Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 14 May 2026 13:00
Marcus Bell told Craig Ashwell that about five of forty Growth users are active, mostly Craig. Craig still values the brain but expects finance and the family to ask what it delivers before the 23 Aug 2026 renewal.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Marcus Bell told Craig Ashwell that about five of forty Growth users are active, mostly Craig. Craig still values the brain but expects finance and the family to ask what it delivers before the 23 Aug 2026 renewal.
What happened: On the 14 May 2026 check-in, Marcus walked Craig through usage, tickets and one overdue invoice. Connectors and records indexed are healthy, so the issue is adoption, not the source systems.
Customer view: Craig says it works and gets him paid quicker, but project managers are not using it. He expects the family and finance to want a reason to renew.
Commercial: Growth is £44k a year, matching the order form and invoices. Priya owns renewal terms and Craig asked for her to ring him.
Watch: Most questions come from Craig, so this is key-person exposure. The evidence does not show who is admin or whether the overdue invoice was cleared.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Low adoption before renewal
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Marcus sends the usage summary and ticket list and checks who is down as admin.
- Priya contacts Craig about renewal terms before the notice date.
- Craig flags the overdue invoice to his finance lead and sends a few examples of value.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Only about five of forty Growth users are active, down on the previous quarter, which weakens the value case for the 23 Aug 2026 renewal.
- Craig asks most of the questions, so the brain leans on one person and the admin owner is unclear.
- One invoice shows as overdue and sits with the customer's finance lead.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Working sessions led by Craig with project managers on a live job such as Reading, plus a separate one for credit control.
- A short value note built from Craig's examples of unrecorded variations caught, to answer the family and finance.
Transcript
Marcus BellAfternoon, Craig. Can you hear me alright?
Craig AshwellYeah, got you. Afternoon. Sorry, I'm sat in the car on site, so if I drop out, that's why.- Marcus BellNo problem at all. Is that the Reading job?
- Craig AshwellReading, yes. The landlord's rep has been on at us all morning about the ceiling grid. Where's the variation? That's what I want to know. They asked for the change on a walk-round and nobody has put anything on paper. Right. Sorry. Not your problem.
- Marcus BellHa, well, it's sort of related, as it happens. I'll keep this short, Craig, I know you're busy. Happy to share my screen and take you through the numbers I've pulled for the account, then we can talk about what's behind them and what we do before the renewal. Is that alright?
- Craig AshwellGo on.
- Marcus BellRight, give me a second. Okay, can you see that? It's the usage page for Ashwell Mercer.
- Craig AshwellMm. Not on my phone it isn't, it's tiny. Just tell me what it says.
- Marcus BellFair enough. So, you're on Growth, forty licensed users, and the thing that stands out is how few of them are actually in there. On an average day over the last month it's about five people active. And that's down on the previous quarter, so it's moved the wrong way.
- Craig AshwellFive. Out of forty.
- Marcus BellRoughly, yes. I don't want to make a thing of it, I'd rather understand it. It might be perfectly sensible. I just wanted us to look at it together before we get into the renewal conversation.
- Craig AshwellNo, you're right to raise it. I'd rather hear it from you than find it on a report. Who's the five?
- Marcus BellMostly you, if I'm honest. You're asking the bulk of the questions. Then a couple of people from the commercial team and someone on the credit control side now and then. The project managers, who were meant to be the big group when we set it up, they've drifted off.
- Craig AshwellYeah. Yeah, I know. I know they have.
- Craig AshwellLook, they're on site all day. They're in a cabin with a laptop that's got thirty tabs open and they go back to what they know. Spreadsheets. Their own variation log. I keep telling them, put it where the whole business can see it, and they nod, and then nothing.
- Marcus BellRight. And that's useful to hear, because it's not a case of the brain not working for them, it's more that it's not part of the day.
- Craig AshwellExactly that. It's not in the day. Nobody's told them it's how we do things now.
- Marcus BellMm. Can I ask, when you do use it, what are you asking it? Because I can see the questions, but I'd rather hear it from you.
- Craig AshwellMostly one thing. What has the client signed? I put in a project and I want to know, what have we been instructed to do, what's been agreed in writing, what's been agreed on a call and never confirmed. And what's the valuation position against that. It's the only way I get the picture without chasing three people.
- Marcus BellThat's exactly the use we had in mind when we scoped it. Calls, emails and the project records in one place.
- Craig AshwellIt works. I'm not saying it doesn't work. When I use it I get paid quicker for what we've built. That's the point. I just can't get everyone else to use it.
- Marcus BellUnderstood. And that's a fair thing to say plainly. Can I show you the other bit? Hang on, let me scroll. The records indexed are still moving, so the connectors are loading fine. Nothing's broken on the source side. It's people, not plumbing.
- Craig AshwellGood. That's something.
- Marcus BellTickets, there were five in the last month. None of them high priority, nothing urgent. I'd say they were mostly people asking how to do something rather than anything being wrong.
- Craig AshwellWho raised them? Is that my lot or the finance people?
- Marcus BellA mix. A couple from the credit control side, I think. I can send you the list. Actually, I will, it's easier than me reading it out.
- Craig AshwellDo that. Right, so what else have you got that I'm not going to like?
- Marcus BellHa. One more, and it's a small one, and it's really not mine to chase. There's one invoice showing as overdue on our side. I only mention it so you're not surprised by it.
- Craig AshwellRight. That one's with our finance lead, not me. I don't get into cash without them, you know that. I'll flag it today and ask them to come back to you directly.
- Marcus BellPerfect. It might well be in hand already. I just thought it was fairer to say it on a call than in an email.
- Craig AshwellFair. I appreciate that.
- Craig AshwellSo go on. The renewal. Where are we? I've got the date in my head as late August but remind me.
- Marcus BellSo your current term runs to 22 Aug 2026, and the renewal date is 23 Aug 2026. It's not far off, and the formal notice period is coming up shortly, which is partly why I wanted this chat now rather than in July.
- Craig AshwellAnd the number is still forty-four?
- Marcus BellAt the moment you're on £44,000 a year, and that matches the order form and what's been invoiced. What it looks like at renewal is Priya's side. She owns the commercial terms, and I'd rather she took you through it properly than me guessing. I don't want to give you half an answer on price.
- Craig AshwellSure. But I'll tell you now, I'm going to be asked by the family and by finance what we get for it. And if the honest answer is that five people use it, that's a hard conversation.
- Marcus BellYeah. I think that's the right worry to have, to be fair. I'd rather we deal with it than skate over it.
- Craig AshwellSo what do we do? Don't give me a training course nobody turns up to.
- Marcus BellNo, no. Not a generic one. What I'd suggest is smaller. Pick a couple of live projects, like Reading, and do a working session with the project managers who are on them. Their data, their variations, in the room, or on a call, whichever suits. Half an hour, shall we say, so it's not a big ask.
- Craig AshwellOn Reading. Right. And I show them the variation that's not recorded.
- Marcus BellExactly. You ask it what's been agreed on the ceiling grid, it pulls up the walk-round notes and the emails, and it shows there's nothing signed. That's the thing that makes people go, oh, I see.
- Craig AshwellHa. Yeah. That'd get their attention.
- Craig AshwellThe thing is, it needs to come from me, or at least with me in it. If it's just you on a screen they'll go quiet.
- Marcus BellThat makes sense. You lead it, I'll support. And if you want, I can put together a one-page note of the questions that are actually useful for a project manager. Not features, just questions. Like, what's been instructed and not yet valued.
- Craig AshwellYes. Questions, not features. That's good. They can stick it on the cabin wall.
- Marcus BellHa, right. Cabin wall it is.
- Craig AshwellWhat about the credit control team? They're the ones chasing and they don't see the project side. Are they getting anything out of it?
- Marcus BellA bit. Not as much as they could. The usage there is light, a person or two. If they could see, before they ring a client, what's been varied and what's outstanding, that's a better call. I'd include them in the same session, or a second one.
- Craig AshwellSecond one. Different crowd, different language. Keep them apart.
- Marcus BellFine by me. Two sessions, then. One for the project managers, one for credit control.
- Craig AshwellAnd admins? Who's admin on our side these days? I honestly couldn't tell you.
- Marcus BellThat's a good question, and I'd want to check that before I say. I'll look at who's down as admin and tell you in the note. It's worth making sure that someone on your side owns it day to day, not just you.
- Craig AshwellYeah. Because if I go under a bus, or more likely if I go on holiday, it all stops. I take that point.
- Marcus BellI wasn't going to say it that bluntly, but yes. A lot of the questions come from you, and it's a good set of questions, but it does mean it leans on one person.
- Craig AshwellRight. Noted. I'll pick someone. Probably someone from the commercial team. I'll come back to you.
- Marcus BellGreat. There's one other thing I wanted to ask, and then I'll let you get back to your ceiling grid. When the renewal comes round, who else is going to be part of the decision? Is it you, or is it you and the family, or finance?
- Craig AshwellIt's me, and then it goes past our finance lead and one of the family. Not a fight. But they'll want a reason. They always want a reason. What did we get, what did it save us.
- Marcus BellOkay. Then what I'd like to do is put together something short that answers that. Not a sales deck. What's been asked, what it's found, where it's helped get a variation or a valuation sorted. If you can give me two or three examples from your side, I can pull the evidence behind them.
- Craig AshwellI've got examples. I've got a few where it caught something that would have gone unrecorded. I'll dig them out.
- Marcus BellThat'd be brilliant. Don't make it a big job. Even a line each, like the project and roughly what happened. I can do the rest.
- Craig AshwellFine. Let's get paid for what we've built, and let's be able to show it. That's the whole story, really.
- Marcus BellI couldn't have put it better. Right, so let me read back what I've got, and tell me if I've got it wrong.
- Marcus BellOne, I send you the usage summary and the ticket list, today or tomorrow. Two, I check who's admin and put it in the note. Three, we set up a working session for the project managers, led by you, on a live job like Reading, and a separate one for credit control. Four, I draft the one-page list of questions. Five, you flag the overdue invoice with your finance lead, and you send me a few examples of where it's helped.
- Craig AshwellAnd six, you get Priya to ring me about the renewal.
- Marcus BellYes, six. I'll ask her to get in touch with you this week, so you've got the commercial side before the notice date and not after.
- Craig AshwellGood. Don't let it drift. If it drifts, it's July and we're all rushing.
- Marcus BellAgreed. I won't let it drift.
- Craig AshwellCan I ask you something straight, Marcus? Do you think this is worth it for us? Forty licences, five using. If you were me.
- Marcus BellHonestly? I think the value is real where it's being used. You've said yourself it gets you paid faster and you can see what's been signed. What I can't tell you is whether it's worth it across the whole business until more of the business is in it. That's what the sessions are for. If it turns out the project managers really won't use it, that's worth knowing too, and we'd talk about what size of setup actually fits you.
- Craig AshwellOkay. That's a straight answer. I'll take that.
- Marcus BellI'd rather give you that than a sales line.
- Craig AshwellGood. Right. I've got the landlord's rep walking over, so I need to go and be polite about a ceiling.
- Marcus BellHa. Go on, then. Good luck with it. I'll get that note over to you today and we'll find a slot for the Reading session next week.
- Craig AshwellNext week works. Send me a couple of times. Thanks, Marcus.
- Marcus BellWill do. Thanks, Craig. Speak soon.
- Craig AshwellCheers. Bye.
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