Strensall Merchants / BG-Demo – Onboarding
Callcompleted
Strensall Merchants · 26 Mar 2025 11:00
Neil Craven and Ashok Patel agreed how to link trade accounts across branches, with a York test branch first. The delivery connector awaits the supplier. Neil's success test is one builder seeing the same total from any branch.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Neil Craven and Ashok Patel agreed how to link trade accounts across branches, with a York test branch first. The delivery connector awaits the supplier. Neil's success test is one builder seeing the same total from any branch.
What happened: Callie Brennan led an onboarding session on connectors and account mapping. Branch system credentials are in and verified, the credit system will be read from its existing nightly file, and the delivery system awaits the supplier's approval.
Customer view: Neil wants one builder to see the same orders and total whichever branch answers. He also said he does not want the rollout dragging.
Commercial: This is an Enterprise customer, licensed for 160 users with only a handful active. Ashok asked about freshness cover, and Callie promised the exact order form wording via Daniel, the customer success manager.
Watch: The delivery connector carries a live-by commitment in the order form. Ashok is the only admin, and the credit file's dependants are unknown.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Trade account mapping onboarding
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Ashok sends the pairs export with the query screenshot and chases the delivery supplier by Thursday.
- Callie confirms connector access in writing, runs the test load early next week and sends the setup note.
- Callie asks Lewis Kerr to confirm no security review items are open, and Daniel to point Ashok at the freshness wording.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The delivery connector is waiting on the supplier, and the order form has live-by commitments for connectors.
- Ashok is the only admin, and the credit file's dependants are unknown.
- Neil is worried that slow progress on agreeing customer accounts will drag.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Phasing users from the 160 licensed seats by group, credit first, builds adoption on the Enterprise plan.
- Call and mailbox connectors follow the trade data, adding depth later.
Transcript
Callie BrennanHello, can you hear me alright? I can see Ashok, and Neil, I think you've just joined.
Neil CravenAye, I'm here. Morning, Callie. Sorry, I'm a minute behind. I had a builder on the phone first thing, one of our big housebuilder accounts.
Ashok PatelMorning. Yes, I can hear you both fine.- Callie BrennanLovely. Right, so here's the plan for the next hour, and I'll try to give you a few minutes back. First, where we are on the connectors. Second, the trade account mapping, which I know is the bit you both care about most. Third, what happens at the first refresh. And then who does what after today, and I'll write all of that into a setup note so nothing lives only in my head. Does that sound alright?
- Neil CravenSounds grand. And that builder, actually, that's why I care about the mapping. He rang this morning because the same order showed a different total depending on which branch he'd spoken to.
- Callie BrennanAh. Okay, so which branch, which account, do you know?
- Neil CravenThat's my line, that is. Not yet. I've asked the branch to send me the account details. But what's the builder actually seeing? He's seeing two numbers for one order. That's what I want gone.
- Ashok PatelCan I say what I've changed since last time? It might save us a few questions.
- Callie BrennanPlease, yes.
- Ashok PatelSo, I've set up the service user in our Snowflake account, the one you described, with the role limited to the B-Viz schema. I've put the read-only credentials for the branch system into the shared vault, and I've sent you the link in writing. The delivery system I've requested but it isn't through yet. The credit system I haven't started, because I wanted to talk about that one with you first.
- Callie BrennanThat's really helpful, thank you. And that's exactly what I need from your side: written access for each source before I touch it. I never start a connector on a verbal yes. So the branch system, I've got the link, I'll confirm in a moment that it opens for me.
- Ashok PatelFine. I'll test it on one branch first, though, if that's alright. Before we point it at all of them.
- Callie BrennanYes, that's what I'd suggest anyway. Pick the branch you trust the most. Not the tidiest, necessarily, but one where you know the data well enough to say whether it's right.
- Ashok PatelThen it'll be one of the York ones. I know the ledger there. I can compare the loaded accounts against the ledger by hand.
- Neil CravenGood. York's fine. Don't pick one of the ones that's mid-changeover, mind, we've got a couple that are still moving tills.
- Ashok PatelNo, I'd avoid those. Noted.
- Callie BrennanRight. Let me share my screen so you can see the connector list. Can you see that? It's the one with the status column.
- Ashok PatelYes. I can see it. Branch system is amber, the rest are grey.
- Callie BrennanThat's right. Amber means credentials are in but nothing's loading yet. Grey means we haven't got access. So, we've got the branch system, the delivery system, the credit system, then the call recorder and the mailboxes. Those last two I'd leave until the trade data is behaving. There's no point layering calls on top of accounts that don't line up.
- Neil CravenHang on, though. The calls are the bit my key account people are keen on. They want to ask what was said to a builder last time he rang.
- Callie BrennanCompletely, and they'll get it. I'm only saying the order. If the call recorder says one name and the ledger says another, the question comes back muddled. Get the account right first, then the calls slot in.
- Neil CravenRight, aye. That makes sense. Let's sort it, not talk about it. Go on.
- Callie BrennanSo, the mapping. Ashok, what I'd like to understand is how a single trade customer is identified across the branches. Is there one account number, or does each branch have its own?
- Ashok PatelWhich account number is that, is the honest answer. There's the main trade account number, which should be the same everywhere. But historically some branches opened their own account for the same builder, so you've got the group number and then a branch number sitting alongside it. Credit uses the group one. Delivery mostly uses the branch one.
- Neil CravenThat'll be it, then. That'll be my builder. Credit thinks he's one customer and the branch thinks he's two.
- Ashok PatelPossibly. I'd want to look before I say so. The data says otherwise sometimes. I've seen cases where it looks like a duplicate and it's actually two legal entities with the same trading name.
- Callie BrennanGood, and that's why I won't merge anything on a name match. What I'd propose is that we hold both numbers on the account record, group number as the key, branch number as a linked reference. Then nothing is lost, and if a pair turns out to be separate companies, you can split them again.
- Ashok PatelI like that. I never delete what I can't restore. If it's a link rather than a merge, I'm comfortable.
- Callie BrennanThat maps cleanly, then. What I need from you is an export of the group to branch number pairs for the test branch. Just the pairs, nothing sensitive. Can you manage that by end of tomorrow?
- Ashok PatelThursday, yes. I can do that. Probably as a spreadsheet, with a screenshot of the query so you can see how I pulled it.
- Callie BrennanPerfect, the screenshot is exactly right.
- Neil CravenCan I ask something a bit daft? When we say the branches see the same account, does that mean a counter lad in a small branch sees the credit position too?
- Callie BrennanNot daft at all. It depends on how you set permissions, and that's your call, with Ashok as admin. B-Viz runs inside your own Snowflake account, so access follows the roles you give people. We can make credit visible only to the credit team and key accounts, and branch staff see orders and deliveries only. Or whatever mix you want.
- Neil CravenI'd start narrow. Credit people see credit. Branch managers see a flag, like on hold or not, and then they ring credit. I don't want a counter lad telling a builder his limit.
- Ashok PatelA flag is easy. I'd rather do that as a separate role so I can show you what a branch manager actually sees before anyone gets it.
- Callie BrennanAgreed. I'll put it in the setup note as a decision for you two, not something I've assumed.
- Callie BrennanOkay, let me just check I can open the branch system link. Bear with me.
- Neil CravenTake your time. Ashok, is that the link you sent, or the old one?
- Ashok PatelThe new one, from yesterday. The old one expires.
- Callie BrennanGot it, it opens. And the schema is empty, as it should be. Good. So before we switch on the refresh, a couple of things. The nightly refresh is meant to complete by 07:00 your time on business days. For the first week, though, I'd run it by hand on the test branch and look at it together, rather than leave it to run overnight.
- Ashok PatelYes. I'd rather watch the first load. If it fails at three in the morning, nobody sees it.
- Neil CravenAnd what's the first load going to show us? Rough idea. Is it going to be a mess?
- Callie BrennanHonestly, a bit untidy, usually. First loads always throw up things nobody knew about: blank fields, old accounts nobody closed, dates in odd formats. It's not a failure, it's the point. We list them, Ashok decides what's real and what's clutter, and we run it again. By the second load it's normally a lot cleaner.
- Neil CravenRight. I'd rather know about the clutter now than have a builder find it.
- Ashok PatelThere will be clutter. We have accounts from before I joined. I won't overstate it, though. I'll know once I see the counts.
- Callie BrennanWhich brings me to users. You're licensed for 160, and at the moment I can see only a handful active in the workspace, just the people we've set up so far.
- Neil CravenThat'll be me, Ashok, a couple from credit and a couple of the key account managers. We're not rolling it to the branches until it's right.
- Callie BrennanSensible. I'd keep it that way until the test branch is checked. When you do widen it, do it by group, so credit first, then key accounts, then branch managers, rather than everyone in one go.
- Neil CravenAye. Phased. I'll talk to the area managers about which branches go first. I'd want the ones with the biggest builder accounts, because that's where it bites.
- Ashok PatelI'd say the opposite for a pilot. Start with a quiet one, so if something's wrong it's not a big account that sees it.
- Neil CravenHmm. Fair. Quiet one for testing, big ones for the rollout. We'll agree that.
- Callie BrennanThat's a good split, actually. I'll note both.
- Callie BrennanNow the credit system. Ashok, you said you wanted to talk about that one.
- Ashok PatelYes. It's the oldest of the three and the export is, well, awkward. It produces a nightly file, but the person who set it up has moved on to another role and I'm not sure what else depends on it. I don't want to change how it runs and break something in credit control.
- Callie BrennanUnderstood. Then we don't touch how it runs. We read the file it already produces, read-only, and we never write back. Can you find out who in credit control relies on that file and what time it lands?
- Ashok PatelI can. I'll ask the credit team this afternoon. They'll know when it arrives.
- Neil CravenI'll have a word with the head of credit as well. She'll want to know before we point anything at her system anyway.
- Callie BrennanThank you, Neil, that helps. If the file lands late, the refresh will be reading yesterday's credit position, and I'd rather we knew that than found out later.
- Ashok PatelWhich is the freshness point. For Enterprise, that's covered in the contract, isn't it? The data being ready by the morning.
- Callie BrennanThe service levels are in your order form, and for Enterprise freshness is part of them. I'd rather not paraphrase the detail from memory, so I'll ask Daniel to point you at the exact wording. He's your customer success manager, he'll be your main contact once we're live.
- Neil CravenDaniel, right. And Lewis is the one who sold us it?
- Callie BrennanLewis Kerr, yes, he owns the account on our side and the commercial terms. Daniel looks after adoption and the check-ins. I do the setup, and then I hand over.
- Neil CravenFine by me. I like knowing who to ring.
- Callie BrennanGood. Okay, let's use the time on the test branch. Ashok, can you share your screen and show me the account table you're thinking of using?
- Ashok PatelGive me a second. I need to find the right window. Is that visible?
- Callie BrennanYes, I can see a query result. Lots of columns.
- Ashok PatelThat's the York test set. Group number, branch number, trading name, legal name, status. You can see these three rows, same trading name, different branch numbers, same group number. That's the pattern I mean.
- Callie BrennanRight, and that one's clean. Same legal name too. That would link without any argument. What about the fourth one down? Same trading name, different group number?
- Ashok PatelThat's the one I'd leave alone. Different legal name. I think it's a sister company of the first. I'm not certain.
- Neil CravenIt is. Two firms, one family. They share a site foreman and they'll ring us as if they're the same, but they've got separate credit limits. Don't merge those.
- Callie BrennanThen it stays separate, and that's exactly why I wanted links rather than merges. Neil, would it be useful to mark those as related in the record? Related, not the same.
- Neil CravenThat'd be perfect. Related accounts. Key accounts would use that all day.
- Ashok PatelI can add a column for it. I'd rather add it on our side, in the source, than have B-Viz guess. Otherwise it's a guess.
- Callie BrennanYes, please do. We map what you give us. I'd much rather it's your judgement than my inference. That's the cleanest way.
- Ashok PatelIt might take me a few days to populate it for the test branch. I'm not going to rush it.
- Callie BrennanNo rush from me. Let's say we plan the first test load for early next week, and if the related column isn't done we load without it and add it after.
- Neil CravenGood. I don't want us waiting on a perfect spreadsheet.
- Ashok PatelI'd rather it was right than quick, but I take the point. Without it for the first load is fine.
- Callie BrennanOkay. Now the delivery system. Ashok, you said the request isn't through yet. Who's holding it?
- Ashok PatelIt's with the supplier of the system. They have to approve any external read access. I've chased once.
- Callie BrennanChase again, if you don't mind, and copy me so I can see the reply. If it takes more than a couple of weeks, tell Daniel and Lewis, because the order form has commitments on when connectors are live and I'd like us to be ahead of that, not scrambling.
- Neil CravenI'll ring them as well if it helps. Sometimes a call from the business side shifts things.
- Ashok PatelIt might. I'll tell you if I need it.
- Callie BrennanBrilliant. So, to recap what I've got so far, and tell me if I've got anything wrong. One: branch system credentials are in and verified, test branch is a York one, not mid-changeover. Two: group number is the key, branch numbers are linked references, nothing merged on a name match. Three: related accounts stay separate but get flagged, added by Ashok in the source. Four: credit system is read-only from the existing nightly file, and you're both finding out who relies on it. Five: delivery system is waiting on the supplier.
- Ashok PatelThat's right. One addition. I want to keep a note of which accounts I've touched in the source, so I can undo it.
- Callie BrennanAdd it to the list. I'll put it in the note as your standing rule.
- Neil CravenCan I come back to the morning's builder? Because I want to be sure this fixes it, and not just the test branch.
- Callie BrennanGo on.
- Neil CravenHe's got orders going through about four of our branches. If what you're saying is right, in the end he's one group account with a few branch numbers. When he rings, whoever picks up should see all his orders in one place and the same total. That's the test I'd set. Not a nice dashboard. A builder ringing and the answer matching.
- Callie BrennanI like that as the test. Can we write it down as the success measure for the first phase? One real builder, several branches, same orders, same total, whichever branch answers.
- Neil CravenAye. Write that down. And I'll give you the account when the branch sends me the details.
- Ashok PatelI'd add a condition. It only works if the branch numbers are all in the load. If one of the four is in a branch we haven't connected, it won't match, and that's not B-Viz being wrong.
- Callie BrennanGood point, and I'd rather we said that now than argued about it later. So the measure is for builders whose branches are all in the loaded set. I'll word it that way.
- Neil CravenFair enough. Then we roll the branches in so that his four are covered early. That settles which ones go first, doesn't it?
- Ashok PatelTest on York, then add his branches one by one. Same method each time.
- Callie BrennanThat works. Now, tickets. I can see you've raised two with us in the last month. One was a login question and one was about the connector wording?
- Ashok PatelYes. The first was my own mistake with the single sign-on setup. The second was me not being sure what read-only meant for the credit file. Both answered.
- Callie BrennanGood, and nothing urgent. That's what I'd hope to see at this stage. If anything stops loading, raise it as urgent and say it's a connector, and it goes to the right people quickly.
- Neil CravenWhat counts as urgent? Because I know what I'd call urgent and it's not the same as a data person's.
- Callie BrennanFair. Urgent is: the whole thing is down, or data that was right is now wrong and people are acting on it. Not: a column is in the wrong order. Ashok will know the difference, and if you're ever unsure, ask Daniel.
- Ashok PatelI'll triage it. Neil, send them to me first, and I'll decide whether it goes up.
- Neil CravenFine. I'll pass it on. Don't want ten people raising the same thing.
- Callie BrennanThat's sensible. One admin as the front door. Though, and I say this kindly, I'd like a second named admin, so it doesn't all rest on you if you're off.
- Ashok PatelYes, I've thought about that. There's a colleague in my team who'd be suitable. I'd want to train them properly first, not just hand over a login.
- Callie BrennanAgreed. I can do a short session with both of you after the first load, when there's something real to look at. It's much easier to teach on live data.
- Ashok PatelGood. That works for me.
- Neil CravenCan I ask about the mailboxes and calls, just so I can tell my people when? Not today, but roughly.
- Callie BrennanRoughly, after the trade data has had a couple of clean refreshes. I don't want to promise a date on those until I've seen the first load, so I'd say in the weeks after, and I'll give you a proper date in the note once the test branch is checked.
- Neil CravenThat's honest enough. I'd rather have no date than a made-up one.
- Callie BrennanSame here. I won't say should be fine about something I haven't checked.
- Ashok PatelOne question on the call recorder, actually. Do the recordings leave our systems? Our legal people will ask.
- Callie BrennanBecause B-Viz is built and run inside your own Snowflake account, the data stays in your account. I'll give you a short written description of that for your legal team, rather than have you rely on me saying it on a call.
- Ashok PatelThat would help. Thank you.
- Neil CravenWhile we're here, the security review. Has that all been done? I seem to remember a lot of forms.
- Callie BrennanMostly done before you signed, as part of the Enterprise onboarding. If anything's outstanding, Lewis would hold it, so I'll ask him to confirm there's nothing open and tell you both.
- Neil CravenRight. Thanks.
- Callie BrennanOkay. Let me pull up the setup note and tell you what's going in it, while you tell me what's missing. I'll go through it in the order we spoke.
- Callie BrennanSo, the note says. Connectors: branch live on test branch next week, delivery waiting on supplier, credit read-only from the nightly file, call recorder and mailboxes later. Mapping: group number as key, branch numbers linked, related accounts flagged in source by Ashok. Access: narrow to start, credit sees credit, branch managers see a hold flag. Users: phased by group, credit first, then key accounts, then branch managers. Admins: Ashok now, a second admin trained after the first load. Success measure: one builder, several branches, same orders and total.
- Ashok PatelAdd that the refresh is run by hand for the first week, and that I'm watching the first load.
- Callie BrennanDone. And I'll add that the success measure only applies where all of a builder's branches are loaded.
- Neil CravenPut in who's doing what by when, as well. I'm good with a list. Names against it.
- Callie BrennanYes, always. A date against every step. So. Ashok, by Thursday: the pairs export for the test branch with the query screenshot, and the chase to the delivery supplier. Ashok, by the end of this week too, the name of whoever relies on the credit file and when it lands. Neil, you and the head of credit: a word about the credit system before we read from it, and send me the builder's account when the branch replies. Me: confirm connector access in writing, run the test load early next week, send the note, and ask Lewis about the security review.
- Neil CravenI'll talk to her tomorrow. She's in the office. I'll tell her it's read-only.
- Ashok PatelI'll do mine by Thursday. If the supplier doesn't reply, I'll say.
- Callie BrennanPerfect. Is there anything you're worried about that we haven't touched?
- Neil CravenOnly that it's slow. We've waited a long time for the branches and credit to agree on a customer. I don't want it dragging.
- Callie BrennanI hear that. The first thing you'll see is next week's load. If that's good, you'll have a real answer on the builder soon after, and I'll make sure Daniel knows that's the milestone you care about.
- Neil CravenThat'll do. Show me one builder with the right total and I'll stop worrying.
- Ashok PatelMy worry is only the credit file. If I find it's used by something I don't know about, I'll say straight away.
- Callie BrennanPlease do. Early bad news is much better than late. Right, I think we've got what we need. I'll send the note this afternoon, and the access confirmation before that.
- Neil CravenCheers, Callie. Good session. Plenty to chew on.
- Ashok PatelThank you. Speak soon.
- Callie BrennanThanks both. Speak soon, bye.
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