Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – QBR
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 9 Apr 2025 11:45
At the QBR the customer links value to finding variations earlier, and Finance Director Valerie Okon opened the first renewal. An invoice shows overdue on her side and Sunil Kapoor flagged a data mismatch and slightly late figures.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026At the QBR the customer links value to finding variations earlier, and Finance Director Valerie Okon opened the first renewal. An invoice shows overdue on her side and Sunil Kapoor flagged a data mismatch and slightly late figures.
What happened: Quarterly review with Craig Ashwell, Sunil Kapoor and Finance Director Valerie Okon, covering usage, two how-to tickets and the first renewal.
Customer view: Craig links the value to finding out about variations earlier and getting paid for what was built. Valerie says the credit controllers are less reliant on her for background.
Commercial: Term runs to 22 Aug 2025, renewal date 23 Aug 2025, at £40k a year on Growth. Valerie needs board paperwork in good time, and Priya Raman is to speak to her before the notice goes out.
Watch: An invoice shows overdue on Valerie's side, possibly with a wrong purchase order. Sunil also reported finance connector figures slightly behind on a couple of mornings.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
First renewal, value and invoice
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Marcus Bell asks BG-Demo finance to send Valerie a statement of open invoices today.
- Priya Raman contacts Valerie about the renewal before the formal notice goes out.
- Marcus sends Craig the one pager by the end of the following week and books thirty minutes with Sunil on dashboards.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- An invoice shows overdue on Valerie's side and may carry a wrong purchase order, which could be BG-Demo's own billing error.
- Usage is six or seven people against forty licensed, with a fair share of questions from a couple of people.
- Sunil reported finance connector figures slightly behind on a couple of mornings, and two client records that do not agree.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Widen use beyond the commercial and credit control teams to project managers on site.
- Save the unsigned variations question as a standing question for the commercial team.
- Use the one pager and Craig's own words on variations as the value case for the board.
Transcript
Marcus BellHello, hello. Can everyone hear me alright? I've got Craig, Sunil... and Valerie's just joined. Hi Valerie.
Valerie OkonHello Marcus. Yes, I can hear you. Sorry, I was on another call that ran over.
Craig AshwellNo problem. I've only just got off site myself. It's chucking it down in Reading, so I'm sat in the car with the heater on.- Marcus BellHa, Manchester's the same, so no sympathy needed. Right, thanks all for making time. I'm going to share my screen in a second and I just want to cover three things: how the brain's been used this last quarter, the couple of tickets you raised, and then where we are on the renewal in August. Shall we say we'll be done by half twelve?
- Craig AshwellBefore you do that, can I mention the Thames Valley job? The one with the landlord's agent changing the scope every other week.
- Marcus BellOf course, go on.
- Craig AshwellWhere's the variation? That's all I keep asking. The site team agreed extra partitions by email, the brain should show me that, and what has the client signed? Nothing, as far as I can see. I want to know before we build it, not after.
Sunil KapoorWhich project code is that, Craig? Because I looked at it on Monday and there's a mismatch I wanted to raise anyway.- Craig AshwellIs that the one that begins with the fit-out for the corporate tenant? I don't have the code in my head.
- Sunil KapoorI'll find it. What I found is that the client list in the project system and the one in the commercial system don't agree. One client appears twice with slightly different names, so the brain treats them as two organisations. That doesn't tie to the ledger, because finance has them as one.
- Valerie OkonWhich client?
- Sunil KapoorI'll send you the list, Valerie. It's a small number. I just don't want it to slide, because when you ask what's outstanding by client, the answer would be split.
- Valerie OkonYes. That would be a problem. Please send it today.
- Sunil KapoorWill do. I'll reconcile it on our side first, so the names are clean, and then the brain should pick it up on the next nightly refresh.
- Marcus BellThat's useful, thank you Sunil. And Craig, I've noted the variation point. Let me get my screen up and I'll show you what's there, because I think part of that is already in the brain.
- Marcus BellRight. Can you see the usage page?
- Craig AshwellYes, I can see it.
- Marcus BellGood. So I've pulled the numbers. You're on Growth, licensed for forty users, at £39,600 a year, and that's what's on the order form and what we've invoiced, so those line up. First thing on usage: the number of people active in a typical month is up by a good chunk on the previous quarter. It's an average of six or seven active people in a given month.
- Valerie OkonSix or seven. Out of forty.
- Marcus BellYes, I'll be straight about that. It's moving the right way, but it's a long way under what you're licensed for. I'm not saying that's a problem in itself, lots of customers start with one team and widen out. I just think it's worth us talking about who else should be in there.
- Craig AshwellIt's me, Sunil, a couple of the commercial managers, and the credit control team. That's who's using it. The project managers on site, not really.
- Marcus BellRight, and that's what I wondered. The questions asked are the best measure of value, and they've gone up as well. But a fair share of them come from just a couple of people. Craig, I'd guess a lot of them are yours.
- Craig AshwellProbably. I ask it things on the train. Which clients haven't signed variations, which valuations are late. It's quicker than asking anyone.
- Marcus BellWhich is exactly what it's for. The only thing I'd flag is that if you're on holiday, the numbers dip. So the more people asking, the sturdier it is.
- Craig AshwellFair. Go on.
- Marcus BellOkay. Next, the dashboards. Sunil, you built a couple. They're getting looked at, I can see page views, which is good, that's you investing in it. Do they still match what you wanted?
- Sunil KapoorMostly. There's one I built for retentions by client, and honestly I'm not sure I should have built it. The brain can answer it if you ask the question properly. I'd rather not maintain a report that the brain already does.
- Marcus BellI'd agree with that. Happy to jump on a call, just the two of us, and we'll go through which ones are worth keeping. Shall we book thirty minutes?
- Sunil KapoorYes please. Next week is fine for me.
- Valerie OkonMarcus, can I ask about invoices? I have one of yours showing as overdue on our side. Is that what you have?
- Marcus BellLet me look. I can see on the account summary there's one invoice marked open and past its date. I don't see the detail from where I am, because that sits with our finance team. I'll ask them to send you a statement today, so you've both got the same list.
- Valerie OkonThank you. I'd like to see it. It may be sitting with approvals. We'll pay on the agreed terms.
- Craig AshwellValerie, is that the one we queried? The one that had the wrong purchase order on it?
- Valerie OkonI don't want to guess in front of Marcus. I'll check. If it needs reissuing, I'll tell you.
- Marcus BellThat's all fine. If it's our mistake, we'll sort it quickly. I just wanted to make sure it didn't get lost before we get to the renewal conversation.
- Marcus BellOkay, tickets. You've raised two in the last month. Both were routine, how-to type questions. Neither was high priority, and the response times were well inside what Growth gives you. Sunil, one was yours about the filter on the client page?
- Sunil KapoorThat's right. It was answered quickly. I was doing it wrong, to be fair, nothing wrong with the product.
- Marcus BellAnd the other was Craig's team asking how to see calls and emails against a project. Did that make sense once you had the answer?
- Craig AshwellYes. And that's actually the bit I like. Calls, emails, invoices, all against the one client. The credit control team can see what was said on a call before they chase. It stops us chasing for money we've agreed to wait for. Or worse, going soft on money that's due.
- Valerie OkonThat has been useful. I'll say that. The credit controllers are less reliant on me for the background.
- Marcus BellGood to hear. Can I put that in my notes, that it's reducing the chasing back and forth? I'd like to capture what it's worth to you in your own words, so it's on file.
- Craig AshwellPut it down that we're finding out about variations earlier. Let's get paid for what we've built. That's the value.
- Marcus BellNoted, and I'll quote you on it. Now, on Craig's point earlier. Where's the variation. I'd like to try something while we're on the call, if that's alright. Craig, give me a project name.
- Craig AshwellTry the corporate tenant one in Reading. The big floor.
- Marcus BellOkay. I'm asking the brain: which instructed changes on that project have no signed variation against them. Give it a moment.
- Marcus BellSo it's come back with a couple of emails where changes were agreed, and no matching sign-off in the commercial records. It's not perfect. It's reading what's there, so if the site team agreed something by phone, it won't know.
- Craig AshwellThat's the point. It's the phone ones that kill us. But the emails, that's something. Sunil, can we get that as a standing question?
- Sunil KapoorI can save it as a standing question. I'd want to be careful not to oversell it, though. It shows what's recorded. It can't show what nobody wrote down.
- Craig AshwellUnderstood. Get the project managers to write it down, then. That's my job.
- Valerie OkonMay I move to the renewal? I'd like to know the timing and what the board will need to see.
- Marcus BellYes, of course. So the term runs to 22 Aug 2025, and the renewal date is 23 Aug 2025. You came on at the start, on 23 Aug 2024, so this is the first renewal. I'll send the formal notice around ninety days out, so well ahead of the summer. Nothing will happen without you seeing it first.
- Valerie OkonAnd the terms? Will they be the same as now?
- Marcus BellHonestly, commercial terms are Priya's side, she's your account owner, so I'd rather she gave you a proper answer than me guessing. What I can tell you is the contracted amount today is £39,600 a year and the invoices match. I'll ask her to get in touch with you directly, Valerie, before the notice goes out.
- Valerie OkonThat's acceptable. I don't sign anything new without the board, so I'd need the paperwork in good time.
- Craig AshwellValerie, I'll back it. I'll tell the board what it's worth to us. Marcus, can you give me a short note I can use? Not a brochure. Just usage and what we get.
- Marcus BellYes, I'll put together a one pager. Usage, questions asked, the dashboards Sunil's built, and what you've said today about variations and chasing. I'll send it by the end of next week.
- Sunil KapoorOne more from me, if there's time. The connector to the finance system. It's running, but a couple of mornings the figures were slightly behind. Not wrong, just behind. Is that something to look at?
- Marcus BellWorth looking at. I won't promise anything on the engineering side, but I'll ask the team to check the refresh logs for those mornings and come back to you with what they find. Can you send me the dates you noticed?
- Sunil KapoorYes. I'll put them in an email, with the project codes where relevant.
- Marcus BellPerfect. So, to pull it together. I'll chase our finance team for a statement for Valerie today. Sunil, you're sending the client list that doesn't match, and the dates for the connector. I'm sending Craig the one pager by the end of next week and booking thirty minutes with Sunil on the dashboards. And Priya will be in touch with Valerie about the renewal.
- Valerie OkonThat's all in order. Thank you, Marcus.
- Craig AshwellGood. Right, I've got a site meeting. Thanks everyone.
- Marcus BellCheers all, speak soon. Thanks, Marcus.
- Sunil KapoorSorry, Marcus, you're still on the recording. I'll drop off now.
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