Accounting software for renewable energy companies

Getech moves from Legacy Accounting Systems onto AccountsIQ creating efficiencies across the entire group

Getech’s Financial Controller, Simon Brown, inherited four legacy accounting systems across the group business as a result of growth. Moving onto Cloud accounting and consolidation platform AccountsIQ brought a time saving of one week per month to the global geoscience and consultancy group in reporting alone, not to mention improvements in other core processes.

Simon explains why AccountsIQ was the right choice for Getech, “We had previously been using four different packages including two versions of Sage as well as the UK and US version of Quickbooks.  Consolidation was a logistical nightmare. Neither provider could meet our core requirements, in the way AccountsIQ could, for multicurrency trading and consolidation across the group”, says Financial Controller Simon Brown. He adds, “AccountsIQ saves me a week’s worth of work every month end.”

Consolidation problems solved, and new reporting options available

Before implementing AccountsIQ, Getech’s month end process involved exporting data from four accounting systems into Excel for manipulation. However, if there was an inconsistency, it was necessary to go back through four sets of data. Explaining the difference the new accounting platform makes, Simon says,

The biggest benefit that we see with AccountsIQ is that the data is dynamic; it is not just a report.  We can drill down into the data, solve the query, and re-run the report accurately.  We simply update or overwrite as necessary.”

On the subject of improved reporting, Simon adds, “We’ve taken the opportunity to redesign and rebuild our reports because of the flexibility within AccountsIQ. We are no longer restricted to what, when and how we report; it is a big step change.”

Currency handling simplified, internal recharging made easy, and batch payments underway

Primarily working in sterling and US dollars, Getech previously managed multicurrency accounting in Excel. With AccountsIQ, the exchange rates are held centrally in the system which ensures all subsidiaries in a group use common exchange rates. AccountsIQ’s currency revaluation feature creates an automatic routine in the system which ensures accuracy in the calculations and reporting. Simon also adds,

The other aspect of our internal process which has greatly improved since we have implemented  AccountsIQ is the inter-company invoicing. AccountsIQ keeps track of what we are invoicing internally.  The invoice is received and it registers automatically in the subsidiary accounts.  We will also be looking to build out batch payments and use the mass email feature soon.”

The batch payments feature in AccountsIQ allows the user to create a file which groups all payments.  The payments relating to this file are automatically made, making the process of individually processing payments with the bank a thing of the past. Automated approvals can also be set up ensuring the approver sees the payment schedule before it is sent to the bank.

“Helpful and always available” implementation team

Simon and his team, working closely with the Customer Success team at AccountsIQ, spent three months designing and building the system. Although this is longer than most users of the system spend in setting it up, it was time and effort well spent. It meant that the coding and workflows were set up with care and attention to the needs of the growing business and reporting was accurate from Day One. Simon comments, “It was an intense three months but it was time well spent as the implementation all went very smoothly and our processes were instantly improved. We were really happy working with the AccountsIQ team – helpful and always available.”

Supporting future growth

“Ours is a fast-growing business model, and the process of moving new entities onto AccountsIQ will be easy”, says Simon. The initial design of the subsidiary system becomes the template for new businesses within the group. The process for expanding AccountsIQ is simple, requiring only additional licences and the roll-out of the core system as it has been modelled for Getech companies.

Meeting expectations

Summing up, Simon Brown, Getech’s Financial Controller says, “AccountsIQ has gone in very well. We are happy with how it looks and how it performs. It’s a great success.” Talking of future plans, he adds,

There is a lot more capability within the system which we have yet to explore including a paperless PO system, more work around automating approvals, and improvements to the way we deal with payments and the bank. AccountsIQ is able to help us continue to develop our processes as well as support our growth strategy.”

BayWa r.e. is a leading global renewable energy developer, service supplier, distributor and energy solutions provider. With an annual turnover of over €1.9 billion and offices across the UK and Ireland. Baywa r.e. has employees based at multiple sites and locations. Part of the leading BayWa r.e. Group driving innovation across the sustainable energy field, the Group has a global revenue of over €17 billion and more than 2,400 employees worldwide.

BayWa r.e. approached ION, a software consultancy, for advice on upgrading their accounting system, with their current system Sage 50 being too limiting for a company experiencing rapid growth. Like many businesses operating with an on-premise solution, the processes were too manual and hindering the productivity of the team. With employees and entities based across the UK and Ireland, they needed a solution which could handle multiple sites, locations and currencies, as well as inter-company transactions and Group VAT reporting. With ambitious plans for growth and a dispersed workforce, having a system which could be accessed by anyone, anywhere was seen as a major benefit for BayWa r.e.

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Solution

ION worked in collaboration with the BayWa r.e. team and identified AccountsIQ as an ideal solution for the business – because of its easy to use, flexible, powerful reporting and the functionality they required.

After comparing a few systems on the market, our decision to go with AccountsIQ was based on the fact it met most of our requirements and offered us the opportunity to automate some of our manual processes. Justin Ampofo, Finance Manager, BayWa r.e.

With multiple offices and locations, AccountsIQ was an ideal solution to allow for simple consolidation of multiple-entities and currencies. ION set up the system as one-click processes to give the business full visibility of their overall operations without the need for complex reporting or manual consolidation. The aim for BayWa r.e. was to centralise operations as much as possible to allow for potential group reporting in the future, with that in mind the ION team consolidated all VAT reporting and created an intercompany sales and purchase ledger.

A true cloud accounting system, AccountsIQ allows the team to access real-time data from anywhere. Removing the need for expensive and high-maintenance servers in each location, with AccountsIQ team members could work from other sites or home offices whilst still getting complete access to the system.

Taken straight away by the simplicity and ease of use of the system, ION worked with BayWa r.e. to streamline their processes and make management as efficient as possible. To meet their complex invoicing and approvals requirements, iCompleat was selected as a solution which could be integrated with AccountsIQ and minimise any duplication through the invoicing and payment process.

ION continues to support BayWa r.e. with training, technical support, and system development through our Managed Services offering.

Outcomes

The overall impact on the business has been phenomenal, helping them to work smarter and faster, whilst giving them the perfect springboard for growth. Here are some of the areas we have seen improvements:

Automation increasing employee availability >20%: Widespread efficiency improvements with automation reducing manual inputs and allowing the team to focus on core activities. Automation of key processes also ensures compliance procedures are correctly followed and safeguards the overall validity of data by reducing chances for human input errors.

Scalable platform for growth: The business has been growing rapidly and expects this to accelerate further over the coming years. They now have a system which can grow as they do, with the ability to add new sites, currencies and users with ease.

Alignment of systems: Integrating AccountsIQ and iCompleat means that the invoicing system is fully connected to the accounting data, meaning that the team do not have to duplicate inputs. Using the combined solution of Accounts IQ and iCompleat, BayWa r.e. has been able to improve automation and reduce manual input using iCompleat’s approval process.

Going paperless and improving traceability: The new expenses process allows expenses to be submitted directly for approval, removing the paper chain, having full traceability of the submissions and allowing all stakeholders to view the current status.

Consolidated VAT reporting and compliance assurance: With the new Group VAT functionality, the team can create VAT returns, consolidate them into one Group VAT Return and run all the necessary reports. This speeds up the entire process and ensures that they are conforming to HMRC’s MTD guidelines fully.

Intercompany sales and purchase ledger: With a number of processes moved into the system, the team can track the progress of processes including approvals. This removes the need for paper and email exchanges, with everyone being given access to the information.

Real-time accessibility across all locations: The new system means Baywa r.e. can easily add and change users when demand changes. This was previously a major headache for the team and did not allow them to alter their processes based on demand. With AccountsIQ, they have the flexibility to adapt their business as the market changes.

Learn More

Read how AccountsIQ and ION have helped companies like Ramarketing and Lepra solve their finance-related challenges.

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