A 10-Year Legacy of Growth: How Excellium Delivered 100% Audit Transparency and Multi-Country Visibility for Ideas House

Summary 

Discover how Excellium’s strategic ERP implementation enabled Ideas House Marketing Communications Limited to move beyond the manual limitations of Sage 50 (Peachtree). By achieving 100% audit integrity and a 75% faster financial close, Excellium has empowered Ideas House to maintain seamless multi-currency management across its Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa operations. 

Executive Summary 

As a premier experiential marketing agency, Ideas House outgrew its legacy Peachtree system, which lacked multi-currency capabilities and allowed unmonitored edits to financial records. By partnering with Excellium to upgrade through Sage 100 to Sage 200 Evolution, the agency eliminated manual workarounds for depreciation and Withholding Tax (WHT). The result is a high-integrity financial system where errors are flagged by line managers, postings are completed within a few days, and regional data is unified on a single summary page for executive review. 

Introduction 

For a high-growth agency, financial visibility is the difference between scaling successfully and losing control of operations. Ideas House, a leader in the West African marketing landscape, faced significant manual bottlenecks while using Sage 50 (Peachtree). By partnering with Excellium to transition to Sage 200 Evolution, they transformed their finance department into a streamlined, remote-ready strategic asset—marking the beginning of a partnership that celebrates its 10th anniversary next year. 

The Business: Ideas House Marketing Communications Limited 

• Heritage: Founded in 2009, Ideas House is a specialized brand communications agency with over 16 years of market leadership. 

• A Decade of Partnership: Since 2016, Excellium has served as the agency’s primary technology partner, supporting its evolution from a local firm to a regional powerhouse. 

• Core Services: Focused on brand consulting and experiential activations for blue-chip clients like MTN, Nestle, and Coca-Cola etc. 

• Regional Reach: Operates with a dual footprint in Nigeria and Ghana. 

The Challenge: The Limitations of Sage 50 (Peachtree) 

While Peachtree served the agency in its early years, its limitations became a barrier to growth: 

• No Multi-Currency: Peachtree lacked the ability to manage Naira, Dollar, and Cedi transactions seamlessly on a single platform. 

• Fragmented Receivables: Users had to switch between multiple screens to allocate Withholding Tax (WHT), invoices, and amounts received. 

• Audit Risks: Errors could be edited or deleted without a trace, making it impossible for managers to notice discrepancies. 

• Manual Vendor Posting: Postings required navigating through Payable accounts manually, a slow and error-prone process. 

The Solution: Moving to Sage 200 Evolution 

Excellium facilitated a migration path that replaced manual effort with system intelligence: 

1. Multi-Currency Engine: Seamlessly navigate between Naira, Dollars, and Cedis on a single platform. 

1. Bank Batch Automation: Replaced manual entry with bulk uploads. Users can now select vendors immediately within the batch. 

1. Unified Receivables: A single-page view allows the team to allocate WHT, invoices, and payments simultaneously, saving hours of navigation. 

1. “No-Delete” Audit Policy: In Sage 200, transactions cannot be deleted. Errors must be reversed via an official journal, creating a permanent audit trail. 

Implementation & Results: Quantitative Impact 

The implementation process was rated 9/10 for speed and efficiency. 

• Posting Time Slashed: Using the Bank Batch module, monthly postings are now completed in just 3 to 4 days via bulk upload. 

• 100% Management Visibility: Line managers are automatically alerted to errors. Adjustments can only be made after official manager approval. 

• Robust Reporting: Sage provides a consolidated summary page of all work, giving a real-time view of stability, Balance Sheets, and Cash Flow. 

• Regional Connectivity: The system enabled the Head of Internal Control to manage Ghana’s accounts remotely with full functionality. 

What Ideas House Says About Excellium 

“In Peachtree, when you make an error, you can go back and edit… nobody will notice. In Sage 200, there is a step to follow. When you make an error, you need to alert your line manager to give approval. This has helped our internal controls significantly.”