RAM comes out top again on price, ease of use and flexibility

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), founded in the 17th Century and considered to be one of the top five botanic gardens in the world, has selected RAM’s best-of-breed Fixed Asset Management solution to meet its statutory accounting requirements.

RBGE is primarily a scientific research institute and, together with its regional gardens Benmore, Logan and Dawyck, nurtures over 16,000 species of living plants which represent 6% of all plants in cultivation. Famed for its exquisite horticultural displays, RBGE also has over 2½ million preserved specimens from around the world, the oldest dating back to 1697.

As a Non-Departmental Public Body, RBGE needs to meet stringent government accounting requirements, particularly in terms of indexation of assets. Until recently, it had been using spreadsheets to manage this, resulting in complex and time-consuming calculations.

“We knew that there were a number of specialist systems available,” said Jane Neville, RBGE's Chief Accountant. “We looked at four separate software products in some detail during the evaluation process. RAM was selected because it offered excellent value for money, came highly recommended by colleagues in other public organisations and satisfied all of the technical accounting requirements.”

RAM’s solution, which was implemented earlier this year, is being used to manage RBGE'S land and buildings, computer equipment, garden machinery, scientific equipment and motor vehicles. “Calculating the indexation is quicker and providing the necessary reports is easier using the RAM system,” said Neville. “Unlike before, the assets are being depreciated individually to provide a much more accurate set of figures.”

“My colleagues in the Facilities Management Department will be using RAM’s Asset Tracking system to further enhance our centralised pool of asset information,” added Neville. “They plan to utilise specially designed bar-code labels and hand-held data capture units to monitor asset location, usage and condition on a regular basis.”

“The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh joins one of the leading software forums in the public finance sector,” said Karen Conneely, RAM's marketing manager. “RAM’s investment in research and development, coupled with its experience gained across hundreds of government implementations, ensures that customers stay at the forefront of technology and always comply with current government reporting requirements.”

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