A smooth implementation brings financial visibility to charity
Delivering end-to-end finance and reporting for Yorkshire Cancer Research
Project Summary:
Smooth implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central supports end-to-end business processes
Enhanced financial reporting and analytics with Jet Reporting/ Microsoft Power BI
A roadmap of future enhancements, including further integration, CRM and self-service reporting, helps prepare the organisation for expected growth
Cloud solution brings accessibility to all users, from any location, with mobile apps enabling easy and fast processes such as purchase approvals
About the organisation
Since 1925, Yorkshire Cancer Research has been working with researchers, cancer experts, volunteers and supporters to save lives. The charity, which is the largest independent regional cancer charity in England, funds research to improve early diagnosis and discover new and better treatments for
people with cancer. The charity has grown over the decades, continues to expand its network of retail stores and now receives over 90,000 individual donations per year. Its annual income of over £15m, made up of donations, grants, investment income and royalties, funds live-saving research into ground-breaking detection and treatment of cancer in Yorkshire and beyond.
The challenge
Yorkshire Cancer Research has experienced exceptional growth in the past 7 years, with staff numbers increasing from 25-30 to over 90 and a corresponding jump in charitable funding of projects and research. With the added complication of the pandemic, a solution was needed to ensure full remote access to workflows and business intelligence reporting. Yorkshire Cancer Research is also looking to expand its network of retail outlets from 7 to 40 stores over the next 10 years and the solution would
need to fully integrate these operations with Business Central.
“As well as needing to upgrade our IT capabilities to satisfy reporting demand and cope with increased data volumes, we recognised it was time to look at a solution that would grow and develop with us in the future.” Neil Richardson, Head of Finance at Yorkshire Cancer Research..
Solution
As a registered charity Yorkshire Cancer Research conducted a rigorous procurement process to identify the best solution to its needs, both in terms of functionality and value for money. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central was chosen for its fit with Yorkshire Cancer Research’s requirements, compatibility with
existing Microsoft 365 office applications, the potential to integrate further and customise processes
where necessary. Business Central also provided a roadmap for future proofing and further integration.
Microsoft provided a shortlist of potential implementation partners and Xpedition was selected for its expertise with Business Central and its successful involvement with other not-for-profit organisations.
“We were impressed with Xpedition’s experience in the sector and, of course its knowledge of Business Central which will help us in the future as we seek to further integrate CRM and expenses management into the solution.” Laura Scott, Commercial Finance Manager, Yorkshire Cancer Research.
To complement Business Central’s capabilities for supporting finance operations, Yorkshire Cancer Research selected Jet Reports to provide a flexible and powerful solution for business intelligence reporting and analytics.
Working with Xpedition
“Xpedition took the time to understand our requirements and helped us to
build a solution design that worked for us from the outset.”
Neil Richardson, Head of Finance at Yorkshire Cancer Research.Laura Scott, Commercial Finance Manager, Yorkshire Cancer Research
“We felt Xpedition was invested in our success and this was a key factor in
the project going so smoothly. We were well supported, and the bottom
line is that we replaced our labour-intensive legacy systems on the date
we planned, and now have a robust solution that will see Yorkshire Cancer
Research into the future.”
Benefits
- End to end processes in a single system
All financial data is now held within a single system, with one login for all business processes, designed specifically for Yorkshire Cancer Research.
- Timely and detailed reporting
Business Central now delivers real-time detailed analytics meaning that Yorkshire Cancer Research management can get a real-time picture of return on investment for campaigns or fund-raising events.
- Easy customisation of reports
Yorkshire Cancer Research can easily change reports to add more analysis or a different perspective. Users can now customise reports and hit the update button to generate the new results.
- Fast implementation
With the benefit of Xpedition’s experience with Business Central and its knowledge of the not-for-profit sector, Yorkshire Cancer Research was able to replace two legacy systems for finance and invoicing and switch seamlessly to Business Central.
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