Welcome to our Software Integration Solutions page

The solutions we offer include

Software Integration

Finding a solution to integration problems is challenging. At Whimbrel we have developed a middleware software solution that is affordable, extremely effective and can be integrated with most accounting packages, especially Pastel.

Businesses often find their commercial accounts’ packages extremely restrictive. Accounts’ packages are designed around audit and tax requirements, which can inhibit their usability. Businesses need additional flexible financial systems to compliment and integrate with their accounts’ packages, providing additional crucial management reports.

Whimbrel’s financial middleware application can be designed around specific business processes; be it job costing, project management or other business requirements. It is not an accountancy package bolt-on or an enhanced financial reporting module.

We import all the existing data from various sources; be it spreadsheets, legacy database systems or manual files. The new system is then integrated with the company’s existing accounting package ensuring little duplication of data. This new system can be used for a myriad of purposes from bespoke cash flow forecasting to job costing and project management.

Whimbrel has developed a flexible software system that is designed around people’s needs and has the ability to change as a business grows. Whimbrel believes in the importance of people in businesses and includes all users in the design.

Common Software Integration Problems

Multiple Spreadsheets

A quick solution is often needed and the financial personnel resort to designing their own financial systems on spreadsheets. This is not ideal and creates many different problems:

  • Employees can no longer communicate with each other, as they have developed different systems to suit their own requirements.
  • The spreadsheets used don’t integrate with the company’s existing accounts’ systems and data has to be captured many times.
  • It’s difficult to get good reports from multiple spreadsheets. Staff members cut and past data from various spreadsheets and workbooks to generate reports. This is time consuming and prone to error.
  • Personnel leave and new employees have to manage with systems they have had no part in designing.
  • Spreadsheets can produce misleading information. There are few controls and mistakes can easily be made. This is especially common when spreadsheet forms are shared amongst different people with different skills.
  • It’s difficult to back up data as the data can reside on many different computers sometimes even in different parts of the country.

Software Systems Can’t Communicate

Most businesses have more than one core financial management application. These systems are often independent and can’t communicate with other business financial systems. Frequently this situation is caused by different professions preferring to use different software systems.

So for example in the construction industry, accounting and financial managers use accounting packages, while estimators and quantity surveyors tend to use specialised construction estimating applications.