Pemaquid Analytics / BG-Demo – QBR
Callcompleted
Pemaquid Analytics · 24 Aug 2026 14:15
On the 24 Aug 2026 QBR, the CFO called around five active users of 40 not a great ratio. Usage is rising, nothing is overdue and the account is healthy, but the value case still needs to be shown.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026On the 24 Aug 2026 QBR, the CFO called around five active users of 40 not a great ratio. Usage is rising, nothing is overdue and the account is healthy, but the value case still needs to be shown.
What happened: Hollie Grieve confirmed Growth at £50k a year, matching the invoices, with nothing overdue. Active use in a typical month is around five of 40 licensed users.
Customer view: Raymond Tsai wants proof the brain earns its keep. Caitlin Mercer said the view across tickets, usage and call notes is what she promised the board.
Commercial: Questions asked and active people are both up. The group agreed a usage dashboard, a session for account managers and the executed order form for Raymond's file.
Watch: Caitlin asks most of the questions, which Hollie called the thing to watch. The renewal is 1 Apr 2027, with notice roughly ninety days before.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
QBR, seat use and value
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Hollie Grieve is to send Priscilla Bowen the dashboard guide and send Raymond Tsai the executed order form.
- Priscilla Bowen is to build one dashboard page with usage for Raymond and renewals for Caitlin.
- Hollie Grieve is to propose slots for a recorded 30-minute session for the account managers.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The CFO judges around five active users of 40 licensed a poor ratio and wants proof of payback.
- One person asks a large share of the questions, which is a key-person risk if she is away.
- A system change on the customer side that nobody mentions could break a connector and go unnoticed.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Account managers who handle distributors could be brought onto the brain, filling Growth seats for the same spend.
- A usage and renewals dashboard built on the Growth dashboards builder gives the CFO his seats-used view.
Transcript
Hollie GrieveHi all, can everyone hear me okay? I've got Caitlin and Priscilla here, and I think Ray's just joining.
Caitlin MercerHey Hollie, loud and clear. Ray's in the lobby, he should be on any second.
Raymond TsaiAfternoon. Sorry, the last call ran over. Can you hear me?- Hollie GrieveYes, perfectly. Thanks for making the time, Ray, I know Mondays are packed.
- Raymond TsaiThey are. What's the number?
- Caitlin MercerHa. Ray, let her say hello first. Priscilla, you there?
Priscilla BowenI'm here. Hi, Hollie. Sorry, just closing a few tabs so I can share my screen if we need it.- Hollie GrieveNo problem at all. So, Ray, the quick answer first and then I'll walk you through the rest. You're on Growth, contracted at £50,000 a year, and that's exactly what's been invoiced. Nothing overdue on the account.
- Raymond TsaiGood. And how many seats are we using?
- Hollie GrieveYou're licensed for 40 users. Active in a typical month is a good deal lower than that, around five, and that's the bit I'd like to spend some time on, because it's moving the right way.
- Raymond TsaiFive out of forty. That's not a great ratio. What's the payback?
- Caitlin MercerRay, can I jump in? Fair question, and I'd say the licence count is bigger than the group that lives in it today. Customer success is the core team, that's who we bought it for. What's the signal, though? The signal is the people who are in there are asking more every month, not fewer. And honestly, before we get into it, can I just flag the distributor renewals we've got coming up this week? Because that's exactly the use case.
- Hollie GrievePlease do, that's a good way in.
- Caitlin MercerSo, a couple of distributors renew this week, and a year ago I'd have been pulling tickets from one place, usage from another, and the call notes from whoever remembered to write them up. Now I ask one question and I get all of it together. That's what I told the board it would do, and I didn't promise a number, I promised a view. And we have the view.
- Raymond TsaiFine. I'm not arguing with the view. I just want to know it's earning its keep.
- Hollie GrieveUnderstood. Let me show you what I've got. Priscilla, I'll share my screen, and shout if anything doesn't match what you see day to day.
- Priscilla BowenSure.
- Hollie GrieveOkay, you should see the usage page now. This is the last quarter against the one before. Questions asked are up, and the number of people active is up by something like a quarter. It's a small base, so I don't want to oversell it, but the direction is steady, there's no dip in the middle.
- Caitlin MercerCan we get that on a dashboard? Not just for me, for Ray, so he's not waiting for a QBR to see it.
- Hollie GrieveYes, Growth includes the dashboards builder, so you can put usage and questions asked on a page of its own. Priscilla, I think that's one for you, if you're happy to own it.
- Priscilla BowenYeah, I can do that. I've only played with the builder a little. If you send me a short guide, I can have a first version up quickly. What would Ray actually want on it?
- Raymond TsaiSeats used, questions asked, and anything that costs us money. That's it. Short.
- Caitlin MercerAnd I'd add renewals by distributor next to the usage, so we see who's quiet before they renew. Let's operationalise it, we'll make it the first thing I open on a Monday.
- Priscilla BowenOkay. Usage for Ray, renewals for Caitlin. I'll put both on one page and we can split it if it gets crowded.
- Hollie GrieveLovely. I'll send the guide today and I'm happy to sit with you for half an hour when you start building.
- Hollie GrieveOn the health side, which is the dull bit but it matters: one ticket in the last month, nothing urgent, nothing that touched the nightly refresh. Priscilla, does that match what you saw?
- Priscilla BowenYes, that was mine. A how-to question, really, and it got an answer the same day. Nothing's broken on the connectors, the data's been there when I've looked in the morning.
- Raymond TsaiSo nothing's costing us. Good.
- Hollie GrieveNothing that I can see, no. Which brings me to the question I'd like to ask you all, and it's about the other forty-odd seats you're paying for, if you like. Who else should be in it?
- Caitlin MercerRight. So, honestly, the account managers who handle the distributors. They're the ones who'd get the most out of asking, before a renewal call, what's been going on with that account. Right now they ask me, and I'm the bottleneck. Which is, you know, a key-person risk for you guys too, I get it.
- Hollie GrieveHa, I'd not have put it quite like that, but yes, it's a fair point. One person asking a big share of the questions is the thing I'd watch. It's not a problem today, but if you're away for a fortnight, you'd want others comfortable with it.
- Caitlin MercerTotally. Priscilla, could we do a short session for the account managers? Thirty minutes, here's what you ask, here's what you get back.
- Priscilla BowenYes, I'd rather that than answering the same ten questions by chat. Hollie, can you do that live, or should I record it myself?
- Hollie GrieveI can run it live, and we can record it so new joiners can watch it later. I'll propose a couple of slots in the next week or so.
- Raymond TsaiDoes it cost more if more of them log in?
- Hollie GrieveNo. You've got 40 licensed users on Growth, and you're well inside that. Nothing changes on the subscription unless you go beyond it, and from what I'm seeing that's a long way off.
- Raymond TsaiGood. Then that's the thing I'd like to see: more of them using it for the same money.
- Caitlin MercerThat's the plan, Ray. Same spend, more questions.
- Hollie GrieveLet me touch on the contract, then, so there are no surprises. You're contracted through 31 Mar 2027, and the renewal date is 1 Apr 2027. That's still a long way off, but I'll come to you well ahead of it with the formal notice, roughly ninety days before, and we'll talk about it properly then, not in the last week.
- Raymond TsaiSend me the order form, please. I'd like the original in my file, so I know exactly what we agreed.
- Hollie GrieveOf course. I'll send the executed copy after the call. It's got the £50,000 annual figure on it, which matches the invoices.
- Raymond TsaiThank you. Never mind the rest, that's what I need.
- Caitlin MercerOkay, so Hollie, I'm going to ask the awkward one, just so Ray hears it. What would make this a no at renewal? What are you watching for on our side?
- Hollie GrieveHonestly? Three things. The data going stale, so I keep an eye on whether records are still flowing in. A drop in questions asked, which is the real measure of value. And a change on your side, like someone leaving or a system being swapped, that nobody tells us about. None of those are happening. It's the third one I'd ask you to tell me about early.
- Priscilla BowenThat one's me. If we change anything on the helpdesk or the CRM, I'll tell you before, not after.
- Hollie GrievePerfect, thank you.
- Caitlin MercerAnything else on your list, Hollie? Because I want to leave with owners.
- Hollie GrieveLet me read it back. Priscilla builds the dashboard page, with usage for Ray and renewals for Caitlin, and I send the guide today. I'll set up the session for the account managers. And I send Ray the executed order form this afternoon. Did I miss anything?
- Priscilla BowenNo, that's it.
- Caitlin MercerThat's the list. Great quarter, thanks Hollie. Best, Caitlin, in advance, because I've got to run.
- Raymond TsaiThanks all.
- Hollie GrieveThanks, everyone. Speak soon.
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