logo
  • How we help
    • Growth strategy
    • Financial management
    • Synergist software
    • Synergist implementation
    • Synergist support
  • Clients
  • About
  • Insights
    • Agency insights
    • Using Synergist
    • Timesheet Incentive
  • Contact

From financial reporting to performance insight and commercial guidance

The way The Agency Works set up the system means we have a very clear picture of staff utilisation and project recoverability. The year following Synergist’s implementation was our biggest for profit.

Kim Stokes is the finance director at Butterfly, a leading global brand and innovation agency. Their team of 40 operate out of offices in London and New York.

Kim says, “As a growing agency, the importance of organisation, internal control and solid processes was magnified. And we knew we had holes in our systems that could hold us back. Like most agencies, we’re flexible and agile but we knew we needed a level of control and reporting to drive profitability and performance.”

“We were using spreadsheets to keep track of opportunities and projects costs. Because everyone had access to the documents, numbers would be adjusted and there’d be formula errors. Plus, we had no version control to compare historical data and iterations.”

Kim StokesFinance DirectorButterfly

We weren’t optimising team performance and risked poor project recoverability.

After researching and reviewing the best agency management systems, Butterfly selected Synergist. Kim says, “Although we adopted the best system on the market, there was some resistance to it at the beginning so there was a period when we were using a hybrid, with some of the team working in Synergist and others still operating in Excel. So The Agency Works helped us set up Synergist in a way that worked for our agency, encouraged adoption and helped us maximise our financial and people performance. We’re now in a position where everyone is confidently using the system for everything, so I can be certain there aren’t any costs floating around on someone’s computer. Now we can all see the value it brings.”

“Whereas previously I relied on financial reporting, I can now report on performance too.” 

“Having complete visibility of projects in the pipeline, when they’re expected and their value, is invaluable particularly when I’m forecasting P&L. From a cash management perspective, we have complete transparency, so we can make informed decisions when we’re negotiating with clients and suppliers, and we know our limits.”

“It gives us a picture of our staff utilisation so we can see where and how people are spending their time, and whether or not there is sufficient return on investment for that time. So, we’re linking performance to profitability,” says Kim. “We set up internal KPIs to support this and 75% of those are driven from Synergist-derived data. And because we can monitor metrics such as project recoverability, the team is also being performance reviewed against their contribution to the wider company KPIs. That means we can train and develop the team with greater purpose.”

“We’re utilising project recoverability too so we’re budgeting more profitable projects,” says Kim. “We can see whether money is being spent out of budget, and confidently have that conversation with the client. It also helped us identify gaps in our project costing review and control procedures. Now we have templates set up in Synergist to prompt users to think about different aspects of a project, so our project recoverability has increased significantly.”

The year following Synergist’s implementation was our biggest for profit.

“Synergist, along with The Agency Works’ expertise and industry insight, has turned the agency into a well-oiled machine. It has given us a layer of organisation and control,” says Kim. “The system and set-up really came into their own when we opened the New York office. Straightaway I could see how successful the office was, where greater opportunities lie and check we were making the right decisions.”

“Now I can help our founders understand how to invest for future growth and profitability.”

“Synergist integrates with other systems, including our finance system, so everything is in one place. The whole set up provides a level of surety when I run the numbers or report to the board.” Kim says.

“Automating processes and having access to the right information at the right time means I can now work more proactively. It’s freed up time to allow me to think more commercially and how I can use the data I now have to drive the business forward. We’ve been able to shift our focus as a finance team and have moved from being purely financial to more of a commercial partner to the business,” says Kim.

“The strategic support from Jay and the team complements this, and the roundtable discussions are instrumental to the decisions I make. When things come up like running projects, trading terms, commercial matters or rate-related questions, The Agency Works add real value with their insight. It’s something I can take away over and above system functionality.”

Talk to us about how we can help you drive performance across your teams and improve project recoverability.

Get in touch

More Success Stories

From manual reporting to automated insight and faster business-critical decisions

scarlettabbott

From zero commercial strategy to achieving ambitious growth targets in year one

Inspired Thinking Group (ITG)

From labour-intensive financial reporting to real-time performance insight

Candyspace

From limited visibility to having a finger on the (right) pulse

Something Big

Shifting from organic growth to confidently planning for the future

Six

Helping drive financial understanding and commercial insight

Create Health

Ambitious PR team

From unfit finance processes and systems to confidently managing growth

The Ambitious Consultancy

From minimum insight to maximum profitability

The Pull Agency

01455 553246
[email protected]

37b The Barn
Station Road
Lutterworth
Leicestershire LE17 4AP

What we do

We’re the UK’s leading agency management consultancy. We’ve helped hundreds of top-performing agencies put the strategy, processes and reporting in place to build a more scalable, sustainable and profitable business.

Explore
  • About
  • Consultancy Service
  • Synergist Software
  • Synergist Training
  • Success stories
  • Get in Touch
Get agency insights
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

© The Agency Works 2021 All rights reserved | Company no. 08792441 | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
The Agency Works
  • How we help
    • Growth strategy
    • Financial management
    • Synergist software
    • Synergist implementation
    • Synergist support
  • Clients
  • About
  • Insights
    • Agency insights
    • Using Synergist
    • Timesheet Incentive
  • Contact

Subscribe via email

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.