Business &

accounting software
portfolio
consulting | software | solutions
www.theaccessgroup.com
 Our complete range of software will give you full
visibility over all your business operations, helping you
to cut out complexity and increase efficiency.

Business software
portfolio Cut complexity
& increase
efficiency
Dimensions and FocalPoint is a modular system that
can be constantly tailored and expanded – now and as
you grow. You can rely on us, the author, for a
thoroughly proven solution that is highly functional
and easy-to-use.

Our broad-based business software portfolio extends

from the accounts function into manufacturing,
distribution, professional services, carbon emissions
measurement, document management and CRM, to
name a few.

02
Contents

System-wide benefits 4
Management reporting 6
Financials & accounting 8
Cash management 10
CRM & sales automation 12
Document management 14
Workflow forms 16
Payroll & HR 18
Project management
& costing 20
Service & contract
management 22
Sales order processing
& credit control 24
Inventory & stock control 26
Manufacturing
& production 28
Procurement &
supplier management 30

Business software portfolio 03

 Based on industry-leading technology, you can rely on us
for a solution that’s robust and scalable, fast and secure.

System-wide
benefits System-wide
benefits
Fully multi-language and multi-currency, your system
comes with ICAEW-approved audit trails that can be
kept indefinitely.

With powerful drill-down, real-time updates and

unbeatable integration, there’s only one place to look
for analysis and information.

04

Sales & billing
Sales order
processing
Customer
relationship Sales ledger
management
Credit control
Payroll
& HR
Access solutions link every area of your business. Transactions in one area automatically refresh
the whole system, providing you with a constantly accurate, real-time source of information.
Security
Because security is a top priority for
any business, we utilise Microsoft SQL
Server, widely recognised as the most
secure platform for any business-
critical software system. We deliver
this technology at a price that is cost-
effective to fast and growing
companies such as yours.
Speed & capacity
Microsoft SQL Server is designed to
cope with large quantities of data and
analyse it in an efficient and
intelligent manner. The result is a fast,
secure and affordable system that you
need never outgrow - whether you
have just a few users or thousands of
employees.
Web-enablement
Bring key business information to
everyone within your organisation,
whether they’re remote or office-based.
Available through a standard web
browser and subject to full control and
security, our web-based solutions
enable many more users to enter, view
and approve information without
direct access to the core business
system.
System-wide benefits
“The accounting for carbon
Procurement
emissions functionality
demonstrates that any
Stock control Purchase order Consolidate SME can both demonstrate
& works orders processing requests
environmental
commitment, and cut costs,
without extra expense.”
Service Purchase invoice
Purchase ledger
management register Philip Dodd
Healeys Print Group
One of the UK’s leading
Projects CIS
Accounting for print businesses
carbon emissions
Nominal ledger
cashbook
Integration Multi-currency & multi-language
Reduce complexity, minimise From straightforward revaluations to
administration and lower your automatic exchange rate calculations,
infrastructure costs. All your your solution will handle any number
modules, tools and external of currencies. And with screens that
applications exchange data in real- can display any script-based language,
time, creating a continuous flow of you’re fully equipped for global trade.
high-quality information across your
organisation with no duplication of Accounting for carbon emissions
information or effort. Working alongside carbon emission
experts, we've created a fully
Corrections integrated module that allows you to
Whether you need to refine your take control of your organisation's
coding system, eliminate duplicate carbon footprint without adding cost
records or rectify a simple mistake, we or complexity.
give you the flexibility to make
changes across your system. Every
correction carried out is subject to
tight user permissions and is fully
auditable for total control and
visibility.
Auditing & enquiries
Keep your auditors happy and your
costs down. VAT reports are provided as
standard and ICAEW-approved audit
trails enable drill-down to source
transactions and document images.
360° data views bring speed and
efficiency to every enquiry and for fast
future reference, every document can
be scanned and stored centrally.
05
 Cut through information overload and see high-level
critical data in a format that’s right for you.

Management
reporting Management
reporting
From boardroom basics to business intelligence, your
key information is delivered to your schedule and
available on demand - whether you’re on the internet,
in the office or using your iPhone.

06

Board packs are swiftly created and easily tailored to your chosen audience. Simply gather any
standard file type from across your business and tick it for inclusion in the final document.
Standard report forms
Select from the comprehensive range
of ready-to-run reports and position
your favourites at the top of the list.
From aged debtor lists to P&L and
balance sheets, every transaction from
the lifetime of your system can be
searched, sorted and subtotalled the
way you want it.
Business forms, such as invoices and
statements, can be configured to meet
your individual requirements.
Powerful enquiries
Flexible enquiry screens provide
instant on-screen access to a huge
array of information. For example, you
can look up customer and supplier
contact details, study their terms and
credit position and view
budget/actual costs on projects or
nominal accounts. Drill down to
display or print source transactions -
or drill across to find similar or
associated records using flexible
Smart Tag technology.
Whatever your enquiry, you have easy
access to a 360° view of all related
information.
Management reporting
Board pack reporting
Whilst many different reports are
required by your staff on a daily basis,
your Board usually demands a specific
set of reports produced to an agreed
format and delivered on a regular basis.
What’s more, Board reports frequently
comprise a wide range of information,
not all of which originates from your
accounts. This might include analysis
prepared in different software
packages, spreadsheets or word
processors.
We make it easy to collate all these
data sources into one professional-
looking PDF that’s easy to navigate
and fast to deploy.
Dashboards & KPIs
Track your bank balances, top ten
performers and any KPI of your choice
with dynamic data views of your
changing business position.
Your predefined information is
presented in easy to understand tables,
grids and speedometer-style graphics
whilst trends can be identified via
graphs, charts and a simple traffic light
system.
“Our Access solution
continues to provide us
with the accurate
information I need to
reliably inform our
business decisions, and
from a management
information perspective,
has taken a lot of the pain
away.”
Peter Thomson
Jade Communications
Leading mobility solutions
provider
Highly flexible, the dashboard is easily
tuned by user and role. People across
your business monitor meaningful
information at-a-glance and are
empowered to take immediate action
when it’s needed.
Analytics, trends & business
intelligence
Gain a better understanding of your
business with powerful analytical
tools. Data cubes, our easy-to-use
business intelligence functionality,
enable decision-makers in every
department to monitor performance,
spot trends, and identify
opportunities.
Alerts & automatically distributed
information
Distribute targeted, real-time
information across your business with
a workflow-based alerting system.
From business snapshots to detailed
reports, time-critical information can
be delivered when you want it and
picked up via your iPhone, BlackBerry,
and at your desktop.
07
 A powerful financial core provides instant access to
your essential information, making key tasks, such as
asset management, budgeting and forecasting, fast
and easy.

Financials &
accounting Financials &
accounting
With in-depth reporting and drill-down, comprehensive
audit trails and full multi-currency, you have everything
you need for informed decision-making.

08

Fast, effective enquiry screens enable you to see how a chosen item fits into the flow of your
daily activity. Get from summary level to source detail in just a few clicks.
Core ledgers
Fully integrated to every other module,
the sales, purchase and nominal
ledgers store a lifetime of transactions
for your whole business. Multi-year
and multi-currency, this financial core
powers the analysis and presentation
of data across your entire solution.
Management accounts
The nominal ledger ensures that up-
to-the-minute management
information is instantly available. Its
flexible structure and powerful
reporting caters for the most complex
of divisional and cost centre structures
with 360° views for total visibility.
Budgeting
Two-way integration with Excel
facilitates fast entry and revision of
budgets for every part of your
business.
Set budgets and revised forecasts for
customers, suppliers and projects. You
can even budget for your business
carbon footprint by project,
department and individual.
Customer accounts
Maximise the value of your sales
ledger with instant, detailed
information on your customers'
individual requirements, their trading
terms and histories.
Financials & accounting
“Access provided us with
excellent levels of
information and powerful
in-built search facilities…
while the speed and
efficiency of the overall
system was very
impressive.”
Peter O’dwyer
DeAgostini UK
The world’s leading
publisher of partwork
magazines
Analyse sales by every demographic
that’s important to your business and
build stronger relationships whilst
maintaining tight credit control.
Supplier accounts
A central store for all your detailed
supplier information, you have the
tools to carefully analyse performance
at the most detailed level and
negotiate the best possible prices and
payment terms.
Workflow is punctuated by flexible,
automated payment and
authorisation routines. A fully
integrated invoice register scans, adds
barcodes and circulates invoices for
matching and approval.
Asset management
This powerful tool provides a precise
breakdown of the lifecycle of every
asset in your system. Depreciation,
disposal and revaluation history are
handled automatically whilst details
such as maintenance costs and
insurance valuations are easy to track.
09
 Automation makes bank reconciliation fast and
accurate, whilst everything from cash collection to
payment authorisation is easy and straightforward.

Cash management
Cash
management
Flexible, robust forecasting tools make light work of
even the most demanding cash flow scenarios - so you
can get away from report production and focus on the
bigger picture.

10

Electronic data import brings speed and security to bank reconciliation. Matches are clearly
highlighted and any un-reconciled transactions immediately visible.
Cash collection
A fully interactive debt collection
screen makes cash collection more
effective and easy to manage. You can
delegate individual lists to specific
staff and maximise their time and
effort by enabling copy invoices and
statements to be emailed whilst on
the phone.
An automated debt escalation process
ensures timely attention and fewer
debt write-offs, improving cash flow in
the business.
Payment authorisation
A flexible and configurable workflow
process helps you control and
authorise who is paid and when.
Once invoices are authorised they can
be selected for inclusion or
automatically proposed from
remittance lists. Once authorised for
payment, the system will print or send
remittance notes and either print
cheques or post BACS payments.
Cash book
Flexible day-to-day cash management
is provided by the cash book module,
which updates the nominal ledger
instantly whether you’re initiating
transactions direct or posting in the
sales and purchase ledgers.
Cash management
“The Access cash flow
forecast and mapping
process enables me to find
the optimum point to
make new asset
acquisitions rather than
‘Finger in the Air’ as we did
previously.”
Bob Barnard
DBD Distribution
The leading distributor of
kitchen appliances in the
UK
A full history of receipts and expenses Automated bank reconciliation
is easily available via drill-down, whilst Simply upload un-reconciled
everything from petty cash to bank transactions from any of the major
reconciliation is easily managed. clearing banks, select from the many
matching routines and the system will
Multi-currency automatically prompt matches for you.
This feature enables simple Single or multiple transactions are
revaluation of debtors, creditors and then reconciled with a single click,
bank accounts and cash can be bringing additional speed to your
handled in any number of currencies. daily routine.
Cash is easily consolidated into any
currency at today’s exchange rate, so
you’re always up-to-date.
Treasury management
Keeping track of multiple current and
deposit holdings and moving money
in and out of different currencies is
very straightforward - so your money
always works hard for you.
Cash flow forecasting
Robust, time-saving, modelling
technology enables you to bring
together your historical data with
current business drivers, calculating
and delivering a detailed
understanding of your future financial
landscape.
“What if” scenarios display instant
results which can be presented in a
range of graphical formats and rolled
forward and back for seamless
updates to your forecasting model.
11
 Manage your full prospect/customer lifecycle, through
effective marketing campaigns, field sales, telesales and
account management.

CRM & sales

automation CRM & sales
automation
Tight integration of customer relationship
management (CRM) with all your other business and
financial applications enables detailed customer
profiling and targeted cross-selling.

Visibility of all customer-related data through a single

interface combines key information to ensure all your
customer-facing staff have all the information they
need.

12
 Customer
Campaigns Lead qualification Prospect to order
management

Target Multiple Convert to

Receive enquiry Prospect
suspects contacts live sales order

Create Telesales Meet / needs Financial

database follow up analysis ledgers

Microsoft Create customer

Campaigns Lead qualified? Quote record
Word

Project Microsoft Pipeline / Customer Service

Tasks
costing Outlook estimate orders management manager

A central view on the key stages of the sales and marketing process adds maximum value each time you interact with your prospects
and customers.

Account management Reporting cost-per-lead, cost-per-sale, Service & support

CRM holds every detail of every
interaction between you and your
customers and makes it easily
accessible to authorised staff.
From initial enquiry to full purchase
and service history, all the information
you need to help gain new business
and maximise customer value is found
from one central point.
Marketing campaigns
From integration with call centre
technology and e-marketing to
allocating and prioritising telesales
activity, you have the ability to
generate, capture and distribute new
sales opportunities and maximise the
performance of your team.
conversion ratios and sales success Integration with service management
rates all help shape the use of future completes the picture. When your
budgets. sales and service staff share the same
information, you can be sure that your
Sales force automation customer will receive a first-rate
Everyday tasks such as sending emails, service - whoever answers the phone
updating lead information and or goes out on-site.
scheduling activities can be
automated, reducing administration
and defining clear ownership over
leads and projects.
Powerful forecasting gives you
estimated timings, values and
likelihood of closure and total visibility
over your sales pipeline. KPI reporting
helps sales managers ensure that the
team keep on top of next action and
follow-up dates.

Build action lists based on each of Live update to sales orders

your ideal customer profiles.
Streamline responses from multiple
sources and get the facts and figures
you need to continually analyse and
improve campaign performance based
on previous results.
Improve and enhance the corporate
brand, messaging and image of your
organisation through the use of
centralised email and mailing material
and associated marketing collateral.
Enquiries and quotations are
progressed to sales orders, pro formas
and invoices with no data duplication
and in alignment with your stringent
procedures.
In-built controls ensure orders are
placed in accordance with stock
availability, agreed pricing and
customer terms, whilst workflow
procedures ensure orders are fully
authorised prior to release.

CRM & sales automation 13

 Every document, from board packs and purchase
invoices to certificates of conformity, graphics and
correspondence, can now be scanned, indexed and filed
into a space-saving electronic archive.

Document
management Document
management
Digital documents generated by computer need never
be printed and can be added automatically to the store,
which is password-protected, easily backed-up and also
accessible via the web.

14

Innovative web services allow any document – such as this invoice – to be attached to transactions
and be made instantly available for others to view.
Support your entire organisation
Manage all your key information from
a central storage point and boost
productivity across your entire
organisation.
With no practical limit on capacity, you
can easily free up floor space. Any
number of electronic documents, from
scanned hard copies to spreadsheets
and PDFs, can be easily uploaded for
fast and secure retrieval.
Secure storage
Digital data provides the safest form
of storage. Duplicates are easily made
and saved in multiple locations,
protecting against disasters such as
flood and fire.
Theft, both internal and external, is
prevented with multi-level password
security. Multiple indexing and the
power of SQL-based search technology
ensure that every file can be retrieved,
even if the author is unknown.
Document management
“The system is so flexible
and boasts so much
functionality, we know we
are presently only
scratching the surface.”
Alan Brewster
Hove YMCA
Branch of the leading
Christian charity
Retrieve documents fast
Every authorised member of staff can
search and retrieve files from their
desktop. This boosts collaboration on
projects, contracts and
correspondence and helps provide
instant answers to customer and
supplier queries.
Document automation
Each digital file can be subject to a
workflow process before or after it is
centrally filed. Forms, documents and
any other electronic file can be passed
between departments within your
organisation. You specify the route it
takes, and the people who can view,
edit and approve documents as
necessary.
From boosting collaboration to
tightening credit control, every person
in every department will feel the
benefit.
15
 Easy-to-use and fully integrated with the rest of your
solution, workflow forms boost productivity, reduce
administration and save paper.

Workflow forms
Workflow
forms
Any procedure can be replicated and improved using an
electronic form layout of your choice. Highly flexible,
this functionality can support almost any business
process, regardless of complexity.

Automation ensures each form takes a pre-defined

path as it moves between your staff and managers for
extra information, authorisation and sign off. Alerts are
sent by email and SMS to advise if a procedure is
delayed, breached or ready to action.

16
 “Alerts keep approvers on
Needs analysis Form creation Authorisation Report setup Implementation
their toes so they tend to
approve things far more
Business need quickly... Access has
Integration with n Authorisation n n Confirm design
for specialist Reports required?
data collection
accounts data? required? with business definitely speeded up our
y
internal processes.”
y y
Sue McDonald
Link accounts Authorisation Design and add Competition Commission
Consultancy Assign users
data process designed reports
Leading independent
industry regulator
Integration with Publish form
Agree form n Further actions n n
3rd party Alerts required? to chosen
design required?
system? applications

y y y

Link 3rd party Design further

Form designed Design alerts
system? actions

Our consultants follow these key steps to replace all your paper forms and spreadsheets with an
electronic web-based form that’s fully integrated to any part of your business.

Reduce paper forms
Recreate every type of business-
specific form and make them
accessible online to all your staff. You
have flexibility to design the layout of
the form and the information it holds.
This reduces paper waste and the
associated storage whilst making your
whole business more responsive and
efficient.
Workflow & authorisation
Configurable rules automate the route
each form takes as it travels through
your business. You specify the
information that can or must be
entered at each stage of its journey.
Central storage Managers and staff are better
Every authorised member of staff can informed, minimising the risk that
enter and view information wherever anything will be hidden, overlooked or
they are located, anywhere in the world. forgotten.
Web-based tools empower your staff
and release the burden on other
departments - you no longer need to
trawl through paperwork or phone
around for information. It’s easy to
duplicate all your information to a
separate secure location.
Increased governance
Two-way integration with the core
business and finance system extends
visibility to those hard-to-reach areas
of your business.

Alerts, sent to the desktop or mobile Information can be drawn from

device of your staff, speed and customer, supplier and employee
complete the workflow process. Each records and analysed to provide a
form can encompass unlimited levels wealth of statistics and reports.
of approval and authorisation.

Workflow forms 17
 Fully HMRC-approved, your payroll can handle any
combination of pay types and deductions.

Payroll & HR
Payroll & HR
Integration with timesheets, expenses and third-party
applications, such as key card entry systems, bring
timely, accurate data into one place for prompt
processing.

Password-protected e-payslips add efficiency to your

overall operation, cutting paper and reducing
processing bottlenecks.

Detailed personnel information is enhanced with a

series of easy-to-use tools, enabling your HR
department to manage recruitment and absence,
analysis and appraisals.

18

Clear screens and intuitive navigation make employee information easy to find. Select individual
records from a list and view comprehensive data at-a-glance.
Payroll processing
Your payroll application makes light
work of the most complex payroll
calculations, enabling your team to
cope with ever-changing business
demands. Statutory requirements,
multiple pay types, deductions and
frequencies are handled with ease and
everything from Director’s NICs,
Student Loans, CIS and e-payslips are
dealt with automatically.
Fully integrated solution
Online timesheets and expenses, key
card entry systems and spreadsheets
can all flow into payroll for processing
without any duplicate entry. With
automatic updates to the nominal
ledger and project costing, your payroll
team can work quickly and efficiently,
processing complex shift patterns and
overtime with ease.
Accreditation & legislation
All legislative changes are
automatically provided to you at no
extra cost and in the easiest possible
format for minimal disruption. Each
new release is re-tested against the
highest level of accreditation made
available by HMRC, so you can be sure
your payroll is fully compliant at all
times.
Payroll & HR
Speed & security
Run your payroll, period and year end
processes in minutes, with technology
that’s designed to provide high-
performance whether you have ten
staff or ten thousand. Inbuilt security
provides role-based access and
integral database protection down to
department and individual staff level.
Reporting & analysis
A comprehensive range of reports
cover your statutory requirements and
provide detailed workforce and pay
type profiling. Key data, such as
absence, leavers, ethnic mix and
gender representation is provided in
real-time graphical formats, providing
the statistics needed to establish your
employer status and drive future
policies and performance.
Employee records
Rapid-entry tabbed records centralise
all your employee information for fast,
efficient storage and retrieval.
Navigate to appraisal summaries,
re-print payslips, view attached
documentation and collect
information on everything from pool
car requests to grievances, using
flexible form design and employee
self-service.
“Access Payroll handles our
complex needs well.
Because we have multiple
sites and have seasonal
changes in personnel, we
need the ability to allocate
costs individually. With
Access Payroll, we can
easily analyse pay types
and cost them separately.”
Philip Nye
Finesse Leisure Partnership
Not-for-profit leisure
management
Recruitment
Track and manage the complete
recruitment process, from vacancy
creation through to application
management, offer letter and final
hire. Powerful filtering tools, source
analysis and tight cost-tracking ensure
you spend less time sifting through
applications and more time getting
the right people into the right roles.
Absence
A colour-coded planner provides real-
time resource information for
maximum productivity. Configurable
absence types mean that everything
from dentist appointments to holidays
can be managed whilst unauthorised
absence is easily monitored for
investigation if necessary.
Appraisals
Streamline the staff evaluation
process, from template creation
incorporating specific documents,
questions and KPIs through to multi-
level evaluation and follow-ups.
In-built wizards and process
automation reduce the administrative
load, so that your staff can focus on
their goals.
19
 Whether you’re responsible for scheduling resources or
assigning costs, managing income recognition or
analysing WIP, the system tracks associated costs at
every stage for total clarity on your financial position.

Project management
& costing Project
management
& costing
Budgets are quick to create and easily flexed, whilst our
easy-to-use, web-based solution provides efficient
capture of project costs, timesheets and expenses for
fast and accurate billing.

20

Graphical representation provides instant visual impact of scheduled activity. One click takes you
to a pre-formatted client bill incorporating all associated costs.
Flexible project initiation
Create multiple projects from a central
point of reference with ease. Records,
projects and job bags are highly
configurable and can be set up to
capture the precise information you
need. You decide how many fields you
require for storing descriptions such
as names, dates, numbers and values,
and which terminology you use to
describe them.
Flexible cost centre structures provide
analysis and sub-analysis in as much
detail as you require.
At-a-glance view of resources
View your future commitments for the
days, weeks and months ahead and
schedule appropriate resources based
on skills, experience and capabilities.
A graphical planner gives immediate
visual access to project detail and
bookings, whilst white space and
unbilled hours have nowhere to hide.
With total clarity of your
commitments and easy-to-use
booking and scheduling tools, you can
plan, prepare and juggle activity
smoothly and profitably.
Capture all time-based activity
Whatever your method for capturing
time-based activity, we have a
timesheet to fit.
Project management & costing
Data can be fed into hand-held PDAs,
entered online, into a spreadsheet or
any industry-specific application and
transferred seamlessly into a
workflow. On validation, the project
costing system and payroll are
automatically updated in readiness for
timely, accurate reporting.
Expense management
Every type of real-world expense is
accurately captured and reimbursed
in-line with your specific approval
routines. Easy-to-use, web-enabled
forms enable your staff to enter
information 24/7, and large volumes of
expenses data, such as credit card
statements, enter your approval
workflow without any re-keying. Using
the alert functionality, your approvers
are informed in real-time when
validation is required, via email or SMS.
Flexible posting rules ensure every
transaction incurred by the business is
analysed correctly before updating
your system in real-time.
Budgetary control & milestones
Budgets can be set for costs and
revenues at cost centre and project
level for flexibility and passed through
stakeholder signoff prior to going live.
To facilitate logical planning and
control, milestones can be set at any
“FocalPoint has delivered
pre-configured, easy-to-use
timesheet and expenses
entry screens...we’ve
reduced manual data entry
by 90%.”
Sandra Richardson
Kern
Mailing and packaging
solutions provider,
established over 75 years
stage, whilst weekly and monthly
budgetary analysis enables you to take
early remedial action on over-
spending and under-billing.
Simple cost & WIP analysis
All standard methods for WIP
calculation are catered for. In-built
workflow ensures that every
transaction, from purchase orders,
invoices and journals to online
timesheets and credit card expenses,
is reflected in the most complete and
recent view of your actual and
committed costs.
Integrated client billing
Highly flexible billing means you’re
always in tune with the needs of your
customer and the needs of your
business.
Invoices can be raised based on cost
plus and contract price, with costs
shown as line detail or a schedule
based on the estimate or a round sum
amount. Uplifts can be applied on a
fixed or variable percentage, with
phased or staged invoicing enabling
applications for payment and
retentions to be handled with ease.
In every case, reports and alerts advise
when billing is due or overdue, so that
you’re always in control.
21
 From invoicing renewals and managing complex
schedules to tracking outstanding jobs, raising
quotations and providing call support - you have
complete control of your service contracts.

Service & contract

management
Service &
contract
management
Customer self-service over the internet contributes to
saving hours of manual processing by speeding the
availability and analysis of information.

You can now ensure that your engineers are

appropriately matched to jobs and that chargeable
work is accurately billed.

22

Out in the field Service desk
Problem
Inbound call
Job downloaded
encountered
Call raised in
service manager
Job allocated to
engineer &
dispatched
Job updated
One integrated system administers best practice across all your key contact points, enabling
proactive service, whether your people are on or off site.
Call centre confidence
Full call history is easily accessed from
one searchable screen ensuring your
call centre gives a fast, confident service.
On-screen alerts, colour-coded priority
statuses and call centre KPIs drive
continually improved response rates.
Job scheduling
Manage multiple calls, allocations and
all day-to-day office activity from your
graphical diary. Maximise your
resource allocation and promote
effective collaboration between the
office and the field-based team.
Workshop
See what work’s due in, how long it’s
taking and how much it’ll cost. The
workshop provides visibility of
chargeable parts, stock and labour
together with detailed WIP analysis for
complete clarity over your profit line.
Parts management
Always have the right parts and spares
within easy reach. Set minimum and
maximum stock levels for each van,
and the system will prompt an
appropriate re-order quantity when
these levels are reached and automate
the purchase order to suppliers.
Service & contract management
Engineer Post service Accounts
Details retrieved
from PDA &
Invoice printed
to PDA & posted
checked
Follow up
required?
Engineer
attends site
Job details
completed
on PDA
Planned Preventative Maintenance
Boost your reputation for reliability
with tailored Planned Preventative
Maintenance (PPM) schedules that
minimise customer downtime and
reduce your replacement costs.
Choose from a fixed-term contract or
generate schedules on a job-by-job
basis and build in additional extras,
such as pre-paid breakdown call-outs,
with ease.
Contract management
Contracts can easily cater for multiple
pieces of equipment across multiple
sites.
Key criteria, such as cost price and
warranty information, resource costs
and serial numbers, can all be
accessed and analysed, providing the
information needed to make informed
decisions regarding contract pricing,
uplifts and profitability.
Billing & contract renewals
A flexible rates schedule,
encompassing everything from call-
out charges and labour rates down to
fitting and travel enables you to
account for all renewals and
chargeable activity.
“The move to Service
Manager gave us complete
traceability of all
information being
processed and a
comprehensive view of
historical information by
serialised product.”
Peter Jarvis
CyberTech UK
Quality management and
performance improvement
solutions
You can easily see the renewals due in
any given period and deploy renewal
notices and invoices in your chosen
format, ensuring no contract is
overlooked or forgotten.
Meter billing
Ideal for the copier or franking
machine industry, this feature enables
you to track meter charges with ease.
An unlimited number of meters are
catered for, both for rentals and
purchase models. One-time data
throughput from machine to invoice
makes the process fast and accurate.
Self-service
With internet access, engineers can
retrieve the very latest job information
24/7, passing details back to head
office via inexpensive hand-held
devices or their laptops.
Customers can log calls directly
through a secure website and check
job progression, shifting the pressure
from your call centre whilst enhancing
the service experience.
23
 From initial order through to credit control, one tightly
integrated process ensures customer relationships are
strengthened at every level.

Sales order
processing &
credit control Sales order
processing &
credit control
Full visibility of stock and availability allows orders to be
processed efficiently, with customer-specific templates
and repeat-billing tools prompting smarter sales
techniques. Purchase history and special terms are
available at-a-glance and in-built validation ensures
your margins are protected at all times.

Picking routines assist packing and cost-effective route

management and all orders are tracked from entry,
estimate or pro forma through to delivery and sign off.

Fully integrated credit control provides the tools you

need to chase debt easily and effectively, empowering
your staff to maintain a steady flow of cash into the
business.

24

Everything you need to manage debtor chasing is within easy reach. Simply click through from
summary level through to supporting correspondence and menus.
Rapid order entry
Find customers by their postcode,
customer code or name - in fact, using
any information that speeds your
selection. Similar flexibility enables
fast entry of each line item and stock
code on the order.
Multi-selecting many items from a list
or duplicating part of a previous order
adds hundreds of detail lines within
seconds. Customers enter their own
orders on websites and self-service
forms, which are brought into your
central system without any re-keying.
Quotes and estimates are converted
into sales orders with a single
command, and immediately reserve
stock as they enter your workflow.
Validation
Customers are validated against their
credit limit and payment history. The
system checks stock availability, prices,
discounts and special offers for you, so
that every line item is priced correctly.
Price matrixes can provide a unique
price or discount for every
combination of customer. Promotional
prices are subject to full date control.
The system constantly checks and
warns you if your profit is placed
at risk.
Sales order processing & credit control
“We pride ourselves on
being able to satisfy the
widest range of
enquiries...and getting the
information is at-a-glance
stuff.”
Stephen Martin
Control Aer
Ireland’s leading supplier of
heating, ventilation and air
conditioning products
Picking & despatch
Orders are picked to your criteria, from
order date, size and value to cost-
effective delivery routes and carton
size. Picking lists can then be used as
the basis to generate delivery notes
and to prompt invoicing.
The progress and status of every order
is tracked through flexible enquiry
screens and integration with online
tracking applications.
All documents can be sent digitally or
printed as hard copy and an electronic
version automatically stored centrally
for immediate reference.
Credit control
Fully integrated credit control
empowers your staff to reduce debtor
days and increase cash flow.
Payment promises are immediately
visible, and debtors who breach their
credit limit are tracked and analysed.
Whilst on the phone, your staff can
drill down to source documents such
as invoices and statements and email
them direct for on-the-spot resolution.
In-built escalation procedures ensure
that action is taken on urgent cases
and that debts are handled with an
appropriate level of expertise.
25
 With multi-dimensional analysis, visual stock planning
and full integration to CRM, the internet and ordering,
you have instant visibility of your current and future,
physical and free stock position.

Inventory &
stock control
Inventory &
stock control
Landed costs, bills of materials and integration to your
nominal ledger provide effortless, up-to-the-minute,
valuations using FIFO, Standard Cost and Weighted
Average Cost methods.

26

Traffic light colours warn of impending under-stocking or
over-stocking on a week-by-week basis and enable you
to see the instant impact of your modelling scenarios.
Availability & visibility
See what you’ve got, where it is, how
long it’ll last and what it’s worth.
Physical and free stock quantities are
continually updated by supplier and
customer orders, bills of materials,
deliveries and returns across any
number of locations, lots and bins.
Flexible sub-analysis facilitates stock
grouping to handle sizes, colours and
any other product families of your
choice, providing an intuitive system
for analysis and reporting.
Real-time updates
Live updates to your nominal ledger
make it easy to maintain an accurate
valuation of your stock position and
track cost of sales and accruals.
Each time an item of stock is bought,
sold or moved, full details are
transferred in real-time, straight from
your sales and purchase ledgers and
stock modules for visibility and up-to-
the-minute information.
Cost & pricing
All your vital pricing information is
available at a glance, enabling you
to get the true cost of every stock
item and make a profit on everything
you sell.
Inventory & stock control
Key:
Optimal level
At risk of becoming under-stocked
Unable to fulfill existing orders
At risk of over-stocking
Landed costs, such as import charges,
duties, transport and storage, are easily
tracked as are actual, standard and
supplier costs, facilitating valuations
including FIFO (First in First Out),
Weighted Average and Standard Cost.
Easy-to-use price matrixes store
unique pricing structures for every
combination of customer and stock.
Profitability is tracked for every line
item sold.
Traceability & stock takes
Transactions both in and out can be
stored for the lifetime of your system
and allocated flexibly over multiple
locations. Serial numbers can be
picked or allocated individually or
automatically allocated by the system.
Everything you buy or sell can be
identified with bar codes and is fully
traceable. Stock takes can be assisted
by handheld devices and special
transaction types track damaged and
stolen goods.
Advanced ordering methods
All ordering methods are designed to
optimise your stock and meet
customer demand, whether triggered
automatically by Just in Time and
back-to-back processes, submitted via
an online purchase request or received
from the forecasting module.
“A fully integrated system
with one central source of
data has greatly
strengthened our
forecasting and our
business management.”
Liz Wright
Sacla UK
UK’s leading distributor of
traditional Italian cuisine
Customer quotations can be
seamlessly progressed into orders and
pro formas or invoices, whilst
prompting up-selling and cross-selling
opportunities.
Fast order entry is facilitated by order
templates, which can be duplicated or
tailored to fit customer buying trends,
and the required items ring-fenced to
ensure your priorities are met.
Stock forecasting
Forecast your physical stock position,
week-by-week for as many months
ahead as you wish and run “what if”
scenarios for the possible timing of
new sales orders, purchase orders and
supplier lead times.
The system forecast is based on your
current stock position plus and minus
known sales and purchase orders. As
you play out different scenarios, the
free stock is instantly re-calculated
and displayed graphically,
empowering confident forward
planning.
27
 From bill of materials through to post-production, your
solution is designed to minimise waste and maximise
profitability.

Orders are managed intelligently, based on stock

analysis, components available, priorities and routes.

Manufacturing
& production
Manufacturing
& production
Estimates are created automatically and all resources
closely tracked at all times.

With tight integration across your whole system, from

stock and works orders to purchasing, you have the
accurate, accessible information you need to maximise
your margins, even in a rapidly changing market.

28

Manage all open works orders from one centralised control desk. Colour coding enables fast
identification of stocking issues, while the precise information you need to closely monitor costs
and progress is available at-a-glance.
Bill of materials
See at-a-glance whether there's
sufficient materials to build an order
and then create assemblies from any
stock records or price lines, referring to
any text that's been entered to describe
the process. Manage complex builds by
nesting one assembly within another,
with automatic tracking of component
serial numbers. Pricing of raw materials
is always reflected in your margin,
ensuring that you maximise profit,
even in a rapidly changing market.
Creating works orders
Minimum build quantities ensure you
avoid producing unprofitable orders.
Maximum build quantities ensure you
do not exceed your stock holding.
You can easily increase the efficiency of
your production run by combining, and
subsequently merging, sales and works
orders. All rules and options can be
overridden when required, subject to full
authorisation and control.
Managing works orders
See at-a-glance which orders are
awaiting components and allocate
from any of your pre-defined
alternatives to ensure orders aren't held
up. Instantly create back-to-back orders
where you have shortages, subject to
full purchase order authorisation.
Pinpoint stock by multi-dimensional
Manufacturing & production
“Introducing Access to our
production process has
given our three separate
locations transparency and
fluidity.”
Mark Steel
Advanced Construction
Systems
Supplier of a
comprehensive range of
products to the
construction sector
analysis and allocate serial numbers for Advanced features
traceability. Issued stock can be reversed For companies with larger and more
to ensure correct components are complex requirements, we offer a host
available for each order. of optional functionality. Ideal for use
in all parts of the manufacturing and
Production control distribution industry, this proven
Every order is assigned a priority to solution offers capacity planning,
ensure your best customers are warehousing, full traceability, load
satisfied first and rush job deadlines planning, pallet tracking and much
are met. Factory routing gives you more.
excellent visibility of progress and
early warning of bottlenecks. For detailed information, request our
Estimates are created automatically Manufacturing & distribution
and tightly tracked against actual cost brochure.
of labour and materials as the job
progresses. On-demand WIP and
valuation analysis make it easy to see
where process improvements or
pricing negotiations are required.
Economies of scale
The system takes account of desired
stock levels and build quantities,
prompting you to take advantage of
economies of scale. Utilise back-
flushing for any or all of the goods
used within your manufacturing
process and for a kanban supply
system, if required. Damaged
materials and unfinished goods can
be written off. Certificates of
conformity can be configured and
produced on-demand and tailored to
reflect your own quality standards,
and those of your customers.
29
 Negotiating prime terms, retaining control over
budgets and handling your sub-contractors can all be
managed and analysed with speed and accuracy.

Procurement
& supplier
management Procurement
& supplier
management
Purchase requests can be submitted online by remote
staff and consolidated centrally to increase your buying
power. In-built authorisation workflow ensures that all
purchases are budgeted for and approved, before
hitting your invoice register or purchase ledger.

Supplier records keep a lifetime history of what you’ve

bought and when, providing full analysis by purchase
category and type.

30
 Purchase requests Purchase orders Invoice register Payment

Works Internal purchase Create purchase Receive invoice, Suggest invoice

orders requests order register invoice for payment

Consolidate
Stock Approve Project Approve Approve payment
purchase
replenishment order costing invoice detail & allocate
requests

Sales Back to back Approve Generate PO Match invoice Remittance

orders orders requests for supplier to order advice

Works Receive goods in; Project Update invoice Pay supplier by

Stock match to order to ledgers BACS or cheque
orders costing

Flexible requests, in-built approvals and live system updates all ensure you have maximum control all of your purchasing - wherever
demand is generated.

Enhanced supplier relationships
With instant access to detailed supplier
information and full, flexible purchase
analysis, you have all the tools needed
to interrogate supplier performance at
the most detailed level.
View your commitments at a glance,
manage an unlimited number of
contacts, addresses and attached
documents, and enjoy instant nominal
updates for the most accurate picture
of your costs.
Browser-based procurement
Fully integrated, online procurement
tools enable your staff, whether office-
based or remote, to raise purchase
requests and verify deliveries from
within a single, easy-to-use screen.
Configurable templates enable swift
and accurate data capture, whilst in-
built workflow rules ensure tight
budgetary control and traceability.
Purchase requests can be approved or
rejected before being consolidated
into purchase orders, with real-time
updates giving you the most accurate
view on your buying decisions.
Invoice approval workflow
Flexible workflow rules, alert
functionality and a browser-based
interface put an end to paper-chasing
and eliminate the risks of
unauthorised payments.
Any invoice, whether received as an
Excel document, PDF or hard copy
scan, can flow directly into a secure,
self-contained register and be
subjected to your pre-defined approval
routines.
Effective remittance management
From satisfying priority payments to
answering supplier demands, your
ledger team has all the tools needed
to work smoothly and efficiently.
Remittance advice notes, cheques,
credit card and BACS payment are all
automated enabling confidence in
high-volume processing. Advance
payments, deposits, partial payments
and all cash allocations are handled
with ease.

To find out more about our consulting,

software and solutions, telephone us
on 01206 322575 or email
info@theaccessgroup.com.

Alternatively, visit the Access web site

at www.theaccessgroup.com, where
more you can download further
information such as brochures, info
guides and customer case studies.

We look forward to helping you

achieve complete business clarity.

Procurement & supplier management 31

 Winner: Mid-Tier Software Package
- Accountancy Age 2009

Winner: Green Software Provider of

the Year - Sift Media Business
Software Satisfaction Awards 2009

Access UK
The Old School, Stratford St. Mary
Colchester, Essex
CO7 6LZ, United Kingdom

T 01206 322 575

T 0845 345 3300
F 01206 322 956
E info@theaccessgroup.com
Winner: Construction Accounting
Software of the Year - Construction
Computing Awards 2009
Access Ireland
Plaza 212
Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland

T +353 (1) 885 5577

Winner: IT in Manufacturing -
F +353 (1) 829 3881 Manufacturer of the Year
E info@theaccessgroup.ie Awards 2009

consulting | software | solutions

www.theaccessgroup.com

© Access 2009. E&OE.