Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – Onboarding
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 5 Sep 2024 15:15
Onboarding with Sunil Kapoor and Craig Ashwell. Client lists need a manual matching table, seven of eight connectors start first, accounting approval is pending, and Craig wants the subscription to earn its price within a quarter.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Onboarding with Sunil Kapoor and Craig Ashwell. Client lists need a manual matching table, seven of eight connectors start first, accounting approval is pending, and Craig wants the subscription to earn its price within a quarter.
What happened: Callie Brennan walked through the connectors and field mapping on 5 Sep 2024. Sunil found one landlord under three spellings, so client stays a pending mapping until he confirms a matching table.
Customer view: Craig said of the £40k Growth subscription that he wants it to earn its price in a quarter, not a year. He named variations without an approver and retentions as his tests.
Watch: Accounting needs finance approval, and retentions sit in both the ledger and a spreadsheet that disagree. Callie said she could not promise retentions until she had seen the accounting side.
Commercial: The helpdesk connector is parked, leaving seven of eight to start.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Onboarding, connectors, client mapping
Importance
neutral
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- Sunil Kapoor to export both client lists and build the matching table.
- Callie Brennan to send the accounting connector note, access scopes and Snowflake line in one email.
- Sunil Kapoor to name a second admin by next week.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Craig expects the subscription to show value within a quarter, so a slow or partial first refresh could damage confidence.
- Finance approval for the accounting connector could delay retentions and valuations, the data Craig cares about most.
- Sunil is the only admin until a second one is named.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The unused helpdesk slot could be redeployed if a more useful source appears.
- A training session for a dozen or so users could widen use across the forty licensed seats.
- Variations with a blank approver give a concrete early win for credit control.
Transcript
Callie BrennanHello, Sunil. Can you hear me all right? I've got you on screen but I can't see Craig yet.
Sunil KapoorAfternoon, Callie. Yes, clear. Craig's just finishing something with a site manager, he said to start without him.- Callie BrennanNo problem at all. It's been a bit of a grey week down here, hasn't it? Is Reading the same?
- Sunil KapoorRain since Monday. Good for staying at my desk, I suppose.
- Callie BrennanHa, there's that. Right, let me give you the plan for the next hour, or a bit less, we've booked forty-odd minutes. First, I want to walk through the connectors we agreed in the order form and tick off what I have access for and what I haven't. Second, the field mapping, particularly the client list. Third, when the first refresh lands and who does what before then. And last, a short note on how you'll run things as the admin once I step back.
- Sunil KapoorThat works. Can I open with something, actually? I found a discrepancy over the weekend that I think is relevant to the mapping.
- Callie BrennanPlease, go on. That's exactly what I'd want to hear before we switch on anything.
- Sunil KapoorSo we have a client list in the project system and a separate client list in the commercial system. They're meant to be the same. They aren't. I counted a number of clients that appear in both but under slightly different names. One landlord is there three times. Same company, three spellings, and the projects hang off different ones.
- Callie BrennanRight. Okay. And is there any shared identifier between the two? A client code, a company number, anything like that?
- Sunil KapoorNot reliably. The project system has a client code that finance set up years ago. The commercial side doesn't use it, they key off the contact's email domain, more or less. Which project code, I keep asking myself, belongs to which client record. It doesn't tie.
- Callie BrennanMm. That's useful, because it changes how I'd approach the mapping. What I'd normally do is match on the identifier and flag the leftovers. If there's no common identifier, I'd rather build a matching table with you, a short one, and have you confirm each pair. Is that something you'd be comfortable owning?
- Sunil KapoorYes. I'd rather do that than have the brain guess. If it guesses and gets one wrong, somebody in credit control chases the wrong client. I'll reconcile it.
- Callie BrennanGood. And I'd say that's the right instinct. What I need from your side is an export of both client lists, with whatever codes and domains you have, by the end of this week. I'll do a first pass of the matching and send it back to you marked up. That maps cleanly onto the plan.
- Sunil KapoorI can do the export tomorrow. It's just a couple of reports.
Craig AshwellSorry, sorry. I'm here. Can you hear me? Site call overran.- Callie BrennanHello, Craig, yes, we can. No apology needed. Sunil's just been telling me about the client lists not matching up between project and commercial.
- Craig AshwellYeah. That's the whole point, isn't it. That's why I wanted this. I've got a fit-out in Reading that worries me most at the moment, and I can't tell you in one place what the client has signed, what's been instructed on site, and what we've invoiced. Three systems, three answers.
- Callie BrennanUnderstood. And that one's a good test case, actually. If you can give me one live project, I'll make sure we trace it end to end once the first refresh has landed. Project, variations, calls, invoices, all sitting together.
- Craig AshwellGood. Because where's the variation? That's what I always ask. Someone does extra work on site, the client says fine, nobody writes it down, and then we're arguing about it at the end.
- Sunil KapoorVariations sit in the commercial system, but the instruction itself often arrives by email, or on a call. So there's a gap.
- Callie BrennanThat's where the email and call sources help. Let me share my screen and go through the connector list, and you can tell me if I've got it wrong. Can you see that?
- Craig AshwellYep.
- Sunil KapoorI can see it.
- Callie BrennanSo you're on Growth, which gives you up to eight connectors. On the order form we've got the project system, the commercial system, the accounting system, the mailboxes, the call recorder, the helpdesk, the shared drive and your CRM. That's eight. Is that still what you want, or has anything shifted since you signed?
- Sunil KapoorThat's still right. Although the helpdesk is a bit of a stretch. We only use it for IT internally. Credit control doesn't log anything in it.
- Callie BrennanOkay. Let's park that one and decide later. It's not going to cost you anything to leave it unconnected for now, and you'd have the slot if something more useful comes up. Craig, any views?
- Craig AshwellPark it. I'd sooner have the mailboxes and calls working properly. What's actually been said to clients, that's what I care about.
- Callie BrennanFine. So seven to start. Now, the access side. Before we switch on the refresh, I need written access for each, and I don't start a connector without it. At the moment I have credentials for the project system and the commercial system, thank you, Sunil, those arrived on Tuesday.
- Sunil KapoorYes, I sent those with the read-only role as you asked.
- Callie BrennanWhich was perfect. What I don't have yet is the accounting system, the mailboxes, the call recorder, the shared drive and the CRM. Do you want to talk through each so I know who's doing what?
- Sunil KapoorAccounting I can do, but I'd like finance to approve it before I give you anything. It's their system. They'll want to know exactly what the brain can read.
- Craig AshwellAnd I'd rather our finance lead is in that conversation, not me. I don't discuss cash without her in the room. She'll want to see it before anyone says yes.
- Callie BrennanThat's sensible. Would it help if I sent a one-page description of exactly what the accounting connector reads, so she's not relying on either of you to explain it?
- Sunil KapoorYes, please. Invoices, credit notes, payments, client records. That's what I'd expect, but I'd want it in writing.
- Callie BrennanDone, I'll write that up today. Invoices, credit notes, payments and customer records, read-only, nothing written back. I'll put your finance lead on it as the approver.
- Craig AshwellGood.
- Callie BrennanNext, the mailboxes. Which ones do you actually want included? Because that's the one people tend to get nervous about.
- Craig AshwellCommercial team, project managers, credit control. Not HR, obviously. Not the directors' personal ones either.
- Sunil KapoorWe use Microsoft 365, so I can scope it to a group rather than naming people one by one. I'd set up a group for the brain and add the right people to it. That way there's one list to maintain.
- Callie BrennanThat's tidier than what most customers do, frankly. A group, then. Can you send me the group name once it exists, and confirm in writing that it's approved? I won't touch the mailboxes until I have that.
- Sunil KapoorI'll do it by Friday.
- Callie BrennanLovely. Call recorder next. Who owns that on your side?
- Craig AshwellMe, effectively. The commercial team and project managers record client calls. Not everyone. Some of them forget.
- Callie BrennanThat's fine, it will only index what's there. Though you might want to nudge people, because the brain is only as good as what goes in. If half your variation conversations happen on unrecorded calls, you'll still have a gap.
- Craig AshwellYeah. I'll tell them. Short sentences. Record the call, or write it down. What has the client signed? If you can't answer that, you haven't finished.
- Sunil KapoorI'd add, for the call recorder, an admin needs to create an API key. I can do that. I just need to know what scope.
- Callie BrennanRead access to recordings and transcripts. I'll put the exact wording in the setup note. Same for the shared drive and the CRM, I'll list the minimum each needs.
- Sunil KapoorGood. Bullet points, if you can. I'd rather tick them off one at a time.
- Callie BrennanBullet points it is. Now, shared drive. What's in there that matters? Contracts, valuations, anything else?
- Sunil KapoorContracts, signed variations when someone scans them, valuation certificates, the monthly cost reports. It's messy. There are folders by project and also folders by year, and some things are in both.
- Craig AshwellIt's a mess, Callie, I'll be honest. Everyone knows it.
- Callie BrennanIt's not unusual. What I'd suggest is we connect only the project folders, not the year folders, to start with, and see what the brain makes of it. If duplicates cause confusion we can tighten it. Does that work?
- Sunil KapoorYes. I'd rather start small and add.
- Callie BrennanRight. Let me scroll down to the field mapping, because that's where I want to spend the next chunk of time. Sunil, can you see the table?
- Sunil KapoorI can. It's quite small. Can you make it bigger?
- Callie BrennanIs that better?
- Sunil KapoorYes, that's fine, thanks.
- Callie BrennanSo on the left, fields from the project system. Project name, project code, client, status, start date, practical completion, contract sum. On the right, how the brain will hold them. Most of these map cleanly. The one I'm not happy about is the one you've just raised, client. Because right now I'd be mapping it to a single client entity, and you've told me that's not safe.
- Sunil KapoorCorrect. Don't do it automatically.
- Callie BrennanI won't. I'll leave client as a pending mapping until you've confirmed the matching table. Everything else in that block I can sign off today.
- Craig AshwellWhat about variations? Where do they go in that table?
- Callie BrennanScroll with me. Here, in the commercial block. Variation reference, project, description, value, status, date instructed, date agreed. Is that how you'd describe a variation, or do you use different words?
- Craig AshwellStatus is the important one. Instructed, priced, agreed, rejected. And I want to know who agreed it on the client side. Name, not just a company.
- Sunil KapoorThere's an approver field but it's free text. Sometimes it's a name, sometimes it says the client's QS, sometimes it's blank.
- Craig AshwellBlank is the problem. That's the one where we end up out of pocket.
- Callie BrennanOkay, so what I can do is bring the approver field through as it is, and then once it's live you can ask the brain for variations with a blank approver. That at least turns it into a list someone can chase. I wouldn't promise to fix the data, but I can make the gaps visible.
- Craig AshwellThat'll do. Visible is a start.
- Sunil KapoorThat's honest, too. The data's only as good as what people type in.
- Callie BrennanExactly that. Now, credit control. Craig, you mentioned at the start that credit control is part of why you bought this. Tell me what they need to see.
- Craig AshwellThey need to see a client's whole picture before they ring them. If we're chasing a late valuation payment and there's an unresolved variation on the same project, they shouldn't be ringing the client cold. Let's get paid for what we've built, but let's not blunder in.
- Sunil KapoorRight now they'd have to open the accounting system, then the commercial one, then search email. It takes a long time, so mostly they don't.
- Callie BrennanSo the test, for them, is: pick a client, ask the brain what's outstanding, what's been disputed, what was said on the last call. If it answers that in one go, you've got your value. I'll put that on the list as an acceptance check for week two.
- Craig AshwellYeah. I like that. A test with a name on it.
- Callie BrennanLet me go through the timeline now, since you'll both want dates. The implementation is eight weeks all in. The first refresh, once I've got access for the connectors we've discussed, would be early next week for the project and commercial systems, and I'd bring the others in as the approvals come through.
- Sunil KapoorEarly next week. And you'll tell me before it runs?
- Callie BrennanAlways. I'll message you the morning before, with what it's going to read and roughly how long. And on the first one I'll stay on until it's finished, to check the counts against what you'd expect.
- Sunil KapoorWhich counts?
- Callie BrennanNumber of projects, number of variations, number of clients in each source. You'll know roughly what they should be. If the brain says something wildly different, we stop and look before anyone sees it.
- Sunil KapoorGood. I'll have those numbers ready. I'd like to reconcile before anyone gets a login.
- Craig AshwellCan I ask something? We've got forty users licensed. I don't think forty people need it from day one. Some of the site managers won't touch a laptop.
- Callie BrennanThat's very common. The forty is a ceiling, not a target. Most customers start with the people who live in the data: commercial, project managers, credit control, you and Sunil. Then add as people see what's in it for them.
- Craig AshwellSo I don't pay more if they're not on?
- Callie BrennanNo. You're on Growth at thirty-nine thousand six hundred a year, that's the subscription, and forty users are included. Nothing changes if only a dozen use it in the first month. I'd just say that unused seats are a bit of a waste, so it's worth encouraging people.
- Craig AshwellThirty-nine six. Right. I want to see it earn that. Not in a year, in a quarter.
- Callie BrennanFair. Which is why I'd like us to pick one or two things that matter most to you, and make sure they work by the time you've been live a few weeks. Variations without an approver is one. What's another?
- Craig AshwellRetentions. What we're owed in retention, by client, and when it's due. That's money sitting there that people forget about.
- Sunil KapoorRetentions are in the accounting system and also in a spreadsheet the finance team keeps. They don't always agree.
- Craig AshwellOf course they don't.
- Callie BrennanOkay. That's one I can't promise until I've seen how the accounting side is structured. I'd rather say that now than say it should be fine and find out later. Once we've got access, I'll tell you plainly whether retentions come through cleanly or whether the spreadsheet needs to come in as a source.
- Sunil KapoorI appreciate that. I'd rather know.
- Craig AshwellYeah, fine. Don't promise what you can't see.
- Callie BrennanRight. I'll write that up as a risk, not a promise. Now, Sunil, since you're the admin, let me show you what you'll be looking after. Can I switch to the admin screen?
- Sunil KapoorPlease.
- Callie BrennanSo this is the connectors page. Each one has a status, the last time it ran, and how many records it indexed. The number to watch is that last one. If it stays flat for a few weeks when you'd expect it to grow, something upstream has probably changed. Usually someone's moved a folder, or changed a login, or switched off a field.
- Sunil KapoorSo flat is a warning.
- Callie BrennanFlat is a warning. Not a disaster, but worth a look. Then here you've got users and roles. You and one other person should be admins, ideally, so you're not the only one who can fix things if you're away.
- Sunil KapoorHm. I'd put someone from finance. Or the person who covers my work when I'm on leave.
- Callie BrennanEither's good. Can you tell me who by next week? I'll build the second admin into the training.
- Sunil KapoorYes.
- Craig AshwellCallie, what do the users actually do day to day? Because my project managers won't read a manual.
- Callie BrennanThey ask it questions. In plain English. Which projects have unagreed variations over a certain value, what did the client say on the last call, which valuations are overdue. It answers with sources, so they can click through and check. That's the whole interface, really, plus pages and dashboards for the things you want to look at repeatedly.
- Craig AshwellOkay. I can sell that to them. Ask it a question, it shows its working.
- Sunil KapoorWill it show when the answer's out of date? That's my worry. If someone asks about a project and the data's a week old, they should know.
- Callie BrennanGood question. Each source shows when it was last refreshed, and the nightly refresh is meant to be done by seven in the morning on business days. If it hasn't, the admin page will show it, and you'd see it before the users do. That's the other reason I want you and a second admin watching.
- Sunil KapoorSeven. Good. Finance start early so they'll notice.
- Craig AshwellThey'll notice and they'll tell me. Loudly.
- Callie BrennanHa, I'm sure. Right, let me go back to what I need and who owns it, so we leave with the same list. Shall I read it out and you correct me?
- Sunil KapoorPlease.
- Callie BrennanOne. Sunil sends exports of both client lists, with codes and domains, by the end of this week. Two. Sunil creates the mailbox group and confirms in writing, by Friday. Three. Sunil sends access details for the call recorder, the shared drive and the CRM, with the scopes I'll list for you. Four. I send the one-page note on the accounting connector to your finance lead, today. Five. Your finance lead approves, or comes back with questions. Six. You name a second admin. Seven. Craig reminds people to record calls. Eight. I send the setup note after the first refresh. Did I miss anything?
- Sunil KapoorThat's everything I've got. Though, for number three, I'd like the scopes before I create anything. Not after.
- Callie BrennanYes, absolutely, scopes first. I'll send them this afternoon, together with the accounting note, in one email so you've got it all in one place.
- Craig AshwellOne email. Good. I'm copied?
- Callie BrennanYou'll be copied. And I'll copy Marcus as well, he's your customer success manager and he'll pick up once we're live, so it's worth him seeing how we set things up. And Priya, as she looked after the commercial side when you signed.
- Craig AshwellFine. Marcus, I've spoken to. Seems sensible.
- Sunil KapoorOne question on the security side. Is the data leaving our environment at any point? I'll be asked.
- Callie BrennanNo. The brain runs inside your own Snowflake account, so the data stays where you already hold it. We don't copy it out to our own systems. I can put that in a line for your IT lead if it's useful.
- Sunil KapoorYes, please, a line is all I need. They like things in writing.
- Callie BrennanEveryone does. I'll add it to the email.
- Craig AshwellCallie, one more thing before we finish. The Reading job. If the first refresh lands next week, can we look at that project in the brain together? Even half finished. I want to see whether it helps.
- Callie BrennanYes. I'd suggest a short session after the first refresh, twenty minutes, where we pick the Reading project and walk it through. If something's missing we'll know exactly what and why. Only caveat is that the client mapping might still be pending, so we may have to pick the project by code rather than by client name.
- Craig AshwellCode is fine. I know the code.
- Sunil KapoorI'll have the matching table done by then, or most of it.
- Callie BrennanMost of it is plenty. We can do the awkward ones afterwards. Right, I've a final point on training. Once the data's in and you're happy with the counts, I'd like to run a session for the wider group. Forty users licensed, but I'd say start with a dozen or so. About an hour, hands on, their own projects.
- Craig AshwellMake it less than an hour. They'll drift.
- Callie BrennanForty-five minutes, then. With a ten-minute question time at the end. I'll leave a one-page guide, too, with the five questions you've told me matter most.
- Sunil KapoorCan that include how to check a source if an answer looks wrong? That's the thing that'll come up.
- Callie BrennanYes. Every answer has its sources attached, and I'll show them how to open the record behind it. If it doesn't tie, they tell you, and you reconcile. That's the loop.
- Sunil KapoorThat's the loop. Fine.
- Craig AshwellAlright. I think I'm good. Anything else for me?
- Callie BrennanJust the reminder about recording calls, and to nudge your finance lead about the accounting note when it arrives. Everything else is with Sunil and me.
- Craig AshwellWill do. Thanks, both. I've got to go, another site call.
- Callie BrennanThanks, Craig. Speak soon.
- Sunil KapoorCheers, Craig.
- Callie BrennanSunil, you've got a few more minutes? I'd like to check the CRM mapping with you before we finish, since it's the last block.
- Sunil KapoorYes, I've got time.
- Callie BrennanOkay. Back to the mapping table. In the CRM block we've got account name, owner, stage, opportunity value, expected close, and contact. Is the CRM the same client list problem again, or is it cleaner?
- Sunil KapoorHonestly, it's the third version of it. The CRM has the tidiest names because sales type them in carefully, but it also has prospects that never became clients. So a client in the CRM isn't necessarily a client we've done a project for.
- Callie BrennanThat's an important distinction. So I'd be careful to bring the CRM stage through as it is, and not infer anything from it. A prospect stays a prospect until your matching table says otherwise.
- Sunil KapoorYes. Which means the matching table has three columns, not two. Project system, commercial system, CRM.
- Callie BrennanThree columns, and I'd add a fourth for a status note, so you can say why you've paired two records. Six months from now someone will ask why two names are linked, and you'll want an answer.
- Sunil KapoorGood thinking. I'll build it that way.
- Callie BrennanLast thing on the CRM, the contact field. Do you want people's names and emails coming through, or only the company? Some customers prefer not to bring contacts in at first.
- Sunil KapoorI'd bring the names. The point is to see who said what on which call. Without names it's not much use. But not personal mobile numbers, if they're in there.
- Callie BrennanUnderstood. Names and work emails, no phone fields. I'll exclude those explicitly and note it in the setup file so it's clear it was a decision, not an oversight.
- Sunil KapoorThanks. That's the sort of thing I'd get asked about.
- Callie BrennanAnything else on your mind? Anything you're worried about, or that's felt unclear in the plan?
- Sunil KapoorOnly the timing on the accounting approval. If finance take a fortnight, the first refresh is missing the thing Craig cares about most. Retentions, valuations, all of it.
- Callie BrennanThat's a fair worry. Two options. Either we go ahead without accounting and add it when approved, or we hold the whole first refresh. I'd lean towards going ahead, because then you've got project and commercial data to test the matching table against, and it doesn't waste time.
- Sunil KapoorAgreed. I'd rather have a partial picture I can check than wait for a full one.
- Callie BrennanThen that's what we'll do. And if the approval's slow, tell me and I'll help you chase it. There's a week or so of slack in the plan before it starts to bite.
- Sunil KapoorThanks. That's reassuring.
- Callie BrennanGood. Then I think we're done. I'll send the email this afternoon, with the scopes, the accounting note and the line about Snowflake. You send the exports tomorrow. We speak again when the first refresh has run.
- Sunil KapoorYes. I'll confirm receipt when the email arrives.
- Callie BrennanPerfect. Thanks, Sunil. Have a good rest of the week.
- Sunil KapoorYou too, Callie. Bye.
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