Merriott Lyle Distribution / BB-Demo – Renewal
Callcompleted
Merriott Lyle Distribution · 2025-12-08 10:30
Renewal call on 8 Dec 2025. The CFO challenged paying for 200 Enterprise users with just under sixty active, and wants paper on value and options. Credit control wants proof the brain matches the ledger.
What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Renewal call on 8 Dec 2025. The CFO challenged paying for 200 Enterprise users with just under sixty active, and wants paper on value and options. Credit control wants proof the brain matches the ledger.
What happened: Daniel Okafor opened the renewal talk ahead of the term ending on 27 Feb 2026. Malcolm Ridgway, the CFO, pressed on why BB-Demo is paid for 200 users when just under sixty are active.
Customer view: Deepa Chauhan said the branch managers are the last and largest group still to roll out, with the North slower than the Midlands. Bernadette Lowry will believe the data when statements and the brain reconcile on accounts she picks.
Commercial: Lewis Kerr stated the contracted figure of £116k and a CRM deal amount of £128k, and said that deal amount is not to be read as an annual price. A co-termed quote was promised that day, with expected close pencilled for 17 Feb 2026.
Watch: Malcolm wants numbers and terms, not features, and asked for seat options in writing. Debtor-day impact is not quantified.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Renewal value and headroom
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Lewis Kerr to send the co-termed quote the same day, with the VAT position stated and the base against the £127,500 explained.
- Daniel Okafor to send the one-page usage and value summary and the signed order form with refresh timings by Friday.
- Daniel Okafor to join the account-data review in the new year and trace three accounts chosen by Bernadette Lowry.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The CFO questions paying for 200 Enterprise users with just under sixty active and may press for fewer seats.
- Credit control doubts the brain matches the ledger and says some issues are raised in the corridor, not as tickets.
- No debtor-day figure exists to give the board a quantified return.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- The branch manager roll-out, the largest group and not yet started in the North, would lift active users into the licensed headroom.
- A written usage and value summary built from the customer's own activity gives the CFO a basis to renew as it stands.
- Enterprise service credits for data freshness and the fastest first response can be shown against the signed order form.
Transcript
Daniel Okafor NoneGood morning, everyone, and thank you for your time. Let me just check who has joined. I can see Deepa and Bernadette, and Lewis is here from our side. Malcolm, I think you're still on the way in?
Deepa Chauhan NoneHe's just finishing something, he said two minutes. Morning, Daniel. Can you hear me all right? The headset's new.- Daniel Okafor NoneLoud and clear. How is the team finding it, by the way, now that the cold's properly set in up there?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneHa, the cold I can cope with. It's the branch managers moaning about gritting lorries that gets me. Everyone wants their delivery first.
Bernadette Lowry NoneDecember. Every account wants a statement and nobody wants to pay before the year end. Morning, all.
Lewis Kerr NoneMorning, Bernadette. I'll keep my side short today, I promise. Mostly I'm here to listen and then confirm what you'd like to buy and by when.
Malcolm Ridgway NoneSorry, sorry. Malcolm. Am I muted? No. Right. What's changed since the last one?- Daniel Okafor NoneWelcome, Malcolm, and thank you for making the time. Good question, and it's a fair way to start. Not a great deal has changed in the contract, but a fair bit has changed in how your people are using the brain, and that's what I'd like to walk through. Just to close the loop on why we're talking now: your term ends on 27 Feb 2026, and the renewal date on our side is 28 Feb 2026. That feels a way off, but I'd rather we talked it through properly than rush it in January.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneEleven weeks or so. Fine. Go on.
- Daniel Okafor NoneSo, usage first. You're licensed for 200 users on Enterprise, and the average number of people active in a month is now just under sixty. That's up on the previous quarter, a good step up, and it's been climbing rather than spiking. Questions asked are up with it. What I like is that it isn't one or two people carrying it, it's spread across the branch, key-account and credit control teams.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneSixty out of two hundred.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. I'll be straight with you, Malcolm, that's headroom, and I'd rather you saw it that way than have me dress it up.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneGood. Then the next question is the obvious one. Why am I paying for two hundred and using sixty?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneCan I come in on that, Malcolm? Because the sixty isn't the whole picture. When we signed, the plan was always to roll out region by region. The first wave was head office, key accounts and credit control. The regional directors came next, and the branch managers are the last group. They're the biggest group, and they're the ones who'll move the number.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneAnd when do the branch managers come on?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneWhich region, which branch? That's the honest answer, it depends on the region. The Midlands branches are mostly in already. The North is slower, because they were on a different way of working the account notes, and I won't promise the regions a date I can't stand behind.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneMm. Put a date on it, though. Even a rough one. Before the board in the new year, or after?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneBefore, for the Midlands branches that aren't in yet. The North I'd say after, and I'd rather tell you that now.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneFine. That I can work with. Bernadette, you've been quiet.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneBecause I'm listening. The account I'm worried about is still the one that came up in the autumn, where the brain said one thing and the ledger said otherwise. Has that been fixed? Who changed it?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI remember it well, Bernadette, and I'm glad you've raised it, because I wanted to close the loop on it with you. That was a sync issue on the accounting connector, and it was dealt with at the time. Nothing has been reopened since, and across the last month you've raised one ticket in total, nothing high priority, and that's been resolved.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneOne ticket. That's what you've got, is it. Because my team would say they've raised more than that, in the corridor, if not in your system.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's useful to know, and I'd rather hear the corridor version. If your people are working around something rather than raising it, I can't see it from here. Would it help if I sat in on one of your team meetings, rather than waiting for tickets?
- Bernadette Lowry NoneMaybe. I'll believe it when it reconciles. Show me a statement and the brain side by side for a handful of accounts and I'll tell you if it's right.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThat's what I'd like too, honestly. Let's get credit control in the room with the account-data review in January, and do exactly that. Three accounts, the statement, the brain, and where each number comes from.
- Bernadette Lowry NonePick the accounts I choose, not the ones that look nice.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneYours. Of course yours.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAgreed, and I'll make sure the nightly refresh timing is in front of you at the same time, so you can see the data is complete by seven in the morning on business days and not just promised. Is that what you'd want to see, Bernadette?
- Bernadette Lowry NoneYes. Seven in the morning is when my people start chasing. If it's late, it's useless to me.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneAll right. Let me ask the money question, since we're here. What does that do to debtor days? Has it moved anything? Not a story, a number.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneI don't have a clean number for you, Malcolm, and I'd be guessing if I gave you one. What I can say is that disputes are being seen by credit control and the key-account manager at the same time now, which they weren't before. Whether that has moved debtor days is something Bernadette's team would have to show you from the ledger.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneIt's moved a bit. Not because of a dashboard. Because the dispute is visible before it ages. Put that in writing for him and I'll sign it, but I won't put a figure on it until I've checked it.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneThat's fair. Dry answer, but fair. So the return I can show the board is what, exactly?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'd put it in three parts, if I may. One, more people asking questions of the brain instead of reconciling by hand. Two, disputes seen earlier, which is what Bernadette's just described. Three, the account view the branches are starting to act on. What I can do, and I'll come back to you by Friday on this, is pull together a one-page usage and value summary from your own activity, with the questions asked and who's asking them, so you've something in writing for the board rather than my say-so.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneFriday. Good. Put it in writing, as I say. And the cost of that is?
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's Lewis's side, so I'll hand across. Lewis?
- Lewis Kerr NoneThanks, Daniel. So, to put a number on it. Today your contracted annual recurring revenue is £116,500, and that's what's been invoiced, so the order form and the invoices agree. Nothing odd there. The renewal opportunity on our system is showing a deal amount of £127,500, and I want to be careful with that, because that's the total value of the deal as recorded and I don't want you reading it as an annual price before I've set out what's in it.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneSo it's higher than what I pay now.
- Lewis Kerr NoneIt's higher than the annual figure, yes. What I won't do is break it down from memory. I'll send that over today as a proper quote, co-termed to your renewal, with the VAT position stated, so you can see what's in the £127,500 and what the annual figure would be.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneWhy is there a gap at all? I'd like the base before I look at anything else. I don't take a difference without knowing what it's a difference from.
- Lewis Kerr NoneUnderstood, and that's what the quote will show line by line. The base is the £116,500 you're on. I'd rather you read it against that than have me paraphrase it on a call.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneMm. I'll read the schedule. All of it.
- Lewis Kerr NoneI'd expect nothing less. And can I check one thing, so I don't send you the wrong shape? Are you looking to renew as it stands, or would the branch roll-out change what you want? More users, fewer, anything on connectors?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneNo more users. We've two hundred and we're nowhere near it. If anything I'd like to talk about whether the headroom is right, but I know that's Malcolm's call, not mine.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneIt is. And I'd like that on the table, Lewis. If we've two hundred seats and use sixty, I'll want to know what the options are, in writing.
- Lewis Kerr NoneFair. I'll be straight, I won't push anything the usage doesn't support, and with the branch roll-out still ahead of you I'd be cautious about trimming. But I'll set out the renewal as it stands and note where the usage sits, so you can make the decision with the facts in front of you.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneGood. Do that.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIf I can add something, Malcolm, because I think it matters for the board. The usage has been rising since the spring, and the branch managers are the group that hasn't properly started. So the sixty is the floor and not the ceiling. I'd be uncomfortable if the headroom looked like waste before the people it was bought for have come on.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneUnderstood. That's your view. I'll form mine from the summary.
- Daniel Okafor NoneEntirely fair.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneCan I ask something about the contract? Not price. Service. If the refresh is late, or the data's wrong, what do I get? Because last time I read it I couldn't tell.
- Daniel Okafor NoneGood question, and you're right to ask. On Enterprise, the service credits cover availability and data freshness, so a late nightly refresh counts, not just the brain being down. Your first response times are also the fastest tier. The exact wording is in your executed order form, and I'd point you to that rather than my summary, because it's the signed document that governs.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneThen I'll read that, not your summary. Send me the order form, the signed one, not a draft.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThe signed one, yes. I'll send it with the refresh timings, so you've both together. Just to be clear, any earlier drafts in the folder were superseded the day it was signed.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneGood. Because I've got two versions in my inbox and I don't know which one's right.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneI'll sort that, Bernadette. I'll clear the old ones out of the shared folder this week.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneTimeline, then. I want to be signing this before the end of term, not on the last day. What are you working to?
- Lewis Kerr NoneOn our side the expected close is pencilled for 17 Feb 2026, which sits comfortably ahead of the term ending on 27 Feb 2026. That's a planning date, not a commitment, and if your board meets later I'd rather move it than hurry you.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneBoard is in the new year. I'll know more once I've seen the summary and the quote. I don't want a call about features, mind. Numbers and terms.
- Lewis Kerr NoneNumbers and terms, understood. The quote today, the usage summary from Daniel on Friday, and then I'd suggest a short call once you've read both, rather than another long one.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneShort. Yes. Fifteen minutes, if it's well prepared.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneCan I just add one practical thing? From my side, the one thing I need from the renewal is that nothing changes for the branches during the roll-out. No gaps, no pauses, no one losing access in the middle of the quarter.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's exactly what we'd plan for, Deepa. A renewal that runs on from the end of the current term with no break, and I'll make sure the dates line up so nobody notices it happening. I'll come back to you on the mechanics once the paperwork's agreed.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThank you. And the account-data review in January, can you join that? With Bernadette's three accounts?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'd be glad to. Send me the date once the invite's out and I'll move things around.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneI'll send you the accounts before, so you can't prepare them to look pretty.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI wouldn't dream of it. Send them as soon as you like.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneAnything else? Anything I should know that I haven't asked?
- Daniel Okafor NoneOnly that nothing's on fire, which I like saying. Usage is up, tickets are low, nothing overdue on the invoice side. The one thing I'd flag is the branch roll-out, because that's where the value will be won or lost over the next year, and I'd like us to be watching it together.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneNoted. Send me the paper. Put it in writing, all of it, and I'll read it.
- Lewis Kerr NoneToday for the quote. I'll copy Daniel so the two pieces arrive together and the figures agree.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnd mine by Friday, with the order form and the refresh timings for Bernadette. Just to close the loop, so we're all clear: Lewis, the quote today. Me, the usage summary and the signed order form by Friday. Deepa, the shared folder tidy and the January review invite. Bernadette, the three accounts. Malcolm, a read of the paper and a short call after.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThat's the list. I'll put it in the notes for the team.
- Malcolm Ridgway NoneGood. Thank you, all. That was a useful one. Shorter than I feared.
- Bernadette Lowry NoneSpeak soon. Check those accounts, Daniel.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI will. Thank you, everyone, and have a good week. Best wishes.
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