The challenge
Size of organisation and number of assets trebled (result of acquisition), plus major store refurbishment program.
The solution Installation of Assetware’s asset auditing system to control and manage acquisitions, disposals, depreciation, also for project control, budgeting, statutory and management reporting.
The British Heart Foundation is the largest heart research charity in the UK. It plays a leading role in the fight against heart disease through research, patient care, public education and professional training, and next year celebrates its 40th anniversary.
As a charity funded by donations, the Foundation is concerned that it has in place the best possible systems for financial control, including management of its 19m of fixed assets nationwide. To this end it has installed AssetWare Technology’s best of breed asset management solution, AssetPro, which has been integrated with an advanced financial accounting system from Dataflow.
The British Heart Foundation had, for some years been using the fixed assets module of Dataflow’s DBFlex accounting system for financial control of fixed assets. Physical control of assets was achieved by using AssetAuditor from AssetWare Technology, which uses a handheld laser scanner to verify barcoded assets.
Following the release of Dataflow 32, Dataflow’s flagship 32 bit Windows financial accounting system, the British Heart Foundation evaluated its options, and decided to upgrade to this latest version and to use AssetWare Technology’s system for financial as well as physical control of assets.
Explains David Reynolds, Chief Accountant of the British Heart Foundation, “Dataflow 32 was designed so it could link with best of breed systems for asset management. We considered other options but decided to stay with AssetWare Technology – we were very happy with their AssetAuditor product, which we were using for physical asset management, and it made sense to use AssetPro for financial asset management. Based on our previous experience of Dataflow and AssetWare Technology, we were confident that the two companies could work together to ensure that the integrated system would be exactly as we wanted it.”
Dataflow and AssetWare Technology had formed a strategic partnership to create a seamless link between their powerful 32 bit Windows systems, offering a technically advanced enterprise accounting and asset management system. Because of the close integration between the two systems, the British Heart Foundation decided on a ‘big bang’ approach to the installation.
“We didn’t want a long drawn out period of parallel running or where we were using some sort of interim system,” says Reynolds. “We consulted with both Dataflow and AssetWare Technology, and decided to start with data migration and installation of Dataflow 32 followed a week later by installation of AssetPro. Because of other factors, we were working to a pretty tight deadline, and we had to have the whole system up and running, data migrated, staff trained, in just a few weeks. I must say that the whole process went extremely smoothly. Both companies were very professional in their approach, and the link between the two systems is totally seamless.”
The integrated system is used for asset management of about two thousand assets in the British Heart Foundation’s London Head Office and in its nine regional offices. The asset register is updated whenever an asset is bought or disposed of, and the link to the accounting system includes nominal ledger codes, so the update of the general ledger takes place automatically.
“We are very pleased with the way the system has turned out,“ says Reynolds, “We are a centre of excellence, and we want our internal systems to match the high standards we set in all our other areas of activity. Dataflow and AssetWare Technology are helping us achieve that aim.”