KEY WINS
Doyle Sails has been able to grow from one company to a group of companies wordlwide, while maintaining clear visibility on their growth.
KNOWING THEIR NUMBERS BECOMES PLAIN SAILING AT DOYLE SAILS.
Acclaim Client
Since 2013, Doyle Sails has worked with Acclaim to implement MYOB EXO into their New Zealand company. Helping their Group Financial Controller learn the ropes and gain confidence in the platform has led them to adopt EXO into their growing portfolio of international Sail companies around the world, providing them with complete and clear financial oversight as a group.
Doyle Sails are world leaders in their design and fabrication of sails. Since 2013 they have grown from a single company to a collection of nine companies, all run from their Head Office in West Auckland. As they have grown, the finance team has been able to stay small, with a Group FC , three finance team members and one administrative team member, due to the effectiveness of EXO’s reporting and accounting functions.
THEY HAVE CREATED SUPPORTIVE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
One of the benefits of working with Acclaim has been Acclaim’s support for Doyle Sails to adapt and run as much of the implementation and management of EXO themselves. “I like to be self-sufficient. Acclaim were very open to the idea of letting me learn and use the tools myself, while having them as backup when I got stuck,” says Mark Howard, the Group FC. “We very quickly established an excellent rapport, and it made me feel very confident they had our best interests at heart.” Doyle Sails initially planned to use EXO as a simple accounting platform. However as they worked with Acclaim, it was apparent there was several functional options that helped create better visibility across the whole business. They had the opportunity to maximise the use of their ERP system, improve the job costings, depreciate assets, and create an in-depth asset register.
“At each step Acclaim has made us aware of what is possible with the platform, often introducing us to options we didn’t think would be possible. It’s never about the hard sell. They are incredibly knowledgeable, and give us confidence as we know they have our best interests at heart, allowing us to move at our own pace.”
IT’S USED ACROSS THE COMPANY
While Mark’s focus is around financial management, and reporting, EXO is also used by management, the sales team, and the directors as part of their roles. Doyle Sails’ IT team were able to integrate their own Sail Pricing and Production tools with EXO, creating a seamless integration with everything talking to each other, sharing information. This has given key stakeholders access to all the information they need, when they need it.
ACCURACY IS VASTLY IMPROVED
While there is always room for human error, (as Mark says, “the platform is amazing, it’s the humans that make the mistakes!”) the level of improved accuracy in reporting has been a clear winner for Doyle Sails. With each company acquisition, Acclaim has helped set up the structure currently, helping them move from the existing accounting platforms, and keeping it all in line with the company’s original account. This has made it easier to prepare for the next stage – a consolidation module, to make it possible to report on all of the company’s businesses in a single report, making comparisons and finding places to implement improvements.
“To be able to receive a group-wide overview of each company, make comparisons and decisions around spend and growth is incredible. At the moment we’re using spreadsheets and manual comparisons, so being able to use EXO to create reporting is a natural, and desired next step.”
FULL VISIBILITY ACROSS THE GROUP
Doyle Sails purchased a bundle of five licenses several years ago, so they could transition the first five of recently acquired companies over to the same accounting platform. At this point Acclaim alerted Doyle Sails that a consolidation module was available to provide reporting across the group. Now with the second bundle of five licenses being deployed, the group has utilised Acclaim’s help to implement the consolidation module.
BUSINESS BENEFITS
- Ability to create in depth reporting to give everyone visibility
- Ability able to show profit and price breakdowns
- Reduction off added admin costs as Doyle Sails grew
- Significant time savings
- Support, but a focus on our own self-sufficiency
- Integration with our inhouse pricing and job creation apps
KEY OUTCOMES
- Fully customised to our needs and existing applications
- Extensive, accurate reporting
- Live analytical oversight for all key stakeholders
- Improved communication between sales, finance and manufacturing
- Growth without additional operational costs in the finance team.
