Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 22 Jul 2026 15:00
Craig Ashwell says the renewal is under internal review because only three or four of forty licensed users are active. He still says the product works, and wants a plain page and targeted sessions before deciding.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Craig Ashwell says the renewal is under internal review because only three or four of forty licensed users are active. He still says the product works, and wants a plain page and targeted sessions before deciding.
What happened: Marcus Bell showed usage at three or four daily active users against forty Growth licences, down by roughly a third on the quarter before. Craig put the fall down to two big fit-outs and staff going back to spreadsheets.
Customer view: Craig told Marcus the question he will be asked is whether to keep paying £44k for something three or four people use. He said the product is not broken and the problem is adoption.
Commercial: The contract runs to 22 Aug 2026 and renews on 23 Aug 2026. Craig does not want a sales call, wants a plain page not a deck, and expects Priya to open a conversation rather than send a proposal.
Watch: Questions come mainly from Craig and one project manager, which is a key-person risk. Craig set his own test: if usage is still three or four people by the autumn, he has his answer. Marcus also flagged one open invoice, which Craig referred to his finance team.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Renewal doubt, low adoption
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- Marcus Bell sends Craig Ashwell a plain page with the real usage numbers by the end of the week.
- Marcus runs the first project manager session on a Tuesday afternoon the week after next, if Craig confirms diaries.
- Marcus briefs Priya on the account so her contact follows Craig's wish for a conversation first.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Three or four daily active users against forty Growth licences makes the renewal hard to justify to the board.
- Questions come mainly from Craig and one project manager, so use depends on very few people.
- Craig says that if usage is still three or four people by the autumn, he has his answer.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Short sessions on project managers' own live jobs, starting with open variations, could rebuild use.
- Craig expects a conversation about whether forty is the right number of licences, so a better-sized Growth shape is open to discussion.
Transcript
Marcus BellHello Craig, can you hear me alright?
Craig AshwellYep, loud and clear. Afternoon, Marcus.- Marcus BellAfternoon. Sorry, give me a second, I'm just getting the screen share up. There we go. Can you see that?
- Craig AshwellI see a spreadsheet. Well, I see a dashboard. It's small.
- Marcus BellI'll make it bigger. Is that better?
- Craig AshwellBetter. Go on.
- Marcus BellThanks for making the time. I know you've got a few things on with site visits this week. I wanted to do a proper check-in, because we're coming up to the end of the first full term, and I'd rather talk it through properly now than leave it to the last minute.
- Craig AshwellFair. I've been wanting to talk about it too, to be honest. Not sure you'll like what I say.
- Marcus BellThat's fine. Happy to hear it straight. So what I'd like to cover is three things. How the brain's being used, what's going on with the connectors, and then what you actually want out of it for the next year. Does that work?
- Craig AshwellYeah. Do the usage first. I think I know what it says.
- Marcus BellRight. So I've pulled the numbers. You're licensed for forty users on Growth. Over the last month, the average number of people active on any given day is about three or four. And that's down by roughly a third on the quarter before.
- Craig AshwellThree or four. Out of forty.
- Marcus BellYeah. I'm not going to dress it up. It's a lot lower than it was, and a lot lower than the licence.
- Craig AshwellMm. Yeah. That's about what I'd have guessed, if I'm honest. It's me, and it's a couple of the project managers, and that's about it.
- Marcus BellCan I ask what's changed? Because early on there were a lot more people in there. The credit control side especially were asking questions most days.
- Craig AshwellThey were. Look, it's a few things. We've had two big fit-outs go live at the same time, so everybody's on site or in the van. Nobody's sat at a desk. And when they do sit down they go back to what they know.
- Marcus BellWhich is what, the spreadsheets?
- Craig AshwellThe spreadsheets. The project tracker, the variations log. Somebody's always got a version on their laptop. I keep saying, where's the variation? And someone says, it's in my sheet. That's not the point of the thing.
- Marcus BellNo. Right. That's exactly the thing the brain was meant to replace.
- Craig AshwellI know. And I'm the one who bought it. I'm the one who told them it would. So.
- Marcus BellSure. Can I show you one other thing? It's the questions side. Who's asking, and what they're asking. Because I think it'll tell us where it's still earning its keep.
- Craig AshwellGo on.
- Marcus BellSo I'm filtering by person. Give me a moment. The loading's a bit slow on my side.
- Craig AshwellTake your time. I'll just eat this sandwich.
- Marcus BellOkay. So the bulk of the questions are coming from you, and then there's one project manager who's quite regular. After that it tails off to almost nothing. So that's what I'd call a key-person thing. If you were on leave for a fortnight, there'd be very little going on.
- Craig AshwellYeah, I'm on leave first two weeks of September. Great. Brilliant.
- Marcus BellI wasn't trying to catch you out.
- Craig AshwellNo, no. It's fair. It's the truth. What are they asking, the ones who do use it?
- Marcus BellMostly client history. So, what's this client signed, what's outstanding, what calls have we had with them. Which is your sort of question, really.
- Craig AshwellWhat has the client signed. Yeah. That's the only question that matters, half the time.
- Marcus BellAnd that's the bit where it's good. The projects, the variations, the calls and the invoices all in one place. When people use it that way it works. The trouble is not enough people are doing that.
- Craig AshwellRight. So what do I do about it? Because I can't make forty people log in. I've tried a bit. They nod and then they don't.
- Marcus BellI'd not try to get all forty. I'd pick the teams where a question has a real cost if it goes unanswered. Project managers, commercial, credit control. That's maybe a handful of people in each, and a short session on their own projects, not a generic walkthrough.
- Craig AshwellTheir own projects. Meaning what, live data?
- Marcus BellYes. Their own live jobs. So the first thing they see is the variation they were about to forget to chase. That's what gets people to come back.
- Craig AshwellOkay. I like that. That's got a point to it.
- Marcus BellI'd happily run it. I could do it as a couple of short sessions, half an hour each, so nobody's pulled off site for long. Shall we book that in?
- Craig AshwellNot yet. Let me finish. There's something else and you may as well hear it.
- Marcus BellOf course.
- Craig AshwellIt's the renewal. Next month. I've got a conversation to have internally about whether we keep paying the forty-four thousand for something three or four people use. And that's not me being awkward. That's the question I'd be asked.
- Marcus BellUnderstood. And I'd want you to have that conversation properly. For what it's worth, the contract runs to 22 Aug 2026, and it renews the day after, 23 Aug 2026. So there's a bit of time, but not loads.
- Craig AshwellRight. So we've got about a month.
- Marcus BellAbout that, yeah. I'm not the one to talk price with you. That's Priya, she looks after the commercial side of the account. But I'll make sure she's got the full picture before she gets in touch, so you don't have to explain it twice.
- Craig AshwellFine. Good. I don't want a sales call. I want to know whether it's worth it.
- Marcus BellThat's a fair thing to want. And I think the honest answer is it's worth it where it's used, and it's not being used enough. So what I'd like to do is give you something you can put in front of your colleagues, a plain page. Who's asking what, which questions saved time, and what the gap is.
- Craig AshwellA plain page. Yes. Not a deck.
- Marcus BellNot a deck. A page.
- Craig AshwellGood. Because I'll be honest, if I take a deck to the board they'll switch off.
- Marcus BellUnderstood. Can I check one more thing on the numbers? There's one invoice showing as open on our side. I don't have the detail and it's not my area, so I don't want to speculate. I just wanted you to know it's showing.
- Craig AshwellYeah. I don't talk cash without finance in the room. Send it to them. Send it to our finance team and they'll sort it. I don't want to be guessing at it.
- Marcus BellThat's absolutely fine. I'll flag it through the usual route and make sure it goes to the right person at your end. Is there anything I should know before I do?
- Craig AshwellNot from me. As far as I know it's just sitting in a queue somewhere. But ask them.
- Marcus BellWill do. Right. Let me go back to the connectors for a minute. Because the other half of this is whether the data's still arriving. If people don't trust it, they won't ask it things.
- Craig AshwellIs it arriving?
- Marcus BellI'm looking. Give me a sec. Yes, the sources are all still configured, and the nightly refresh is landing. No tickets raised in the last month either, which is quiet. In some ways that's a good sign. In your case I'd say it's partly a sign nobody's in there to hit a problem.
- Craig AshwellRight. Yeah. No one's complained because no one's looking.
- Marcus BellThat's my read. I can't promise you it's all perfect, I'd want to check a couple of the connectors with you on a live example. But nothing's shouting at me.
- Craig AshwellOkay. That's something at least. I'd hate to find out it's been broken for months.
- Marcus BellNo. It isn't. I'll double check the record counts when I write it up, though, just so we can say that with a straight face.
- Craig AshwellDo that.
- Marcus BellSo let me ask you the bigger one. If we got this right, if in a year's time it was working the way you hoped when you bought it, what does that look like for you? What's the picture?
- Craig AshwellHm. That's a good one. Okay. The picture is I walk into a Monday meeting and I don't ask anyone for a spreadsheet. I ask the thing. What's the client signed, what's the variation position, who's chased the valuation. And I get an answer, and it's the same answer the credit team has.
- Marcus BellSame answer for everyone.
- Craig AshwellSame answer. That's the whole point. Because the problem isn't the work, it's that we do the work and then don't get paid for it, because the variation wasn't agreed before we built it. Let's get paid for what we've built. That's all I want.
- Marcus BellAnd that's something we can point at. So if the sessions go ahead, I'd pick that as the thing to focus on. Variations first. Because it's concrete and it's your language.
- Craig AshwellYes. Variations. Start there. And the project managers need to see it's saving them work, not giving them more. If it feels like admin they'll bin it.
- Marcus BellAgreed. I don't want to add a chore. If it does, I'd say that's on us to fix and I'd rather you told me.
- Craig AshwellI'll tell you. Don't worry.
- Marcus BellGood. Can I ask who, among the project managers, you'd want in the first session? Because I'd rather start with the people who'll be honest.
- Craig AshwellThe one who's already using it. He'll be straight with you. And then two or three from the bigger jobs, the ones where the variations are a mess. I'll pick them. I'll tell them it's not optional.
- Marcus BellA gentle not optional.
- Craig AshwellA not very gentle one.
- Marcus BellHa. Fine. And then credit control as a separate session, because their questions are different.
- Craig AshwellYes. Separate. They want invoices and what's overdue by client, and they'll want that next to the calls. But that's a conversation I'd rather have with them in the room, with finance. Not me speaking for them.
- Marcus BellThat makes sense. So you'd leave that session for them to set up?
- Craig AshwellI'll ask them. I'll get back to you on who.
- Marcus BellGood. Now, one practical thing. You've got forty licences and you're realistically using a handful. At the renewal, Priya might want to talk about whether forty is the right number, or whether there's a better shape for you. I'm not putting that to you as a position, I just don't want it to surprise you.
- Craig AshwellNo. Fair enough. I'd want to hear it. If we're paying for forty and we need ten, I'd rather know than pretend.
- Marcus BellThat's sensible. And I'll say it's her call and your call, not mine.
- Craig AshwellGood. Keep it out of the sessions. Don't mix them up. I don't want the project managers thinking it's a sales pitch.
- Marcus BellAgreed. Sessions are about their projects. Nothing else.
- Craig AshwellRight. What else have you got?
- Marcus BellA couple of smaller things. One, there are dashboards that someone built early on that nobody's opened for a while. I can look at whether they're still pointing at the right sources. Two, I noticed a few new people on your side haven't got accounts yet. If you've had starters since the spring, they may not be set up.
- Craig AshwellWe have had starters. Two or three. Probably nobody's told them it exists.
- Marcus BellThen that's an easy one. If you send me their names, I'll get them set up and send a short note on what to ask first.
- Craig AshwellI'll get you the names. Probably Friday.
- Marcus BellFriday's fine. Anything on the dashboards you want me to prioritise?
- Craig AshwellThe one that shows the open variations by project. If that's stale, that's the one that matters. The rest, I couldn't tell you.
- Marcus BellOkay. I'll check that one first and tell you what I find. If it's wrong I'll say, and I'll say what it needs. I'll not promise you a date on anything technical until I've asked the team, but I'll tell you straight.
- Craig AshwellThat's all I ask. Straight.
- Marcus BellStraight. Now, can I just reflect something back? Because I want to make sure I've got you right.
- Craig AshwellGo on.
- Marcus BellYou believe in what it's for. The use has dropped because people are on site and fell back to old habits, not because it doesn't work. You've got a decision to make next month and you need something simple in front of your board. And you're prepared to put the effort in on the project managers if there's a clear thing to point at.
- Craig AshwellYes. That's it. Except add this. If I put the effort in and it's still three or four people by the autumn, then I've got my answer. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
- Marcus BellUnderstood. And I'd say that's reasonable. We shouldn't ask you to renew on hope.
- Craig AshwellNo. You shouldn't.
- Marcus BellSo what I'd suggest is this. I send you the plain page by the end of the week. It'll have the usage, who's asking what, and what we propose to do in the sessions. You take it to whoever you need to. Then we run the first session with the project managers next week, if you can get them in a room.
- Craig AshwellNext week's tight. Early the week after. Tuesday maybe. I'll check diaries.
- Marcus BellTuesday's good. I'll keep the afternoon free. Is afternoon better than morning for your lot?
- Craig AshwellAfternoons. They're back from site by three, most days. Not Fridays.
- Marcus BellAfternoons, not Fridays. Noted.
- Craig AshwellAnd Marcus. Do me a favour. When you write the page, don't be nice about it. Put the real number in. Three or four. If I'm going to show it to the board, it has to be the number.
- Marcus BellI'll put the real number in. And I'll put what it was before, so they can see the shape.
- Craig AshwellGood. That's what I want.
- Marcus BellIs there anyone else on your side who ought to be on this? You mentioned finance. Anyone senior who'd want to see the page?
- Craig AshwellFinance, yes, once I've read it. My brother and the board, they'll see it through me. I'd rather carry it than have it land cold.
- Marcus BellFine. Then it comes to you first, and you decide who sees it.
- Craig AshwellExactly.
- Marcus BellOkay. And I'll let Priya know where we've got to, so that when she gets in touch it's not out of the blue. I'll say that you want to see the page first and you'd rather have a conversation than a proposal.
- Craig AshwellPerfect. That's right. Conversation first.
- Marcus BellAnything I've missed? Anything that's been bothering you about the product itself that we haven't touched?
- Craig AshwellNot really. It does what it says. That's the annoying part. It isn't broken. It's us.
- Marcus BellI'd say that's a better problem to have than the other way round. Though I know it doesn't feel like it from where you're sitting.
- Craig AshwellNo. It doesn't. But it's fixable. People are fixable. I'd rather that than a bad system.
- Marcus BellAgreed. Right. Let me recap who's doing what, so we both leave with the same list.
- Craig AshwellGo.
- Marcus BellI send the plain page by Friday. I check the open variations dashboard and the record counts, and tell you what I find. I flag the open invoice to your finance team through the usual route. I set up the new starters once you send names. And I tell Priya where we've got to.
- Craig AshwellAnd me. I send you names Friday. I check diaries for the project managers, Tuesday afternoon the week after next. I ask credit control who should come. And I have the board conversation once I've got your page.
- Marcus BellThat's it. That's the list. I'll put it in an email after this so it's written down.
- Craig AshwellDo. Keep it short. Bullet points.
- Marcus BellBullet points, always. Thanks, Craig. I appreciate you being straight with me. It's much easier to work with.
- Craig AshwellDitto. You've not tried to sell me anything. That's why I'm still on the call.
- Marcus BellHa. Good. That's the plan. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Are you back on site?
- Craig AshwellReading office until five, then a site walk. One of the two big ones. I'll be asking where the variation is.
- Marcus BellI'm sure you will. Good luck with it.
- Craig AshwellCheers, Marcus. Speak soon.
- Marcus BellSpeak soon, Craig. Take care.
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