MABS Ireland

Key Outcomes

• Increased efficiency & productivity 
• Company-wide standardised process 
• Increased Security for financial documentation 
• Increased transparency and autonomy across all financial activity

The Challenge

With fifty-two separate branches throughout Ireland, the MABS underwent a re-structure in 2018. This restructure sought to consolidate the company and channel processes through eight regional headquarters. The financial HQ was established in the South Munster branch, with responsibility for overseeing financial control for the entire company. 

This restructuring necessitated the need for a new financial system in order to manage financial tasks and create a more streamlined, secure workflow. 

Prior to the company restructuring in 2018, each branch was responsible for its financial management. For over twenty-five years, processes were primarily paper-based, and/or spreadsheet-based, with tasks being completed manually. i.e. raising purchase orders, approving payments, signing cheques and documents, payroll, financial reporting etc. The level of time and detail required, within each branch to maintain a healthy accounting and billing cycle was increasing, as the company continued to expand and add more locations.

Communication & Workflow

Communication between branches was poor, and there were few or no standard processes. This siloed approach led to a high level of miscommunication and doubling up of work with regard to processing financial documentation. In addition, there was a very low level of communication between branches, with each location adopting a different approach or way of working. 

It became increasingly apparent that there needed to be more consistency with regard to financial processes, and reporting. This became even more apparent during a financial audit, or when reporting to the board.

Security

Company payment was primarily made by cheque and bank transfer, like purchasing, billing and payroll. This system became increasingly vulnerable and posed a high-security risk, with technological advancement and the increasingly high level of cybercrime. In addition, there needed to be a way to fully control access to certain documents, which had become a serious concern for the company.

Purchasing, Payments & Remittance

Prior to moving to Thrive accounting software, monthly payments and remittances to creditors were paid via bank transfer and cheque, and separately for each branch. This created the need for in-person approval, as well as a physical signature in some cases. The result was that it created pressure and time delays in approving and issuing payments.

Policy Management & Storage

The filing of paper-based documents led to an increased need for storage. This also caused time delays when reporting due to the time involved in locating specific documents. Physical storage in itself created a security risk to the company, as well as a need for a physical filing/storage location in each branch.

The growing challenges that MABS were facing, accelerated the need for digital transformation and migration to a cloud-based system became paramount. When our team initially met with MABS Ireland, we immediately identified these pain points and created a solution that would ultimately transform the company from a financial management perspective.

Our Solution

We wanted to give MABS the best possible start, and the freedom and autonomy to control every aspect of their finance, from the ground up.  At Thrive, we really do understand how overwhelming changing to a new software system can be, and our aim with MABS was to make it as smooth and stress-free as possible for the team. Ultimately, our team is committed to helping our customers succeed by making sure they get the most out of their software.

Business Review

We began by creating an onboarding process to suit MABS’s unique requirements. The first step in the process was to conduct a full review of business processes and specify how these processes would be replicated and/or improved with Thrive. From the outset, our team created full transparency and collaborated closely with MABS in order to fully scope out the requirements and build the most efficient solution. 

System Set Up & Data Conversion 

The next step was to set up the system, utilising all existing information from our business review and to align with the business objectives and key requirements. This involved importing existing data from spreadsheets and other information sources. 

User Training

The “Thrive difference” really is evident within our dedicated support services and user training. Our support team are not only product experts, but they are also highly trained and have extensive experience within an accounting environment. We don’t view support as being a single step within our onboarding process, but more of an ever-present resource that our customers can engage with and rely upon, throughout the onboarding process and beyond. 

For this project, MABS were directed by their dedicated Thrive project manager, through each business process within the platform to ensure adequate functionality for go-live.

At Thrive, we are very conscious that some customers may have varying levels of expertise, and also individuals may have different needs in terms of how training is delivered. With this in mind, our dedicated project manager guided the MABS team through a blend of in-depth product training – delivered through video during the pandemic – and through dedicated in-person, one-to-one bespoke training sessions once pandemic restrictions were lifted. 

MABS continue to engage with and rely upon our support services through regular contact with their dedicated project manager. This direct line of support has become an important lifeline for MABS. Since onboarding, we have delivered numerous in-person training sessions, and have adapted their system to suit their growing needs. This is a key element to how we provide our support – we listen, we learn, and we adapt. 

Go Live 

Before going fully live, we created a phased approach with MABS to make sure that they were fully comfortable and confident enough to bring their system into a fully live environment. This lead in time allowed MABS to work with our support team on historical or legacy data to familiarise themselves with the platform and the product. Once a live date was agreed upon, we worked towards this date with the team to ensure everything was in place, and ready for launch.

Results

Since moving to Thrive Accounting software, MABS has transformed its financial management process from a manual, outdated way of working to a hyper-efficient, secure process that has helped create a more efficient internal workflow. Thrive software has had a positive impact on many of the day-to-day financial tasks for MABS. However, more importantly, Thrive has created a single source of truth and a standardised process that can now be easily managed, maintained and tracked, across the entire company. 

MABS have stringent reporting requirements, using both Cash Based Accounting principles and Statutory Reporting requirement based on Accruals Based Accounting principles. With the expertise and experience of the Thrive support team, they are now able to adequately report using both principles. Helping MABS staff understand the underlying requirements for their reporting needs was crucial in attaining autonomy over their system. 

Thrive has also helped MABS improve overall efficiency – in some cases “transforming days of work into hours”, particularly with regard to audits and policy management. By creating a consolidated, single source of truth for all policy and documentation, MABS now have full autonomy over access and who has viewable rights. This feature also increases security and peace of mind when dealing with financial data. 

Above all else, our software has created peace of mind for MABS – knowing that their accounting needs are now taken care of, within a safe, accessible and secure platform. Our cloud-based solution for MABS ensured that all of the key challenges they were facing, were identified and rectified by our software, with the help of our unparalleled phone and email support. 

MABS Ireland is just one of our customer success stories, and we look forward to continued collaboration between our teams. You can check out some of our other customer success stories below.

“Aside from the ongoing support – which is second to none – Thrive has helped us create a fully transparent, more efficient process. This has become crucial to business operations while also improving our own internal capabilities”

Gráinne Ryan, Corporate Services Manager