Streamlining custom reporting and driving operational insights
Who is Hemlow Limited?
Hemlow Limited is a leading provider of maintenance services for commercial buildings, boasting over 25 years of expertise in keeping buildings at their best. With offices in Sevenoaks, Slough, and Bromsgrove, and a workforce of over 130 employees, Hemlow has steadily grown its operations, delivering technical excellence to clients across London, the South East, South West, the Midlands, and the North. Their mission goes beyond profit – they aim to create lasting livelihoods and build a culture where people thrive and stay.
Before using Tugger, our team struggled with the standard reports from Simpro®, as they didn't fully align with our specific business needs. We required tailored reporting that could adapt to our unique operational requirements seamlessly. Tugger® provided us with just what we needed and now our reports truly serve our business objectives.
The Challenge: Complex reporting systems and limited insights
Before using Tugger, Hemlow’s reporting processes were fragmented. "Before we had Tugger and before we had Simpro we had an Access database linked to a SQL server," Mark Sharpless, Technical Support Manager at Hemlow explains. While they were managing their data through Power Query and SQL server reports, the reports pulled from their new system, Simpro, weren’t up to scratch.
The team needed reports tailored to their unique business operations, but Simpro’s stock reports didn’t account for custom fields or offer the flexibility Hemlow required. This created a disconnect, particularly when it came to analysing operational and financial data effectively. “We needed tailored reporting because the reports that we were getting out of Simpro just weren't a fit for how we were using it for our business,” said Mark.
“We required tailored reporting that could adapt to our unique operational requirements seamlessly. Tugger provided us with just what we needed, and now our reports truly serve our business objectives.”
The Solution: Tailored, pre-built reporting tools from Tugger
Why Tugger?
After starting their search for a better reporting solution through a Google search, they came across Tugger andquickly realised its potential to resolve their challenges. Tugger’s pre-builtdashboards provided clarity and structure, allowing Hemlow tohit the ground running with customisable reports.
What’s it like working with Tugger?
“The table structures are clearer, and the additional features such as the pre-built reports that are there from the start help you learn how to build and customise your own reports,” Mark noted. “This made a huge difference in getting to grips with what we could achieve.”
Tugger’s flexibility allowed the business to develop a wide range of reports, covering everything from profit and loss analysis to maintenance performance and HR tracking. They were able to move beyond Simpro’s limitations, creating meaningful reports that aligned with their specific needs.
We've built a number of reports to analyse profit and loss more effectively, maintenance performance, stock checking, HR... It's been incredibly valuable and has made a real impact.
The Results: A game-changing transformation
One of the standout benefits for Hemlow has been the speed with which they can now generate detailed, customised reports. “Tugger has exceeded my expectations with how quickly and easily I can create reports,” said Mark. “You just connect to the server, pull the data, and it's done in no time.”
Additionally, the customer support from Tugger has been a game changer. Mark highlights, “The support has been exceptional. It's much better than what I've seen from other companies, and it's been invaluable in resolving any issues we've had.”
By using Tugger, Hemlow has not only enhanced its reporting capabilities, but also gained deeper insights into its operations. One key success story involved creating a Contracts Profitability Report, which allows Hemlow’s managers to analyse everything from invoicing and engineer time to subcontractor costs. This has helped them identify areas for cost savings and improve profitability across contracts.
“We've been able to create quite a large report that looks at invoicing, engineer time, subcontractor costs, and trends. It's really helped streamline how we operate the business,” explained Mark.
For Hemlow, Tugger has become an essential part of their operations, on par with the Simpro programme itself. “Using Tugger has been a gamechanger for our business,” they explained. “We quickly faced reporting challenges when we moved to Simpro, and Tugger has helped us get our reporting up to scratch.”
From profit and loss analysis to more efficient stock tracking, Tugger has empowered Hemlow with the tools to make informed decisions, boost productivity, and optimise their performance.
Would they recommend Tugger?
Absolutely. “If you're considering Tugger, the customised reports are a total game changer. They truly transform how you can manage and analyse your data.”
How would they describe Tugger in one word?
“If I had to describe Tugger in one word, it would be 'Data.' You need accurate data to run a business, from predicting trends to boosting performance, and Tugger delivers exactly that.”
Find out more about our Simpro connector, or start your free trial.
Using Tugger has been a game changer for our business. After moving to Simpro, we quickly faced reporting challenges, and getting our reports in order became a top priority. Tugger has become just as crucial to our operations as the Simpro program itself.
