Founded in 1975, Trevor Jones Ltd is the largest supplier of auditing, accounting and management advice to the motor trade. Working with the majority of automotive franchises in the UK, the firm currently audits more than 200 outlets, providing them with extensive financial services that improve profitability and enhance accounting department efficiency.

The Challenge: Delivering Real-time Information to a Truly Mobile Workforce

To meet the needs of automotive franchises with a widespread geographical infrastructure, Trevor Jones offers its clients nationwide coverage. However, with only one office in Stockport Cheshire, delivering this level of service demands that over half of its 50-strong workforce remain on the road on a permanent basis conducting client visits and audits.

Trevor Jones also offers staff the option to work from home as part of the recent legislation on flexible working, which means that the other half of its workforce is constantly in and out of the office.

Working from multiple localities, the majority of Trevor Jones’ staff had difficulty accessing real-time business information and applications when away from the office. Billable hours were not being maximised due to lack of access to information and time wasted struggling with the existing VPN access solution.

Faced with frustrated users and a difficult-to-manage infrastructure, Trevor Jones needed a cost-effective solution that could give its employees secure access to real-time information and line-of-business applications, regardless of when or where they were working.

Implementing Citrix Access Essentials

Trevor Jones invited systems integrator Innov8, a Silver Citrix® Solution Advisor, to undertake a thorough analysis of the firm’s needs followed by a presentation of a suitable solution. Using the proposed technology itself to do a Web-based demonstration to two of the firm’s partners, Innov8 recommended a centralised network environment using Citrix Access Essentials™, an ideal solution for organisations with remote and mobile workers needing access to real-time information and applications.

Prior to implementation of Citrix Access Essentials, Trevor Jones used one server running basic Microsoft VPN technology. This solution was unreliable and insecure, with users experiencing frequent problems when trying to remotely access the information they needed.

Following a full technical audit, Innov8 was able to implement Citrix Access Essentials quickly and simply onto a new single server in one central location. Using advanced SSL secure technology and browser-based virtual desktop functionality, remote and mobile staff at Trevor Jones are now able to work with exactly the information they need, when they need it.

The benefit to Trevor Jones is obvious, as outlined by Gill Rawlinson, office manager, “We approximate that every one of our 40 chargeable staff can now spend 20 minutes more per hour working rather than struggling with our old IT infrastructure. That means we have the potential to generate around £1m more revenue in the first 12 months of Citrix Access Essentials being in operation, and achieve a payback period of just two months.”

Reliable and Secure Technology that Enables Compliance

In addition to the usual e-mail and Microsoft® Office packages, Trevor Jones uses MYOB (Mind Your Own Business), a software package comprising practice management, task management, tax, client accounting and document management.  However, in the previous IT infrastructure, the capabilities of the software were being underutilised.

Document management was a prime example. In an effort to reduce unnecessary paperwork, and to meet the legislative and best-practice guidelines relating to the retention and storage of key business documentation, Trevor Jones had started to scan and store its paperwork on MYOB.

“MYOB is Web-based, but there was too much data processing going across the VPN — our existing infrastructure couldn’t cope. For example, when a document is scanned, MYOB raises an e-mail alert, and this simply wasn’t getting through to the right person,” Rawlinson commented. “Now that Citrix is up and running, we are able to manage our documentation securely and with ease, making our people aware of what is available and bringing us in line with the required legislation.”

Simple Implementation and Improved IT Management Via a Centralised Environment

Understanding that Trevor Jones couldn’t afford any system downtime, Innov8 built the new server on site on a Friday and implemented Citrix Access Essentials over that weekend. As soon as staff came in on Monday morning, they were able to use the new system.

“I thought there would be more issues, but it worked from day one and any minor issues were ironed out within days. In fact, MYOB worked so well over Citrix Access Essentials that I’m tempted to phone them and act as a reference for them too!” Rawlinson added.

The Citrix Access Essentials user interface is highly intuitive, which makes it easy for non-technical users to work with. “Training was minimal, enabling me to talk staff through the simple-to-use interface in no more than 20 minutes per user.”

Delivering Improved Customer Service and Profitability

As with the majority of accounting firms, Trevor Jones charges its clients by the hour. As such, efficient task management and logging of man hours are critical to the maximisation of billable time and profitability.  

“MYOB offers us the functionality for task management and logging of man hours, but it wasn’t being used properly. We couldn’t share information about time spent on tasks and we desperately needed to streamline our business to get on top of our chargeable outputs,” commented Rawlinson.

Staff also need to see up-to-date information about their clients and the status of client tasks to increase efficiency. Another key benefit of Citrix Access Essentials is browser-based access to centrally stored information and applications. Using the Citrix solution, Trevor Jones is now able to give its offsite personnel exactly the same information and application access from a remote laptop as if they were sitting at a PC in the office.

“Our phones were constantly ringing with calls from people on the road asking for client information to be faxed to them and chasing hotel confirmations. Now, they are more self-sufficient and can work smarter, and we’ve even had several comments from the users themselves saying the new system is fantastic,” added Rawlinson.

By providing a working environment where real-time information is shared, Citrix Access Essentials not only enables Trevor Jones staff to create real business value by working more efficiently, but also ensures that the returns to the business through billable time are directly attributed to the effort put into it.

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