Camlins: Moving to a cloud-based system to support project-centric accounting

About

Camlins is a renowned landscape architecture practice delivering award-winning design and consultancy services across the UK and internationally. Their work spans urban regeneration, infrastructure, and public realm projects — each requiring precise planning, execution, and financial control.

As a project-driven organisation, Camlins places high importance on accurate financial tracking and project-level reporting. However, their previous accounting system, lacked the flexibility and integration needed to support this, especially alongside their new project management platform, Rapport.

Challenge

The growing pains of legacy software

Camlins previously relied on a desktop-based accounting system that struggled to support their evolving business needs. This outdated setup lacked the flexibility and integration required to support modern operations. With no seamless integration to their newly adopted project management platform, Rapport, there was a growing disconnect between financial and operational data, particularly in project tracking, where real-time insights were critical.

Rapport, designed to enhance reporting and project visibility, exposed the need for a modern, cloud-based accounting solution to ensure accurate data flow and informed decision-making. Camlins decided to adopt Xero as their preferred accounting platform. This move offered them real-time accounting, streamlined reconciliation, and the ability to bridge financial data with project-level reporting in Rapport.

To ensure a smooth transition and proper integration, Rapport referred Camlins to our team for expert Xero implementation and the establishment of a connected operational and financial ecosystem.

Solution

Migrating systems and modernisations of operational processes

We managed Camlins’ migration from their outdated, desktop-based system to Xero, while restructuring key elements of their finance processes. This involved:

• Full migration to Xero from the legacy system
• Cleaning and restructuring financial data
• Setting up project-tracking within Xero
• Migrating and configuring historical financial data, including purchase invoices
• Building customised reports tailored to Camlins’ needs with ongoing support

Throughout the process, we worked closely with Camlins to tailor the system to their operational requirements, with a focus on improving project visibility and implementing, efficient, streamlined bookkeeping.

The transition to Xero delivered several additional operational advantages:

• Automated Bank Feeds: Real-time transaction updates minimised manual data input, saving time and improving accuracy.
• Enhanced management accounts: Easy generation of detailed financial insights enabled better decision-making.
• Bulk data uploads: Faster onboarding of historical records and more efficient processing of recurring transactions ensured smoother operations.

Together, these enhancements created a scalable, agile finance function, allowing Camlins to align both project-level and financial reporting to meet management and trustee expectations.

Ongoing partnership

Beyond the initial implementation, we’ve continued to support Camlins through an ongoing service partnership. This includes system support, regular reviews, and assisting the finance team in adapting Xero as their business and project needs evolve.

The outcomes

With Xero fully integrated into their project workflows, Camlins now benefits from:

• A streamlined, cloud-based finance system: Enabling real-time access and improved efficiency.
• Enhanced visibility and project tracking: Delivering better oversight and control across all initiatives.
• Reduced manual effort and improved data accuracy: Minimising errors and freeing up valuable team time.
• A scalable solution for future growth: Built to support evolving business needs and expansion.

Camlins is now well- positioned to achieve seamless financial clarity and operational excellence, supporting the organisation’s growth and stakeholder expectations – now and into the future!