Mazda speeds up with Greentree accounting

Mazda carried out a comprehensive appraisal of their system requirements and investigated many financial software products, including Navision, Exonet, ACCPAC and Greentree. “When compared with other software solutions, Greentree offered a cost-effective solution that addressed our business needs. One area that really stood Greentree apart was the links into Excel and the financial reporting facilities,” says David Hodge, Finance Manager.

The four users draw on the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash Management and Foreign Currency modules on a daily basis.

Very, very familiar

Implementing a new business system often means lengthy staff training and demands on valuable staff time. As a Windows-based system, the team at Mazda finds Greentree extremely easy to use and it has allowed users to become familiar with the system quickly. The ability to customise data entry screens has also allowed temporary staff to understand and access key functions more easily.

Very, very easy to use

Lynn Carr, a user in the Finance Department, was extremely pleased with the Greentree software as it makes their job easier and less time is wasted. “I was hesitant at first, as it was something new to learn, and gave myself one month to learn how to use it. Within one week I was familiar with it and never looked back. It is so simple to use.”

Mazda is extremely impressed with the speed and general time savings of the new system, and is able to do more with Greentree than they previously could with their former system.

Very, very beneficial

One such area was the month and year-end processing for each module, which is now a simple task taking just seconds. All transactions that are entered into Greentree are date-stamped with the relevant period and year, so there is no formal period-end ageing or processing that needs to be performed. David explains, “Greentree has really speeded up and streamlined our month end process and reporting. With the old system we could finish the process by work day 10 and now we can complete it by work day 2.”

Mazda has also benefited from a forecasting facility within Greentree, which allows them to explore ‘what-if’ scenarios and plan asset movements more effectively. “This is one feature that we not did realise we would benefit so much from. It allows us to monitor and incorporate changing conditions that impact our business,” says David.

The flexible reporting into Microsoft Word and Excel was also an area that has enhanced their accounting system. David concluded, “Greentree provides us with a seamless integration with Microsoft Word and Excel so we are able to produce a number of budget and forecasting reports. It has worked really well for us.”