Ardenmore Pension Administration / BG-Demo – QBR
Callcompleted
Ardenmore Pension Administration · 10 Jul 2025 09:30
At the QBR about seven of twenty-five Starter licences are active. Elaine Turvey calls the rest licences paid for and not used, cites fee income pressure and wants the board conversation before any wider rollout.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026At the QBR about seven of twenty-five Starter licences are active. Elaine Turvey calls the rest licences paid for and not used, cites fee income pressure and wants the board conversation before any wider rollout.
What happened: Marcus Bell showed adoption for the quarter, with Sukhvinder Dhillon explaining who uses the brain. Use is mostly the client-relationship team, especially newer joiners, and there were no tickets in the last month.
Customer view: Elaine Turvey said fee income per scheme is under pressure and every overhead line gets a question. She asked whether it can be justified to the board.
Commercial: Tom Ashdown confirmed the contracted figure is £23k a year, matched by invoices and paid on time. Elaine asked to see the usage page first, then talk to the board.
Watch: Elaine told Marcus to hold off on a wider team walk-through until after the board conversation. The term ends 29 Aug 2025 and the call does not show the outcome.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Licence use and board scrutiny
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 Elaine and Sukhvinder a one-page usage summary in the next week or so, using types of question only.
- Tom Ashdown confirms the figures and the term in writing and books a half-hour follow-up with Elaine.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Elaine sees unused licences as cost and the Starter subscription faces board scrutiny as overheads are reviewed.
- Use rests on a steady core group, and the wider rollout is paused until the board conversation.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Newer joiners lean on the brain most, so wider rollout to the client-relationship team is where the headroom is.
Transcript
Marcus BellMorning, Elaine. Morning, Sukhvinder. Can you both hear me all right?
Elaine TurveyMorning. Yes, I can hear you. Is Tom joining us?
Tom AshdownI'm here, sorry, I was fighting with the link. Morning all. How's your week been, Elaine? Anything exciting?- Elaine TurveyBusy. Quarter end on a few of the schemes, so everyone's a bit stretched. Before we start, can I ask about adoption? Who is actually using it?
- Marcus BellYeah, that's where I wanted to start, so good. Let me share my screen. Can you see that all right? I've pulled the numbers for the quarter, and I'll go through who's in there and how it's trended.
- Elaine TurveyI can see it. Go on.
- Marcus BellSo you're on Starter, with twenty-five licensed users. Over the last month the average number of people active has been around seven. That's up a touch on the previous quarter, so it's moving the right way, but it's gradual.
- Elaine TurveySeven out of twenty-five. So under a third of the licences.
- Marcus BellThat's fair, yes. I won't dress it up. It's a steady core group rather than the whole building.
- Elaine TurveyAnd who is that core group? I'd like to understand which teams, not just a number.
Sukhvinder DhillonI can probably help with that one. It's mostly the client-relationship team. They use it to get quickly to what's happened on a scheme before they speak to the employer. A few of us on the systems side dip in as well, but that's more for checking things are healthy.- Elaine TurveyRight. So it's the people talking to the clients.
- Sukhvinder DhillonMostly, yes. The newer joiners in particular. They don't have the history in their heads, so they lean on it more than the people who've been here years.
- Tom AshdownThat's a pattern we see a lot, actually. The longer-serving people know where everything is, so the tool's most useful to whoever's newest. No drama, it just means the rollout to the wider team is where the headroom is.
- Elaine TurveyMm. Headroom is one word for it. Another is licences we're paying for and not using.
- Tom AshdownHa, fair. I'd not argue with that. Leave that thought with me, we'll come back to it.
- Marcus BellCan I move on to the support side, because that's the other thing on my page. Over the last month there have been no tickets raised at all, and nothing high priority. Sukhvinder, does that match what you'd expect?
- Sukhvinder DhillonYes, it's been quiet. Nothing's broken that I've noticed. The data's there when the team come in, which is really all they ask of it.
- Marcus BellGood. And I'll say, quiet isn't always good news. Sometimes it's quiet because nobody's looking. In your case I think it's mostly the first one, given usage is edging up, but I'd rather check than assume.
- Sukhvinder DhillonI think it is the first one. People mention it in the team meeting from time to time. It's not a big thing, it's just part of how they prepare.
- Elaine TurveyCan I ask something about money, then. Our fee income per scheme is under some pressure, and overheads are being looked at across the business. Every line gets a question. Can we justify that to the board?
- Marcus BellI'd expect that question, and it's a reasonable one. I'm not the person to talk about price, that's Tom's side. What I can do is give you something you can put in front of them that shows use, not just a licence count.
- Elaine TurveyThat would help. Something short. The board won't read more than a page.
- Marcus BellA page is fine. Usage over the last few quarters, which team's using it, and a couple of examples of what they've asked it, if Sukhvinder's happy to help me pick sensible ones.
- Sukhvinder DhillonYes, I can do that. I'd want to keep scheme names out of it, though. Just the sort of question rather than the detail.
- Marcus BellAbsolutely. Types of question only. I'll keep it generic.
- Tom AshdownWhile we've got everyone, shall I just say where we are on the contract? You're at the end of the current term on 29 Aug 2025, and the renewal falls just after. So there's a conversation to have over the next few weeks. I'm not wanting to rush it. Elaine, I know that's not a phrase you need telling.
- Elaine TurveyNo, quite. Let's not rush. I'd like to see the usage page first, then talk to the board, and then I can say something sensible.
- Tom AshdownThat's the right order. The contracted figure is £23,000 a year, and what's been invoiced matches that, so there's nothing odd on the finance side that you need to chase. I'll confirm all that in writing, I don't want to quote from memory.
- Elaine TurveyThank you. And nothing overdue on our side, I believe?
- Tom AshdownNothing overdue, no. You've paid on time throughout.
- Marcus BellRight, let me show you the trend for the last few months, because it's easier to see than to describe. This line here is the average active people. You can see it's not a jump, more of a slow climb.
- Elaine TurveyAnd is that climb because of one or two people, or is it spread out?
- Marcus BellA bit of both, to be honest. There are a couple of regular heavy users and then a slightly wider group using it now and again. I'll make that clearer on the page so you're not guessing.
- Sukhvinder DhillonOne thing from my side. I'd like to get a few more of the team started, but they say they don't have time to learn another tool at quarter end. So it may be after that.
- Marcus BellThat makes sense. Happy to jump on a call with the wider team once things calm down, just a short walk-through. Nothing heavy.
- Elaine TurveyHold off on that until we've had the board conversation, please. I'd rather we knew where we stood first.
- Marcus BellUnderstood. I'll leave it until you say.
- Tom AshdownAnything else anyone wants to raise while we're here? Elaine, Sukhvinder? Otherwise I think we've covered the main bits.
- Sukhvinder DhillonNothing from me.
- Elaine TurveyJust to be clear on who's sending what. Marcus, the one-page usage summary. Tom, the confirmation of the figures and the term.
- Marcus BellCorrect. I'll get the page to you both in the next week or so. Then shall we book half an hour after that, once you've had a look?
- Elaine TurveyThat's sensible. Send me some times.
- Tom AshdownLeave that with me. I'll put something in the diary. Cheers, everyone, thanks for your time.
- Elaine TurveyThank you. Goodbye.
- Sukhvinder DhillonThanks all. Bye.
- Marcus BellThanks, everyone. Speak soon.
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