Strensall Merchants / BG-Demo – Renewal
Callcompleted
Strensall Merchants · 13 Jan 2026 16:30
Renewal call where Daniel Okafor reported active users down well over a third, about thirty of 160 licensed. Fiona Metcalfe cannot take the figure to the board while licences sit idle. Nothing was agreed.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Renewal call where Daniel Okafor reported active users down well over a third, about thirty of 160 licensed. Fiona Metcalfe cannot take the figure to the board while licences sit idle. Nothing was agreed.
What happened: Daniel opened with the usage fall, which Fiona summed up as using roughly a fifth of the licence. Neil Craven said the branches dropped off after a first training wave, and that was partly his doing.
Customer view: Fiona is not against the tool and values the joined-up view of credit exposure. She wants to see the numbers move before the renewal and will not promise to be ready by 3 Feb 2026.
Commercial: Lewis Kerr cited the £114k order form figure and said Enterprise service credits cover availability and data freshness, subject to the ticket timestamps. He asked whether 160 seats is right for the next term.
Watch: users mentioned slow first thing and a recent high priority ticket about figures not matching. Daniel is checking whether the 07:00 refresh was missed.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Usage drop before renewal
Importance
renewal
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- Daniel Okafor reviews the high priority ticket by Friday, then sends a usage breakdown by team, area and branch by the end of the following week.
- Lewis Kerr sends a one-page renewal summary in pounds, the service credit answer and the end-of-term wording.
- Neil Craven picks the areas for the refresher, and all parties regroup before 3 Feb 2026.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Active users fell well over a third in a quarter, leaving the 160-seat Enterprise licence hard to justify to the board.
- A recent high priority ticket about mismatched morning figures may be a data freshness miss, which Enterprise credits.
- Fiona Metcalfe has asked who is more senior at BG-Demo if usage does not move, which signals escalation.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A refresher for branch managers by area could restore branch usage, and Fiona says she is not against the tool.
- The on-site training day add-on is available, though Lewis Kerr said usage does not yet support selling more.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforHello, can you hear me all right? I think I've sorted the sound on my side.
Neil CravenAye, loud and clear, Daniel. Afternoon.- Daniel OkaforAfternoon, Neil. Thank you both for making the time, I know it's a busy start to the year. Fiona, are you with us?
Fiona MetcalfeI'm here, sorry, I was finishing something. Afternoon, everyone.
Lewis KerrAfternoon, Fiona. Lewis here as well, so that's the four of us.- Neil CravenBear with me if I'm a bit short. I've had a housebuilder on the phone since half eight this morning about a delivery that went to the wrong site.
- Daniel OkaforThat sounds like a long day already. Did you get it sorted?
- Neil CravenMostly. Branch is sending a van. Which branch, which account, that's all I was asking, and it took three phone calls to find out.
- Fiona MetcalfeRight. Before we go on, what decision do you need from us today?
- Lewis KerrFair question, and thank you for asking it straight away. Nothing needs signing today. The current term ends on 27 Feb 2026, and the renewal date on our side is 28 Feb 2026, so what I'd like to agree is how we get to a proper renewal conversation, and by when. We've pencilled 3 Feb 2026 as the target to close, which leaves time for any questions you have.
- Fiona MetcalfeGood. Just so we're clear, I won't be agreeing a price on this call.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood, and I wouldn't ask you to. I'd rather you had everything in writing, with the VAT position stated, before we talk numbers.
- Daniel OkaforAnd if I can add, Fiona, the reason Neil and I wanted to start with usage rather than price is that I think you'll want that first. Just to close the loop on our last conversation, I said I'd come back with a clearer picture of how the teams are using B-Viz, and I'm afraid it isn't the picture any of us would have chosen.
- Fiona MetcalfeGo on.
- Daniel OkaforYou're licensed for one hundred and sixty users. Over the last month the number actually active on an average day has been about thirty. And that's down by well over a third compared with the quarter before. That's the headline, and I'd rather say it plainly.
- Fiona MetcalfeSo we're paying for one hundred and sixty and using roughly a fifth of it.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a fair way of putting it, yes. I don't want to dress it up.
- Fiona MetcalfeWhat's our exposure on that? In pounds, please. What are we paying a year?
- Lewis KerrThe contracted annual figure on the order form is £113,500, and that matches what's been invoiced. Nothing is overdue on your side, I'll say that, and thank you for it.
- Fiona MetcalfeRight. So a hundred and thirteen and a half thousand for something most of my people aren't opening. You can see why I'd want a usage case before anyone says the word renewal.
- Neil CravenFiona, if I can come in. It's not that people hate it. Early on the credit team and the key account managers were in there every day. I'd say that's still true, mostly. What's dropped is the branches.
- Fiona MetcalfeWhich is where most of the headcount is.
- Neil CravenAye. Branch managers, counter staff, the ones who ring up a trade account. And I'll be straight, that's partly on me. We did the first wave of training, then the autumn came, everyone was flat out, and I didn't push the second wave.
- Daniel OkaforI wouldn't put it all on you, Neil. We could have been closer to the branch teams too. How is the team finding it, when they do use it? Is it that they don't trust the answers, or that they've just fallen out of the habit?
- Neil CravenHabit, mostly. A few said it was slow first thing and went back to ringing the credit team. What's the builder actually seeing? He doesn't care which system we use, he cares that we know his account.
- Daniel OkaforSlow first thing is interesting. There was one high priority ticket recently, and I want to be careful not to connect two things that may not be connected. Our nightly refresh is meant to be complete by 07:00 on business days. Do you remember the ticket, Neil?
- Neil CravenVaguely. Someone in the credit team raised it, I think, about figures not matching first thing. I'd have to check.
- Daniel OkaforI'll look at it properly and come back to you by Friday. If the data was stale for a morning, that matters, and I'd rather we knew.
- Fiona MetcalfeIs that something the contract gives us a remedy on?
- Lewis KerrOn Enterprise, yes, service credits cover availability and data freshness. But I'd want to see the ticket and the timestamps before I say whether it applies. I won't answer that from memory.
- Fiona MetcalfeFine. Put it in writing.
- Lewis KerrI will.
- Fiona MetcalfeNow. Neil, you brought this in so branches, key accounts and credit see the same thing for each trade account. Is that still the right idea, or have we bought a licence nobody needs?
- Neil CravenIt's the right idea. I had that housebuilder this morning and the first thing I did was open it to see his orders, his deliveries and the last call with credit on one page. It saved me ringing three people. If every branch manager did that, it'd earn its keep.
- Fiona MetcalfeIf. I'd want to see that it's happening, not that it could.
- Daniel OkaforThat's exactly what I'd like to build for you before the renewal. Three things, if I may. First, a breakdown of who is asking questions, by team and by area, so we can see where the activity is and where it isn't. Second, a short refresher for branch managers, which we can do remotely, and there's an on-site training day available as an add-on if you'd rather have people in a room. Third, a look at whether all your connectors are loading cleanly, because if any source has gone quiet, that could also explain people drifting off.
- Neil CravenI like the refresher. Can we do it by area, not every branch at once?
- Daniel OkaforAbsolutely, by area is much more sensible. You'd pick the order, I'd run it.
- Fiona MetcalfeDoes the refresher cost us anything?
- Lewis KerrThe remote refresher sits within your customer success support. If you wanted the on-site day, that's a priced add-on and I'd quote it separately, with the VAT position shown. I'm not pushing it, Fiona. Honestly, the usage doesn't support talking about more of anything right now.
- Fiona MetcalfeI appreciate you saying that. Let me say where I am. I'm not against this. Credit exposure across our trade accounts is the thing that keeps me awake, and I can see why a joined-up view helps. But I can't take a number to the board for a tool where, on the face of it, four in five licences are sitting idle. We'll look at it at renewal, and I'd want to see the numbers move before then.
- Lewis KerrThat's clear. The question I'd put to you is whether one hundred and sixty is the right number for the next term. I'm not recommending a change either way yet. I'd rather see what the usage review shows first. Whatever we agreed would be co-termed to your renewal and set out in the order form.
- Fiona MetcalfeI'd want that option laid out, yes. And I'll want to know what happens if we haven't decided by the end of the term.
- Lewis KerrGood question, and I'd rather not paraphrase the contract from memory. I'll check the order form and the terms and put the answer in the email I send today.
- Neil CravenCan I ask one thing? Fiona, I know I shouldn't go near price without you, so I won't. But can we agree the branches get a proper go before anyone decides?
- Fiona MetcalfeThat's reasonable. Give it a few weeks. I'd like to see the picture again before the date Lewis mentioned, 3 Feb 2026, though I'm not promising I'll be ready then.
- Daniel OkaforThat's fair, and we'll work to it. Let me say what I can do by then. I can have the usage breakdown with you by the end of next week. Neil, I'd like half an hour with you after that to choose which areas go first.
- Neil CravenAye, fine. I'll get you the area managers' names.
- Fiona MetcalfeIs there someone more senior at your end I should be speaking to if this doesn't move?
- Daniel OkaforYes, that's fair. Lewis and I will take that away, and I'll come back to you by early next week on who from our side joins the next conversation.
- Lewis KerrAnd just to confirm what I'm sending today. One, a renewal summary for Enterprise at the current licensed users, with the VAT position. Two, the service credit answer once Daniel has looked at the ticket. Three, the answer on the end-of-term wording. Is there anything else you'd want in it, Fiona?
- Fiona MetcalfeYes. A version in pounds, please, with no jargon, that I can pass to someone in my team.
- Lewis KerrOf course. Plain figures, one page.
- Neil CravenDaniel, one more for you. Can I see by branch who's logged in? So I know who to ring. Which branch, which account.
- Daniel OkaforYes, I'll build that into the breakdown. I'll keep it to usage, not individual performance, so people don't feel watched.
- Neil CravenGood. They'd not use it if they felt that.
- Fiona MetcalfeRight. Is there anything else you need from me?
- Daniel OkaforOnly your patience, really. I know this isn't the call anyone wanted in January. Thank you for letting us be straight about the numbers.
- Fiona MetcalfeI'd rather hear it from you than find it in a report. Thank you for that.
- Lewis KerrSo to recap. Nothing signed or decided today. Daniel sends the ticket review and then the usage breakdown. I send the summary, the credit answer and the contract wording, starting today. Neil picks the areas for the refresher. And we regroup before 3 Feb 2026.
- Fiona MetcalfeAgreed. Before then, not after.
- Neil CravenCheers both. Back to my housebuilder.
- Daniel OkaforThank you, everyone. I'll come back to you by Friday on the ticket. Speak soon.
- Fiona MetcalfeThank you. Goodbye.
- Lewis KerrKind regards, all. Speak soon.
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