Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 1 Dec 2025 11:30
Craig Ashwell's search for a signed variation returned an old quote instead. About six people are active against forty Growth seats. Marcus Bell will check the project system connector and run a project manager session.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Craig Ashwell's search for a signed variation returned an old quote instead. About six people are active against forty Growth seats. Marcus Bell will check the project system connector and run a project manager session.
What happened: Marcus Bell ran a check-in with Craig Ashwell on 1 Dec 2025. Craig's main concern was a search that returned the old quote and the email thread but not the variation form.
Customer view: About six people are active against forty Growth seats, and project managers see the brain as another system to fill in. About two thirds of questions come from two people.
Commercial: Craig will look for a real recovered-variation example to support the renewal case. Estimating is the next team he would add, but only after the project managers.
Watch: The renewal date was 23 Aug 2026 at the time of the call. Pricing was left to Priya Raman, and Craig said money questions need the finance lead.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Seat usage and variation search
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Marcus Bell to check whether the project system connector loads variation records, and report back that week.
- Marcus Bell to send Craig Ashwell options for the project manager session early in the week, not Friday.
- Craig Ashwell to choose the job and find one real variation example for the renewal case.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Only about six of forty Growth seats are in daily use, and project managers are not yet using the brain.
- About two thirds of questions come from two people, so the account leans on them.
- The variation form did not surface in a search, which undermines trust in answers.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A thirty-minute session with project managers on a live job could widen use.
- Estimating and contracts teams could be added within the existing seats once project managers are settled.
- A recovered-variation example from Craig could anchor the value case for the renewal.
Transcript
Marcus BellMorning, Craig. Can you hear me alright?
Craig AshwellLoud and clear. Morning. Sorry, I'm in the car park, I've literally just come off site. Give me a second to get the laptop open.- Marcus BellNo rush at all. It's grim out there, isn't it? I've had the lights on since I got in.
- Craig AshwellGrim and cold. The scaffolders were not happy this morning, I'll tell you that. Right, I'm in. Go on.
- Marcus BellGreat. So, I'll share my screen in a minute, but what I wanted to cover today is pretty simple. How the brain has been used over the last few months, whether it's doing what you hoped, and anything that's getting in the way. Then a quick look at what's coming up next year. Is that alright?
- Craig AshwellFine. Can I start with one thing first? The Thames Valley office job. The landlord's side keep saying they never signed off the extra ceiling work, and I need to know what the client has actually signed.
- Marcus BellOkay, yeah, go on. Is that something you've been searching for in there?
- Craig AshwellI tried it last week. Asked it where the variation was. It came back with the email thread and the call note from the site meeting, which was good, but it also gave me the old quote from before the design changed. So I wasn't sure which one to trust.
- Marcus BellRight. That's useful to know. Mm. Was the variation itself in the answer, or just the quote?
- Craig AshwellJust the quote and the email. The actual variation form is in the project system and I don't think it was in there. Or it was, and it didn't surface it. I don't know.
- Marcus BellOkay. So that's one for me to look at, whether that connector is loading the variation records or only the headline project data. I don't want to guess in front of you. Let me put it on my list and I'll check what's being indexed from the project system and come back to you.
- Craig AshwellGood. Because that's the whole point for me. If a variation isn't recorded, it doesn't exist. I'd rather it told me there's no signed variation than gave me a quote that looks official.
- Marcus BellCompletely fair. I'll come back to it, I promise. Shall I share the usage numbers now? I've pulled them together.
- Craig AshwellGo for it.
- Marcus BellCan you see that alright? It's a fairly plain page. Top left is the number of people who've been active in the last month. On average it's about six a day, which is up a bit on the previous quarter. Not a huge swing, but it's moving the right way.
- Craig AshwellSix. Out of forty licences.
- Marcus BellYeah. I'll be straight with you, that's the thing I wanted to talk about. You've got forty seats on Growth, and day to day it's about six people really living in it.
- Craig AshwellYeah. I know. It's me, it's the credit control lady and her colleague, couple of the commercial managers. The project managers dip in when I nag them.
- Marcus BellThat matches what I can see. And honestly it's not unusual. A lot of customers start with the people closest to the problem. Where it gets interesting is whether the project managers see the same value you do.
- Craig AshwellThey don't, not yet. They think it's another system to fill in. I keep telling them it's the opposite, it's the thing that stops you filling things in twice. But they're on site, they're in a van, they're not sat at a desk.
- Marcus BellMm. Right. So what would make it worth their while? What's the question a project manager asks that they can't easily answer today?
- Craig AshwellEasy. What's been instructed, what's been agreed, what's been valued and what's been paid. Four things, four places. They ring the commercial team and say, where are we on this job. And the commercial team ring credit control. It's a daisy chain.
- Marcus BellWhich is exactly what the brain's meant to collapse. Okay. So, I could do a short session with the project managers. Thirty minutes, on a job of theirs, with real data, not a demo. Show them how to ask that one question.
- Craig AshwellThirty minutes is about what I'd get out of them. Any longer and they'll be looking at their phones.
- Marcus BellHa. Fair enough. Thirty it is. Could you pick the job? Something they all know, ideally one with a bit of a mess in it.
- Craig AshwellOh, I've got plenty with a mess in. I'll choose one where we've got two variations outstanding. That'll wake them up.
- Marcus BellPerfect. Okay. Let me scroll down. This is questions asked, which is the number I care about most. It's gone up over the quarter, and about two thirds of them are coming from two people, which I'd guess is you and the credit control team.
- Craig AshwellThat'd be right. Me asking and then them checking on me.
- Marcus BellHa. Well, it's a healthy pattern in that people are asking real questions, not just poking about. The only risk is the one you'd expect, that it leans on a couple of people. If either of you were away for a month, the numbers would drop off a cliff.
- Craig AshwellYeah. I take the point. Which is another reason to get the PMs in.
- Marcus BellExactly. Now, tickets. There's been one in the last month, a how-to about a search filter, answered same day. Nothing urgent, nothing sitting open. Does that match how it feels on your side?
- Craig AshwellYeah, I'd forgotten about it, to be honest. That's the credit control team, I think. It's been quiet. No complaints from me.
- Marcus BellGood. And invoices are all clear on our side, so nothing to chase there.
- Craig AshwellI'd hope not. Look, anything about money, you'd want our finance lead on the call. I just say yes or no to the thing.
- Marcus BellUnderstood, and I'm not raising anything, it's just that nothing's outstanding. Okay, next. Connectors. You've got the CRM, the project system, the accounting system and the call recorder feeding in. All four are loading, records are growing steadily. Nothing's gone flat.
- Craig AshwellSo why did the variation not come through?
- Marcus BellThat's the question, isn't it. It might be that the project system is loading the project header and the cost lines but the variation form sits in a different part of it. I don't know, and I'd rather check than say. I'll look at it this week.
- Craig AshwellRight. If it's a case of someone needing to switch something on at our end, tell me and I'll get our IT bloke to do it.
- Marcus BellWill do. I won't promise it's a quick fix, because it depends what I find. But I'll tell you what it is, and who needs to do what.
- Craig AshwellThat's all I ask.
- Marcus BellOkay. Anything else on the day to day? Any teams you'd want to bring in that aren't there yet? You've got room on the licences, so it wouldn't cost you more seats.
- Craig AshwellHmm. Estimating, maybe. They're always asking what we charged for the last similar job and nobody can find it. And the contracts people. But I want the PMs sorted first. One thing at a time.
- Marcus BellSensible. I'd do the same. Let's get the project managers comfortable, see if the number of people asking moves, and then look at estimating after that.
- Craig AshwellYeah. Let's get paid for what we've built, then we'll worry about what we're quoting next.
- Marcus BellHa, I'll put that on the slide. Right. One last thing from me, and it's looking further ahead. Your contract runs to 22 Aug 2026, and the renewal date is 23 Aug 2026. That's a good way off, but I like to flag it early so nothing surprises you.
- Craig AshwellAugust. Right. So that's, what, the best part of a year.
- Marcus BellNearly. You're on Growth at £44k a year today. When we get closer, Priya will talk to you about the commercial terms for the next term, including where the pricing sits. That's her side, not mine, so I won't wade into it. My job is to make sure that when we get there, you can say what the brain has done for you.
- Craig AshwellFine. I'd rather that than a surprise. And if I can say the PMs are using it, and I can point at a job where we recovered a variation, that's an easy conversation.
- Marcus BellThat's exactly the case I'd want. A real job, a real variation, and what it was worth. If you can give me one example like that over the next few months, it'll carry more than any chart I show you.
- Craig AshwellI'll find you one. I've got a couple that are about to go to a commercial review anyway.
- Marcus BellBrilliant. So, let me recap, and tell me if I've missed anything. One, I'll check why the variation form didn't come through from the project system and come back to you this week. Two, I'll set up a thirty minute session with your project managers on a job of your choosing. Three, I'll send you a short usage summary after this call so you've got it in writing.
- Craig AshwellAnd from me, I pick the job and get the PMs in the same room. Or the same call, anyway. Half of them will be on a roof.
- Marcus BellThat's fine, a call's fine. Do you want to say a day for it, or shall I send a few options?
- Craig AshwellSend options. Early in the week, before they scatter. Not Friday, nobody turns up on a Friday.
- Marcus BellEarly in the week, not Friday. Noted. I'll get something over to you by the end of the week.
- Craig AshwellGood. Anything else?
- Marcus BellNo, I think that's it from me. Thanks for your time, Craig, I know you've come straight off site.
- Craig AshwellNo, it's useful. Cheers, Marcus. Speak soon.
- Marcus BellThanks, Craig. Speak soon. Bye.
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