Getting started
How we get you started, without stopping the business
Changing systems sounds like months of disruption. It does not have to be. We set Vali up and load your data for you, train your people, and switch on one area at a time while your old system keeps running. You decide when to let it go.
Seven steps, and who does what
Each step says what we do and what we need from you. How long each step takes depends on your business; this is what usually happens.
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1
A first conversation
Usually one meeting, on site or by video
What we do
- Learn how a quote becomes an order, a job, a delivery and an invoice in your business today
- Agree which area to start with, and what can wait
What you do
- Walk us through how you work now
- Show us the spreadsheets, reports or old system you use
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2
We set up your company
Done for you before your first training session
What we do
- Create your Vali company from a ready-made business template, with the chart of accounts and user roles in place
- Switch on the areas you are starting with
- Add your people, each seeing only what their job needs
What you do
- Give us a list of who will use Vali and what each person does
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3
We load your data
Usually the longest step. It depends on how tidy your current lists are
What we do
- Load your customers, suppliers, products and stock from your spreadsheets or old system
- Capture what each customer owes you and what you owe each supplier
- Tell you what we found that needs cleaning up
What you do
- Send us your lists and opening figures, or give us access to the old system
- Check what we loaded and tell us what is wrong
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4
Training your people
Short sessions per area, on your own data
What we do
- Train the people who will use each area, on your own customers and products, not a demo
- Leave each person knowing the few screens their job needs
What you do
- Free up the right people for an hour or two at a time
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5
Switch on one area at a time
At your pace, one area settled before the next
What we do
- Start with quotes and invoicing, which most businesses find the easiest win
- Then job cards and production, then stock, purchasing and the rest
- Watch closely for the first weeks of each area and fix anything that gets in the way
What you do
- Use Vali for that area every day
- Tell us what feels slow or unclear
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6
Run alongside your old system
Typically until at least one month-end agrees
What we do
- Help you compare the month-end figures from both systems
- Find and fix any difference
What you do
- Keep the old system running for this period
- Decide when you are confident enough to stop it
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7
Go live, and we stay
From then on
What we do
- Help you close the old system for good
- Support you by email and through the Help and Feedback button inside Vali, from the people who build it
- Keep adding to Vali: new modules come at no extra cost
What you do
- Email us or use Help and Feedback inside Vali when something is not right. Every request is written down and followed through, which is why support is not by phone
Risks, and how each is handled
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The internet goes down
Vali runs online, so work you have saved is never lost, but you need a connection to carry on. We recommend a low-cost LTE router as a backup line, and people can keep working from a phone on mobile data.
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Losing your data
Vali is backed up several times a day, with an encrypted copy kept off-site every night. Your company can be restored on its own, without touching anyone else.
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Your other systems
Vali has its own secure connection for other software, such as a time clock, an online shop or another business system. Tell us what you use and we will quote the link.
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People seeing too much
Each person gets a role and sees only what their job needs. The stores clerk does not see the bank, and the workshop does not see the books.
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Mistakes in the books
Closed months are locked, wrong entries are reversed rather than deleted, and health checks find problems before your accountant does.
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Being locked in
Vali is monthly with no contract, and you can export your lists to a spreadsheet at any time. Your data stays yours.
Talk to us about your start
Book a guided demo on a system set up for your industry. We will walk you through these steps for your business and answer your questions.
Book a guided demo