Commondale Care / BG-Demo – Discovery
Callcompleted
Commondale Care · 6 Nov 2023 12:15
Discovery call with Lynne Featherstone and Trevor Bulmer. Eighteen homes lack a shared view of family and commissioner contact, and fee invoices are reconciled by hand. Trevor wants a price before going further; no date or figure was promised.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Discovery call with Lynne Featherstone and Trevor Bulmer. Eighteen homes lack a shared view of family and commissioner contact, and fee invoices are reconciled by hand. Trevor wants a price before going further; no date or figure was promised.
What happened: Tom Ashdown ran discovery with the Head of Care Operations and the Finance Director. Both described scattered spreadsheets, phone calls and manual month-end fee reconciliation across eighteen homes.
Customer view: Lynne wants to see who has been called about what. Trevor wants fees against incidents in one place, reading from the existing accounting system rather than replacing it.
Commercial: Lynne and Trevor are the decision pair, with head office to be shown later. Trevor asked for a price first; Tom declined to quote until scope is clear and gave no timeline, though Lynne hoped for something working before the end of January.
Watch: Trevor must check with IT before sharing the invoice export. The evidence does not show which tier fits, and the next call was to be put in the diary but no date is recorded.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Tom Ashdown to send a short follow-up note and a proper plan once the data is seen.
- Trevor Bulmer to send a sample fee invoice layout and check the invoice export with IT.
- Tom Ashdown to confirm scope and then the price, and diarise the next call.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Trevor wants a price before going further, and none has been quoted.
- Lynne hopes for a working result before the end of January, but no date has been promised.
- The invoice export depends on a check with the customer's IT.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- One view of fees against incidents and family and commissioner contacts across eighteen homes.
- A build on top of the existing accounting system, which answers the worry about being replaced.
Transcript
Tom AshdownHiya Lynne, Trevor, lovely to meet you both properly. Did you manage to get in okay?
Lynne FeatherstoneHello Tom, yes, we're here. Sorry, I'm on a break from the homes, so I may keep stepping away.
Trevor BulmerHello. I've got about half an hour, so let's get going.- Tom AshdownNo drama, we'll keep to it. How's your week been?
- Lynne FeatherstoneBusy. We had a family meeting at one of the homes this morning that went on forever.
- Tom AshdownOh no. Hope it went okay.
- Lynne FeatherstoneIt did in the end. Anyway, the reason we're talking is family and commissioner contact. We've got eighteen homes, and nobody can see who's been called about what.
- Tom AshdownThat's a common one. Tell me how it works at the moment.
- Lynne FeatherstoneHonestly, it's a lot of spreadsheets and phone calls. Each home keeps its own list. When something happens, the manager rings a commissioner and somebody else rings the family.
- Trevor BulmerAnd the fee invoices are the other half of the problem. We reconcile them by hand at month end and it takes far too long.
- Tom AshdownRight. So you've got contacts, incidents and fees all sitting in different places for each home.
- Trevor BulmerExactly. I'd like one place to see fees against incidents, because when a commissioner asks, I'm the one pulling it together.
- Tom AshdownThat's a lot on you. Who else is involved in the decision on this?
- Lynne FeatherstoneMe for the care side, Trevor for the money. Head office will want to see it too, but I'll handle that.
- Tom AshdownLovely. Are there systems you use already that it needs to sit alongside? Like the accounting system?
- Trevor BulmerYes, we run the fees through the accounting system. I don't want to change that. It needs to read from it.
- Tom AshdownThat's fine. We'd build on top of what you already have, not replace it. I'm not going to criticise your setup, it's clearly doing a job.
- Lynne FeatherstoneThank you. That's what we were worried about, honestly.
- Tom AshdownLet's come back to scope. Lynne, who would actually use it day to day?
- Lynne FeatherstoneThe home managers, and a small central team.
- Trevor BulmerI'd want a short list of who sees what, so the family details stay private.
- Tom AshdownThat's a valid point and something we'd plan for. Permissions by home, yes.
- Lynne FeatherstoneWhat's the timeline? Ideally we'd have something working before the end of January.
- Tom AshdownThe honest answer is it depends on the data work. I'd rather not promise a date until we've seen what's in the systems. Leave that with me and I'll get you a proper plan.
- Trevor BulmerFine. I'd want a price before we go any further, though.
- Tom AshdownOf course, and I'll confirm the number properly. I won't quote one off the top of my head. I'd like the right scope first, so it's the right figure.
- Trevor BulmerOkay. That's reasonable.
- Tom AshdownSorry Trevor, could you send me a sample of the fee invoice layout? Lynne, are you still there?
- Lynne FeatherstoneStill here, I'm just getting a coffee.
- Lynne FeatherstoneWhat do you need from us next?
- Tom AshdownA sample of incidents, and the invoice export if you can manage it.
- Trevor BulmerWe can do the invoice export, but I'll need to check with IT first.
- Tom AshdownNo drama. Take your time. I'll follow up with a short note.
- Lynne FeatherstoneRight, I've got to dash in a minute.
- Tom AshdownOf course. Let's get something in the diary for the next call.
- Trevor BulmerYes, let's do that. Send me the note.
- Tom AshdownWill do. Thanks both, really helpful.
- Lynne FeatherstoneThank you Tom. Bye.
- Trevor BulmerBye.
- Tom AshdownCheers, speak soon.