Duddingston Payroll / BG-Demo – Discovery
Callcompleted
Duddingston Payroll · 10 Oct 2024 14:15
Lorna Cairns and Fraser Moncrieff described client data spread across six places. Priya Raman pencilled in Growth at a total deal value of £52k. Fraser is not deciding on the call and wants the figure split with its base.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Lorna Cairns and Fraser Moncrieff described client data spread across six places. Priya Raman pencilled in Growth at a total deal value of £52k. Fraser is not deciding on the call and wants the figure split with its base.
What happened: Priya ran a discovery with Lorna and Fraser. About nine hundred Scottish employers are served by client managers who must search the payroll system, email, calls, a shared inbox, a helpdesk and the accounts.
Customer view: Lorna's priority is that one employer's data never reaches another. Fraser wants a cost that does not outgrow the client base and says he never accepts a figure without its base.
Commercial: Priya pencilled in Growth at £52k, stated as the total for the deal and not an annual price. A split between subscription and implementation, plus a per-employer sum, is promised in writing.
Watch: The Snowflake question is unanswered and must be resolved before signing. The 7 Nov 2024 decision date is a target, and Fraser would not promise it.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Discovery, Growth tier pricing
Importance
upsell
Sentiment
neutral
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Priya sends a note the same day covering employer data separation and the Snowflake question.
- Priya sends the proposal outline with the total split into subscription and implementation, and the per-employer sum.
- Lorna sends two or three anonymised scenarios so a demo can be booked.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Employer data separation is a must-have, and the Snowflake question is still unanswered.
- Fraser will not accept a figure without its base and may balk at the cost per employer.
- Staged go-live of about two months must not disrupt client managers around fixed pay dates.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Growth tier fits several teams of client managers working across about nine hundred employers.
- Real scenarios such as late payslips give a concrete basis for a demo on their own data.
Transcript
Priya RamanHello, hello. Good afternoon, Lorna. Can you hear me okay?
Lorna CairnsGood afternoon, Priya. Aye, fine. Fraser's just joining, he's on mute, I think. Give him a second.
Fraser MoncrieffAfternoon. Sorry, the link wouldn't open the first time. What's changed since you last spoke to Lorna?- Priya RamanHa, straight in. Lovely. Right, quick recap of where we are. Lorna and I have had one chat, and today is the proper discovery, so I can hear what you actually do and where it hurts. If it goes well, the next step is a demo on your own data, and we're pencilling in the early part of November to keep momentum. Happy to make this easy.
- Lorna CairnsFine. Can I do my bit first? I always start with the week's deadlines. We've got two pay runs this week, so my client managers are busy. That's the real problem, really. When's their pay date, has the client been told, that's what they're asking all day.
- Priya RamanTell me more. Where do they look for that today?
- Lorna CairnsEverywhere. The payroll system has the run dates. Emails are in Microsoft 365. We record some calls. Queries come in through a shared inbox and a helpdesk. Fees sit in the accounts. A client manager looking after a lot of employers has to open all of it. They've the whole picture in their head, and when they're off sick, nobody does.
- Priya RamanMm, that's very common. And roughly how many employers are we talking about?
- Lorna CairnsAbout nine hundred, all Scottish. Each one a different size, different pay frequency.
- Fraser MoncrieffCan I come in there. What's that per client, for the thing you're proposing? I don't want a cost that grows ahead of the client base.
- Priya RamanFair question, Fraser, and I'll come to numbers, I promise. The shape is a yearly subscription plus a one-off set-up, and nothing in it goes up per employer you add. Let me hold that thought for two minutes and learn a bit more first.
- Fraser MoncrieffFine. I'll wait.
- Lorna CairnsCan I give you an example? Last month an employer rang to say their payslips were late. The client manager didn't know the query had already come in by email two days before, because it went to the shared inbox. So the employer heard from us second. We should be first. Let's get it right first time.
- Priya RamanRight, right. So the pain is not that you lack data, it's that it's in six places and nobody has it together when the phone rings.
- Lorna CairnsThat's it. Exactly.
- Priya RamanWhat B-Viz does, in plain terms, is sit over those systems as one layer you can ask questions of. Your client manager types, something like, what's open for this employer before their next pay date, and gets the emails, the calls, the tickets and the fees in one answer. And it's built inside your own Snowflake account, so the data doesn't leave your control.
- Lorna CairnsDoes that matter, the Snowflake bit? I'm not technical. We don't have anything like that today, I don't think.
- Priya RamanGood question, and honestly I'd want our technical people to answer that properly rather than me guess. I'll note it and get you a clear answer in writing. What I can say is that your employers' data stays yours and stays apart.
- Lorna CairnsApart is the important word. One employer's data never goes to another. Never. If it can't do that, we can't use it.
- Priya RamanUnderstood, completely. I'll make that a named question for the technical session, so it's answered before anything is signed.
- Fraser MoncrieffWho owns the relationship at your end? If we go ahead, who do I call?
- Priya RamanMe, for the commercial side, from first conversation through to signature. After that a customer success manager takes over day to day, and I'd introduce you before we sign, so there's no gap.
- Fraser MoncrieffGood. I've been burned before when the salesperson vanished after the contract.
- Priya RamanHa, I hear that a lot. Not on my watch.
- Lorna CairnsCan I ask about how long it takes to get going? My team can't stop for weeks. Pay dates don't move.
- Priya RamanUnderstood. For the tier we're discussing it's about two months from start to being live, done in stages, and the client managers keep working the whole time. We connect the sources one at a time and check each one with you, so nobody is switched over blind.
- Lorna CairnsTwo months. Aye, that's alright if it's staged. Who does the checking on our side?
- Priya RamanUsually one lead from the business and someone who knows the systems. Sounds like you for the first, Lorna?
- Lorna CairnsProbably. I'd need a colleague from the payroll side too.
- Fraser MoncrieffRight, you said you'd come to numbers.
- Priya RamanI did. So, for the Growth tier, which looks the best fit for several teams of client managers, the deal value we're pencilling in at this stage is £51,600. To be clear, Fraser, that's the total for the deal, not an annual price. In the proposal we'd split out what's the yearly subscription and what's the one-off implementation, so you can see the base of each.
- Fraser MoncrieffGood, because I never accept a figure without its base. Total over what period?
- Priya RamanThat's exactly what the split will show. I'd rather give you the breakdown in writing than say it wrong from memory.
- Fraser MoncrieffFine. Send it. I'll look at it, I'm not deciding on this call. And what's it per client, in the end? Divide it by nine hundred and tell me if that's sensible against our fees.
- Priya RamanI'll include that sum in the follow-up. Done.
- Lorna CairnsCan I ask what you'd want from us before the demo? I'm happy to pull together a few real cases, the late payslips one, for instance.
- Priya RamanThat would be perfect. Two or three real scenarios, anonymised, and we build the demo around them rather than a generic one. If we can get the demo done and the proposal to you in time, we'd be aiming to have a decision by 7 Nov 2024. Does that feel realistic, Fraser?
- Fraser MoncrieffLet's see it at the demo. I won't promise a date today.
- Priya RamanTotally fair. It's a target, not a promise.
- Lorna CairnsOne last thing. Has the client been told? I mean, if we change how our client managers work, do the employers notice anything?
- Priya RamanOnly that they hear from you sooner, hopefully. Nothing changes for them directly, it's your team's tool.
- Lorna CairnsGood. That's what I wanted to hear.
- Priya RamanRight, let me recap the next steps, because I know you've both got a pay run to get to. One, I send a short note today with what I heard, including the separation of employers' data and the Snowflake question. Two, I send the proposal outline with the total split into subscription and implementation, and the per-employer sum for Fraser. Three, Lorna sends two or three anonymised scenarios. Four, we book the demo for the next couple of weeks. Did I miss anything?
- Lorna CairnsNo, that's it. Thanks, Priya.
- Fraser MoncrieffThat's fine. Send it, and I'll read it.
- Priya RamanBrilliant. Thanks both, speak soon. Best, Priya.
Callsmade from