29/08/2013

Workspace Group Reduces Data Input Time

...By 50% Using RAM’S Asset Management Software

Commercial property provider, Workspace Group PLC, manages almost 100 business centres in London including studios, serviced offices, workshops and light industrial spaces. As the organisation's asset base increased, it put a strain on the traditional method of recording assets in a spreadsheet format.  Tracking the changes to assets and calculating the associated costs soon became a time consuming task that needed to be streamlined, and in order to address these issues, Workspace Group deployed asset management software from Real Asset Management (RAM). The Asset4000 software now rationalises the management of a complex asset register which is currently valued at over £730 million, and data input time has been reduced by 50%, freeing up the resources of finance staff to focus on other value-add tasks.

Workspace Group's current asset register consists of approximately 23,000, targeting entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises to help those organisations grow into more profitable businesses. Its portfolio consists of properties situated in London locations, allowing customers to mix within entrepreneurial communities alongside like-minded businesses. As companies grow they are suitably relocated by Workspace Group to a unit that caters to their individual requirements.

As the company continued to expand, it realised that it needed to improve its internal auditing system and have the ability to closely monitor the variable depreciation of its ever-expanding asset register. Prior to having RAM's Assset4000 software suite installed, Workspace Group used various spreadsheets that were very labour intensive. Sherowan Hussain, Management Accountant at Workspace Group, recalls, "There used to be intense preparation work involved when rolling over to the next accounting period. However, with RAM's Asset4000 this time-consuming process has been reduced by 50%, cutting the time taken in half."

The former spreadsheet-based system had proven to be problematic as it required a lot of checking and re-checking to ensure all the formulae contained within the documents were correct. In contrast, the Asset4000 system is easy to use, flexible and provides all of the asset management information required without having to trawl through spreadsheets. Hussain continues, "Having all the data in one system allows us to click on an asset and access all the relevant data whenever we require. The Asset4000 system removes the need for constant checking and re-checking, providing a system that can be amended by various users with confidence, allowing us to track assets easily and provide a clear audit trail."

An Asset4000 upgrade was taken advantage of in early 2011 when the changing direction and growth of the business required enhanced features and functionality, allowing Workspace to continue to benefit from the system. Hussain explains, "Tasks are being completed even more quickly as a result of using the upgraded Asset4000 software suite. For example, using the reporting functionality that enables a more defined group of assets to be selected makes it a lot easier now that we are launching our new service."

RAM strives to provide excellent customer service to new and existing customers, which is highlighted by Hussain, "For us, correctly categorising and recording our assets is critical for the business and the software is coping very well with our demands."