How The Homemover Specialist replaced 15 spreadsheets with one system.
Fifteen spreadsheets, a separate CRM, a separate finance system and payroll on its own platform — with one person moving data between all of them. We replaced the lot with a single system that runs from first enquiry through to payroll.
Month-end admin
~80% less
Meirion's estimate of the time now saved on end-of-month payroll and reporting.
Answering a client query
½ day → instant
Finding where a project stood used to mean half a day and around ten phone calls.
- Client
- The Homemover Specialist
- Industry
- Home moving and downsizing
- Team size
- 25 people
- What we built
- End-to-end operations platform
- Time to delivery
- 8 weeks
At a glance
The Homemover Specialist replaced fifteen spreadsheets, a separate CRM, separate finance system, and payroll on its own platform with one unified system that runs from first enquiry through to payroll. Month-end admin dropped by roughly 80%, answering a client query went from half a day to instant, and the business is set to double in twelve months and double again after that — on a platform they own outright, with no per-seat licence bill growing alongside it.
Real feedback from The Homemover Specialist
Hear Meirion and Christina on replacing fifteen spreadsheets with a system built around the way they actually work.
“I just can't tell you how fantastic the system is. The difference is enormous.”
Meirion Shaw & Christina Grieve
Owner and Operations Director · The Homemover Specialist
Taking the stress out of moving house.
The Homemover Specialist directs house moves from start to finish across London and the Home Counties — planning the move, running it on the day, and making sure it goes smoothly for people who would rather not do it alone.
Their speciality is downsizing, which means working out what people are going to take and what to do with all their excess items, then making sure everything else is rehomed as well as it possibly can be. It is as much an emotional job as a logistical one.
Founded by Meirion Shaw in 2012, the company has grown fast: from nine people to twenty-five in eighteen months, with Meirion running the front office and operations director Christina Grieve running the back.
2012
Founded
25
People in the team
Fifteen spreadsheets and no way to scale.
With no real systems in place, the business ran on spreadsheets — around fifteen of them, covering everything from project management to the financial side. The data they were collecting was the right data. It simply lived in fifteen different places, which meant shifting it from one sheet to the next, and the next.
Around the spreadsheets sat a separate CRM, a separate finance system, a bespoke tool they had built themselves to capture project information, and payroll on its own platform again. Christina spent a large part of every month moving information between them.
It worked at nine people and just about worked at fifteen. But the potential for error was significant, and it plainly would not scale — which mattered, because the company was on its way to twenty-five.
They looked at everything. Their own bespoke tool had serious limitations. Their CRM had big shortcomings. Christina shortlisted what could be bought off the shelf, and they landed on monday.com, which assured them it could do what they needed.
It was an eye-opening process, but it was also frustrating. When you first look at the Monday platform you think, that's easy, it's all in one page. But when you got into the nitty-gritty, it was more complicated and difficult to navigate than any of us anticipated.
Christina GrieveOperations Director, The Homemover SpecialistOne system, from first enquiry to payroll.
We started on monday.com with them, hit its ceiling honestly, and then made the call to rebuild the whole thing bespoke.
We built it on monday.com first
The engagement began on the platform they had chosen, and we built as far into it as it would go. The further we got, the more edge cases appeared, and every workaround meant bolting on another paid add-on. It was becoming cost-prohibitive and harder to use, not easier.
We recommended changing course
Rather than keep spending against a ceiling, we put the choice to them plainly: stay on the platform and accept the compromise, or rebuild it bespoke and get the whole thing.
One system, end to end
What replaced it runs the entire business — from the moment an enquiry arrives, through the project itself, to invoicing and payroll at the other end. Nothing is re-keyed between systems, because there is only one system.
Entered once, by the person who did it
The same figures used to be typed in twice and reconciled by hand, and they never added up. Now they go in once, at source.
Whole-business visibility
Anyone senior can see exactly where any project stands, immediately, without ringing round the team to find out.
Profit on every project
Completed-project profitability is now a number rather than an estimate, which makes planning, forecasting and budgeting possible.
Built for a non-technical team
The team would be the first to say they are not tech people. They took to it anyway, which is why the data actually gets entered.
They own it
The IP and the system belong to The Homemover Specialist rather than to a third-party platform — which also means the cost of doubling the team is not a doubled per-seat licence bill.
You said, we can get you to this sort of point if we stick with the existing platform, or if you're willing to take the risk with us, we think we can give you all the bells and whistles and make it exactly bespoke. We had complete confidence in you, which is why we were happy to do it.
Meirion ShawOwner, The Homemover SpecialistA business that can double.
The admin that came with growing has gone, the numbers can be trusted, and the plan is to double the team in twelve months and double it again after that.
Month-end admin
~80% less
Meirion's estimate of the time now saved on end-of-month payroll and reporting — work that used to be keyed in twice and reconciled by hand.
Spreadsheets replaced
15 → 1
Fifteen spreadsheets, a separate CRM, a separate finance system and payroll on its own platform — now one system, with nothing re-keyed between them.
Answering a client query
½ day → instant
Finding where a project stood used to mean half a day and around ten phone calls. Now anyone senior can answer on the spot, from data they trust.
Planned growth, same system
2x
The team is set to double in the next twelve months and double again after that — on a platform they own outright, with no per-seat licence bill growing alongside it.
“It feels like I'm sitting in a cockpit now, because I'm in and out of every single bit of the business. It's so specific to our business, which is a really specific business, that it's a treat to use every day.”
Frequently asked questions
- How long did The Homemover Specialist's software take to build?
- The engagement began on monday.com, which they had chosen. We built as far into it as it would go, but the further we got, the more edge cases appeared, and every workaround meant bolting on another paid add-on. Rather than keep spending against a ceiling, we put the choice to them plainly — stay on the platform and accept the compromise, or rebuild it bespoke and get the whole thing. The bespoke system was live eight weeks after we started building it.
- Why did Monday.com stop working?
- When you first look at the Monday platform, it seems easy and all in one place. But when you get into the nitty-gritty, it was more complicated and difficult to navigate than anticipated. As we built further, edge cases kept appearing, and every workaround required another paid add-on. It was becoming cost-prohibitive and harder to use, not easier. It simply could not handle the end-to-end complexity of running a home moving business from first enquiry to payroll.
- What does the custom system do?
- It runs the entire business end to end — from the moment an enquiry arrives, through the project itself, to invoicing and payroll at the other end. Nothing is re-keyed between systems, because there is only one system. The same figures used to be typed in twice and reconciled by hand, and they never added up. Now they go in once, at source. Anyone senior can see exactly where any project stands immediately, without ringing round the team to find out. Completed-project profitability is now a number rather than an estimate, which makes planning, forecasting and budgeting possible.
- Who owns the software?
- The Homemover Specialist owns the platform outright. The IP and the system belong to them rather than to a third-party platform. That also means the cost of doubling the team is not a doubled per-seat licence bill. As the team is set to double in the next twelve months and double again after that, they'll do it on a platform they own, with no per-seat costs climbing alongside it.
- What results has the software delivered?
- Month-end admin dropped by roughly 80% — work that used to be keyed in twice and reconciled by hand. Fifteen spreadsheets, a separate CRM, a separate finance system and payroll on its own platform are now one system, with nothing re-keyed between them. Finding where a project stood used to mean half a day and around ten phone calls. Now anyone senior can answer on the spot, from data they trust. The business is set to double in twelve months and double again after that, on a system that scales with them.
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