News

Allies® is delighted to congratulate its Managing Director, Emma Pinchen, on her recent wedding in November. She becomes Emma Gooderham with immediate effect.

Sales Manager Chris Hamlin from Allies Computing recently represented the Hung Sing Martial Arts School in Norwich, along with a team of 7 martial artists led by Sifu Niel Willcott in the World Plum Blossom Choy Li Fut and Tai Chi championships in San Francisco on the 13th September 2008. A keen Choy Li Fut Kung Fu practitioner, Chris competed in 5 disciplines and succeeded in being awarded a Silver and a Bronze medal.

This was the first time that the U.K. has been represented at this annual tournament and overall they were awarded 14 medals in a variety of different disciplines. Chris had this to say about the event: "It was a brilliant experience and a great result for the team overall. It's a testament to the fantastic teaching we receive and the hard work put in by everyone in the team. I'm looking forward to trying to better this result next time!."

Managing Director of Allies Computing, Emma Pinchen said "We are proud of Chris' achievements in the Championships and he is a great asset to the Allies Team. We take an interest in our staff's extra-curricular activities as we realise that people do not just live to work and that their hobbies shape them into the people they are."

A formal consultation on the Royal Mail's 2009 PAF® licence has now started and will run until the 24th December 2008. To find out more about how to get your comments across and for information on workshops regarding the licence changes, please visit Royal Mail's website.

We will also continue to be involved with this consultation as both a PAF® reseller and also with our work on the PAF® advisory board. We have always and will continue to support the use of per-click licencing, improved options at entry level and making the licence fair, simple and clear. If you'd like to pass us your comments or feedback about the licence we would be happy to hear from you. You can reach us on 01508 494488 or by .

Allies Computing listens carefully to feedback from customers about the PAF® data licence and takes the main issues forward at every opportunity with Royal Mail. The issues we feel strongly about are:

• Allowing Per Click licences for internal use.
• Better multi application and multi company licencing.
• Promoting wider use.
• Improving options at entry level.
• Making the licence fair, simple and clear.

We are responding at every opportunity to encourage changes to the PAF® licence through:

• Meetings with the Royal Mail Address Management Unit.
• Consultation processes.
• Providing supporting evidence.
• Membership of the PAF® Advisory Board www.pafboard.org.uk who meet bi-monthly.

Royal Mail's consultation process on the 2009 PAF® licence is due to open on 4th November 2008. To keep updated, you can refer to the Advisory Board's website linked above and we will update our website with any confirmed news as soon as we have any.

At Allies Computing, we value our customers' thoughts and feedback, so conducting a customer questionnaire just made sense to us to see what we are doing right and where we can improve.

We are so happy with the results we wanted to share them with you during National Customer Service week to show what we have achieved so far:

• When asked whether a customer would recommend Allies Computing to a colleague, 100% of those who responded said 'yes', they would.
• 100% of PostCoder for Sage 50 Accounts customers rated the pre-sales advice from staff as excellent.
• 100% of API Professional & PostCoder for Sage 50 Accounts customers felt that the supporting product documentation was excellent for these products.
• 100% of PostCoder Pro/Lite/Local, PostCoder for Sage 50 Accounts and PostCoder API Professional customers felt the products were excellent for meeting their needs.
• 92% of PostCoder Pro/Lite/Local customers felt that the pricing and licensing information provided by staff was excellent.
• 91% of customers who replied said that Allies staff rated 'Excellent' at being friendly, and the remaining 9% rated us "above average".
• 89% of our customers ranked speed of response 'Excellent'.

Other feedback included:

"Excellent customer service"

"Very happy with their service"

"We have found Allies and the way the Software works both straightforward and easy to work with. We like the flexibility of the system"

"Keep up the good work"

"We have received excellent support from Allies Computing, we will continue to use them in the future"

"I am in contact with Allies to order & make payments I am very satisfied with the ease of payment and use of website for this purpose"

All responses were entirely anonymous and will help us work towards improving our products and services further. Allies Computing would like to extend their thanks to all who took the time to respond as this helps us to continue our commitment to our customers.

Allies Computing, one of the UK's leading suppliers in address management software, will be exhibiting at this year's E-Commerce Expo at Olympia, London, showcasing products and demonstrating ways in which businesses can expect to increase online sales by up to 25 per cent.

On Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th October, Allies computing will occupy stand 140 at the exhibition and will be giving live demonstrations of their address management software. With 21 years of experience in the field, Allies Computing has perfected the PostCoder® range of products, which contain details of 28 million UK addresses and are subscribed to by 1,700 businesses throughout the country.

Allies Computing's address management software can reduce typing time by up to 80 per cent, increasing efficiency and helping to improve professional image through accurate data. Improved accuracy of address data collected will ensure goods reach your customers first time, reducing both time and costs associated with re-posting undelivered items. Adding address look-up leads to enhanced online ordering which not only makes it easier and more pleasant for customers to purchase but can increase online sales by up to 25 per cent.

Friendly, knowledgeable members of the Allies team will be available during the event to answer questions and demonstrate the impact the products can make for businesses big or small. There will also be information on the products available to take away with you as well as a chance to win a £500 to a charity of their choice in a prize draw taking place at the stand on the final day of the exhibition.

September 2008 - A team from Norfolk-based address management company Allies Computing has completed a 15-mile charity bike ride, raising £1000 for the East Anglia Children's Hospice in Quidenham.

Sponsorship from friends and family of the 10 cyclists who took part helped raise the sum, along with two collection boxes filled by customers of the Bramerton Woods End pub, where the cycle ride started and drew to a close, on 31st August. The two hour bike ride took participants through South Norfolk villages including Rockland St Mary, Thurton, Framingham Earl, Kirby Bedon and Framingham Pigot, where the company is based. Some of the more adventurous cyclists even chose to complete the route twice!

Emma Pinchen, Managing Director of Allies Computing, took part in the cycle ride: "We are a very active company with over 30 per cent of our staff cycling to work on a daily basis, which is why we thought that a sponsored cycle ride was an excellent opportunity to raise money for a good cause. The staff collectively chose to raise funds for the Quidenham Children's Hospice as it does fantastic work to support terminally ill children and their families in the local area. Two hours on a bike, as well as few achy legs, was the least we could do to show our support!"

The Allies Computing team would like to send a special thank you to customers of the Bramerton Woods End pub for their generous contributions.

Allies® would like to extend a very big thank you to everyone who recently took part in our Customer Questionnaire.

We are pleased to announce that the charity who was picked at random to receive £500 is The British Heart Foundation.

A third party agency was asked to send out the questionnaire on our behalf, to enable us to gather honest feedback on our products and services and to use the information to make positive changes.

We have always made a special effort to listen and act upon feedback, but the questionnaire has allowed us to assess the specific areas we are trying to excel in. Over the years, feedback has had plenty of benefits for our customers including:

• Release of new products
• Extra features for existing products
• Multiple product and service enhancements
• Updating our website
• Amending our processes

If you didn't take part in the survey but would like to submit any feedback to us, you can do so by completing our feedback form. We'd love to hear what you think.

Results of the Customer Questionnaire will be posted on the website soon so watch this space!

Allies Computing will be exhibiting at the TFM&A exhibition for the 4th year running. With a fantastic free prize draw for a £100 voucher to spend on an experience day of your choice, live demonstrations of their PostCoder® addressing software, product discount vouchers and details from their helpful, friendly team, you'd be crazy not to visit Stand C18 and see what they're up to!

With over 20 years experience in the Address Management industry, Allies Computing are a key provider of address data in the UK. Customer service and technical support are at the top of the agenda for their easy to use products. Many customers have already benefited from using address lookup software in their businesses. So what's stopping you? Why not give it a go too by registering for a free trial? You'll wonder how your business coped without it!

TFM&A, at Earls Court, London on 12th and 13th February 2008, is the UK's only dedicated exhibition for digital, data and CRM solutions for marketing professionals, giving attendees the chance to see first hand how PostCoder® address management software can benefit their businesses.

"This is an excellent chance for us to show Marketing and IT professionals how easy address lookup can be. And it's not as expensive as you might think." Emma Pinchen, Managing Director, Allies Computing Ltd

PostCoder® software:

• Reduces keystrokes by up to 80%, saving your staff and customers time
• Makes sure only postally correct addresses are added to your database
• Reduces the costs of re-sending undelivered mail/goods
• Ultimately improves your corporate image

For more information on PostCoder® and for a free trial please visit www.postcoder.com/pm/pr