Penmaen Software / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Penmaen Software · 8 Jan 2026 15:15
Cerys Llewellyn accepted that active users had fallen to about six against forty licensed on Growth. She worries about justifying the renewal upstairs. A team session for the account managers was agreed.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Cerys Llewellyn accepted that active users had fallen to about six against forty licensed on Growth. She worries about justifying the renewal upstairs. A team session for the account managers was agreed.
What happened: Marcus Bell showed Cerys that average active users were six or so, down roughly a third on the quarter before. No tickets in the last month, and the connectors and data refresh were fine.
Customer view: Cerys said her team had asked whether they get their money's worth. She called it a habit problem, not a usefulness problem, and said the renewal story is hard to tell upstairs.
Commercial: The contract runs to 24 Jul 2026, renewal date 25 Jul 2026, at £48k a year, matching the order form and invoices. Tom Ashdown will take the renewal terms.
Watch: Value risk on the Growth subscription, not a service problem. The agreed fix is a half-hour session with the five or six account managers on their own data.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Falling usage, renewal worry
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 Bell to send Cerys a one page usage summary by month and a few slots for the team session.
- Cerys to pick a date, bring the five or six account managers and send a list of what her team wants to ask.
- Tom Ashdown to walk Cerys through the renewal terms nearer the time.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Six active users against forty licensed Growth seats makes the value case hard for Cerys to put to her management.
- Usage was falling before December, so the decline is not only a holiday effect.
- Silence on tickets alongside falling usage could precede a weak renewal conversation.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A team session on the account managers' own operator data could rebuild the habit of asking the brain.
- The renewals view is a use the account managers would value.
Transcript
Marcus BellHello Cerys, can you hear me alright?
Cerys LlewellynI can, yes. Hiya Marcus. Happy new year, I suppose, since we haven't spoken since before Christmas.- Marcus BellHappy new year. Did you get a proper break?
- Cerys LlewellynQuiet, which was lovely. Cardiff was grey and wet the whole time, so nothing lost. You?
- Marcus BellSame in Manchester. Rain, then more rain. Right, let me share my screen so you can see what I've pulled. What I want to cover is how your team has been using the brain since the autumn, anything that's got in your way, and then a quick word on the summer renewal so nothing surprises anyone.
- Cerys LlewellynSounds good. My team asked me this week whether we're getting our money's worth out of it, so the timing's actually quite useful.
- Marcus BellOK. Well, I'll be straight with you, because I've pulled the numbers and they're not where I'd like them. You're licensed for forty users on Growth. Over the last month the average number of people active has been six or so. That's down by roughly a third on the quarter before.
- Cerys LlewellynMm. Yeah. I had a feeling it was heading that way. Six. Right.
- Marcus BellAnd I don't want to read too much into it, because December is always quiet, people are off. But it was falling before December as well.
- Cerys LlewellynNo, that's fair. I'd rather you said it. So, honestly, a couple of the people who were in there every day got pulled onto other work in the autumn. And the rest of the team, they're busy, they have their usual tools open, and the brain is the thing they mean to open and then don't.
- Marcus BellThat's useful to hear. Is it that it's not useful to them, or that it's just not a habit yet?
- Cerys LlewellynHabit, I think. When I sit with someone and we ask it about a particular leisure operator, what's been raised, when they renew, who's gone quiet, they love it. Then I leave the room and it's forgotten. So that's on me as much as anyone.
- Marcus BellI wouldn't put it on you. Can I show you one more thing? On the screen now, this is tickets from your side into us. There's been nothing in the last month. No tickets at all, and nothing urgent.
- Cerys LlewellynWhich I'd normally take as good news.
- Marcus BellYeah, and the data's refreshing fine, the connectors are all loading. So nothing's broken. It's just quiet. And with usage down as well, I'd rather we talk about it now than in the summer.
- Cerys LlewellynAgreed. Because the renewal's in July, isn't it. The end of July.
- Marcus BellThe contract runs to 24 Jul 2026 and the renewal date is 25 Jul 2026. You're at £48,500 a year, which matches the order form and what's been invoiced, so no surprises on the paperwork side. Tom Ashdown will want to walk you through the renewal terms nearer the time. That's his side, not mine.
- Cerys LlewellynSure. I'm not worried about the conversation with Tom. I'm worried about walking into it with six people using a thing we pay for forty seats of. That's a hard story for me to tell upstairs.
- Marcus BellNo, understood. So what can we do between now and then? Happy to jump on a call with your team. I could take them through the views you're finding most useful, but on their own data, not a generic demo.
- Cerys LlewellynLet's start with the team who'll use it. That's the account managers who look after the leisure operators. They're the ones who'd get most out of the renewals view. If they see their own operators in there, I think it lands.
- Marcus BellThat works. How many are in that group?
- Cerys LlewellynA handful. Five or six, thereabouts. I'd want them all in one room, or one call, rather than dribbling in.
- Marcus BellFine. Shall we book half an hour for that? Sometime in the next couple of weeks, once everyone's back properly.
- Cerys LlewellynYes. Send me a few slots and I'll pick one. And can you do me something before then? Which customers are at the edge? I don't mean yours, I mean mine. What does the brain think about our operators that are quiet?
- Marcus BellI can show you how to ask that, and we can do it live in the session so they see it done. I'd rather they ask it than I read it out.
- Cerys LlewellynI've seen this work, Marcus. At the start, in the first few months, we had people asking it things all day. I just need to get that back.
- Marcus BellRight. So, what I'll do: I'll send you a one page summary of usage by month so you've got it for your own people, and a few slots for the team session. You'll pick the date and bring the group.
- Cerys LlewellynPerfect. And I'll ask my team what they actually want to ask it, so we're not guessing. I'll send you that list.
- Marcus BellLovely. Anything else you wanted from me today?
- Cerys LlewellynNo, I think that's it. Thanks for being straight about the numbers. Makes my life easier.
- Marcus BellAny time. Speak soon, Cerys.
- Cerys LlewellynDiolch, Marcus. Bye for now.
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