Name: LEWIS Creative Consultants
Based: Edinburgh
Website: www.lewis.co.uk
Someone once asked me: are you busy making money or a busy fool? We’ve been in business for over 40 years and until that point had been fighting to accurately monitor profit, measure capacity and make forecasts.
In 2012, we started using online project management software and it has revolutionised the way we do business by allowing us to measure exactly what success is.
Previously, all of our project and account management as well as our finance processes were handled using Excel spreadsheets. It was labour-intensive, inaccurate, and offered no way of tracking how effectively we were working.
Now, every department uses the same system and scope for human error is almost completely eradicated. We’re more aware of the value of our time; every 15 minutes of our account management and studio team’s time is tracked. We know which projects are most profitable for us and now shape our business strategy around these findings.
In 2013/14 we increased our turnover by 20% and in 2014/15 this looks set to increase by another 22%. We’ve boosted our business capacity to an average of 62% against a 47% level in 2013/14 and our average margins now sit around 57% (a rise of 10% over the past two years). We now have a transparent record of our business actions, which is measured and adjusted daily
Synergist has helped us balance creativity with financial astuteness: we are no longer busy fools; we are an accurate, profitable, lean and agile modern business.
Kirsty Johnston is digital account director at LEWIS Creative Consultants.
