Salamanca Group

Salamanca Group Chooses AccountsIQ over NetSuite for Consolidation and Reporting

Privately held merchant banking business Salamanca Group comprises approximately 80 companies. Formerly using Sage Line 50, the group’s finance director, Lee Camp, and his team would spend weeks each month producing consolidated accounts and management reporting packs through a complex process based on spreadsheets.

Today, using AccountsIQ, Lee spends no more than five minutes a month creating reports.
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“Our decision to move away from Sage Line 50 was driven by inefficiencies which Sage couldn’t address. It took two people in my team a week each to update various schedules in Excel, and then I would spend many hours compiling a reporting pack. AccountsIQ allows me to produce a custom reporting pack in just minutes,” says Lee Camp, Finance Director, Salamanca Group.

The selection process: AccountsIQ vs. NetSuite

Knowing they had outgrown Sage, Lee began searching for a replacement cloud-based application. With quite complex accounting requirements, he initially looked at NetSuite, Oracle’s enterprise cloud solution. At first, it seemed promising - but the reality did not quite measure up.
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“While NetSuite looked like it could meet some of our needs, we really couldn’t justify the cost. It still couldn’t provide the kind of customisable reporting pack we required. Our two main priorities, consolidation and custom reporting, were both weak in NetSuite,” Lee explains.

After being advised to consider AccountsIQ by a friend, Lee realised that complex accounting did not have to come with a high price tag.
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“Not only did AccountsIQ streamline our day-to-day processes through automation, but it also handled our reporting and consolidation needs better than NetSuite - and at a fraction of the cost,” he adds.

Consolidating over 80 sets of accounts in one click

Salamanca manages over 80 sets of accounts. The group’s consolidation needs are complex, and management reports must be precise and timely. AccountsIQ developed a custom reporting pack for the finance team that links to live data, providing continuous consolidation.

“AccountsIQ produces a consolidated balance sheet as well as departmental profit and loss statements at the touch of a button. We have a bespoke management reporting pack that works in real time within the system. As far as we could see, NetSuite couldn’t offer this level of functionality,” Lee comments.

Making complex reporting simple

Salamanca’s finance team knew exactly how their monthly management reports should look and what data needed to be included for analysis. This meant Lee and his team were well prepared to implement a new system quickly, with much of the configuration already documented. All they needed was a system capable of extracting the required data.

“Many of the products we reviewed had sophisticated charts and graphs, and almost all offered some form of customisable dashboards. However, AccountsIQ was the only cloud accounting application we saw that could actually extract the data we wanted and present it meaningfully. It really is reporting made simple,” says Lee.

Future plans to find more efficiencies

Already benefiting from automated purchase order approvals, consolidation and reporting, Salamanca plans to explore further opportunities to improve working processes using AccountsIQ. Upcoming projects include implementing an expense module to automate expense management and reporting, as well as integrating payroll.

“AccountsIQ’s greatest success for us has been the efficiency it has brought to the business. The product suits our fairly complex accounting requirements and delivers real value for money. We look forward to discovering even more ways to use the system to improve how we work,” Lee concludes.

“I’ve spent 20 years in finance and AccountsIQ is by far the best solution I’ve come across. It hands down beats the major players and offers more functionality at a cost-effective price. I only wish I had found it years ago.”

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