Information management in good health after vets partner with Endeavour

Endeavour’s implementation of MYOB Advanced has meant each of their 14 locations now has more detailed information, better system integration and improved efficiencies.

The challenge: better connection between financial and practice management systems

When animal health and vet services business Anexa FVC (Anexa) reviewed their previous financial systems with the aim of improving efficiencies, integration between systems was top of the list. “We run a veterinary practice management system, and we were wanting to achieve better integration between that system and our financial system,” says Commercial Manager Matt Kibble. “It was pretty much non-existent. And were beginning to come up against a limited drill-down level analysis.”

Anexa operates across 14 geographic locations and needed to be able to do better analysis for each one. “We operate different business strings and at different capacities for each clinic,” Matt explains. “Wanting to highlight major areas: one for companion animals, and the other is for production animals. They have different business needs. So what was happening was that when we were assessing business cases, we didn't have the adequate break-downs. What we needed was a more detailed level of analysis.”

The solution: a partner that could deliver the ERP and commit to the workload

Anexa began an investigative process that studied various enterprise resource planning (ERP) options and providers. “We were looking for a suite and a partner that best suited our business needs,” Matt recalls. “We looked at Xero and at Sage. We heard about Endeavour when we were investigating the MYOB suite.”

“What really tipped the scales was Endeavour’s willingness to come in and do a demonstration, and provide us some really detailed information about MYOB Advanced,” says Matt. “That was critical. You need to know this kind of thing when you're assessing whether a solution can do what you've got in your mind.’’

That was in February 2018. Once the decision was made to go with Endeavour, providing the cloud-based MYOB Advanced ERP, implementation got underway. “It was pretty much on track, and on target,” Matt recalls. “There weren't any hold-ups, and Endeavour were quick to find solutions to any issues that popped up.

Any ERP implementation is going to cause disruption to a business, and it's important for the ERP partner to prepare a business for that disruption as well as mitigating risks.  “They were pretty open about what the risks might be,” Matt explains. “And they were able to commit to the workload that was required to get the ERP up and running. They helped us to understand what was involved so we were prepared for the disruption. They provided templates for migrating the data, and I've had some experience in data migration, so we worked well together.”

The results: significant increase in processing efficiencies, better system integration

MYOB Advanced went live for Anexa in October 2018. “Although there's only been one month's run, we're already seeing some massive processing efficiencies, particularly around data input,” says Matt. “We've got 14 geographic locations and now, even though we're getting more detail for each one, we're actually saving time.”

Anexa are also experiencing a greater accuracy in their financial data, especially when it comes to how costs are split across each of the clinics. “It's still in the early stages, but we're seeing the potential for developing more in-depth reporting out of MYOB Advanced,” Matt says. “There's a lot of scope in terms of flexibility too, when creating reporting packages.”

Matt’s also been impressed with the level of ongoing support provided by Endeavour. “They're always quick to get back to me if there's an issue,” he says.

So what advice does Matt have for a business that’s in their shoes, needing to find efficiencies and improvements in their financial systems? “Whenever you go through a process like this, it's really important to define what your outputs are, and what you want to get out of the system,” he advises. “If you've got that clearly set in your head, it's a lot easier to ask the right questions when you take on a partner. Critically review the options that are out there.”

About Endeavour

Endeavour is a supplier of enterprise software to the manufacturing and wholesale distribution sectors. Our offering includes ERP, business planning and business intelligence solutions. These solutions enable our clients to ‘join the dots’ in their businesses – helping them grow by empowering them with quality, real-time information.