What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Kelbrook's chief executive declined Enterprise for this cycle. The CFO wants Growth renewed on a two-year term with the price held, and needs board sign-off. BG-Demo owes a written proposal and an answer on single sign-on.
What happened: Owen Tallis and Tom Ashdown proposed moving from Growth to Enterprise for underwriting and claims. Judith Saxton said no for this cycle, as the teams are only now getting into their stride and the board has not seen it.
Customer view: Malcolm Hebden wants Growth renewed as it is, with the price fixed for two years. He cannot decide or sign without the board, but said it is what he would recommend.
Commercial: Owen said an upgrade is a new contract at the list price on the signing day. He would not promise the Growth price on the call, only that he saw no reason not to keep Kelbrook on Growth.
Money: the renewal deal in the CRM at £116k is the whole-term value, not a yearly figure. The annual figure is £56k, and Malcolm asked for both to be shown with their base.
Watch: Malcolm asked whether anything short of Enterprise covers single sign-on, and Tom had no answer yet. Agreement is targeted ahead of the 14 Jan 2026 date, with the term ending 16 Jan 2026.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Tom Ashdown sends a Growth two-year renewal proposal showing the annual and full-term figures separately, copied to Judith Saxton.
- Tom Ashdown confirms in writing whether anything short of Enterprise covers single sign-on.
- Tom Ashdown and Marcus Bell put seat headroom in the proposal ahead of the 14 Jan 2026 target.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The renewal needs board approval, and the board only meets in the new year.
- The request to hold the price for two years is not yet agreed by BG-Demo.
- An unanswered single sign-on question could resurface if the auditors raise it.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Enterprise stays open for underwriting and claims, as a new contract at the list price on the signing day.
- Growing usage in claims and underwriting may justify an upgrade at a later date.
Transcript
- Tom AshdownHello, hello. Can you hear me all right? I've got the little green bar moving on my side, so I think we're live.
- Judith SaxtonGood afternoon, Tom. Yes, we can hear you perfectly well. Malcolm is just finding the right link, I believe.
- Malcolm HebdenI'm here. Apologies, I had the wrong window open. Good afternoon, both. Is Owen joining us?
- Owen TallisI'm here, Malcolm, afternoon. Owen Tallis, I lead sales at BG-Demo. Tom asked me to sit in because we've got something to put in front of you, and I'd rather you heard it from a couple of us.
- Tom AshdownAye, and thanks for making the time, it's gone quarter to five on a Tuesday, I know that's not anyone's favourite slot. How's your week been? Anything exciting, or is it all board papers?
- Judith SaxtonBoard papers, mostly, and a rather wet journey back from a meeting with some of our school members yesterday. But a good week. Tell me, Tom, before we begin: how are the teams using it? I would like to hear that first, if you do not mind.
- Tom AshdownNo, not at all, that's the right place to start. So, member services are the heaviest users, as you'd expect. Claims have really picked up this quarter, and underwriting are in there more than they were. Usage overall is up nicely on the quarter before. Marcus, who looks after your account day to day, has been saying the same.
- Tom AshdownAnd what I'd say is, it's quiet on the support side, which is the good kind of quiet. No tickets in the last month at all. Nothing open, nothing overdue.
- Judith SaxtonThat is pleasing. And how does this help our members, in practice? I ask because I hear from the teams, but I should like to hear it in your words as well.
- Tom AshdownRight, so the way I'd put it is, when a church treasurer rings up about a claim on the hall roof, the person answering can see the policy, the claim history and the last couple of calls in one place. They're not putting anyone on hold while they go hunting through three systems. That's the whole point of how you set it up.
- Judith SaxtonYes. That is what I was told by one of the claims managers, almost word for word. Good.
- Malcolm HebdenIf I may, Tom. Before we get into anything new, I always like to ask what has changed since the last order form. We signed on 17 Jan 2024, for the two-year Growth term. As I understand it, that runs out on 16 Jan 2026. Is that right?
- Tom AshdownThat's right, the term ends on 16 Jan 2026 and the renewal date we've got is 17 Jan 2026, the day after. Order form says fifty-five thousand eight hundred a year, £55,800, and that's what's been invoiced, so those two line up. I'll say for the record, nothing's overdue on your side either.
- Malcolm HebdenThank you. Then my other question is the obvious one. What has changed on your side? Price, terms, the product. Because I would not want to be surprised in January.
- Owen TallisFair question, and I'll take that one. You signed under our earlier price list, so there's no surprise coming on that. The thing that has changed on our side is that we've built more for the larger, regulated customers. And that's partly why we wanted this call, because we think there's a case for you.
- Malcolm HebdenMm. I thought there might be. Go on.
- Owen TallisSo here's the shape of it. Today you're on Growth, eighty seats, and the teams who use it most are member services and claims. Underwriting is in there, but lightly. What we'd like to propose is moving to Enterprise, and pointing it properly at underwriting and claims. That brings single sign-on, so your people log in with the credentials they already have, and it takes the user limit up to a hundred and fifty.
- Tom AshdownAnd I'd add, Judith, because I know you care about this, Enterprise comes with a named executive sponsor on our side, and a security review that we'd support you through. For a regulated insurer, that's not nothing.
- Judith SaxtonI appreciate that. Tell me plainly, though. What is the reason for doing this now? We are not short of capability at present, as far as I know.
- Owen TallisPlainly, then. Your usage is growing, underwriting and claims are the two teams where the data matters most to the regulator and to the members, and single sign-on tends to be a question the auditors ask sooner or later. If you'd rather wait, that's a perfectly reasonable answer. But we'd be doing you no favours if we didn't put it on the table before the renewal.
- Malcolm HebdenThank you, that is candid. Now, the part I need to understand is how it works contractually. If we were to move up in the middle of the term, or at renewal, what does that commit us to, and for how long?
- Owen TallisRight. An upgrade isn't an amendment to your existing order form. It's a new contract, and it's priced at the list price on the day it's signed. So there's no carrying your current rate across. I'd rather say that now than have you find it in a draft.
- Malcolm HebdenSo the list price on the signing day. Not today's list price, and not the list price at some earlier point.
- Owen TallisCorrect. On the signing day. And Tom will confirm the actual figure in writing, I'm not going to quote it from memory on a call.
- Tom AshdownYeah, I'll not quote anything off the top of my head, I'd only get it wrong. I'll send it over properly, with the implementation fee and the term set out separately so you can see each part.
- Malcolm HebdenWhich brings me to something I wanted to ask. I see in your system the renewal deal sitting at £116,000. I would like to be clear what that is. Is that a yearly figure?
- Tom AshdownGood catch. No, that's not a yearly figure. That's the total value of the renewal deal as it sits in our records, over the whole term, so it's not what you'd pay in a single year. Your annual figure is the £55,800. I'll lay the two side by side in what I send so there's no confusion.
- Malcolm HebdenThank you. Over the full term, please, always. I do not like a figure without its base.
- Tom AshdownUnderstood. Full term, with the base shown. No drama.
- Judith SaxtonMay I say something, Owen, Tom? I will be honest with you, and I hope you will take it in the spirit it is meant.
- Owen TallisPlease do.
- Judith SaxtonWe think in years, not quarters. And what you have described is sensible, and I can see why you would propose it. But for this cycle, I do not think we will move to Enterprise. The teams are only now getting into their stride with what we have. I would rather they deepen their use than we change the ground beneath them.
- Judith SaxtonThere is also the matter that I would not wish to commit to something that our board has not seen. They meet in the new year, and a change of this size, on a new contract at a new price, is not something I would put to them as a surprise.
- Owen TallisThat's completely fair, Judith, and I'd rather hear it now. What's the next dated step from your side, then? Because if it's not Enterprise, I'd like to know what it is.
- Malcolm HebdenLet me answer that, if I may, Judith. What we would like is to renew Growth, as it is, and to have the price fixed for two years. A two-year term again, on the same footing. Our planning runs in multi-year cycles, and the thing I value most from a supplier is that they keep their word on price.
- Tom AshdownRight. So Growth, same tier, two years, price held for the two years. Have I got that?
- Malcolm HebdenYou have. I would add that I cannot decide that on this call, nor sign it without the board. But I can tell you it is what I would be recommending, and I would like to see it on paper so that I can take it to them.
- Owen TallisThat's helpful. Let me be clear about our side, so you know where we stand. I can't promise the price today, because I want to look at it properly with Sofia and with Marcus before anything goes in writing. But I'll say this: you're a good customer, you pay on time, you're using it more, and I don't see a reason we wouldn't want to keep you on Growth for another two years.
- Owen TallisAnd I'd say it's right to look at it the way you have, Malcolm. We wouldn't want you on a bigger tier before you felt you needed it.
- Judith SaxtonThank you, Owen. That is gracious. Tell me, does leaving Enterprise for now close any doors? I would not want us to be penalised for coming back to it later.
- Tom AshdownNot at all. The door stays open. If underwriting and claims grow into it, we can have the same conversation next year or whenever it suits you. The only thing to bear in mind is what Owen said: it'd be a new contract at whatever the list price is on the day you sign. So it's not that you lose anything by waiting. It's just that the price doesn't carry across.
- Malcolm HebdenUnderstood. And single sign-on? If our auditors do raise it in the meantime, is there anything short of Enterprise?
- Tom AshdownI'd have to check that with the team, Malcolm, I don't want to tell you something that turns out to be wrong. Leave that one with me, and I'll come back in writing.
- Malcolm HebdenThank you. I would sooner have the right answer a few days later.
- Judith SaxtonNow, one thing I wonder, as we have two of you here. When we renew, who will be our point of contact? I have valued Marcus, and I should not like that to change.
- Tom AshdownMarcus stays your CSM, no change there. I'm still your account contact for the commercial side, and Owen's on hand if anything needs a senior name. So you'll see the same faces.
- Judith SaxtonGood. We think in years, as I say, and relationships matter to us as much as the product.
- Owen TallisLikewise. Right, so let me try to say the next steps back, and you tell me if I've got them wrong. Tom sends you a renewal proposal for Growth on a two-year term with the price held for the term, and shows the annual figure and the full-term figure separately.
- Malcolm HebdenWith the base for each, yes.
- Owen TallisWith the base for each. And Tom also comes back on whether anything short of Enterprise covers single sign-on. Then you take that to your board, and we're looking to have it agreed ahead of the 14 Jan 2026 date we've pencilled in, so we're not up against the wire with the term ending on 16 Jan 2026.
- Malcolm HebdenThat seems reasonable. Our board meets before then, so there is time, provided I have the paper in good order and early.
- Tom AshdownThen let's get something in the diary. I'll aim to get the proposal over to you in the next week or so, Malcolm, and I'll copy Judith. If it slips, I'll tell you before you have to ask.
- Judith SaxtonThank you. Copy me, by all means, though I shall leave the detail to Malcolm.
- Owen TallisAnd just so it's said on the call, nobody's being pushed. If Enterprise is a conversation for another day, that's fine by us.
- Judith SaxtonUnderstood, and appreciated. Thank you both for being so direct. It makes it far easier to say no kindly.
- Tom AshdownHa, no bother at all. You said it nicely. Anything else from your side before we let you go? We've a bit of time in hand.
- Malcolm HebdenOnly a small point. Eighty seats at the moment. If usage keeps growing in the way you describe, do we have headroom, or do we need to think about that at renewal as well?
- Tom AshdownFrom what I can see you're nowhere near the limit, Malcolm. Active users are well under the eighty. But I'll check with Marcus and put the headroom in the proposal, so you've got it in front of you.
- Malcolm HebdenVery good. That is all from me.
- Judith SaxtonAnd from me. Thank you, Tom, and thank you, Owen, for joining us.
- Owen TallisThanks, Judith, Malcolm. Speak soon.
- Tom AshdownCheers, both. Mind how you go, and I hope the rain lets up.
- Judith SaxtonSo do I. Goodbye.