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Hull Students Union
How Exchequer from IRIS Enterprise Software makes light work of financial reportingAs any taxpayer will no doubt tell you,
students have it easy these days. According to popular
perception they're up at midday, to 'struggle' into a lecture or
two then it's down to the union bar for a couple of pints. Students
at Hull University are no exception and its Student Union is kept
fully occupied looking after the needs and social welfare of its
12,000 members.
Although affiliated to the university and an NUS organisation,
the union maintains a degree of autonomy and controls a budget of
£1.6 million per annum. The accounts team of six is responsible for
handling invoicing and raising purchase orders for all of the
union's customers and suppliers which include The University of
Hull and major drinks brands such as Bass, Scottish Courage and
Britvic. That's a considerable job when you consider the number of
services needed to keep over 10,000 students fed, watered and
entertained.
After seven years of using a Unix-based system, SCO-Unix, the
team decided it was time to modernise its software package and
replace it with a more functional, user-friendly product. One of
the main problems with the old system was that it didn't interface
with Microsoft Office, which was installed across the Union. Data
transferral and updating had therefore become an unnecessarily
time-consuming task, as the team had to print out data from the
accounting package and manually re-enter it into the MS Office
applications.
As a former accountant himself, Nick was well placed to advise
Paul and Alan on which software would work best for them. When
he looked at their needs in more detail, he saw that Exchequer was
actually more suitable. Its greater flexibility and comprehensive
management reporting function meant that updating information would
become a much easier task for the team. This was particularly
important, as it has to liase with 150 committees, societies and
clubs, all of which require their own financial analyses.
All financial data and information is now recorded on Exchequer, including customer invoicing and internal payment processing. Historical data can also be easily accessed using Exchequer's drill-down facility, so that old invoices and purchase orders can be referenced quickly. The team has strict budgets to adhere to, so also deployed
Exchequer's Commitment Accounting module. By advising and warning
of over-budgeting, this module prevents users from over-spending.
It combines actual expenditure made with any outstanding orders,
giving users a consolidated view of all outgoings at any given
moment, and helping the team to control its finances.
Exchequer represents a quantum leap forward in terms of our
accounting software," said Paul Tatton. "Its automated
functionality means that it's a lot quicker to send data to the
relevant heads of department and customers, saving us
time.
Also, as costs become ever tighter in our sector, we need to
be able to rely on efficient financial reporting, which is where
Exchequer really comes into its own." After discussing the
Union's needs with Paul and Alan, I saw that Exchequer matched all
the criteria they needed to see fulfilled, which included thorough
reporting and ease of use," said Nick Ashdown at Fidelity. "As a
reseller, it's important to be able to offer the customer informed
advice, ensuring that they make the right choice for them."
"Exchequer enables the Union's accounts team to report back
quickly and efficiently to many different people," said Eduardo
Loigorri, Technical Director at IRIS
Enterprise Software. "This means that less time is wasted on
unnecessary admin, increasing the effectiveness of the operation."
At the moment, Exchequer is deployed for a subsidiary company and
as a result of the successful implementation in January, has
brought forward the roll-out to the remainder of the Union. The
team is also considering investing in Exchequer's Report
Writer.
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