Cloud-based Acumatica helps Horizon Platforms take efficiency to new heights
September 9, 2021 | News
Finance Director David Webster explains: “To date, we have used multiple software products, for example, to manage financials and hiring out our fleet of platforms. As the company’s previous business software neared the end of life, this created an opportunity for a full system review. Acumatica, Cloud ERP, offers the promise of an integrated ERP system, which will give us a single version of the truth business-wide.”
The search for an integrated, cloud-based solution began in late 2020 and Acumatica soon emerged as the clear front-runner. David says, “Acumatica has the right size and scale. It works for both SMEs and larger businesses alike and will support our ambitions for growth. It’s a bespoke solution, without the cost and effort that usually involves. With the option to add on extra functionality over time through an app store, there’s no need to purchase a full suite upfront.”
On-boarding Acumatica requires no installation on server or client machines. “Acumatica was born in the cloud,” observes David, “whereas some of its competitors are not cloud-native. As we grow, we want to move the entire business off-premise and into the cloud, not least because more of our users are going to need easy, remote access and all they will have to do is type a web address into their phone.”
Using a true cloud solution also means that the software will be maintained and secured behind the scenes, bringing greater resilience.
David notes, “Adopting Acumatica is a significant investment for us – more than we’ve ever invested in IT. It has to be right. When we met with Pinnacle, we were impressed by how quickly they grasped what we are trying to achieve. It gives us a lot of confidence to have them on our side.”
For Pinnacle, Mike Taylor Business Development Consultant comments, “We are pleased that Horizon Platforms chose Pinnacle as its technology partner to onboard the world’s fastest-growing cloud ERP product. We are now scoping and defining precise requirements for the pre-build and preparing to connect in systems such as the existing hire software.”
David adds, “Our first win has been positive feedback from our project team, who have been impressed by the user-friendly look and feel of the system. They bought in straight away!”
Having ready access to up-to-date management information will be essential as the business expands, with annual turnover set to double to £40 million by 2028.
David welcomes the prospect of having readily accessible management information, “At present, generating reports involves IT support to query a SQL database. In contrast, with Acumatica, our users will be able to self-serve. With high quality, timely information to hand, we will be equipped to identify trends, issues, and opportunities within the business, better serve our customers and improve collaboration with our supply chain.”
David and his colleagues are now looking forward to using Acumatica, “We are about to reduce complexity at the same time as increasing efficiency through greater automation.” The number of invoices processed annually is expected to quadruple to 400,000 over the next eight years. The invoicing capability within Acumatica will, therefore, prove a substantial time-saver for the finance team in automating the invoice approval process.
Similarly, the present heavily manual process of credit control will be replaced by automated prompts and reminders for both the finance team and customers.
Time will also be saved in preparing for audits by having fixed asset information readily available within financials, rather than stored separately within the hire system.
About Horizon Platforms (www.horizonplatforms.co.uk)
Horizon Platforms provides platform hire, sales, and training to customers in sectors ranging from facilities management to manufacturing to food processing.
The company opened for business in January 2008, initially operating from a rented warehouse in West Yorkshire, with a fleet of 12 small battery scissor lifts. Today, the business operates on a national scale, with a fleet of cherry pickers, scissor lifts, boom platforms, and personnel lifts readied to deploy anywhere in the UK at short notice. The company is the first in its industry to be employee-owned.
About Pinnacle
Pinnacle is an experienced business software solutions provider deploying technology solutions to over 1,000 SMEs throughout the UK and Ireland. As a leading Acumatica Gold Partner, Pinnacle assists ambitious companies nationwide to adopt Acumatica pure cloud software for enterprise resource planning to transform their business for success in the new digital economy.
