Revolutionising reporting at Pointer Limited

Who is Pointer Limited?

Family-owned for over 50 years, Pointer Limited is a specialist fire and security services integrator with a strong presence across the UK. With nearly 200 colleagues, Pointer delivers tailored, high-quality solutions across security, fire, design and consultation, and principal contracting.

Serving clients in sectors like utilities, retail, custodial, and banking, Pointer is committed to excellence through rigorous auditing, technical expertise, and a strong culture of internal development. The company’s emphasis on growing talent from within means they continue to exceed expectations for their clients and their people.

The Challenge: Time-consuming, fragmented, and outdated reporting

Pointer had implemented Simpro® as their core job management software, but when it came to reporting, the functionality didn’t fully meet their needs.

“Simpro gave us access to standard and BI reports, but the BI tool didn’t do quite what we needed it to,” recalls Craig Marshall, Business Analyst at Pointer. “It produced rows of raw data without the kind of visualisations or graphs we needed for quick insights or for sharing with customers.”

There was also a delay in how data was updated. Reports ran on the previous day’s information, meaning changes made in a job wouldn’t appear until the following day. “That lag made it harder to work as efficiently as we wanted,” Craig explains.

On top of this, Pointer didn’t have the in-house expertise to build more advanced reports, and manipulating raw exports in Excel was both time-consuming and frustrating. The team needed a way to deliver reports that were visually engaging, up to date, and easy to produce.

The Solution: Visual, up-to-date reports via Tugger + Power BI

After a recommendation from their Simpro account manager, Pointer turned to Tugger—and never looked back.

“It was a no-brainer,” says Craig. “Tugger let us export our Simpro data into Power BI, which meant we could finally create detailed, visually engaging reports that are really useful for both internal processes and our customers.”

A major selling point was the readymade templates. “As a business, we had no one in-house with Power BI or report-building experience,” Craig explains.

Craig also discovered unexpected value in the depth of functionality the templates offered. “Tugger has provided the ability to dive into the backend of the templates and leverage the useful DAX code for our own reports. We thought we’d just be using the templates, but the extra functionality has been a great surprise.”

With Tugger, the team now builds reports once and sets them to refresh automatically each month, turning what used to be a time-consuming manual task into a smooth, hands-off process. The reports are also far more visually engaging than anything they could previously produce

The Results: Major time savings, better customer experiences, and less stress

The impact of Tugger has been felt across the business.

Hours saved every month

Pointer has significantly reduced the time spent on reporting. What once involved hours of manual work in Excel is now handled through Power BI, with reports that are easy to set up, refresh automatically, and require minimal maintenance. This time-saving shift has freed up the team to focus on higher value tasks, reducing pressure and boosting overall efficiency.

Improved customer reporting

Thanks to Tugger, the team can now deliver interactive, visual reports that go well beyond what was possible in Excel. Features like slicers and dynamic charts have made a big impression on customers and enabled Pointer to confidently introduce comprehensive KPI reports as part of their service offering.

Quick and simple internal reporting

The simplicity of Tugger’s setup and the clarity of its templates mean that anyone can use the platform effectively, even without a technical background. This ease of use has allowed their team to streamline internal reporting without needing to hire additional specialist staff.

Greater scalability

With a new Data Analyst now on board, Pointer is scaling its reporting capabilities further. One major focus is a detailed KPI report that can be shared with clients at the start of a project— setting clear expectations from the outset and improving the quality of client engagement.

True time and stress reduction

Reporting has shifted from being a stressful, manual process to a seamless part of the workflow. Tugger has helped the team reclaim valuable time and headspace, making a noticeable difference in day-to-day operations.

What’s it like working with Tugger?

While the reporting capability was a huge win, Pointer credits Tugger’s support team as a standout strength.

“Tugger has redefined customer support for me. Unlike other companies, they’re fast, proactive, and truly invested in helping. The quick responses, follow-ups, and personal touch make all the difference—I can’t recommend them enough!”

From regular Teams calls to quick problem-solving emails, Craig describes Tugger’s support as “an open-door policy.” Whether it was addressing Pointer’s unique cloud server setup or fine-tuning dashboards to run faster, the team were always ready to help.

“Tugger could have easily just provided the setup and left me to figure it out, but instead, they’ve always been there to help. That level of dedication is rare and truly appreciated.”

This hands-on support has given the team real confidence in their reporting setup, and reassurance that help is only ever a message away. It’s that consistency and responsiveness that has made Tugger stand out as a true partner rather than just a provider.

How would they describe Tugger in one word?

For Pointer, the word that best sums up Tugger is simple. The platform doesn’t require any specialist knowledge or IT expertise to get started. The setup process is straightforward, the language used is accessible, and the whole system is designed so that anyone, regardless of technical background, can jump in and get value from it right away.

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