Monmouthshire Housing Association (MHA) was established to receive the housing stock of Monmouthshire County Council through voluntary transfer, after a successful vote by their tenants.

The organisation’s main purpose is to provide and manage high quality, affordable homes in the regions for those that need them. The association manages and maintains around 3,600 homes and 290 leasehold properties, as well as large numbers of garages within its estate

When the new organisation was established, the ICT strategy identified the need for its own financial management system, separate from Monmouthshire County Council’s, that would be fully operational from the day of transfer.

After an extensive tender process, Castle was appointed by MHA to implement Castle’s integrated Infor SunSystems version 5 Housing solution.

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One Vision Housing (OVH) is a social housing provider that makes a big difference in the communities it serves

Established in 2006 to take over ownership and management of Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council’s homes, OVH currently manages almost 11,700 properties across the borough of Sefton, which stretches along the Merseyside coast from Southport to Bootle. OVH is a notfor-profit charitable organisation and provides affordable, good quality housing for people in housing need.

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Tai Ceredigion is a not for profit housing association set up to take over housing stock from Ceredigion County Council. The organisation is responsible for the management of 2,200 homes, 140 leasehold dwellings and employs nearly 100 staff. Its mission is to be “a first class bilingual landlord and employer that puts tenants first, provides quality homes and benefits communities and the local economy”.

Castle Computer Services was appointed to ensure that the new housing association would have a fully functional financial management system in place by the first day of operations. Timescales were extremely tight, with only 12 weeks to implement a core system that would enable recording and management of key financial information by the stock transfer date.

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Argyll Community Housing Association Ltd (ACHA) was formed on 21st November 2006 to take forward the transfer of approximately 5,300 local authority houses from Argyll & Bute Council to a not-for-profit housing association.

The Association is now responsible for the letting and maintenance of these properties, along with a programme of new build aimed at providing quality, affordable rented accommodation across approximately 7000 square kilometres of urban, rural and island communities. The Association is independently run by a Board of Management, supported by four Area Committees and is regulated by Communities Scotland.

As with any new organisation, it was essential for them to set-up efficient and effective systems to support their day-today business. ACHA required their own financial management system, which could be implemented in a short timescale and would meet all of their needs in terms of reporting to Communities Scotland and achieving efficiency through integration with their housing management system.

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Three Rivers Housing Association is one of the leading housing providers in the North East of England. Established in 1971, the organisation has built a reputation for developing good quality homes for people to rent at affordable rates. It is responsible for over three thousand properties in both rural and town areas to suit people with differing needs.

Three Rivers is a member of the Spirit Partnership, which consists of seven housing organisations in the North East and was formed to create improved efficiencies for the benefit of the region and its people.

The organisation recognised that it could make significant improvements in the management of its procurement system byupgrading the existing paper based invoice and purchase order process to an electronic ‘paper free’ system.

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Havebury received ownership of St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s 5,900 houses in June 2002. It is an independent not-for-profit charitable organisation with over 9000 customers.

As Havebury was being established it was essential that a financial management system was installed quickly and effectively.  After an extensive market evaluation using independent consultants and following a tender process, Castle Computer Services were appointed to deliver Infor FMS SunSystems financial management system with HR Cintra Payroll and Personnel.  The specification offered Havebury an exceptional integrated system.  The challenge was an implementation deadline of just twelve weeks before Havebury’s first cheque was due to be raised.

It was the unique combination of the software on offer and Castle’s PQIS approach to project implementation that convinced Havebury.  PQIS, or Professional Quality Implementation Services, is Castle’s core implementation offering, which uses standard proven steps to deliver the system with maximum efficiency and minimum disruption to the business, on time and to budget.

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Broxbourne Housing Association is a not for profit organisation that owns and manages some 3,450 homes for rent within and around the Borough of Broxbourne.  These homes include houses and flats for families, couples and single people as well as schemes for older and vulnerable people. The Association also manages some 600 leasehold flats.  Broxbourne Housing Association aims to provide good quality homes and services that help residents achieve their aspirations.

Broxbourne Housing Association came into being when Broxbourne Council transferred ownership of local authority housing to a new housing association.  This presented the challenge of creating a completely new IT and telecoms infrastructure that included a financial management system, PCs and printers, network cabling and a telephone system.  The whole infrastructure had to be implemented within a challenging 14 week timescale to achieve a critical go live deadline.

Following a comprehensive tendering process Castle were chosen based on their experience and expertise, combined with a proven ability to deliver complex projects on time and within budget.

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South Lakes Housing is the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) set up by South Lakeland District Council in April 2004 after 88% of council tenants voted emphatically for the organisation to be their new landlord.

South Lakes Housing delivers a full range of management and maintenance services for over 3,500 tenants and leaseholders and employs around 130 staff.  A recent Audit Commission inspection of the organisation awarded a two star rating with excellent prospects for improvement.

The organisation identified a need to introduce a fit for purpose, modern financial management system that would deliver ease of use and high levels of functionality and allow easy integration with the company’s core housing management systems.

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