Time Out boost business performance with Codestone

Publishing group Time Out has forecast it will save 50% on support costs for its accounting systems after adopting SAP Business One software solution from Poole based Codestone Technologies.

The move also promises to boost business performance with more timely financial reporting, said Paul Rakkar, Time Outs group financial controller.

The firm, which has a turnover of 40m and 200 staff, was finding its existing financial system increasingly expensive to support.

The project to replace it with SAP software was justified by the estimated 50% reduction in support costs. However, the real business benefits of the move will come with improved reporting, said Rakkar. The old system was so clunky it took 15 to 20 days to get management reports, by that time they were old news. We need to get them in five to six working days so management can make changes in the following month, rather than a month in arrears.

Rakkar said it was difficult to quantify the benefits more rapid management decisions would generate for the business, but the feedback from managers had been positive.

Another factor in choosing SAP was its international status, Rakkar said. As we are growing rapidly, we need to be on top of all aspects of the business. SAP has a reputation internationally and that helps when working with partners abroad.

Codestone Technologies were commissioned for the implementation of SAP Business One, as Rakkar explained, We looked at quite a few providers. Codestone were the most professional, most friendly and most helpful in helping us make our decision. They went out of their way to demonstrate the product on a number of occasions, to a variety of people within the organisation.

Time Out deployed SAP Business One, an integrated business management system, on a new Window 2003 server, supported by a Microsoft SQL database. The cost of the project, excluding the server, was 25,000.

The firm is now looking to use the HR functionality of SAP Business One and is investigating using its purchase order system.