Denbighshire Leisure Ltd Digitalises for Future Growth
Private leisure company puts Sage Intacct and Percipient at the heart of its digital transformation.
About Denbighshire Leisure
Denbighshire Leisure Ltd provides a diverse mix of experiences for its customers throughout the county. Its assets include seven leisure centres; SC2 Visitor Attraction; 1891 Restaurant and Bar; Rhyl Pavilion Theatre; Rhyl Town Hall; North Wales Bowls Centre; Nova, Ruthin Craft Centre and Cafe R; and Llangollen Pavilion.
Having operated until 2020, as a service within Denbighshire County Council, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd has built lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with a number of partner organisations. Now a private company, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is committed to a continuous programme of re-investment into each of its sites to ensure the best experience for the customer.
The solution has great functionality, a common uniform feel, and an intuitive user interface, and these combined factors represented a compelling proposition for us. We felt confident that Sage Intacct was the right platform to underpin our new business plans, and that Percipient was the right partner to work with in this transition.
New Beginnings
Following the company’s launch in April 2020, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd required new ERP capabilities. While it inherited a number of systems as part of the transition, these weren’t commensurate with the needs of a new, private company looking to expand. Denbighshire Leisure Ltd needed a platform which could not only scale, but support the development of a diverse range of services, and as such, the leisure leader launched an RFP process to source a new platform.
Having looked at Infor SunSystems and Sage Intacct as part of the tender process, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd selected Sage Intacct based on a number of factors.
“As well as having had previous experience of Sage, we were really impressed with the presentation and demonstration of Sage Intacct delivered by the team at specialist software provider, Percipient,” comments Helen Turner, Head of Finance, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd. “The solution has great functionality, a common uniform feel, and an intuitive user interface, and these combined factors represented a compelling proposition for us. We felt confident that Sage Intacct was the right platform to underpin our new business plans, and that Percipient was the right partner to work with in this transition.”
Percipient’s partner and performance management provider Prophix, was also selected alongside Sage Intacct to enhance the solution’s budgeting, forecasting and planning capabilities.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Having gone live in August 2021, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is already seeing huge gains in its back office.
Visibility is vital when managing a business such as Denbighshire Leisure Ltd. With operations spanning food service outlets, theatres and sports facilities, having a view of costs/profit in each area means adjustments can be made, and anomalies investigated. Because it’s easy to populate, the team can access a live status at any point. And the fact that Sage Intacct integrates with the leisure leader’s other core systems, means access to a greater depth of insights and as such, a more comprehensive view of the business.
“We’ve not long completed our first year-end, which was a markedly improved experience on the previous one,” Helen explains. “Not only were we able to process everything much more quickly, but we had greater confidence in the accuracy of the data.
“A VAT return now takes us under three hours compared with up to two weeks previously. We can also process grants and exemptions efficiently – the system makes it really straightforward. The time savings we’ve been able to make are immense.
“Ultimately our processes are smoother, which means seamless operations automation. This foundation puts us in a strong position to expand our finance team in the future and facilitate a more strategic, forward-looking resource, rather than one focused on creating manual reports.”
New Ideas, Creative Thinking
“Percipient has been a true partner, helping us to work through the various challenges we’ve come up against, and bringing new ideas, creative thinking and solutions along the way,” Helen adds.
“As our business changes and we add more services, we have 100% confidence that the team will support us in ensuring smooth transitions, the right capabilities to support us, and the most value.”
Sage Intacct is an impressive solution. Designed for modern businesses looking for simple to use systems, it makes sense of complexities to deliver intelligent, in-depth insights from which to thrive in the modern world.
An Insight into the Future
As its second trading year as a private company gets underway, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd benefits from the system’s ability to drill down into cost centres, apply greater controls around cash flow and credit management, and visibility from across all aspects of the business.
Given the nature and scale of transformation needed to establish itself firmly as a private company pursuing growth, Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is taking an incremental approach to its wider digitalisation initiative. Rather than tackling everything at once, the finance team is integrating new systems such as front-of-house, tills or bookings management as they are replaced.
The company also plans to leverage the forecasting capabilities within Prophix to understand patterns and trends better and align resources with greater precision to bring more tailored planning and optimised services and profitability.
“Sage Intacct is an impressive solution. Designed for modern businesses looking for simple-to-use systems, it makes sense of complexities to deliver intelligent, in-depth insights from which to thrive in the modern world,” Helen concludes.
Sage Intacct Partner for Leisure
If you’d like to learn more about Sage Intacct, our work with Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, or how we can help your leisure business, please get in touch or call us on 01606 871332.