Latcham case study
Delivering a dynamic and socially responsible
billing service
Cheshire East Council
Project overview
Established in April 2009, Cheshire East Council is the 16th largest local authority in the UK, comprising Macclesfield, Congleton, Crewe, and Nantwich – a population of 386,700.
We have been working with Cheshire East Council, together with Cheshire West and Chester Councils since 2016, in the provision of an ePayroll solution. In 2020 we secured a further 7-year contract for annual and daily billing services. The contract is worth approximately £180,000 per year.
The brief
The contract includes the management of over 20 regularly issued documents, secure file transmission and strict adherence to
legislative timelines.
Fulfilment pack types
Annual billing
- Annual bills
- Annual benefits
- Notification
- Annual landlord
- Letters
- Non-domestic
- Annual bills
Daily billing
- Daily bills
- Daily benefits
- Notifications
- Daily landlord
- Letters and schedule reminders
- Finals summonses
Business rates
- Reminders
- Finals
- Summonses
- Non-domestic basic bills
Ad hoc
- Waste collection leaflets
- Waste collection envelopes
Annual billing
The contract necessitated the processing, proofing, and dispatching of approximately 160,000 annual bills and benefit letters within a mandatory
10-working day period. We engaged with the council at length, anticipating the scale of annual billing and using proving workflow solutions to ensure compliance with the specifications so that this target could be
comfortably achieved.
Contract management
The project continues to be resourced by a dedicated account management team who provide a structured approach towards service delivery and data management, ensuring all day-to-day contract requirements and agreed service levels are met, all queries are promptly addressed, and MI reports are regularly produced.
Regular reporting is essential to the integrity of the project, enabling accurate data reconciliation and compliance. We continue to hold regular review meetings to evaluate performance and to identify further challenges and solutions.
Social and Environmental Responsibility
Along with our engagement in social organisations and charities, we are actively committed to sustainable working practises. This was essential to Cheshire East’s evaluation criteria and a key factor in our selection. We are aligned with the council in our mission towards Carbon Neutral by 2030.
Sustainability
- Digital delivery of documentation
- Low-energy inkjet printing
- Local supply of materials
- Local postal sortation hub
- Electric vehicle charge points at Latcham premises
- Low energy lighting
- Cloud-based servers.
- Responsibly sourced paper products - Latcham only use FSC and/or PEFC certified materials
Social Value
- We were able to employ an apprentice to work with senior team members on this project as part of their training and development.
- Charitable donation was sent to Cheshire East Council’s chosen Cheshire-based charity.
- Every year, Latcham chooses to partner with a charity. In 2024, we are partnering with The MAZI project, an initiative local to Bristol that provides fresh, locally sourced, and sustainable food, along with food education and food-centric employment opportunities to marginalised and vulnerable 16–25-year-olds.
Benefits and Outcomes
- Latcham’s implementation of the daily billing was completed within a super-quick 9 weeks - far surpassing the anticipated 90-day timeline.
- Annual billing requirements for approximately 160,000 documents are met within the mandatory 10 working days.
- We have been able to provide significant cost savings for Cheshire East Council, including a 12% reduction in postage costs in 2020.
- Comprehensive management information reports continue to provide insights into data processing, postage savings and compliance.
We have been able to provide significant cost savings for Cheshire East Council, including a 12% reduction in postage costs in 2020
Latcham