Martin Gamble is a problem solver. From the moment he came on as CEO and Managing Director at Gamcorp, he’s been looking for ways to streamline its operations, project structure and approach to client relationships.
The business already had the holy grail many entrepreneurial types seek: a great team of people and a forty-year history of success.
But despite Martin doing all the “right things” — tweaking processes, hiring more staff and bringing on different types of clients — the business remained somewhat stagnant. He realized most of his team’s precious time was not billable and he needed help to address this common struggle. Fortunately, he was willing to receive it.
It’s a classic example of the Lao Tzu quote: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
In this case, the teacher wasn’t human; it was a smart software platform built just for businesses like Martin’s.
Gamcorp adopted Accelo in 2013, and the established business began to discover what more was possible with transformational tech.
Getting rid of the siloed systems and manual steps the business had used for years wasn’t an overnight job, but Martin noticed drastic improvements in his team’s hours and morale from the outset.
After only a few months of tracking employees’ time and managing their workload with Accelo, something incredible happened: Gamcorp’s billable utilization hit 85-90%. It was a remarkable change compared to its average of just 35% before adopting the platform.
Now, Martin thought, this was the business owners’ dream. But would it last?
To his delight — and credit, it did. Those utilization numbers remain in the same range today, nine years later!
The increase in efficiency boosted profits and allowed the firm to take on more intricate projects, including sustainability-focused builds and solar installations.
Even more critically, the firm’s Accelo deployment has been a source of truth during its annual quality assurance certification audit.
As things got more complex (and exciting) for Gamcorp, the same was happening in parallel at Accelo. We continued to release new features and improve the platform’s work management functionality.
While individual growth can make relationships complex, it’s also deeply fulfilling. This connection was no exception. Leaning on each other while growing in tandem, the two businesses were mutually supported.
Gamcorp utilized the ever-expanding options for automating tasks and customizing workflows. Accelo drew from this loyal client’s feedback to enhance the software with new features and product areas such as Reports.
Because he and his team have been listened to, Martin says he has felt like “part of the development journey.”
He also knows he’ll never be left alone to conquer roadblocks. Every time Martin’s team needs help aligning the platform with their needs, they call upon Accelo’s support team.
“I always get a response same-day,” he explains. “Most of the time, it’s within a couple of hours.”
Sometimes, they post in the community instead to garner ideas and troubleshoot.
Thus, focusing on symbiotic growth has made both partners capable of more than they would have been alone.
During no period of time over the past nine years was Martin more grateful for Accelo’s partnership than during 2020 and 2021. While Gamcorp weathered the pandemic and changes in the labor market well compared to many businesses, the firm still lost a number of employees.
Thanks to Accelo, Martin didn’t need to worry about replacing them. He found his team could complete the same amount of work with fewer people!
Gamcorp has been able to move forward with enthusiasm despite recent challenges. The business relies on Accelo to generate budget usage, timeliness and customer satisfaction reports, which encourage the team to set ambitious yet realistic goals.
Martin is inspired to continue making his team more efficient. He has big plans to use Accelo’s APIs to build additional workflows to help the team handle a higher volume of projects, including a process for accepting customer requests on Gamcorp’s website or via a Google AppSheet.
He’d also like to expand the firm’s application of automated emails from within Accelo to enhance marketing efforts and create a smoother, more communicative experience for customers between winning a sale and starting a job.
The endless opportunities to come up with fresh efficiencies using Accelo keep Martin committed to the versatile platform. But, he says, taking advantage of its full capabilities is only possible when you’re willing to consider that there might be a better way of doing something — and it might require breaking a habit or two.
He urges fellow users to take risks and explore the platform’s full potential.
“Don’t be afraid to try something and see if it works out,” he says. After all, it could save your team hours and dollars you may not know you’re wasting.
As is clear from Gamcorp’s steady growth and resilience, his confident approach works.
Want to follow in Martin’s footsteps and build a sturdy relationship with tech that supports your professional services firm? Witness the power of a partnership with Accelo: Schedule a demo.
