When Robert Easton and Mick Woodall, previously Head of Branch Operations and CEO at Beneficial Bank, decided to run their own operation, they sought the very best possible software solutions to support their aggressive growth plans.

The pair had spotted an emerging business opportunity serving the UK’s smaller independent retailers, many of whom were facing withdrawal of credit facilities by the big finance companies, so they acquired a 50% holding in a small finance operation – Appliance Finance.

“We agreed to select the very best IT solution available on the market to underpin our growth for years to come,” says Robert. “Out of four potential suppliers, Financier from Welcom Software was the only real contender. Welcom really understand the special demands of the finance sector and have been pioneers in developing business intelligence capabilities into their back office systems. It was also reassuring to discover that, as part of their strategy to employ people who understand finance, two of their consultants used to work for me at Beneficial Bank and The Associates.”

“Our criteria included ease of use, a suitable front end system for our style of dealer processing and a comprehensive back office solution for administration. The system had to be very flexible to accommodate the inevitable changes necessary in a rapidly growing operation. In particular, we were looking for sophisticated management information processing and Business Intelligence capabilities.” From selecting Financier, converting Zebra’s records and training staff, through to installing the new system and going live, the entire implementation process took less than 3 months.

“It went remarkably smoothly and Welcom Software staff, including their Help Desk were very supportive,” commented Robert. “I can already generate reports and analyses using the Business Intelligence software and we’re currently establishing our Key Performance Indicators, which can then be monitored automatically. Being able to generate new analyses ourselves means we can stay close to the business even in a period of exponential growth.”