Wormald and Partners

Accountancy firm gains from an all-in-one cloud-based phone system with seamless Teams and CRM integration, enabling them to work from any location.

Wormald and Partners are an independent firm of chartered accountants based in Bristol, providing professional accounting services, probate administration and financial services to UK and overseas clients.

One of their key differentiators is that they’re a full training accountancy firm who have been in business for over 50 years, which reflects their commitment to developing excellent senior accountants of the future.

The Challenge

It was becoming increasingly apparent that their legacy telephone system was no longer fit for purpose, both operationally and financially.

During the pandemic, when the office was closed, the receptionist would pick up answerphone messages and relay them to employees, who would then have to communicate with clients via Skype calls or on their personal mobiles, which was a laborious, time-intensive and expensive way of talking to clients.

Wormald also had two separate internet connections from two different providers, landline calls from another provider and phone system support from another – all with separate billing, which was a drain on resources and very inconvenient.

The Solution

Wormald initially spoke to several suppliers, but Croft was the only one who showed them a variety of options, explaining the benefits of each one in-depth and demonstrating how the software actually worked.

Croft listened to Wormald’s requirements, then advised on the most appropriate solutions for them. Wormald were going to deploy either Microsoft Teams Business Voice or 8×8’s ‘X1’ business telephony with desktop app and softphones.

Wormald chose the 8×8 all-in-one cloud solution because of its simplicity, multiple features and cost-effectiveness. The 8×8 solution is able to offer everything Wormald could want from a phone system. By integrating voice, video, chat and MS Teams integration, Wormald now have a secure, reliable cloud communications platform, allowing their employees to be more connected and productive, no matter where they choose to work.

Croft deployed the cloud telephony within tight deadlines and Wormald were surprised at how smooth and trouble-free the deployment was! Croft had contingency plans if the number porting failed, which it didn’t, and they ported the numbers during office hours, ensuring that the phone lines were only down for about half an hour.

The 8×8 solution also has a competitively priced ‘lobby license’ feature, meaning that Wormald have the option to sub-let office space with a multi-tenancy license if they choose to. There are currently 35 users, with the potential to add 30 or so more phones for potential tenants, if necessary.

Croft delivered end user training to Wormald’s phone users, which was extremely helpful. One of Croft ’s trainers came into the office and sat with everyone to talk them through the new telephone system.

Wormald now has the best of both worlds: we have a resilient, secure cloud telephony service which delivers the feature-rich capabilities and home-working flexibility that we need, all competitively priced. The system will have paid for itself in a couple of years, offering great return on investment. Croft excelled themselves – they delivered the project on budget, on time and advised us wisely. We now have the right technology to cope with whatever comes our way. It is also so much easier and simpler having all of our telephony and cloud services from one expert, trusted supplier who are always helpful and responsive.

Sam Alker
IT Manager at Wormald and Partners

The Results

Croft replaced an old analogue business phone system with a secure, cloud managed service, and now provide dedicated support for Wormald; they just have to put in a call to Croft or raise a ticket and they sort out any problems.

As well as phones on desks, every user has access to the 8×8 app on their mobiles and their desktop, so they can work from anywhere, from any device.

Benefits include:

• Simple to use centralised phone system with all-in-one collaboration app for desktop and mobile devices with voice, video calls, chat and screen share
• Integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams and CRM system
• Click to dial functionality and phone calling capabilities, including allowing you to make and receive external calls without the requirement for a desk phone
• Existing phone numbers retained and intuitive online portal that lets you add users, adjust features and check call usage quickly and easily
• Employees can work from anywhere using collaborative tools
• Cheaper monthly billing with the cloud infrastructure and more reliable and secure