Systems accountant · London
Warehousing, dimension design, migration off legacy systems, and the reporting layer that sits on top. From the finance seat, during the build and long after go-live.
01 · The reorganisation
Item level and batch level detail is hard to track when it lives in two places. The real upside is live information across every part of the business, and that is what actually helps with decision making and planning.
Illustrative values. Nothing here is client data.
02 · What I work on
It solves the biggest problems in inventory and account reconciliation, and it gives a real audit trail with end to end visibility. Multiple warehouses, bin locations, blocked locations, assembly orders, and item tracking by lot, serial and batch number.
Picking gets prioritised by rules that actually matter: first expiry first out, oldest stock first, whatever the operation needs. Better inventory control, better profitability.
One of the key financial functions in the system. It improves reporting and the ability to make decisions from a much wider variety of data cuts.
For a business operating across countries or regions, dimension data shows where it is strong and where it needs work, so budget can go to the weaker regions instead of going on guesswork. Better cost control, better revenue growth, better expansion decisions.
The tooling is good and it is accurate. Configuration packages move old data across every input type: inventory, receivables, payables and history.
The interface is self explanatory enough that end users pick it up from day one, and Microsoft Learn covers every function for free, during the migration and after go-live.
03 · Questions
A partner builds the system. A systems accountant is the person inside the business who makes sure it gets built for the business.
During implementation I sit with the stakeholders, work out what they actually need day to day, and help the partner design it that way. Knowing the finance side and the technical side is what makes the switch land with less pain for the people who have to use it.
After go-live I make sure the business can still get every number it was getting before, out of the new system. That is a win for the business and for the partner, and it is the part both sides tend to underestimate.
When a company runs two different systems for stock and finance, things end up all over the place. Item level and batch level detail is hard to track, and the two never quite agree.
The real upside is live information across every part of the business, in one place. Past, present and future together: customer trends, daily cash levels, inventory planning for this week's deliveries and next week's. That is what actually helps with decision making and planning.
Easier than most people expect, and the tooling is good enough to do it accurately. Configuration packages move old data across every input type: inventory, receivables, payables and history.
The interface is self explanatory enough that end users pick it up from day one, and Microsoft Learn covers every function for free, during the migration and after go-live.
People say that, and it isn't cheap. But in this era speed is everything, and it is better to get the information and stop the damage than to work on it after the damage is done.
It is a proactive approach rather than a reactive one after the event. That is the part the licence cost conversation usually misses.
Accounts give you the total. Total revenue, total expense. Dimensions are what give you the detail underneath it.
Take travel expense sitting in overhead. The account tells you what the business spent on travel. Dimensions tell you how much of that was each department, and each location if you run across several. Same on the revenue side: which region, which product type, which kind of customer. That list does not really end, and none of it needs a new account.
04 · Currently exploring
Mostly on LinkedIn, mostly the parts that only show up after go-live.
Hand written, static, no CMS. The writing archive collects the posts.
Independent testing in a Business Central trial environment, on the Cronus demo company.
05 · The route here
I work as an end user, so I know the issues users actually face. And I work with management, so I know what top management needs, what information can make or break the business.
06 · Where to find me
People say Business Central is too expensive. In this era speed is everything, and it is better to get the information and stop the damage than to work on it after the damage is done. It isn't cheap, but it is a proactive approach rather than a reactive one after the event.
If you're mid-migration and want to compare notes with someone who runs close in Business Central rather than sells it, that's the best place to start. Or write to hello@bcbyvish.com.