How BCS migrated its ledgers in four weeks
A registered charity with over 38,000 members ran a rigorous selection process, stayed with DataFlow, and used the migration advantage to hit the start of its financial year.
Last updated:
- 4 weeks from decision to go-live
- 38,000 individual and corporate members
- 4 nominal ledgers across the group
- On budget installation cost
Inside BCS.
The British Computer Society is a registered charity with over 38,000 individual and corporate members worldwide. It offers qualifications, examinations, technical and professional publications, training and an extensive programme of live events. The Society has over 40 branches nationwide and a further 50 specialist groups, and its accounts system handles the sales and purchases related to all of that activity.
- Sector
- Membership body and registered charity
- Members
- Over 38,000
- Branches
- Over 40, plus 50 specialist groups
- Entities
- Society, branches, groups, BISL subsidiary
Outgrown software, and a four-week window.
Increasing volumes and a growing need for functionality, against a fixed financial-year deadline.
Increasing volumes of business and a growing need for more systems functionality led BCS to conclude it had outgrown its existing accounting software. The search for a replacement began in earnest when new Finance Manager Wendy Franklin joined the Society.
Although BCS had worked successfully with DataFlow in the past, they were committed to a thorough review of the options and a rigorous selection process. As Wendy explained, it was not a foregone conclusion that the Society would stay with its existing provider.
The Society had also set itself a hard deadline: go live with the new system at the start of its new financial year, in just four weeks’ time, with all its financial data migrated.
- Transaction volumes the incumbent system could no longer carry comfortably.
- A four-week window tied to the start of the financial year.
- All financial data to migrate from the legacy dBFLEX system.
- A group structure spanning the Society, its branches, specialist groups and a subsidiary.
Four ledgers, one system.
Sales, Purchasing and Nominal, with the management accounts run from the nominal ledger.
DataFlow now supports the work of the Society through three main ledgers — Sales, Purchasing and Nominal — from which the management accounts are run. The system is run with four separate nominal ledgers: three for the same company, split into the divisions of the British Computer Society, Branches and Specialist Groups, and a fourth for British Informatics Society Limited, a subsidiary.
Staying with DataFlow carried an immediate practical advantage on the deadline. “Data migration from the old dBFLEX system to DataFlow went very smoothly and the process was completed to demanding timescales,” Wendy comments. “This would have been much more difficult and risky if we’d had to move all our data to another vendor’s system.”
- Sales, Purchase and Nominal ledgers on one system.
- Four nominal ledgers covering the Society’s divisions and its subsidiary.
- Management accounts run directly from the nominal ledger.
- A migration path from dBFLEX that did not cross vendors.
- A future goal to link the accounts to the Society’s membership system.
The go-live date held, and so did the budget.
Higher performance and flexibility from a true Windows product.
The Society hit its financial-year deadline and the installation came in within budget. Wendy Franklin’s summary of the implementation is short: “During implementation the support provided by DataFlow was excellent. They hit the ‘go live’ date and the installation came within budget.”
Managing Director Dariush Mogtader added: “We are delighted that we are continuing to fulfil the needs of the British Computer Society with a powerful, yet user-friendly finance system.”
| Outcome | Before the upgrade | With DataFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Systems fit | Outgrown by transaction volume | Headroom for growing activity |
| Group structure | Handled around the software | Four nominal ledgers, one system |
| Migration | Cross-vendor move, higher risk | Completed to a four-week timescale |
| Go-live | Financial-year deadline at risk | Date hit, budget held |
We quickly concluded that only DataFlow would give us the ease of use and flexibility of a true Windows product.
What BCS run.
Three ledgers, four nominal structures, and the management accounts on top.
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