Global change management consultancy reduces invoicing days with fully integrated finance and project costing software
dhc, provider of integrated software solutions, today announced that the global change management consultancy, Quest Worldwide, has significantly improved its cash flow and reduced invoicing days - following dhc’s recent implementation of Access Dimensions and dhc iConnekt at its UK headquarters. The introduction of the new software has also enabled Quest Worldwide’s highly experienced consultants to make better-informed operational decisions and build stronger client relationships, through complete visibility and control of client accounts, including remotely.
Quest Worldwide has a high profile, multi-national client base, largely consisting of multi-national organisations undergoing mergers or acquisitions, or those requiring ongoing support for strategy implementation, operational excellence and people engagement (such as Barclaycard and Unilever). The company appointed dhc to provide and implement fully integrated finance and project costing software. It needed a solution capable of eliminating large amounts of duplication of data entry, improving control and visibility, and providing a single, centralised system across the organisation.
The previous accounting software used by Quest Worldwide’s four-strong finance team in the UK and North America lacked functionality, meaning day-to-day accounting processes were time-intensive and the company ran the risk of creating inaccurate financial documents. Entries risked being keyed incorrectly and Quest Worldwide’s clients would be mis-charged, a problem that was exacerbated by the inability to control data once in the system. By using Access Dimensions and dhc iConnekt, Quest Worldwide has reduced the time between purchase order through to invoicing the client from 20 days to just two.
Group Finance Manager at Quest Worldwide, Lynda Catchpole, comments, “One of the major pain points with our preceding software was the sheer amount of re-keying and re-drafting of data. Lack of functionality affected the consultants’ ability to retrieve data from within the system, and export this into an instantly usable format for the client. Invoices could have up to 200 line items, which originally took our finance team around 22 clicks to export, with each item requiring categorisation, subtotalling and formatting.”
She continues, "Today, usable, correctly formatted, accurate and timely invoice data can be exported into Excel instantly. Our cash flow has never looked healthier, we are being paid earlier by clients – sometimes by a month – and re-charging is immediate.”
Access Dimensions is a Windows-based financial management and accounting software, supplied and implemented by Access partner and local company dhc. Access Dimensions delivers Quest Worldwide with seamless integration with all Microsoft applications including Word, Excel and Outlook. dhc has also integrated the system with a comprehensive selection of Crystal Reports and provided Quest Worldwide with multi-currency modules to support its International business.
dhc’s own web-based workflow software, iConnekt, has been integrated into Access Dimensions, designed to enable Quest Worldwide’s senior consultants and other authorised non-financial users to enter and view business critical information instantly, 24/7. Any information entered by the consultants is then approved by the finance team and fed directly back into Access Dimensions. A secure Virtual Private Network also ensures that information can be entered or viewed remotely by non-office based users.
