What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Tom walked Femke and Ruud through the Growth proposal. Ruud needed the yearly cost, and the £56k is the all-in figure with implementation. Target signature 10 Nov 2025; Ilse to review first.
What happened: Tom Ashdown presented the Growth proposal. Ruud's first question was the cost per year, and Tom said the £56k is all-in, with implementation inside it and not a clean annual subscription price.
Customer view: Ruud wants the split in the order form so invoices can be matched, and said quarterly would be better. Femke's concern was adoption: a tool nobody opens is a cost.
Commercial: Tom cited about eight weeks to go live and 10 Nov 2025 as a target. Ruud said he would not promise the date, only to read the proposal.
Watch: Ilse, the credit manager, reviews the invoice schedule next. Femke wants someone with authority on terms at the follow-up.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Tom Ashdown to send the proposal the same day with the fee split, IT checklist and clause reference.
- Tom Ashdown to add a rollout section for Femke to name the account managers and a date.
- Tom Ashdown to book a follow-up with Ilse and a senior colleague who can answer on terms.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Ruud may read the £56k as a yearly cost until the one-off and subscription split is confirmed in writing.
- Adoption by account managers is Femke's stated worry and has no named users or date yet.
- Ruud would not commit to the 10 Nov 2025 target date.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Growth tier for account managers, commercial operations and later credit, well inside the eight connectors.
- Quarterly invoicing was requested as preferable by Ruud, to be confirmed.
Transcript
- Tom AshdownMorning, Femke. Morning, Ruud. Can you hear me all right? I've got the little green bar moving on my side.
- Femke van GestelGood morning, Tom. Yes, I hear you well. Ruud is just joining, I see him in the lobby.
- Ruud VerhoevenMorning. Sorry, my microphone was on mute in the other room. Can you hear me now?
- Tom AshdownLoud and clear, Ruud. Right, brilliant. How's the week been treating you both? Is it as wet over there as it is here?
- Femke van GestelDry, but busy. September is always busy for the installers, they order a lot before the autumn projects. So many delivery complaints this week. But fine. Let's make it practical. Last time you had two actions, Tom. What is the plan?
- Tom AshdownFair, you're straight in, I like it. So, two things. One, I said I'd get you the proposal in writing, and that's what I've got to walk you through today. Two, I wanted to confirm with our solutions people which of your sources go in the first wave. I did that, and I'll come to it in a minute.
- Femke van GestelGood. Then please start with the proposal. Ruud has a question, and I think it is the same question as always.
- Ruud VerhoevenYes. What does it cost per year? That is what I need to understand first. Then I can listen to the rest.
- Tom AshdownNo drama, let's do that first then. So the proposal is for Growth. The number you'll see on the front page is fifty-six thousand pounds, £56k, and I want to be careful what that is, because it's the all-in figure. The implementation is inside it, the one-off work to get you connected and live. So it's not a clean annual subscription price, it's the total deal value for the first stretch.
- Ruud VerhoevenSo the fifty-six is not the yearly cost.
- Tom AshdownCorrect. It's the whole thing, implementation included. The proposal document splits it into the one-off fee and the annual subscription, and I'd rather you read the split off the page than have me quote it from memory on a call. I'll confirm the split in the email straight after this, so you've got it in black and white.
- Ruud VerhoevenGood. I do not want surprises. Is it in the contract, the split? When the invoice comes, I must be able to match it.
- Tom AshdownYes. The order form carries both lines, the implementation and the subscription, and the invoices follow the order form. Annual in advance is the standard, quarterly if you ask for it. That's something you can decide, we don't need to settle it today.
- Ruud VerhoevenQuarterly would be better for us. We will look at it. Not today.
- Femke van GestelRuud likes quarterly invoices. Write it down, Tom.
- Tom AshdownWritten. Quarterly, to be confirmed, Ruud's note. Cheers.
- Femke van GestelNow the scope. Explain to Ruud what Growth is, shortly. He does not need the features. He needs the shape.
- Tom AshdownSure. Growth is built for several teams in one company. In your case that's the account managers first, then commercial operations, and credit when you're ready. There's a user limit and a connector limit, forty users and eight connectors, and I think that's comfortable for what you described. You said orders, delivery complaints and credit queries, and those are three sources, maybe four if the helpdesk is separate from the complaints inbox.
- Femke van GestelThe complaints are in the helpdesk. Orders come from the ERP, and credit queries are partly in email. So three, four with the CRM.
- Tom AshdownThat's what I wrote down too. So well inside the eight. And the idea is the account manager opens one view for an installer and sees all of it together, orders, complaints, credit. No more jumping between four screens.
- Femke van GestelDo the account managers use it? That is my only worry. A tool nobody opens is a cost.
- Tom AshdownThat's the right worry. What tends to work is you pick a handful of account managers in the first weeks, give them real installer accounts, and let them ask real questions. Elena Novak, who'd be your customer success manager, runs that with you. And she'll look at who's asking questions after the first month, so you'd see early if it's not landing.
- Femke van GestelGood. I want that written in the plan. Names of the account managers, and a date.
- Tom AshdownLeave that with me. I'll put a rollout section in the proposal and you can fill in the names.
- Ruud VerhoevenHow long before it works? The implementation. What is the timing?
- Tom AshdownAbout eight weeks for Growth, from kick-off to being live on your data. Could be a bit quicker if your IT side gets us access early. The thing that slows it down is almost always access, not the work itself.
- Ruud VerhoevenOur IT is small. They will need a clear list of what you need.
- Tom AshdownUnderstood, and we do give them a checklist. One page, plain language. I'll send that along with the proposal so Ruud can see what we're asking of them before he signs anything.
- Ruud VerhoevenGood. And the data stays with us? It is in our Snowflake, not in your system?
- Tom AshdownYes. It runs inside your own Snowflake account. We don't hold a copy of your data on our side. That's quite a selling point for finance people, to be fair.
- Ruud VerhoevenIs that in the contract? I want it written.
- Tom AshdownIt's in the way the service is described in the order form and the agreement it sits under. I'll point you to the exact clause in the email, so you're not taking my word for it.
- Femke van GestelOkay. Timing now. When do we want to decide? I think Ruud wants to see the numbers with Ilse first, our credit manager.
- Ruud VerhoevenYes. Ilse should see the invoice schedule. She will be one of the users, and she cares how the invoices look. I do not decide on a call, Tom. I want to read it first.
- Tom AshdownNo, absolutely, nobody's asking you to. What we've pencilled in on our side is the tenth of November, 10 November 2025, as when we'd hope to have it signed. That's a target, not a deadline, but it gives us something to work back from.
- Femke van GestelThat is workable. If Ilse reviews in October and we talk again, then November is realistic.
- Ruud VerhoevenPossible. I will not promise the date. I promise to read it.
- Tom AshdownThat's all I need. Let's get something in the diary for a follow-up once Ilse's had a look. Femke, would you rather I invited her to that one?
- Femke van GestelYes, invite her. And someone from your side with authority on terms. If there are questions on price, I do not want to wait a week.
- Tom AshdownFair point. I'll bring one of my senior colleagues to that one so we can answer on the spot. So, to recap: I send the proposal today with the split of the fifty-six, the IT checklist and the clause reference. You and Ilse review, and we meet again with her on the call.
- Femke van GestelGood. That is the plan. Thank you, Tom.
- Ruud VerhoevenThank you. Send it today, please. Then I can read it this week.
- Tom AshdownWill do. Have a good week, both of you. Cheers. Speak soon.
- Femke van GestelGroetjes, Tom. Doei.