Project Overview
Yorkshire Cancer Research, the largest independent regional cancer charity in England, had seen rapid growth in staff, funding and operations and managing over 90,000 donations annually with income exceeding £15 million. Existing systems could no longer support the increased data volumes, reporting requirements or the flexible working demanded by a growing organisation.
Following a detailed procurement process, Yorkshire Cancer Research selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, implemented with Transparity’s support. Enhanced with Jet Reports and Power BI, the platform now supports end-to-end financial processes in a single system, with real-time reporting, mobile approvals and a clear roadmap for future CRM and retail integration.
The Challenge
Rapid growth in staff, funding and operations placed increasing demands on existing systems. The organisation needed a solution that could support higher data volumes, provide better reporting, and enable remote working, particularly following the pandemic.
There was also a requirement to support future expansion, including a growing network of retail stores and increased operational complexity.
“As well as needing to upgrade our IT capabilities to satisfy reporting demand and cope with increased data volumes, we recognised it was time to look at a solution that would grow and develop with us in the future.” — Neil Richardson, Head of Finance, Yorkshire Cancer Research
The Solution
Following a detailed procurement process, Yorkshire Cancer Research selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, implemented with support from Transparity.
The platform now supports end-to-end financial processes, including purchase requests, approvals, invoice processing, bank reconciliation and management accounts, all within a single system.
Jet Reports and Power BI enhance reporting capabilities, providing real-time financial insights and enabling self-service reporting for budget holders. Users can easily customise reports and generate up-to-date analysis as needed.
The implementation followed a structured approach, with thorough testing before go-live. As a result, the transition was smooth, with minimal issues and immediate usability from day one.
Future plans include integrating CRM, retail systems and expense management into the platform to create a fully connected business environment.
The Outcome
End-to-end processes in one system
All financial data and processes are managed within a single platform, improving efficiency and reducing complexity.
Real-time financial insight
Management can access up-to-date reporting on income, expenditure and return on investment for campaigns and retail operations.
Flexible reporting
Users can easily customise reports to gain deeper insights and respond to changing business needs.
Seamless implementation
Legacy systems were replaced on schedule, delivering a stable and effective solution from the outset.
“Transparity took the time to understand our requirements and helped us to build a solution design that worked for us from the outset. We felt Transparity was invested in our success. We replaced our legacy systems on the planned date and now have a robust solution that will support us into the future.” – Yorkshire Cancer Research
