BPDTS Ltd
Together with TallyPro
BPDTS Ltd was a digital technology company which had been set up to provide specialist digital technology services to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
BPTDS
Requirements
BPDTS required a replacement to their Excel-based timesheet system. The system had to accommodate the BPDTS work breakdown structure as well as automate the calculation of charge rates based on a complex staff hierarchy. It was critical that the system could eliminate manual processes, data validation errors and crucially provide real time information on project costs. It also had to optimise and improve
the monthly billing cycle.
Number of sites/users
BPDTS has a user population of around 1,000 comprising permanent
full/part time staff and contractors working across multiple sites throughout the UK.
Key operating statistics
o 160,000 person hours recorded per month
o Over 150 different charge our rates at any time driven by employee job role and
level
o Over 500 chargeable projects at any time
o 138 different cost centres
o Over 100 expense claims per month
Customisations
- The desktop program and mobile app were fully re-branded as ‘My Time’ with a customised colour scheme and logos.
- A complex hierarchical charging rates structure was created comprising multiple tables which enabled the system to automatically determine the correct charge rate based on standing employee data.
- In addition to the charge rate customisation, the system was also customised to adopt the BPDTS work breakdown structure
- A special ‘time journal’ function with a full audit trail was created to easily allow supervisors to move incorrectly posted time from one code to another.
- Automated report distribution – a number of key management reports were created and sent via email to managers every week including detailed staff utilisation which gave visibility on absence management, overtime and compliance with the working time directive.
- A customised Employee Expenses module was added to the app to enable employees to easily create and submit expense claims. Interfaces with the BPDTS finance and payroll systems ensured that claims were validated against BPDTS expense policies, approved and paid in a timely manner to employees.
- An interface with the BPDTS HR system ensured regular updates to employee joiner/leaver data and helped identify inconsistencies in existing HR data.
RollOut time
The initial customisation process took approximately 3 months with a pilot phase over a 1 month, followed by general deployment.
Customisations
- Immediate and significant improvement in time data accuracy due to validation rules and clear, simple data entry process
- Improvement in completion times and user experience
- Much faster monthly billing process = improved cashflow
- Identified data integrity issues in underlying HR system
- Improvement in Expense claim process, better user experience, enforcement of expense policy and integration with finance system eliminating manual time-consuming processes
- The overall system was able to address auditor requirements around expense rejections and audit trails for data changes
- The system was able to meet accessibility requirements
- Enhanced visibility and analysis of sickness data
- High level of managerial engagement
Testimonials
“Commercial Software were an exemplary partner to work with. From initial project scoping through to implementation their delivery, attention to detail and ability to tangibly add value was second to none. The core product was exactly what BPDTS were looking for in that it revolutionised our time recording and expenses offering. This brought multiple benefits including; enhanced internal controls, more robust management oversight and assurance, multi-platform / device end user access, slicker user interface along with a rich depth of reporting possibilities. The level of service was outstanding throughout – I cannot recommend Geoff and his team highly enough.”
Chris Holden – Head of Finance
“CSL were a unique company to work with. Their flexibility, expertise and level of customer service was unlike any other supplier I’ve worked with in 20 years in IT. Most of the time it didn’t feel like there was a supplier/customer relationship at all, they were a true business partner in every sense of the term. A particular highlight was the work to ensure automated integration with our separate HR and Payroll systems which were operated by a separate 3rd party. My only regret is that we didn’t take the Expenses module on Day 1 along with time recording! I would instantly recommend them to any prospective customer.”
Dan Kennett – Product Manager