Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – Onboarding
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 23 Sep 2024 10:00
Working session on 23 Sep 2024 with Sunil Kapoor. Client lists do not match across systems, finance access is stuck awaiting director sign-off, and only Sunil is using the brain. Unpaid invoices were mentioned.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Working session on 23 Sep 2024 with Sunil Kapoor. Client lists do not match across systems, finance access is stuck awaiting director sign-off, and only Sunil is using the brain. Unpaid invoices were mentioned.
What happened: Callie Brennan and Sunil Kapoor spent most of the call on field mapping and the client lookup table. Sunil found that the project, commercial and finance systems hold different versions of the same clients.
Customer view: Sunil wants it slower and right, and would rather have a list of unknowns than a wrong match. He said finance access is the gate and everything else is just work.
Commercial: Forty Growth licences are in use by Sunil and occasionally one other. Sunil said the finance team has a couple of BG-Demo invoices unpaid, partly because nobody has used the brain yet.
Watch: Sunil is the only admin and the finance request is not formally with the director. Callie plans a second admin and a small first group including a sceptical credit-control lead.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Finance access, client keys
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Callie Brennan to send Sunil Kapoor a one-page note on what is read and where it is stored, today.
- Sunil Kapoor to forward the note to the finance director and aim for an answer by the middle of the following week.
- Callie Brennan to raise the unpaid invoices with Priya and Marcus.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Finance system access has not formally gone to the finance director, so the first refresh date is unknown.
- Sunil Kapoor is the only admin and the only regular user, a key-person risk.
- The customer's finance team holds unpaid BG-Demo invoices, linked by Sunil to the brain not yet being used.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A small first group including the credit-control lead could prove value on real client data.
- A second admin from finance or credit control would spread ownership and deepen use.
Transcript
Callie BrennanHi Sunil, can you hear me alright? I can see you but I'm getting a little bit of an echo on my side.
Sunil KapoorHello Callie. Yes, I can hear you. Give me a second, I've got the laptop speakers on as well as the headset. There. Better?- Callie BrennanMuch better, thanks. Good, no echo now. How's your Monday going so far?
- Sunil KapoorBusy. We've got a handover on a retail unit this week and everybody has suddenly remembered they need reports. So, the usual. How about you?
- Callie BrennanSame sort of thing, a couple of first refreshes landing this week, so I'm trying to keep my diary honest. Right, shall I tell you what I'd like to do with the next 45 minutes, and you stop me if it's not what you need?
- Sunil KapoorPlease. Actually, before you do, can I raise one thing first? It's sort of why I asked for this call to be a proper working session.
- Callie BrennanOf course. Go on.
- Sunil KapoorSo I took an export from the project system last week, and an export from the commercial side, just to see what the client lists look like before anything gets connected. They don't match. Not by a little bit.
- Callie BrennanRight. Mm. What kind of not matching? Missing clients, or the same clients with different names?
- Sunil KapoorMostly the second one. One landlord appears three times in the project system, with slightly different spellings and one with the old company name from before they were acquired. In the commercial system it's one record. And then the finance side has its own version again.
- Callie BrennanOkay. That's really common for fit-out businesses, honestly, because projects get set up by whoever is on site and the commercial record gets created by someone else, weeks earlier. Did you get a sense of how many?
- Sunil KapoorEnough that the totals per client don't tie to the ledger. I'd rather not put a number on it, I only sampled. I'd say it's a pattern rather than a one-off, but I haven't proved that.
- Callie BrennanThat's fair, and I appreciate you not overstating it. Well, this is exactly the thing I want to deal with before we switch on the refresh. If we connect everything as it is, the brain will faithfully show you three landlords where there is one, and then people will stop trusting it on day one.
- Sunil KapoorYes. That's my worry. I'd rather it was slower and right.
- Callie BrennanAgreed. So that changes my plan a bit, in a good way. What I'd intended was, first, walk through the three sources and what I need from your side. Second, agree the field mapping. Third, a rough timetable. I think we put the client list into the mapping section and spend most of our time there. Is that all right?
- Sunil KapoorThat's fine. I can share my sheet if it helps. I've marked the ones I think are the same client.
- Callie BrennanPlease, yes. Can you drop it in the shared folder rather than email, so it's with the setup note? I'll look at it after the call.
- Sunil KapoorWill do. I'll put it there this afternoon.
- Callie BrennanLovely. Right. Sources first. As I have it from the order form, we're connecting the project system, the commercial system and the finance system, and then the call recorder, so that calls sit next to the client. Have I got that right, or has anything moved?
- Sunil KapoorThat's right. The call recorder is the one I'm least sure about. The credit-control team use it a lot, but the project managers barely do, so I'd park that one until the rest is stable.
- Callie BrennanThat's sensible, and it's within the connectors you've got on Growth, so nothing is lost by waiting. We've got room for eight in total, so we're nowhere near the limit. I'll mark it as phase two.
- Sunil KapoorGood. Then the order is project, commercial, finance.
- Callie BrennanHang on, can I push back on that slightly? I'd do finance second, not third. Because the ledger is your reference. If we load project and finance first, you can check the client totals against the ledger straight away, and the commercial system comes in once the client key is settled.
- Sunil KapoorMm. Yes. That makes sense actually. The commercial system is the messiest for client names, so loading it last means we've fixed the key by then.
- Callie BrennanExactly. Project, then finance, then commercial. Okay. Now, what I need from your side is written access for each one. Read-only credentials, or an API key, whichever the system uses, and a named person who can confirm it. Where are we with that?
- Sunil KapoorProject system, I've got. I'm the admin so I can generate that myself. I can send it today. The commercial system is similar, I just need to check what permissions I can give a read-only user without opening up salary or margin fields.
- Callie BrennanGood thinking. Which fields are you worried about?
- Sunil KapoorProject margin, mainly. And day rates. I don't think everyone who can ask the brain a question should be able to see those. I haven't decided how to handle that yet.
- Callie BrennanOkay, that's important, so let's not rush it. For now, I'd say exclude those fields from the first load. We can bring them in later behind a restricted page once you've decided who sees them. It's much easier to add a field than to take back something people have already seen.
- Sunil KapoorYes. Please. I'll list the fields I want excluded. Probably ten or so, I'll check, and send the list with the credentials.
- Callie BrennanPerfect. And the finance system?
- Sunil KapoorThat's the awkward one. I can't generate that myself. It sits with our finance team and they want sign-off from the finance director before anyone outside the company gets access, even read-only.
- Callie BrennanRight. And has that request gone in?
- Sunil KapoorI asked, informally. I wouldn't say it's formally with the director yet. I'll be honest, it's been a bit stuck. Everyone is busy and I don't think they quite see why it matters.
- Callie BrennanOkay. So that is the thing that will hold us up, and I'd rather say so plainly now than in two weeks. I won't start the finance connector without written access, that's just how I work, and it also protects you. Is there anything I can give you to make the request easier?
- Sunil KapoorCould you write a short note on exactly what BG-Demo reads, and where it's stored? That it sits in our own Snowflake account and isn't copied out. That's the bit they'll care about.
- Callie BrennanYes, I can do that today. One page. What's read, what isn't, that it runs inside your own Snowflake account, and who on our side can see anything, which is nobody by default. Would you like it addressed to the finance director?
- Sunil KapoorAddress it to me and I'll forward it. It'll land better coming from someone they know.
- Callie BrennanFine. I'll have it with you by the end of the day. And if it helps, I can join a ten minute call with the director if they have questions.
- Sunil KapoorLet me see how it goes first. I think the note might be enough.
- Callie BrennanOkay. Now, mapping. Can you share your screen, or shall I share mine? I have the template, it's quite plain, just a table.
- Sunil KapoorYou share. Mine is a mess of tabs.
- Callie BrennanRight, there it is. Can you see it? Left column is the field in the source system, middle column is where it lands in the brain, right column is a note on who owns it. For clients, the key question is what uniquely identifies one.
- Sunil KapoorWhich project code? That's what I keep coming back to. The project codes are unique, but one client has many. The client name is not unique at all.
- Callie BrennanRight, so project code is the key for projects, and then a client has to be a separate thing that projects roll up to. Is there any client number in the commercial system, something the sales side use that never changes?
- Sunil KapoorThere is a client reference. It's meant to be unique. I'd say it's reliable for the clients we've had for a while and patchy for newer ones. I'll check.
- Callie BrennanOkay. And does the project system carry that reference anywhere, even in a notes field?
- Sunil KapoorSometimes. Not consistently. People type it in the description. Some of it is in the project title, in brackets.
- Callie BrennanAh. Right. So that's a job for a lookup table: one row per client, the reference, the preferred name, and then every spelling we've seen, all pointing at that row. It's not glamorous but it works, and once it's built the brain just uses it.
- Sunil KapoorI can build that. In fact, my sheet is half of it already. I'd need the finance names as well though, because they are different again.
- Callie BrennanWhich is another reason to get that access moving. Once I can see the ledger names I can match them for you and flag the ones I'm not sure about. I wouldn't want to guess on a name.
- Sunil KapoorNo, please don't guess. A wrong match is worse than no match. I'd rather have a list of unknowns that I go through by hand.
- Callie BrennanThat's exactly how I'd do it. Unknowns go to you, with the evidence next to each. Okay, let me scroll down. Next block is the invoice side. Variations, that's one you mentioned in the kickoff.
- Sunil KapoorYes. Variations are the thing the commercial team care about most. A client agrees extra work, it gets priced, and sometimes it never makes it onto an invoice. That's the whole reason we bought this, really. To see a client's variations next to what's been billed.
- Callie BrennanRight, and that maps cleanly as long as the variation carries the project code. Does it?
- Sunil KapoorIt should. I'll reconcile it. I'm not going to promise, because some of the older ones were entered against the client rather than the project.
- Callie BrennanOkay, so another one for the list. Variations without a project code, I'll flag them rather than force them anywhere. How many do you think there are, roughly?
- Sunil KapoorI honestly don't know. I'll find out and tell you. I'd rather give you a real count than a feeling.
- Callie BrennanPerfect. Let's move to the part I'm a bit more worried about, if I'm honest. Can I be direct about adoption?
- Sunil KapoorPlease do.
- Callie BrennanYou have forty licensed users on the Growth plan. In the last month, on average, I can see fewer than two people active at any one time. Which is basically you, and occasionally one other person. I'm not saying that to criticise. It's normal before data is loaded, because there's nothing in there to ask about. But I want us to plan against it, not hope.
- Sunil KapoorNo, that's fair. It is just me, really. The others have logged in once to look at the empty pages and haven't come back. I did say to the team to wait until the data's in.
- Callie BrennanWhich is the right instinct, in fairness. The risk is that waiting turns into forgetting. If the first thing people see in two weeks is a wrong client list, they won't be back.
- Sunil KapoorYes. Yes, I know. That's what I'm trying to avoid. Which is why I'd rather get the client list right.
- Callie BrennanAgreed. So here's what I'd suggest, tell me if it's too much. We pick a small group. Say a couple of project managers, someone from commercial, someone from credit control. They see the first load before anybody else. Four or five people, not forty.
- Sunil KapoorCredit control, definitely. They're the ones who'll feel it most. Chasing a client when you can see their open variations and the last call in one place, that's a real saving for them.
- Callie BrennanDo you have someone there who'd be a natural champion? Someone who'll actually ask it questions rather than being told to?
- Sunil KapoorPossibly the credit-control lead. She's sceptical, which in my experience is better. She won't say it's good unless it is.
- Callie BrennanSceptics are the best testers. Okay. Then in the timetable I'll build in a short session with that small group once the first refresh has landed and you've checked the totals. Half an hour, on their own data, with real questions.
- Sunil KapoorThat would help. Can we do it on a Thursday? Mondays are bad for project managers.
- Callie BrennanThursday it is. I'll pencil it in once we know when the first refresh is. Which depends on the finance access, so we're back to that.
- Sunil KapoorYes. I'll push it. I'll send the note to the director tomorrow if I can get a moment with her.
- Callie BrennanGood. Let me put a date against it so we're both clear. I'll have the one-page note with you today. You forward it tomorrow. And can we say you'll have an answer from the director by Friday?
- Sunil KapoorFriday's optimistic. Let's say by the middle of next week, and I'll tell you sooner if I have it.
- Callie BrennanOkay, middle of next week. I'll write it that way. If it slips past that, I'd want to raise it with Marcus, who looks after your account on our side, just so he knows the timetable is waiting on access and not on us.
- Sunil KapoorMarcus, that's fine. Honestly he's been helpful. He mentioned something about quarterly reviews.
- Callie BrennanYes, that's part of Growth. He'll arrange those once you're live. Which, again, is a good reason to get the data right first, because there's not much to review otherwise.
- Sunil KapoorMm. Can I mention something slightly awkward?
- Callie BrennanAlways.
- Sunil KapoorOur finance team said there are a couple of BG-Demo invoices sitting unpaid. I don't deal with payments, so I don't know the detail. I think it's partly that nobody has used the thing yet, and so no one wants to approve it. I'm telling you because I'd rather you heard it from me.
- Callie BrennanThank you, I appreciate that. I don't see invoices from my side, so I can't speak to the detail either, but I'll pass it to Priya and Marcus today so someone proper picks it up with your finance team. Is there a particular person I should say they ask for?
- Sunil KapoorJust say accounts payable. They'll know. And I'll have a word internally, I can tell them the project is under way.
- Callie BrennanThat would help. And it's honestly a fair reaction. People don't like paying for something they haven't seen working. Which brings us neatly back to getting it working.
- Sunil KapoorYes. Right. Where were we, the mapping?
- Callie BrennanMapping, yes. Let me go through the remaining fields quickly. Dates first. What's your financial year, and does the finance system use it for periods?
- Sunil KapoorIt does. The periods follow our year, not the calendar. I'll need the brain to say period and not month, otherwise reports won't match what finance quote.
- Callie BrennanOkay, so I'll carry the period field across as it is and not try to convert it. That's a reconcile thing, isn't it. Same story as the clients: keep your source of truth and label it.
- Sunil KapoorExactly.
- Callie BrennanGood. Currency, anything unusual? All sterling?
- Sunil KapoorAll sterling. Though some supplier invoices are in euros for imported fittings. They're converted in the ledger, so I'd use the ledger figure and ignore the original.
- Callie BrennanRight. Ledger figure wins. I'll note that. And I'll tell you now that I'm not going to say a mapping is fine until I've checked it against a handful of real rows, so you'll see me asking for examples.
- Sunil KapoorGood. That's what I'd want. I'll pick ten or so, a mix of old and new, including a couple of awkward ones.
- Callie BrennanPlease do, awkward ones especially. That's what finds the problems. Okay. I think that's most of the mapping. Anything you want to raise that I haven't covered?
- Sunil KapoorOne thing. Who is going to run this when you're not here? I'm the only admin at the moment. If I'm away, or I leave, there's nobody.
- Callie BrennanThat's a really good question, and it's one I care about. Two parts. First, I always write a setup note, so everything we've decided, every mapping and exclusion, is written down and sits in your folder. Second, I'd suggest a second admin, ideally from finance or credit control, and I'll take them through it.
- Sunil KapoorFinance would be sensible, given how much of this depends on the ledger. I'll ask. They might say they haven't got time.
- Callie BrennanThen maybe it helps that it's one session, an hour at most. I'll make it as light as I can. And the goal is that you can run it without me. That's really what I'm aiming for by the end of this.
- Sunil KapoorGood. Because I don't want to build another thing only I understand.
- Callie BrennanRight. Let me recap what I've got, and you tell me if I've missed anything. One: you send the project system credentials and your excluded fields list. Two: you drop your client sheet into the shared folder this afternoon. Three: I send the one-page note today. Four: you forward it, and we hope for an answer from the finance director by the middle of next week.
- Sunil KapoorYes. And I'll find out how many variations have no project code, and I'll check the client reference on the commercial side.
- Callie BrennanYes, thank you. Five, I'll build the client lookup from your sheet once I have the ledger names. Six, a short session with the small group on a Thursday, after the first refresh. Seven, I'll raise the invoices with Priya and Marcus. Is there anything there that worries you?
- Sunil KapoorOnly the finance access. Everything else is just work. That one's the gate.
- Callie BrennanUnderstood. Then that's the one we'll keep our eye on. I'll message you on Wednesday morning just to check whether the director has had it. Not to chase, just so you know where we are.
- Sunil KapoorThat's fine. Thank you, Callie. It's useful to have it written down.
- Callie BrennanAlways. Right, I'll stop sharing. Any last questions before we finish a bit early?
- Sunil KapoorNo, I don't think so. Well, one. Is it normal, this? The client list being such a mess?
- Callie BrennanHonestly, yes. I'd say most customers start somewhere similar. The difference is that you found it before the first refresh, not after, and that makes it a much easier conversation.
- Sunil KapoorGood. That's reassuring, a bit.
- Callie BrennanGood. Thanks, Sunil. Speak to you Wednesday.
- Sunil KapoorThanks Callie. Speak then. Bye.
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