Sage 200 supports ACE business success

Rapid growth has required big administrative changes for award-winning* Aberdeenshire company, ACE Winches Ltd.

Demand is such that the 17-year-old firm – which designs, manufacturers and hires out world-class winch assemblies to the global oil and gas, marine and renewables markets – has outgrown its existing premises and is planning to relocate to a larger, purpose-built facility to accommodate its expanding business and 150 staff.

For the Finance team working with the company’s legacy Sage Line 50 accounting software, such success has meant leaving their comfort zone and getting to grips with the more advanced Sage 200 business management system – a step change that initially brought more than a little apprehension.

However, encouraged by their new Company Accountant, Brian Montgomery, and supported by one-to-one training from PlusOne, all now agree that the upgrade has not only been ‘pain-free’, but is also now delivering a raft of benefits, including substantial savings in time and cost.

“We were a typical example of a business that was growing so quickly that the systems in the background weren’t keeping up,” Brian explains. “With PlusOne and Sage 200, we were able to map out what we wanted from the outset. This meant putting in place a system that will not only cope with where we are now, but also with how we grow in the future.”

Sage 200 has allowed ACE Winches to seamlessly integrate job costing with accounting, where previously it operated two separate systems. An add-on ‘Credit Hound’ module also enables tighter credit control. The new system provides faster reporting of accounts – monthly instead of quarterly – which gives the Directors an accurate, ‘real-time’ financial picture, enabling them to identify issues and plan accordingly.

“There’s more efficiency across the board; Sage 200 is allowing our staff to work on more important things, rather than having to duplicate inputs into different systems,” says Brian.

A key part of the upgrade, currently ongoing, is to integrate Sage 200 with a new specialist hire system, which provides ACE Winches with automated asset-tracking of assemblies and operations personnel on hire to customers around the world. This functionality should save around six to eight working days per month.

“We’re very happy with the package and what it’s delivering to our business,” Brian says. “Our relationship with PlusOne has been very, very good. They’ve been extremely receptive to what we’re trying to do and so far everything has worked out well.”

* In 2009: ACE Winches Managing Director Alfie Cheyne was named Grampian Entreprenuer of the year; Technical Director James Gregg was voted ‘Rising Star’ in the Northern Star Business Awards, and the company was a finalist in the Scottish Modern Apprenticeship Awards.

www.ace-winches.co.uk