The client

Alliance Automatic is a service and installation business specialising in automatic gearbox repairs for the HNS, Police Authorities. With engineers completing jobs every day, the business depended on its IT running smoothly, and on accurate records of what had been done, for whom and what to invoice.

The challenge

Alliance Automatic needed two things. The first was a reliable, hands-on IT partner to look after all of its systems. The second was a better way to manage its work: recording jobs completed for customers and turning them into accurate invoices. That process had relied on manual paperwork and re-keying, which was slow, prone to error, and made it hard to see what had been billed and what was still outstanding.

What I did

Maintaining the IT systems. I took on responsibility for all of Alliance Automatic’s IT, keeping the servers, network, PCs, email, backups and business software running reliably and securely. Staff had one point of contact who knew their systems inside out, and problems were fixed quickly.

Developing a bespoke works and invoicing system. I designed and built a custom software solution around the way the business actually works:

• Job recording: works completed for each customer recorded in one place, including the work carried out, materials, dates and engineer details.
• Invoicing: invoices produced directly from the recorded work, so nothing completed went unbilled and figures didn’t need re-typing.
• Customer history: a full record of every job and invoice for each customer, available in seconds when a customer called.
• Reporting: clear visibility of work completed, invoices raised and what was outstanding.

The result

Alliance Automatic gained dependable, well-maintained IT and a system built specifically for its business. Invoicing became faster and more accurate, missed charges were eliminated, and the office spent far less time on paperwork. Everyone could see the full history of work for any customer at a glance.

Core components: ongoing IT systems support and maintenance (servers, network, desktops, email and backups), and a bespoke works-recording and invoicing application with a SQL Express database.