“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,” Bernie Simpson, Finance Controller, Windmill NI

With 21 restaurants in Northern Ireland (and six in the north of England), Windmill NI is the region’s biggest Burger King franchisee. We spoke to Financial Controller Bernie Simpson about managing payments across multiple premises and how Worldpay from FIS helps her keep payments simple and costs down.

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

Bernie switched to Worldpay in November 2020. She describes the reasons for changing payment services providers 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 got fed up dealing with them,” she says.

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 support

Bernie says the experience of working with Worldpay has been good right from the start. Importantly, support was available when it was 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.”