SAGE 50c USERS12

CHALLENGES• Required multi-company, multi-user capabilities to manage a diverse portfolio of customers and properties

• Increase software e�ciencies to better serve customers

• Provide remote access to increase e�ciency of student accommodation services

• Maximise productivity and reporting capabilities to better harness accounting data

SOLUTIONS

• Sage 50c

• Sage Training from DB Computer Solutions

• Sage Consulting and Support from DB Computer Solutions

RESULTS• 50% increase in e�ciency and productivity

• Multi-company functionalities deliver accurate financial data for over 30 companies

• Remote access for increased service levels

• Automation tools automatically upload financial data, minimising double entry

• Pays for itself due to e�ciency increases and reporting accuracy

Established by businessman Jack Keane in 2001, Property Management Ireland (PMI) is one of the West of Ireland’s largest and most successful property management and letting agencies. Its wide-ranging services include residential property management and maintenance, residential and commercial lettings, multi-unit apartment block management, estate management on behalf of Owner Management Companies (OMC), and student accommodation management.

The company’s reputation for end-customer service excellence has reinforced long-term growth and profitability.

Historically, PMI relied on Sage Commercial (accounting software dedicated to property managers) to manage many back o�ce and accounting functions. However, as the company continued its ever-accelerating growth they recognised a number of drawbacks:

Sage Commercial did not have multi-company functionalities, meaning PMI had a di�cult time accurately tracking financials for each of its growing property divisions. Too, the old software was limited to a single user per software instance. The company recognised they required a solution hallmarked by agility and flexibility to support its evolving businesses.

To overcome these challenges, PMI embarked on a search for a more appropriate accounting system. First, they required a multi-company solution that could manage the accounts for all elements of the growing business. This included up to 30 OMC customers, its complex student accommodation activities, and all other aspects of the business.

Second, PMI wanted sta� located in geographically dispersed areas to be able to access, and input, data from remote locations to any new accounting system. The company contacted Sage corporate who recommended standard Sage 50 accounts. However, some time following deployment, and having come to rely on the software for its mission-critical requirements, PMI experienced a significant IT outage. It reached out for help.

“With Sage 50 down we weren’t able to conduct any business for four entire working days,” Aisling Nic, PMI Financial Controller explains. “No one seemed able to fix the problem. However,

CONTACT US TODAY To learn more about DB Computer Solutions and our wide range of capabilities, please contact us:

Limerick: (061) 480 980 | Cork: (021) 233 9 129 | Dublin: (01) 905 2 429 [email protected] www.dbcomp.ie

THE CHALLENGE



THE SOLUTION

we heard about local Sage partner DB Computer Solutions and their reputation for excellence, and we asked them for help.”

DB Computer Solutions immediately conducted an onsite visit. Within 24 hours engineers had the problem fixed and Sage 50 back up and running. However, Aisling wanted even more.

“Sage Commercial didn’t have the agility or flexibility we required which is why we moved to Sage 50. However, we wanted to discover if we could get even more out of standard Sage 50. We asked DB Computer Solutions if they could engineer it to act as the financial and data centrepiece of our company. And that’s exactly what they did.”

DB Computer Solutions engineers worked to exploit the inbuilt power of Sage 50. When Sage 50c (the innovative hybrid-cloud enabled accounting solution) became available, they advised PMI to migrate to this latest version. With the solution deployed, Sage 50c now works at the very heart of PMI business activities.

MULTI-COMPANY FLEXIBILITY TO SERVE CUSTOMERSTo serve its many customers, PMI has established a number of separate companies within its single Sage 50c accounting solution. For instance, each OMC has its own company in Sage 50c.

Student accommodation has also been set up as a single company, and of course PMI also has a separate company to consolidate all financials and reporting.

The multi-company capability provides PMI with the agility and flexibility to serve its diverse customer base. “By establishing separate companies, we can accurately allocate all costs associated with each individual company,” Aisling says. “We can also invoice tenants on behalf of each specific company, allocate payments received, track aged debtors and creditors, and otherwise manage the financials for each individual company.”

Accurate company-specific cost and revenue allocation and reporting have a number of substantial benefits: Many costs paid for by PMI on behalf of its customers are charged back. Accurate cost accounting and tracking ensures that the company won’t be out of pocket and can justify charge-backs when incurred.

Multi-company functionalities also enable PMI to produce critical financial reports, including quarterly and annual year end accounts, specific to each customer. “We can adjust reports to reflect the exact needs of each company and their Directors,” Aisling explains. “This enables us to better serve our customers by enabling us to accurately track all financials and provide them with profit and loss reporting, and the underlying reasons for each property’s financial state.”

Reports also consolidate all transactions and companies into a single PMI-wide accounting report. This powerful tool provides PMI with a complete overview of its operations, enabling deep insight for its managers and directors.

AUTOMATING DATA INPUT FOR 50% PRODUCTIVITY INCREASEDue to the diverse nature of PMI’s business portfolio, Aisling has worked closely with DB Computer Solutions to generate additional e�ciencies. To that end, many data inputting tasks are now automated. As an example: student accommodation payments made online or on-site are automatically migrated to Sage 50c. This eliminates the need for double entry, while minimising the possibility of human error.

Other workflows have been rationalised or otherwise made more e�cient. For instance: DB Computer Solutions designed

“DB Computer Solutions training, consulting, and support, as well as Sage 50c, has easily paid for itself. If we didn’t have DB Computer Solutions and Sage 50c and the e�ciencies they provide, I would need twice the sta� to manage our many businesses.”


Aisling NicFinancial Controller, PMI



BACKUP FOR SECURITYAisling points out that all data held in Sage 50c is easily backed up and replicated to remote locations. By securely protecting data, she knows her most important assets are under lock and key.

“There are so many harmful viruses out there that have the potential to completely paralyse a business,” she observes. “We backup all of our data, for all of our multi-companies, every day. It’s easy and it works. I hope other companies are committed to backup and security. This is now a critical requirement and can’t be ignored.”

RECOMMENDING THE POWERAisling highly recommends DB Computer Solutions and Sage 50c: “Sage 50c does what it says it will do, but it can do so much more if you unlock its power. It’s very straightforward and you don’t have to be an accountant to use it.

“DB Computer Solutions are fully committed to us. They have helped us to get the most out of Sage 50c and I know they’re always on hand if we need them. We trust them so much they now manage our Sage 50c IT server infrastructure.

“For those reasons I give DB Computer Solutions and Sage 50c my highest recommendation.”

The contents of this case study are the property of DB Computer Solutions Ltd, Limerick Business Complex, Raheen Industrial Estate, Raheen, Limerick, Ireland. Copyright DB Computer Solutions Ltd 2017.

a new PO system to accurately match purchase orders generated for each company against incoming supplier invoices. Discrepancies against the two are easily spotted by PMI sta� for resolution.

“DB Computer Solutions has helped us tweak Sage 50c in ways we did not think possible,” Aisling says. “Because of their input, we are at least 50 percent more e�cient than we were only a few years ago.

“That e�ciency has enabled us to increase productivity, allowing sta� to manage other critical tasks. It has also helped us to save money by ensuring all charges incurred by us on behalf of our customers are accurate and passed back for repayment when appropriate.

“DB Computer Solutions training, consulting, and support, as well as Sage 50c, has easily paid for itself. If we didn’t have DB Computer Solutions and Sage 50c and the e�ciencies they provide, I would need twice the sta� to manage our many businesses.”


Sage Support Ireland - A DB COMPUTER SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY · 2017. 7. 27. · Aisling highly...

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