About Mid-Warwickshire Cleaning Supplies

Mid-Warwickshire Cleaning Supplies (MWCS) was established in 1972 and now stocks over 2,500 quality products from nailbrushes and toilet rolls to glass cleaner which are sold wholesale to the trade. MWCS employs eight members of staff, has around 300 regular customers and handles around 100 orders every single week. They moved to prof.ITplus in 2005 from Cash Link which they had been using since 1987.

Number of Employees: 8

Partnered with OGL since: 2005

Company Location: Warwick, Warwickshire

Company Website: www.mwcleaningsupplies.co.uk

prof.ITplus “is a joy compared to other systems” reports new Office Administrator at Mid-Warwickshire Cleaning Supplies

prof.ITplus is very well embedded after ten years at MWCS and handles all of the processes Helen is responsible for. Therefore, the proficient use of the system is vital for MWCS and it was very important that the staff could successfully learn how to use it. We spoke with the Office Administrator to find out more. 

We’re really keen to hear if prof.ITplus is as user-friendly and intuitive as we say (and hope!) it is?

“I’m pleased to report it is! I’ve been with MWCS for just over eighteen months and am confident with all areas of prof.ITplus now. Of course I still ask questions every now and then but I think that’s to be expected. All the tasks carried out by my predecessor I now look after. I’d say after about three months I had really good levels of confidence with the system and since then it’s been a case of refining my knowledge and getting quicker.”

In fact, we understand that you have managed to help make a saving for your company by learning how to close the ledgers at month and year end using prof.ITplus?

“I needed the assistance of the team at OGL to show me how to do this but yes I can now handle month-end and year-end procedures using prof.ITplus. The representative accountants were coming in once a month to close the sales and purchase ledger so it made sense for me to learn these processes. Now I am proficient in this area I have been able to reduce our accountancy fees.”

How do you find prof.ITplus compares to other software you’ve used in the past?

“I’ve used Sage in the past and I have to say I prefer prof.ITplus. Information in prof.ITplus is so much more accessible than in Sage; much less clicking through screens to get to what I need. Also I remember that quotes and orders had to be keyed twice in Sage whereas in prof.ITplus the information flows from quote to order automatically when a customer proceeds. It’s something you would imagine is standard for business software but isn’t in Sage. There are many more examples of this too. I’ve been really impressed.”

What’s your favourite aspect of prof.ITplus?

“Definitely that prof.ITplus has a test version! This meant, while I was new, I could practise things like inputting orders, raising credit notes and generating purchase orders safe in the knowledge that I couldn’t make a mistake on a customer’s account. Still to this day I will flip over into the test system if I want to check how something works; it’s a great help to have this option.”

Would you recommend prof.ITplus?

“I would be more than happy to recommend it. I can assure companies that it’s very easy to get to grips with and understand. prof.ITplus is much more straight forward than systems I have used in the past which require comprehensive detail via many screens before a final invoice can be raised. prof.ITplus is a joy compared to other systems I have used!”

A word with the Director of Mid-Warwickshire Cleaning Supplies

“Without prof.ITplus the administration, resulting from in excess of 400 orders every month, could be overwhelming. Fortunately struggling with an inefficient system is a distant memory for us although I do remember the period when our previous system ground to a halt all too well.

“We knew the old Cash Link system was struggling and then in 2005 it was unable to update properly due to a lack of available space on the hard drive. It was around this time that an OGL representative happened to walk in and explained the benefits of prof.ITplus to us. It was impeccable timing!

“The main thing that impressed me was the ability to reconcile the stock. Most financial packages at that time did not have this facility. Tighter controls on stock, purchasing and pricing became a possibility and we saw a very quick improvement of key business functions which allowed us to maximise profit without increasing prices.

“We are now able to purchase the stock in a controlled and accurate way enabling us to follow sales trends. We are rarely over stocked on items which in turn helps cash flow.

“Also, we now deliver 99.9% of customer orders complete, saving both time and money on delivery costs which improves our customer relationship as they know we will not let them down.

“Both of these improvements have led to greater profitability for us. The extra profit had always been there but it was inaccessible and we needed prof.ITplus to uncover it for us.”