What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Onboarding call on 12 Jan 2026. Carnmoor agreed three waves of sources, a two-client pilot and a rollout tied to sign-off. Only Kofi and Gemma use the brain, and Kofi is the sole admin.
What happened: Hamza proposed three waves, with the leasing system and CRM first, then the service desk, then finance and remarketing. The pilot is the delivery group and one professional services client.
Customer view: Gemma wants service desk queries next to invoices for client reviews. She is protective of the first impression and would rather have it right than on time.
Commercial: Hamza said nothing discussed changes the order form, and Sophie would handle any extra need. There was no upsell ask.
Watch: Kofi is the only admin and owns all mappings. Gemma fears it becomes Kofi's project that account managers do not own.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Hamza Akhtar sends the Wednesday session invite, the reporting copy checklist and the written plan.
- Kofi Asamoah confirms which records belong to each pilot client and checks the reporting copy for contract end dates.
- Gemma Thorne finds who keeps the remarketing log and briefs her sceptical account manager as reviewer.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Kofi is the only admin and the only person who can change a mapping.
- Client records are split across several CRM entries, so mapping may be harder than expected and delay the pilot.
- Account managers may return to spreadsheets if they do not feel ownership.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Showing one or two clients properly could win over the wider team.
- A rollout to account managers and service desk leads would lift usage towards the 40 licensed users.
Transcript
- Hamza AkhtarHello, can you both hear me alright? I've got the recording light on, so we're good on my side.
- Gemma ThorneYes, loud and clear. Afternoon, Hamza. Kofi's just dialling in, I can see him in the lobby.
- Kofi AsamoahAfternoon, both. Sorry, the meeting room booking clashed with something. I'm in now. Can you hear me?
- Hamza AkhtarPerfectly. No rush at all. How's the first week back been? It's Monday, so I'm guessing the inbox is a bit of a landslide.
- Gemma ThorneDon't. I've got two client reviews to prepare this week and I'm still rebuilding the picture for one of them from three spreadsheets. Which is rather the point of why we're doing this, so at least I'm motivated.
- Hamza AkhtarHa, well, that's a good place to start then. Shall we say the aim for today is to get to a shared plan? Which sources go in first, who looks after each one, and what you'd like to see working by the time Amara does your first check-in.
- Kofi AsamoahBefore we do that, can I do the open tickets? It's quick. There aren't any. Nothing raised, nothing waiting on us, nothing waiting on you. So that's a clean sheet.
- Hamza AkhtarBrilliant, thanks Kofi. Which, to be fair, is what I'd expect at this stage. We're not really loading much yet, so there's not much to go wrong.
- Kofi AsamoahRight. Which is also why I wanted to be honest about where we are. It's me logging in most days, and Gemma now and then. Nobody else has really touched it.
- Gemma ThorneYeah, that's fair. I've shown it to a couple of the account managers over my shoulder, but I haven't pushed anyone to use it, because I don't want them asking it questions about their clients and getting half an answer.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's a sensible instinct, actually. I'd much rather you held people back until the client list is right than had forty people find the gaps for you. You've got 40 licensed users, and there's no prize for filling them in week one.
- Gemma ThorneGood. Because I'd be quite protective of the first impression. If an account manager asks about a fleet and it tells them something that doesn't match what they know, that's them gone, and they won't come back.
- Hamza AkhtarUnderstood. So let's treat the client list as the spine of everything. Kofi, I know you've been thinking about this. Where do you want to start?
- Kofi AsamoahThe leasing system. That's the master for who the clients are, which vehicles sit under which contract, and the contract dates. Everything else should hang off that. If the client names in the CRM and the leasing system disagree, I'd rather the brain follows the leasing system.
- Hamza AkhtarOkay. And do they disagree?
- Kofi AsamoahIn places. Some of the larger groups are one client in the leasing system and four or five in the CRM, because different account managers set them up over the years. That's a mapping question, not a bug. I just want it written down before we load anything.
- Gemma ThorneWhich clients are we talking about, Kofi? Which fleets?
- Kofi AsamoahThe big corporate ones, mostly. The ones you'd have review packs for. I'll send you the list, but I'd say roughly the top of the book.
- Gemma ThorneRight, and those are exactly the ones I can't afford to get wrong. Let's get the service desk in on this as well, because they'll have yet another version of how a client is named.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's useful, thank you. So I'm writing three things down. One, the leasing system is the master for client identity. Two, there's a mapping between that and the CRM that Kofi owns. Three, the service desk gets a seat at the table before we load tickets. Does that sound right?
- Kofi AsamoahYes. And I'll tell Gemma before I change any mapping. I don't want to be quietly fixing names and then she's looking at a review pack that's moved under her.
- Gemma ThorneThank you, I'd appreciate that. Honestly, that's half my worry.
- Hamza AkhtarGood. Let me share my screen and show you the order of connectors I'd suggest. Give me a second, it's being slow. There. Can you see the plan page?
- Gemma ThorneYes, I can see it. It's a bit small, but I can see it.
- Hamza AkhtarI'll zoom in. So the way I normally do this is in three waves. First wave is the master data, so the leasing system and the CRM. Second wave is the service desk and the helpdesk tickets. Third wave is finance, so invoices from the accounting system, and then whatever else you want for remarketing.
- Kofi AsamoahWhich source is that remarketing data from? Is that coming out of the leasing system or is it somewhere else?
- Gemma ThorneSomewhere else. The remarketing team have their own sales log for ex-lease vehicles. It's, I think, a spreadsheet that lives on a shared drive. Is that a problem?
- Hamza AkhtarNot a problem, but it changes how we bring it in. If it's a file on a shared drive we can read it through Microsoft 365 or SharePoint, depending where it sits. But I'd want to know who keeps it tidy, because a spreadsheet is only as stable as the person typing in it.
- Gemma ThorneOne of the remarketing analysts. I'll ask who. It might be a person, it might be a team. I don't want to promise something I haven't seen.
- Hamza AkhtarTotally fair. Let's park it for wave three and I'll mark it as an open question against Gemma. We don't need it for now.
- Kofi AsamoahCan I ask about the nightly load? What time does it finish, and what do I check if it doesn't?
- Hamza AkhtarGood question. The nightly refresh should be complete by 07:00 your time on business days. If it hasn't, you'll see it on the connector status page in the admin area, and there's a last-loaded time against each source. That's the first thing to look at.
- Kofi AsamoahOkay. I'll check last night's load each morning for the first few weeks until I trust it. If anything's off I'll raise it with you straight away and I'll say which source it is.
- Hamza AkhtarPerfect. That's exactly what I'd do. And there's a point I should make: the brain running and the brain being current are not the same thing. If a load is late it will still answer, just on yesterday's data. So the habit of looking is a good one.
- Gemma ThorneThat's worth knowing. I'd have assumed if it answered, it was fine.
- Kofi AsamoahYeah, I'll put a line about that in the note for the account managers. Otherwise someone will quote something from the brain on a Tuesday that was true on a Friday.
- Gemma ThornePlease do. What did the client actually see, that's what I always ask. If the answer's old and the client's seen the new figure, we look silly.
- Hamza AkhtarRight. Let me move on to the part that's probably most useful. Connecting the leasing system. Kofi, I'd like to do this together in a working session rather than over a call like this. Are you happy to do that this week?
- Kofi AsamoahYes. Tuesday or Wednesday would suit. I'd rather do it when I'm not in the middle of month-end reporting, so not Thursday.
- Hamza AkhtarWednesday then, I'll send an invite. I'll need read access to a reporting view rather than the live tables. Is that something you can set up?
- Kofi AsamoahI think so. We have a reporting copy that I use for the MI packs. That's much safer than pointing anything at the live system. I'd want to check what's in it first, because I'm not sure it includes the contract end dates.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's the kind of check I'd want you to make, and I'd rather you knew than guessed. Let me know what you find and we'll adjust.
- Kofi AsamoahWill do.
- Hamza AkhtarWhile you're thinking about that, I'll pull up the example client view so you can both see where we're heading. This is a made-up fleet in our demo environment, but the layout is what you'd get. Fleet at the top, then open service desk queries, then invoices, then the notes from calls and emails if you connect those.
- Gemma ThorneOh, that's the bit I want. Having the service desk queries next to the invoices. At the moment I have to ask someone to pull both and then I put them side by side in a slide. It takes an afternoon.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's the use case you bought it for, as I understood from earlier conversations with Sophie. So I'd like to make that the thing we get working first, even before everything else is perfect.
- Gemma ThorneYes, please. If I could have one or two clients I can show properly before the end of the quarter, I could take that to the rest of the team and say, look, this is what it does.
- Hamza AkhtarThen let's pick two. Which clients would you choose?
- Gemma ThorneHmm. One that's large and messy, because that's the real test, and one that's smaller and well understood, so I can tell straight away if the numbers are right. Let me think. I'd say the delivery group with the big van fleet, and then one of the professional services firms, they're a simpler arrangement.
- Kofi AsamoahThe delivery group is one of the ones that's split across several records in the CRM. So that'll be a good test of the mapping, but it'll also be the one that bites us.
- Gemma ThorneThen it's the right one. I'd rather find out now.
- Hamza AkhtarAgreed. Okay, so the pilot is those two clients. I'll note it as the target for the first wave, and Kofi will confirm which records belong to which group before Wednesday.
- Kofi AsamoahYes, I'll do that. I'll write down which source each name came from, so it's traceable.
- Hamza AkhtarLovely. Now, users. You've got 40 licensed users and at the moment it's, what, a couple of you? How do you want to roll it out?
- Gemma ThorneSlowly. I'd start with the account managers who run the big corporate reviews. Maybe a handful. Then the service desk team leads. Then, if it works, the wider group.
- Hamza AkhtarThat sounds right to me. And would you want a short session for them? Say forty minutes, how to ask it questions, how to tell if an answer's current, who to tell if something looks wrong.
- Gemma ThorneYes. Not too long, they'll switch off. And I'd like it to use our own clients, not an example. They'll care much more if it's a fleet they know.
- Hamza AkhtarThen it needs to wait until the pilot clients are loaded and Kofi's happy with them. Realistically I'd say the end of next month for that session, if the first wave goes as planned.
- Kofi AsamoahI'd be a bit careful with that. If the mapping turns out harder than I think, it could slip. I'd rather say once the pilot clients are right, not a particular week.
- Hamza AkhtarFair enough. So we tie it to the pilot being signed off, not to a date. Gemma, is that all right?
- Gemma ThorneThat's fine by me. I'd rather have it right than on time.
- Hamza AkhtarGood. Next, access and security. Kofi, you're the admin, so you'll be the person who adds users and sets what they see. Is there anyone who should be able to see everything and anyone who shouldn't?
- Kofi AsamoahYes. Some of the remarketing data is commercially sensitive, so I wouldn't want the service desk seeing it. And finance data, invoices, I'd keep to the account managers and above. The service desk shouldn't need it.
- Gemma ThorneHmm, though the service desk do sometimes need to know if a client's account is on hold. Can we show them the status without the amounts?
- Hamza AkhtarThat's a mapping and permissions question, and I'd want to check how it's set up rather than promise on the spot. I'll look at what's possible and come back with a straight answer in the note.
- Gemma ThorneThanks. That's a good example of what I mean, I don't want to say yes to the service desk and then have to retract it.
- Kofi AsamoahI'd also want to know who can change a mapping. At the moment that's me. I'd keep it that way until we've settled.
- Hamza AkhtarAgreed, and I'll make a note. One admin for now, you, and we can add a second later if you want cover for holidays. Though I'd gently say that having only one admin is a bit of a risk if you're away.
- Kofi AsamoahYeah, that's fair. Let me think about who that would be. Possibly one of the analysts in my team.
- Gemma ThorneLet me know if you want me to say something to them.
- Hamza AkhtarOkay, I've been scribbling while we talked. Let me read back what I've got, and you tell me if I've got it wrong. Wave one is the leasing system and the CRM, with the leasing system as the master for client identity. Pilot on two clients, the delivery group and one professional services client. Kofi owns the mapping and tells Gemma before changing anything.
- Kofi AsamoahYes. And I'll check the reporting copy for contract end dates first.
- Hamza AkhtarRight, good. Wave two is the service desk tickets, once the service desk has been consulted. Wave three is finance and the remarketing log, with Gemma finding out who looks after that spreadsheet. Rollout to the account managers is tied to the pilot being signed off, with a short session using your own clients.
- Gemma ThorneThat's it. I'd add that I'd like to see the pilot clients before I show them to anyone, so I can check them against what I know.
- Hamza AkhtarYes, of course. You see them first, and nothing goes to the wider team until you've said so.
- Gemma ThorneThank you.
- Kofi AsamoahCan I ask one more technical thing? When we bring in the tickets, do they come in as they are, or can I filter? We've got a lot of old closed tickets that are just noise.
- Hamza AkhtarYou can filter. A lot of people bring in the last year or so to start and extend backwards later if they need it. I'd suggest starting narrow. It's easier to widen than to clean up.
- Kofi AsamoahGood. That's what I'd have done anyway.
- Hamza AkhtarIs there anything either of you is worried about? Anything that would make this go badly?
- Gemma ThorneHonestly, the thing I worry about is that it becomes Kofi's project and nobody else owns it. He's the one who's wired it all in, and I'm the one who wanted it, but the account managers haven't had a hand in it. If they don't feel it's theirs they'll go back to their spreadsheets.
- Kofi AsamoahI'd say the same from the data side. I'd rather not be the only person who understands why a client is mapped the way it is.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's a really good thing to say out loud. I'd suggest two things. One, pick one account manager as the friendly reviewer for the pilot, someone who'll tell you straight if a number's off. Two, keep the mapping notes somewhere the team can read them, not just in your head, Kofi.
- Gemma ThorneI know who. There's one of the senior account managers who's very sceptical and very sharp. If she's happy, everyone will be.
- Hamza AkhtarThen she's your reviewer. I'd bring her in once the first client is loaded.
- Gemma ThorneWill do. I'll have a word.
- Kofi AsamoahI'll write the mapping notes up as I go. Plain English, one line per client group, saying which source it came from.
- Hamza AkhtarBrilliant. I think that's most of what I wanted from today. Let me confirm what I'll do. I'll send the Wednesday invite and a short checklist of what I need from the reporting copy. I'll write up today's plan and send it to you both, with the open questions marked against whoever owns them. And I'll check the permissions question for the service desk and come back to Gemma.
- Gemma ThorneAnd I'll find out who looks after the remarketing log, speak to the service desk lead, and have a word with my sceptical account manager. Is that everything?
- Kofi AsamoahI'll check the reporting copy for contract end dates and send Gemma the list of the larger client groups before Wednesday.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's it. One last thing, just so it's said. Your order form covers the subscription, and there's nothing in what we've discussed today that changes it. If something you want turns out to need more, I'll flag it straight away and Sophie would talk it through with you. I don't want any surprises on that front.
- Gemma ThorneAppreciated. I wouldn't take anything commercial further without checking, anyway, but it's good to know you'd say so early.
- Hamza AkhtarOf course. Amara will pick up the check-in once the pilot's looking sensible, so you'll hear from her after that.
- Kofi AsamoahGood. Thanks, Hamza. This was useful, it's a much clearer picture than I had at the start.
- Gemma ThorneYes, thanks both. I feel a lot better about the order we're doing things in.
- Hamza AkhtarGreat. Speak on Wednesday, Kofi. Gemma, I'll be in touch about the permissions question. Cheers, both.
- Kofi AsamoahCheers, Hamza. Cheers, Gemma.
- Gemma ThorneThanks, bye.