What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Nicola Brearley confidentially told BB-Demo that Harcastle is buying Tolmere and wants its customers in the brain within a quarter of completion. She asks if that is realistic and wants a ballpark cost alongside the renewal.
Ask: Nicola wants the same collections, missed-collection tickets and invoices view for Tolmere customers, and asked for feasibility and cost. She asked that it stay between Marcus Bell and Lewis Kerr for now.
Customer view: She calls the renewal "fine in principle" but wants it seen together with the Tolmere work. She needs a ballpark from Lewis before committing any budget.
Next: Tolmere's systems are unknown until completion, so any quote carries caveats. Imran Hussain is to write up what is known, and a half-hour call is to be booked for the following week.
The thread
Updated 9 Oct 26Messages
- Nicola Brearley 3 Mar 2026 16:40Hi Marcus, A quick one, and please keep it between you and Lewis for now. We are buying Tolmere, and once the deal completes I want their customers in the brain within a quarter. Our account managers will be looking after both books and I do not want them flipping between two views, or one of them being the poor relation. What I would want to see for each Tolmere customer is the same as we have today: - collections - missed-collection tickets - invoices I honestly do not yet know which depots or rounds come across, or what systems they run on. That is part of what I need help with. Two questions: is it realistic in that timeframe, and what will it cost? Thanks, Nicola
- Marcus Bell 4 Mar 2026 10:02Hi Nicola, Congratulations, that is big news, and thanks for trusting us with it before it is public. I've copied Lewis in as he owns the commercial side. I've pulled the numbers on where you are today: Growth, 40 licensed users, and usage is up on last quarter, so the team is clearly working from the brain. Adding a second set of customers is the sort of thing it is built for, but whether a quarter is realistic depends on what Tolmere runs. To give you a proper answer I need: - which systems Tolmere uses for routing, tickets and invoicing - whether those match yours or are different - who on their side can give us access and answer questions On cost, I'll leave that to Lewis. He will want to see the above first so the quote is right rather than a guess, and it makes sense to look at it alongside your renewal on 10 Apr 2026. Happy to jump on a call. Shall we book half an hour this week or next? Thanks, Marcus
- Nicola Brearley 5 Mar 2026 12:31Marcus, Thanks, that is helpful. Imran will own the technical side, so I'll ask him to write up what we know about Tolmere's systems. It will be thin until completion, and I can't share more than that yet. Two things from me: - half an hour next week works, send me a slot - before I commit any budget I need a ballpark from Lewis, even if it comes with caveats. What's the fix if the sources turn out to be awkward, and who owns it? The renewal is fine in principle, I just want to see the two things together rather than one after the other. Thanks, Nicola