Calderbrook Housing Group / BB-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Calderbrook Housing Group: documents · 2025-02-24 14:30
Helen Marsden found the brain's arrears count consistently lower than her housing extract. Natalie Eze showed it was a definition and timing gap, not missing tenants. Helen wants a sourced value story for the board before the renewal.
What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Helen Marsden found the brain's arrears count consistently lower than her housing extract. Natalie Eze showed it was a definition and timing gap, not missing tenants. Helen wants a sourced value story for the board before the renewal.
What happened: Helen's arrears figure did not tie to the housing system extract. On screen, Natalie showed the brain applies the configured grace period and loads earlier in the day, so the two counts measure different things.
Customer view: Helen was relieved nobody was dropping out of the data. She asked for a short note with both definitions and a one-page usage summary with a source under every figure.
Commercial: Usage is around ten active people on an average day, up about two fifths on the previous quarter, against forty licensed Growth users. Helen said the board will ask what forty-four thousand pounds a year buys, and the term runs to 1 Sep 2025.
Watch: Helen still asks more questions than anyone, though use now spreads across teams. The call does not show a renewal decision.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Arrears figures and value case
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
positive
Voice
champion
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Natalie sends Helen the arrears note with both definitions and a lineage screenshot by the end of the week.
- Natalie then sends the one-page usage summary with a source under each figure, and books the quarterly review before the board meeting.
- Helen takes the grace period question to the rent team and forwards the draft board pack section.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The board pack mixes two arrears definitions, so a figure that looks wrong could undermine trust in the brain.
- Helen still asks more questions than anyone, which leaves some key-person exposure.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A sourced one-page usage summary can give Helen the value case the board will ask for before the 1 Sep 2025 term end.
- Reconciliation work that took days and now takes an afternoon is a concrete benefit to show.
Transcript
Natalie Eze NoneHello Helen, can you hear me alright? I can see you but I'm not sure the sound has caught up.
Helen Marsden NoneYes, I can hear you. Afternoon, Natalie. Sorry, I've just come from another meeting and I'm still unpacking my laptop.- Natalie Eze NoneNo problem at all. Take a second. How's the week been? Is it as wet in Leeds as it is down here?
- Helen Marsden NoneWorse, I think. It's been grey since Friday. But it's been a busy week rather than a bad one, so I won't complain. The board pack deadline is looming, which is really why I wanted to start with something.
- Natalie Eze NoneGo on, that's what I was hoping you'd say. I've got the agenda down as usage and a general catch-up, but happy to start wherever you like.
- Helen Marsden NoneSo, I'm chasing a discrepancy in the arrears section of the board pack. The number of tenants in arrears that the brain gives me doesn't reconcile to the extract we take from the housing management system. It's not far off, but the board will ask, and I'd rather know why before they do.
- Natalie Eze NoneRight. Okay. And is the gap the same direction each time, or does it bounce around? Is the brain always higher, say?
- Helen Marsden NoneThe brain is a little lower. Consistently lower. That's what bothers me, because random noise I could live with. A consistent gap means something systematic.
- Natalie Eze NoneMm, that's a fair read. My first guess would be timing. The nightly refresh pulls the housing system in the early hours, and if your team takes the extract later in the day, payments posted in between would move people out of arrears in the one and not the other. But I don't want to guess at it with you. Can I share my screen?
- Helen Marsden NonePlease. And can you show me the source? I'd like to see where the brain's figure actually comes from rather than be told.
- Natalie Eze NoneOf course. Give me a moment, I'm just pulling up the lineage page for the arrears table.
- Natalie Eze NoneRight, can you see that? So this is the arrears table in your Snowflake account, and over here is the connector to the housing system. You can see the last load time on the right.
- Helen Marsden NoneYes. Hold on. That load time is before our extract, by quite a few hours. So you're saying the brain has the earlier picture.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's what it looks like. And there's a second thing. See this filter on the table, it only counts a tenancy as in arrears once the balance has been outstanding past the grace period your team configured when we set it up.
- Helen Marsden NoneAh. Right. That was the original definition from the rent team. And I don't think the extract applies the grace period at all. It just takes anything with a balance.
- Natalie Eze NoneSo that would explain a consistently lower number from us. The brain is applying the stricter definition and the extract is the looser one.
- Helen Marsden NoneWhich means neither is wrong, but the board pack is mixing them, and these don't reconcile because they're not measuring the same thing. That's actually rather a relief. I was worried we had tenants dropping out of the data.
- Natalie Eze NoneNo, nobody's dropping out, as far as I can see. I can run a count with the grace period switched off, just on screen, so you can see whether it lands on your extract. Would that help?
- Helen Marsden NoneThat would be exactly what I need. Same date, same cut-off, if you can.
- Natalie Eze NoneOkay, sorry, that took a bit longer than I'd like, the warehouse was waking up. So with the grace period off, the count comes out within a handful of the extract. The remaining handful, I'd put down to payments posting during the day.
- Helen Marsden NoneA handful I can footnote. That's fine. Can you send me that as a short note, with the two definitions side by side? I'll attach it to the working papers for that section.
- Natalie Eze NoneYes, I'll write it up properly and send it by the end of the week, with a screenshot of the lineage so the source is there in black and white.
- Helen Marsden NoneLovely. Kind regards, I mean, thank you. Sorry, I'm in email mode.
- Natalie Eze NoneHa, no, that's fine. Right, shall we go through usage? Because I think you'll like it.
- Helen Marsden NoneGo on then. I've felt it's busier, but I've not looked.
- Natalie Eze NoneSo over the last thirty days, around ten people are active on an average day. That's up quite a lot on the previous quarter, something like two fifths more. And you've got forty licensed users on Growth, so there's still plenty of headroom.
- Helen Marsden NoneTen. Yes, that feels right. That's my team, and then the people from complaints who I persuaded to have a go, and a couple from the repairs side.
- Natalie Eze NoneAnd that's the pattern I'd hoped for. It's not just one person asking all the questions. It's spread across the teams, which is healthier for you, because if one person moves on, the brain doesn't go quiet.
- Helen Marsden NoneMm. That's a fair point. I do still ask more than anyone, though, if I'm honest.
- Natalie Eze NoneYou do, but you're not the whole story any more. Which is good. One more thing on the health side: you raised one ticket in the last month, nothing urgent, and it was closed without any fuss. No high-priority tickets, and no invoices outstanding on our side either.
- Helen Marsden NoneYes, I remember the ticket. Your team were quick. I've no complaints there.
- Natalie Eze NoneGood. Now, I did want to flag the calendar, only gently. The term runs to 1 Sep 2025, so we've got time, but Tom Ashdown will want to talk about the renewal in good time, and I'd like you to have a value story ready before that.
- Helen Marsden NoneRight. Well, the board will ask what we're getting for forty-four thousand pounds a year. They always ask. So I'd quite like something I can put in front of them, not just my own enthusiasm.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's the right instinct. What would be most persuasive to them, do you think? Questions answered, time saved, or the reconciliation work like today?
- Helen Marsden NoneReconciliation, honestly. Before the brain, it took my team days to stitch the tenant calls, repairs and arrears together for one section. If I can show the board that it's now an afternoon, and that the figures tie back to source, that's the credibility I need.
- Natalie Eze NoneThen let me put together a one-page usage summary for you. Questions asked month on month, who's asking, the dashboards your team have built. You can lift what you want into the pack.
- Helen Marsden NonePlease. Keep it plain. The board don't want jargon. And can you make sure it says where each figure comes from? I'll be asked.
- Natalie Eze NoneEvery figure with its source underneath. Understood.
- Helen Marsden NoneGood. Is there anything on your side I should know about? Anything changing in the product?
- Natalie Eze NoneNothing that touches you this quarter that I'm aware of. If that changes I'll tell you straight away. Otherwise, the next thing is the quarterly review, which I'll put in the diary.
- Helen Marsden NoneDo that. Before the board meeting would be ideal, so I've got the numbers in time.
- Natalie Eze NoneWill do. So, to recap: I send you the arrears note with both definitions by the end of the week, and then the one-page usage summary. You take the grace period question back to the rent team, to decide which definition the board pack should use.
- Helen Marsden NoneYes. And I'll forward you the section from the draft board pack so you can see exactly how the figure is presented. Then we're not guessing.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat would be really useful. Thank you, Helen. Anything else from you?
- Helen Marsden NoneNo, that's everything. Thank you, Natalie, this was helpful. Speak soon.
- Natalie Eze NoneSpeak soon. Bye for now.
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