UK-based installer Assured Fire & Security is making use of service management software from Mentor Business Systems and intruder alarm monitoring services from sister business Custodian Monitoring Services.
Assured Fire & Security started using Mentorโs CASH for Windows service management software three years ago to help manage engineers responsible for more than 1000 customers mainly in the UK.
โThe Mentor software helps us for the entire life of a customer โ starting from the first sales enquiry, the pre-sales estimates and letters,โ says Managing Director Simon Stokes. โOnce they become a customer we can see when work has been carried out on site, what has been installed and which engineer carried out the work. Everything is referenceD and logged in a logical user-friendly way. In addition, the system integrates with Sage (accounting software) so it tells us when and what to invoice. We have all the information we might need at our fingertips and in a unified format that everyone understands.โ
CASH for Window is described by Mentor as the complete service management system. It comprises a core module with a host of additional modules that can be added to build a bespoke system depending on business needs. The core system holds a database of customer sites, call logging and warning features, maintenance schedule, service and maintenance history, false alarm analysis, NACOSS, SSAIB and ACPO reports.
Additional modules
Other modules include Pre-sales, which logs and tracks all sales enquiries, producing specifications, estimates and letters. The Invoicing and Accounts module integrates with accountancy packages and produces invoices from multiple sources. CASH Mobile Modules manages the mobile workforce – On Call sends call information to field engineers, enabling them to record time spent, parts used and a customer signature on their PDAs; integrated Vehicle Tracking shows engineers’ locations in relation to sites being serviced; and Travelling Sales enables transmission to and synchronisation of sales enquiries on sales staffs’ laptops or tablet PCs in the field.
โCASH is an invaluable tool,โ adds Simon, โit has made us so much more efficient and is instrumental in allowing us to grow. I believe we are the fastest growing installers of integrated fire & security systems in the UK, with engineers and consultants on a nationwide basis. We could not have enjoyed this success without having well managed business functions.โ
About Assured Fire & Security
An installer of fire alarm, fire suppression, access control, CCTV and intruder alarm systems, it has nationwide coverage with nine branches across the UK. Customers include Warner Brothers, The Royal Navy, The British Army, The HM Prisons Service, English Heritage, The National Trust, local authorities, schools, high street stores, factories and power stations.
โWith over 1000 customers and close to 2,500 live sites, including new international contracts in Sudan and Afghanistan, CASH allows us to keep track of everything,โ Simon adds. โIt makes our lives so much easier and has helped us keep our high level of customer service during our recent rapid growth.
โMentor also provided comprehensive training and reliable ongoing technical support so everyone is confident with how the system works and we therefore get the best out of it.โ
Simonโs company also has the alarm monitoring service from Mentorโs sister business, Custodian Monitoring Services.
โA large percentage of our alarm customers have their systems monitored by Custodian, who we recommend for providing the reliable monitoring service available. We have a link between us and Custodianโs Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) so that any and all overnight activations are sent directly to us via the CASH system which has the ability to record URNs, calculate police response levels and produce false alarm and response analyses for our inspectorates.โ
