Windmill NI

Payments solutions from Worldpay help cut costs for the largest Burger King franchisee in Northern Ireland

Even with 31 years under her belt, Bernie Simpson says no two days are ever quite the same for her at Windmill NI ─ the region’s biggest Burger King franchisee with 21 restaurants in Northern Ireland, and another six in the north of England.

As financial controller of a company with a £15 million turnover, she certainly has a lot on her plate ─ not just financial management, but everything from premises leases to the employment contracts of the company’s staff of 250.

When it comes to payments services, Bernie looks for good value and simplicity. “I want to feel as though I’m running one business, and not 27,” she says. “And, I want to deal with a provider who doesn’t, well, make a meal of things.”

Bernie switched to Worldpay in November 2020. She describes the reasons for changing from her previous payments provider as down to “lots of little things that started to add up.” There had been reconciliation problems, and her local support was taken away. “I just got fed up dealing with them,” she admits.

She looked at several alternatives and concluded that “Worldpay was the most impressive. Their pricing was competitive and, crucially, they had someone locally on the ground that I could speak to if I needed to.”

Managing the account

One of the ways that Worldpay helps her feel she’s managing one company and not dozens is the Worldpay Dashboard. Using this portal to log in to the Windmill NI account allows Bernie to easily manage things. “It’s a really good management tool,” she says. “We can check on daily card takings for each restaurant and keep track of what’s coming in and when. It’s very user-friendly.”

The dashboard also helps the company keep its accounts paperless. “We can download the invoices every month and send them electronically to the accounting portal where they’re stored,” she explains.

It’s also useful for troubleshooting. “It makes it very easy to track down individual transactions in the event of a query,” she adds.

Great service

Bernie says the experience of working with Worldpay has been good right from the start. Importantly, service and support are available when needed.

“It makes a big difference to be able to have a meaningful working relationship with an individual from Worldpay who’s local and who’s in our corner,” she underscores.

Bernie singles out her regular Worldpay contact for particular praise. “Whatever I’ve thrown at her, she’s resolved it and in a timely manner,” she says. “I receive great support.”

Into the future

So, what’s next for Windmill NI? “We’re talking to Worldpay about using their Worldpay Total solution,” Bernie concludes.

At a glance

Objective

Effectively manage payments across multiple locations, keep things simple and reduce costs.

Worldpay solutions

Enterprise Payments Capabilities; Worldpay Dashboard

Impact

With Worldpay as their payments partner, Windmill NI can speak directly with a local contact, receives timely responses to any queries they may have and has an effective management platform that provides a complete, real-time view of their business and payments activity that lets them view each stage of the payment process ─ from transactions to settlement to invoicing.

“I receive great support.”

Bernie Simpson, Financial Controller, Windmill NI

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