parasol IT

[basshead]

No Problem with Parasol

I've used Parasol for almost 2 years now and really rate them. They were up front with the problems and responded when I emailed about things not showing up in the new system. They have never delayed any of my payments and have always helped chasing agencies/clients up when they are slow paying for some reason. They have been consistently helpful and good value for money in all the time I've been with them.

Contractors should be prepared for delayed payments in any event, its not a salary. I would still thoroughly recommend Parasol despite the current problems with the cutover.

[cojak]

Attention Parasol Service & Update

*rolls up sleeves, folds arms, taps toe...*

You obviously keep an eye on these forums, and have probably been pleased at the good references you have been given here.

Although I'm a Ltd, I have passed on other's good experiences of you to friends in need of a decent brolly.

However all the goodwill on this site has been poured down the drain because of this single thread. I will hold off further references until I hear that all is well in Parasol IT Land.

Unfortunately people have short memories of your good service when they're looking at bills to pay and empty bank accounts.

It's tough, but grace and communication will help all parties in this....

[dmini]

Your own Ltd. I can't believe having read all this there is anyone left who thinks trusting someone else with your money is the way to go.

Unfortunately, I am tied to restricted office based hours & my home town during term time, for family reasons. This makes contracting jobs very hard to come by - enough that I cannot justify going limited at the moment. I can, and have ended up stuffing envelopes, stacking shelves etc for extended periods.
Limited is definitely the way forward, I agree, but until I have more flexibility with my hours & locations, the cost doesn't justify it.

[Andy D]

Currently with Parasol

I'm currently with Parasol and haven't got any problems with them - mind you the true way to judge a company is how they handle things when they go wrong...

When the current contract ends I'll probably go ltd though as an umbrella doesn't give me the flexibility I'm after...

[Spacecadet]

Another update from them today. Basically explaniig whats happened. At least they've admintted cocking up.

A Detailed Update

Following on from my previous communications, I thought it was appropriate to provide a more detailed explanation of recent events and our plans.

This email will cover off the following points:

Why we changed systems
Why we chose this time of year
What we are doing to clear the backlog
What you can expect to receive both in terms of ongoing service and compensation
Future benefits

Why?

Changing a whole system is never an easy decision to make and replacing systems we had used for nearly six years was no different. The systems we had developed provided a basic time, billing and payroll solution but lacked features needed in the future. The process of managing contractors has become increasingly detailed, from ID requirements, Employment Agencies Act, VAT receipt issues, multiple statutory payment requirements and more recently, holiday pay changes. Add in the need to be able to support Euros, more flexible product development and a new system was inevitable.

Why April?

Migrating 6000 contractors, 2000 Agency records and all of the balances associated with that was never going to be a simple task. Migrating a payroll at tax year end is always simpler than mid year, our financial year end also falls at the same time so in theory this was the only realistic time to migrate.

We went through a rigorous selection process, design and development phase, system testing, user testing, pre production trials and parallel running. All of this was completed without major issues being outstanding and the system went live 3rd April 2006.

What followed was a basic slow down in our service delivery. Previously we had a very highly tailored payment matching facility, the new system provided way more capacity and robustness but we could not match payments as quickly as before. This was a known factor before going live but we were confident we could cope with the volumes. What was an issue was the added complication of the shorter Easter period and a significant increase in payment volumes over the norm (and in this context this means a normal Easter).

So if you had been used to payments being matched and paid in the same day (the standard we always achieved) the process become slower. This created an amount of emails and phone calls and a catch 22 situation. The phone system then started cutting people off and this further increased the situation and generated more emails.

We then took the decision to take the phone system down for a day and a half to clear the backlog of emails and to patch in some extra phone lines. Extra staff was brought in and we increased the working day considerably.

I should at this point once again point out that we have a dedicated set of individuals who genuinely want to match and pay everyone as fast as possible. Holding onto funds does not serve us or anyone well (and we are not like other companies who make significant income from holding onto “holiday pay” or corporation tax).

What are you doing about it?

We are working very hard to clear the backlog and return service to normal standards. We have increased staff in Consultant Support, Payment Matching and are improving the software features. I have also been asked why we did not roll back to the old system. The roll back plan has indeed got this as the main solution but the issues we faced are not fundamental failures and to roll back would have meant no payments at all being processed for a period of at least one week, not a simple solution.

We are also using CHAPS payments to reduce payment delays (but this has inherent deadline issues), Advances and being as flexible as we realistically can be.

Process improvements are being made all of the time and we also working hard with our Agency colleagues to sort out any long term backlog issues.

I can categorically guarantee you that no funds have been “lost”, we have plenty of hard work to do to restore your faith and we are 100% committed to doing that.

What to expect

A return to the “normal” service standards and improvements beyond that to make your life easier. The new system would at the face of it not provide many customer facing benefits. This is true in the sense of today but the new system provides a more flexible solution to really start improving the contractor experience. Very soon you will be able to request an automatic reissue of your invoices and payslips. This will be followed by the ability to lodge online CHAPS requests, lock changes and modify timesheets. Finally we will improve the whole look and feel and provide the much needed overhaul of the expense claim system.

More importantly of course is ensuring we get you paid on time and resolve any outstanding issues. I also recognise that we will have let down some people and the buck does indeed stop here. In recognition of this fact I have authorised a full service fee rebate for ALL Parasol contractors regardless of what we have already done.


Summary

Could we have done this better? Certainly, hindsight is a wonderful thing and perhaps improved anticipation of the payment volumes would have helped the situation. I make no excuses for the service levels slipping and we are working very hard to restore to the previous levels.

Extra phone lines are on order, extra staff is in place but inevitably the benefits of these take some time to come through. We have a great team of people who really do want to get you paid and we all share your frustrations. Everyone at Parasol is rightly proud of our service ethos and we had no intention of creating a less than perfect situation for anyone.

I promise that we will do all we possibly can to solve any outstanding issues and that we will return to our normal “great” service as soon as we possibly can.

I would finally take this opportunity to remind you that next week is once again a short week and that bank payments will be elongated by one day. There is also a bank holiday at the end of May but we will remind you of this fact nearer the time.

Thank you for taking time to read this and whilst it may not answer your specific query, please be reassured that we do care and are working very hard to get you paid on time.



Regards,

[BillHicksRIP]

I've always recommended Parasol to anyone asking as I've never had a problem with them. This current debacle has taken the shine off a bit, but I have to say, the emails I've had from them (about 3 now) have explained the problems, and they've held their hands up to it. I'm not feeling the pain as much as some of their other customers as I've got a bit of cash to tide me over, but I didn't get paid last week, and if I don't get paid this week, I'll be a bit pissed off. I'd still recommend them from personal experience, as the only other brolly I've used was Prosperity4, and I wouldn't wish that shower on my worst enemy.

[dmini]

I used Parasol when I had to (PSL), use ContractorUmbrella the rest of the time - CU have been very good, very helpful. Their people are very knowledgeable & they answer the phones quickly EVEN OUTSIDE the advertised times!!
Now Parasol is a separate issue - but I emailed back the MD last night on the back of their last "We have really really really messed things up" email- and got a reply from him assuring me he will investigate my problems personally! I shall see what happens now!

[cojak]

Keep us posted, dmini...

[dmini]

Well, I have had correspondance with Rob Crossland - their MD, and he has agreed that I was right, and the NI contributions I paid were up the creek, they will be recalculated & refunded at some point in the future - as yet undetermined.

I didn't get an apology for being previously told they were right & I was wrong, that I didn't understand what I was talking about, or for my emails being ignored though, previously, or the rudeness I had experienced off some of their staff.

However on the bright side my issues are now on the way to being resolved within 1 working day - just wait until I sort out how & when they pay me.

Suggestions to other people who desparately need a solution - either send to the customer service email address and mark in the header - "for the attention of Rob Crossland". That worked for me. Alternatively - the email address he uses is a standard format - firstname.lastname - I leave the rest to your imagination.
Good luck to all the others with problems with Parasol

[Xtrain]

Well, I have had correspondance with Rob Crossland - their MD, and he has agreed that I was right, and the NI contributions I paid were up the creek, they will be recalculated & refunded at some point in the future - as yet undetermined.

I wonder if the other 5999 payrolls have been calculated incorrectly as well and the punters concerned have just not checked the figs like you dmini!

Sounds to me like they skimped on the testing phase to get it in for the new financial year. Some people never learn.