Calderbrook Housing Group / BG-Demo – Check In
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Calderbrook Housing Group · 24 Nov 2025 09:45
Helen Marsden found the brain's current arrears figure did not match the housing system extract. Daniel Okafor traced it to nightly refresh timing, with checks to follow. She also asked for a one-pager for her finance director.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Helen Marsden found the brain's current arrears figure did not match the housing system extract. Daniel Okafor traced it to nightly refresh timing, with checks to follow. She also asked for a one-pager for her finance director.
What happened: Helen said the current arrears figure in section four of the board pack did not match the month-end housing system extract, with the brain showing less. Daniel showed the source panel: the figure is as at the previous evening, not month end.
Customer view: Helen accepted the timing fits the direction but wants a table showing both systems on the same date. She said she came away less anxious, and she keeps the board pack reconciled to the housing system.
Commercial: Her finance director asked what the subscription covers and what would be lost if it stopped. Daniel will write a one-pager on Growth at £44k a year with 40 users, set against actual use. Helen said it is not a worry.
Watch: Helen raised no tickets and messages Daniel directly, so there is no helpdesk timestamp. Adoption is limited by time, not licence.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Arrears figure reconciliation
Importance
complaint
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daniel Okafor to report on the arrears record history by the end of the week, with the session outline and the dashboard usage list.
- Daniel Okafor to send the one-pager for the finance director within about a week.
- Daniel Okafor to send quarterly review options after the new year starts, with Tom Ashdown attending.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The arrears difference is not yet confirmed as timing, and the board expects an explanation it can defend.
- Helen reports problems by direct message rather than the helpdesk, so response times are not recorded.
- The finance director is asking what the subscription covers, which is a value question ahead of renewal.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A 40-minute session for complaints and repairs staff could widen use within the 40 licensed users.
- A one-pager showing what the team uses against what Growth includes can give the finance director a value case.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforMorning, Helen. Can you hear me alright? Thanks very much for making the time.
Helen MarsdenMorning, Daniel. Yes, loud and clear. Sorry, I'm in a different room today, our usual one has been taken over by the repairs team for some training.- Daniel OkaforNo problem at all. It's just the two of us, I think? I wasn't sure whether anyone from your team might be joining.
- Helen MarsdenJust me. I did mention it to a couple of the analysts but they're heads down on the board pack, so I said I'd feed back.
- Daniel OkaforRight, that makes sense. How's the weather up in Leeds? It's properly grey down here, I had to walk in with an umbrella that didn't survive the wind.
- Helen MarsdenSame. Wet and dark by half past four. Anyway, if you don't mind, can I start with the thing I'm chasing? It's been nagging at me since last week.
- Daniel OkaforOf course, please do. That's exactly what I'd like to hear about.
- Helen MarsdenIt's the rent arrears figure in section four of the board pack. The number our brain gave us for current arrears doesn't match the housing management system extract. These don't reconcile, and the board will ask, because last quarter the two lined up exactly.
- Daniel OkaforOkay. And how far apart are they, roughly? Is it a big gap, or the sort of difference you'd get from a handful of accounts?
- Helen MarsdenIt's small in the grand scheme, but it's not nothing, and it's in the wrong direction. The brain is showing less arrears than the housing system. I'd rather not have a figure in front of the board that I can't explain.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood. And when you pulled the housing system number, was that a month-end extract, or did you run it live this week?
- Helen MarsdenMonth-end. It's the snapshot our finance colleagues sign off, so that's the one the board pack is built from.
- Daniel OkaforMm. Right. So that might well be the whole story, but I don't want to guess in front of you. Can I share my screen and we'll look at it together? I'd like to find where the brain's figure is coming from.
- Helen MarsdenPlease. Yes. Can you show me the source? That's all I really need.
- Daniel OkaforSharing now. Can you see the arrears page? It's the one your team built, the one with the tenancy type breakdown at the top.
- Helen MarsdenYes, I can see it. That's the page, and that's the number I'm worried about, under current arrears.
- Daniel OkaforOkay. If I open the source panel on that figure, it tells us which connector it's reading from and the last time it refreshed. Give me a second, it's a bit slow when it's pulling the lineage.
- Helen MarsdenTake your time.
- Daniel OkaforThere we go. So it's reading from the housing management system connector, and the last refresh on that record set is the nightly run, completed before seven this morning. So the figure is as at the previous evening, not as at month end.
- Helen MarsdenRight. But I pulled the brain figure on the first working day of the month. I'd have expected it to match the month-end snapshot.
- Daniel OkaforThat's the bit I want to understand. If you pulled it on the first working day, the brain would have been showing the position as at the evening before, which is already after the month-end cut-off. So any payments that landed on the first, or any adjustments your team posted after the snapshot, would be in the brain and not in the extract.
- Helen MarsdenWhich would make the brain's arrears lower. Yes. That fits the direction, at least.
- Daniel OkaforIt fits the direction. I wouldn't want to say it explains all of it until we've checked. Is there any chance your team could tell me roughly how many payments were posted on the first? Even a rough idea would help us decide whether it's the whole difference.
- Helen MarsdenI can ask. I don't want to promise the exact breakdown today because the finance team have their own close process, but I can ask the analyst who did the reconciliation last quarter.
- Daniel OkaforThat would be perfect. And in the meantime, on our side, I can ask our engineers to pull the record history for those arrears accounts, so we can see on which date each balance changed. Then we'd be comparing like with like.
- Helen MarsdenYes, I'd like that. If I can show the board a table that says here's the brain on that date, here's the housing system on that date, and they match, I'm happy. I just can't hand them a number I can't defend.
- Daniel OkaforCompletely fair. I'll come back to you by the end of the week with what the engineers find. I can't promise it'll be the full answer, but I'll tell you what we've ruled in and out.
- Helen MarsdenThank you. That's all I ask, really.
- Daniel OkaforWhile we've got the page open, one thought. We could put an as-at date visibly on the figure, so anyone reading the arrears number sees straight away that it's the position as at the previous night. It might stop the question coming up in the first place.
- Helen MarsdenHm. I'd want that, yes. Though in the board pack itself it needs to say month end, so I'd still be using the extract for that. But for the team day to day, an as-at date would be sensible.
- Daniel OkaforRight, and that's a fair distinction. The brain is brilliant for the live picture and the questions in between, but the signed-off month-end position is a different thing and probably should stay with your finance snapshot. Is that how your analysts see it?
- Helen MarsdenMostly. Some of them would love to just use the brain for everything. I have to be the one who says, careful, the board pack has to reconcile to the housing system, full stop.
- Daniel OkaforWhich is why I'd rather we get to the bottom of this than wave it through. Okay. Shall I stop sharing and we'll talk about the wider picture? I don't want to make you feel I've swerved the discrepancy.
- Helen MarsdenNo, not at all. You've given me a plan. Carry on.
- Daniel OkaforLovely. So, just to close the loop on the general side of things. Looking at usage over the last few weeks, you've got somewhere between eight and nine people active in a typical month, which is a little up on the quarter before. How is the team finding it?
- Helen MarsdenHonestly, steadily. It's not exciting any more, in a good way. It's part of how we work. The analysts use it for the first pass on anything, and then they check against source before it goes anywhere important.
- Daniel OkaforThat's the right habit, and it's what I'd hope for. Who else outside your own team is using it? I remember complaints and repairs were curious at the start.
- Helen MarsdenA couple of people from complaints, yes. One of the repairs managers dips in. They tend to ask me or one of the analysts first and then try it themselves, which I think is quite natural for a housing association. People trust people before they trust a tool.
- Daniel OkaforMm, that's very true. You're licensed for forty users on Growth, so there's plenty of room if you ever wanted to bring more of those colleagues in properly. Not something I'm pushing, just so you know the headroom is there.
- Helen MarsdenI know. I think the barrier isn't the licence, it's time. People would need an hour with someone showing them what to ask. If I'm honest, I don't have the hour to give at the moment.
- Daniel OkaforWell, that's something I could help with. I can run a short session for the complaints and repairs people, maybe forty minutes, using your own data and your own questions, so it's not a generic tour. Would that be useful, or would it just be one more thing in people's diaries?
- Helen MarsdenIt might be useful. Let me think about who. I'd want to be careful that nobody comes away thinking the brain's number replaces the housing system's number, given what we've just been through.
- Daniel OkaforAbsolutely, and I'd build that into the session. The first thing I'd show them is that source panel, the one we've just been looking at. If people get into the habit of asking where a figure came from, they're less likely to misuse it.
- Helen MarsdenThat's a good way to put it. Yes. Can you send me a couple of lines on what you'd cover, and I'll take it to the complaints lead?
- Daniel OkaforI will. I'll send that over with the arrears update, so you've got both in one email.
- Helen MarsdenPerfect.
- Daniel OkaforNow, one thing I wanted to ask. I noticed you haven't raised any tickets with us lately, none at all in the last month. I'm taking that as good news, but sometimes quiet is just quiet. Is everything loading as you'd expect? Are the connectors behaving?
- Helen MarsdenAs far as I know, yes. If something goes wrong I usually just message you directly, to be honest, rather than go through the helpdesk. But I haven't had to. The nightly refresh has been there when we've come in.
- Daniel OkaforThat's useful to know, and please do keep messaging me if that's easier. I'd only ask that if it's something that needs a quick response, you put it through the helpdesk as well, so it gets the proper timestamp and priority. Just so nobody on our side can say it was missed.
- Helen MarsdenFair enough. I'll do both. I'm not going to say I'll remember every time.
- Daniel OkaforHa, no, nobody does. I'll nudge you.
- Helen MarsdenPlease do. Can I ask something about the sources, while we're on it? Our complaints data. At the moment it comes in from the case management system but there's a lag, and I think it's the same kind of issue as the arrears one. How does the brain decide what's current?
- Daniel OkaforGood question. It doesn't decide so much as reflect whatever the source has given it as at the last nightly run. If the case management system updates a case during the day, the brain won't see it until the following morning. So it's always at least the previous night's position, and that's by design.
- Helen MarsdenOkay. And is that the same for the repairs tickets?
- Daniel OkaforSame for everything on the nightly run, yes. Every connector gets refreshed overnight and it should be complete by seven in the morning your time on working days. If you ever come in and it hasn't, that is one for the helpdesk straight away.
- Helen MarsdenGood. Then I think what I need is a one-line note on our dashboards saying this. As at last night. Which we've just agreed.
- Daniel OkaforWe have. I'll make sure that's in the notes. Is there anything else on the dashboards side? I know your team built quite a few at the start.
- Helen MarsdenThey did, and they've kept up a handful that the board pack leans on. The others have gone a bit stale, to be honest, in the sense that nobody opens them. I should probably have a tidy up.
- Daniel OkaforThat's very normal. Most teams end up with a core set they rely on and a long tail. If it would help, I can send you a list of which ones have been opened and which haven't, and you can decide what to retire. It's a nice job for a quiet afternoon.
- Helen MarsdenYes, please. I'd like to see that before the end of the year, ideally. It's the sort of tidy up I like to do before the new year starts.
- Daniel OkaforI'll add it to the email. Let me make a note of the three things, so I don't drop one. The arrears investigation, the short session for complaints and repairs, and the dashboard usage list. Is that right?
- Helen MarsdenThat's right. And the as-at date on the figures.
- Daniel OkaforFour things. Yes. Good catch.
- Helen MarsdenCan I ask about something a bit different? Our finance director asked me recently what the subscription actually covers, in the sense of what we'd lose if we stopped. I gave a rough answer but I'd like to have it in writing.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. Is that a question coming from a particular place, or is it more general curiosity?
- Helen MarsdenGeneral, I think. She likes to know what each line in the budget is for. It's not a worry. She just wants a one-pager.
- Daniel OkaforThat's reasonable, and I'm glad she's asking. I'll put one together. You're on the Growth tier at forty-four thousand a year, forty users, and the connectors and dashboards builder and quarterly reviews that come with it. I'll write it plainly, with what you use today next to what's included.
- Helen MarsdenThat would be ideal. If you could include what the team actually uses, so she can see it's earning its keep. She'll like that.
- Daniel OkaforI will. And I'll be honest about the parts you don't use as well, because there's no point flattering the numbers. A one-pager that she trusts is worth more than a glossy one.
- Helen MarsdenI appreciate that. It's the same instinct I have with the board.
- Daniel OkaforI know it is. It's one of the reasons I enjoy working with your team.
- Helen MarsdenOh, stop it.
- Daniel OkaforHa. Well. Speaking of reviews, we're due a quarterly one with you. I was thinking of early in the new year, once the board pack is out of the way and nobody is trying to close a quarter. Would that suit?
- Helen MarsdenJanuary would be better than December, definitely. I'd want the finance director to be there if she's interested. And possibly one of the analysts.
- Daniel OkaforLovely. I'll send some options after the new year starts, rather than fill your December diary. And I'll bring Tom along as well, in case anything commercial comes up. He looks after the account on our side and he'd like to say hello.
- Helen MarsdenTom Ashdown, yes. I haven't spoken to him in a while. That's fine. He's very welcome.
- Daniel OkaforGood. Right. Before I let you go, is there anything about how we work with you that's irritating, or that you'd change? I don't ask that enough, and it's the sort of thing people only say when they're asked.
- Helen MarsdenHm. Let me think. Not really irritating. One thing, I suppose. When there's a change on your side, a refresh or a new feature, it would be helpful to hear it before my analysts notice something looks different. We had a page layout move a few weeks ago and nobody told us. It was fine, it just made me look as if I didn't know my own tool.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a good point, and I'm sorry about that. I'll make sure release notes go to you directly, rather than only sitting in the product pages where nobody looks. Would a short email be enough, or would you want a call?
- Helen MarsdenAn email is plenty. Just a few lines. Something I can forward to the team.
- Daniel OkaforDone. I'll set that up. Anything else on your mind, or have we covered it?
- Helen MarsdenI think we've covered it. Actually, one more. On the arrears figure, if it turns out not to be just the timing, what then? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just want to know the route.
- Daniel OkaforNot difficult at all, it's a sensible thing to ask. If the history shows the difference isn't down to the timing, then we treat it as a data issue properly. It goes to our engineers with the examples you give us, we trace the specific accounts back to source, and I'd tell you what we found and what we've done about it, in writing, so you can show the board.
- Helen MarsdenGood. That's what I wanted to hear. I'd rather know it's a defined route.
- Daniel OkaforIt is. And I'd also say, I think the most likely answer is the timing, simply because the figures matched last quarter and the process hasn't changed. But I'd still rather show you than tell you.
- Helen MarsdenAgreed. Show me the figures. Then I'll believe it.
- Daniel OkaforHa, that's you all over. Right. So to recap, from my side: by the end of the week I'll come back to you on the arrears record history. In the same email, a short outline of the session for complaints and repairs, and the list of which dashboards are being opened. Then the one-pager for your finance director, which I'll try to get to you in the next week or so. And release notes by email from now on.
- Helen MarsdenAnd from my side, I'll ask the analyst about the payments posted on the first, and I'll talk to the complaints lead about the session.
- Daniel OkaforThat's it exactly. And I'll send you some dates for the quarterly review in the new year.
- Helen MarsdenLovely. I should say, it's been a useful half hour. I came in a bit anxious about that number and I'm less so now.
- Daniel OkaforI'm glad. And thank you for raising it straight away rather than letting it sit. That's what lets us fix things properly.
- Helen MarsdenOf course. How are you, otherwise? Is it busy your end, heading into December?
- Daniel OkaforBusy but good. Lots of reviews to fit in before everyone disappears for Christmas. I'm trying to leave my last week properly clear so I can catch up on the emails I've been meaning to write.
- Helen MarsdenSounds familiar. Ours is the same, the board pack and then everyone's off.
- Daniel OkaforWell, then let's both try to get a bit of a rest. Thanks again, Helen. I'll speak to you by the end of the week.
- Helen MarsdenThank you, Daniel. Speak soon. Bye for now.
- Daniel OkaforBye, Helen. Take care.
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