Hinchliffe Hydraulics

Customer Overview: Hinchliffe Hydraulics – Solving Complex Engineering Challenges Since 1988

Founded in 1988, Hinchliffe Hydraulics is a family-owned engineering business specialising in hydraulic systems, repairs and bespoke problem-solving for customers across the UK.

From replacing hydraulic hoses for local agricultural businesses to delivering large-scale engineering projects for major industrial organisations such as British Steel, the company supports customers operating in some of the country's most demanding environments.

Founded by Dare Hinchliffe and Chris Hinchliffe, the business remains family owned, with both founders continuing as company owners following their retirement from the day-to-day running of the business.

Today, the company is led operationally by Managing Director Shane Thackeray, while Stewart Hinchliffe leads the finance function. Together, they are focused on building a modern technology platform that will support the business's continued growth, improve operational efficiency and unlock greater use of automation, reporting and AI in the years ahead.

With thousands of stock items to manage, engineers working across a wide variety of customer projects and ambitions to make greater use of automation, reporting and AI, the business needed a finance and operations platform capable of supporting the next stage of its evolution.

The Challenge: Building Better Processes for a Growing Business

As the business continued to grow, Hinchliffe Hydraulics reassessed its finance systems to ensure they could support its evolving operational and reporting requirements. The business needed a platform capable of delivering greater flexibility, automation and visibility across its operations.

One of the biggest priorities was improving stock management. Like many engineering businesses, Hinchliffe Hydraulics manages thousands of stocked components, making accurate inventory critical to day-to-day operations. Before the migration, significant work was required to rationalise stock records and ensure the new system would begin with accurate, reliable data.

At the same time, many everyday finance processes remained unnecessarily manual. Information was difficult to export, recurring transactions required repetitive data entry, and supporting documentation wasn't consistently linked throughout the purchasing process. This created additional administration and made it harder to maintain a complete audit trail for customers and suppliers alike.

For Stewart and the wider leadership team, choosing the next system wasn't simply about replacing software—it was about investing in a platform that could support the business for years to come.

"I'd rather invest in the right system once and know it's going to support the business for the long term."

– Stewart Hinchliffe, Finance Director

The Solution: A Microsoft Platform Built Around the Business

Hinchliffe Hydraulics partnered with The HBP Group team to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Following a detailed discovery process, The HBP Group invested time understanding how the business operated, mapping existing processes before configuring Business Central to reflect the company's day-to-day workflows.

Rather than simply migrating data, the implementation focused on creating a platform that would simplify administration today while providing the flexibility to grow tomorrow.

A Thorough Discovery Process

Before configuration began, The HBP Group worked closely with the team to understand every aspect of the business, from purchasing and stock management through to finance and operational processes.

This ensured the solution reflected how Hinchliffe Hydraulics actually worked, rather than forcing the business to adapt to off-the-shelf software.

Significant preparation also went into cleansing and validating thousands of stock records ahead of the migration. This helped ensure Business Central went live with accurate, reliable inventory data and created a stronger foundation for future reporting, stock control and ongoing process improvement.

Smarter Purchasing and Document Management

Business Central was configured so every stage of the purchasing process flows seamlessly from purchase order through to purchase invoice, with supporting documentation stored alongside each transaction.

For customers requiring extensive compliance information and documentation, everything now remains attached to the transaction throughout its lifecycle, creating a complete digital audit trail and reducing the risk of missing information.

Automation for Everyday Tasks

Recurring purchase invoices can now be created using predefined purchase lines, removing repetitive manual entry from monthly processing. Instead of recreating the same invoices line by line, finance users can generate them in just a few clicks, improving both speed and consistency.

Expert Consultancy Every Step of the Way

Throughout the implementation, The HBP Group's project team provided structured guidance, regular workshops and practical support, giving the business confidence throughout the transition.

"Kirsty's amazing. She always had an answer. I never felt uncertain because I knew she'd find a solution."

— Stewart Hinchliffe, Finance Director

Support continued after go-live through an extended Hypercare programme, providing the team with access to a dedicated consultant during the critical post-implementation period. This allowed Hinchliffe Hydraulics to refine user permissions, quickly resolve questions and build confidence in the new system before transitioning into ongoing business-as-usual support.

The Impact: More Automation, Better Visibility and a Platform Built for Growth

Even though in the early stages of using Business Central, Hinchliffe Hydraulics is already seeing meaningful improvements across the business.

Just 16 Days After Go-Live: More Than a Working Week of Finance Time Saved Every Year

Recurring purchase invoices that previously required manual re-entry each month can now be generated automatically using saved purchase lines.

With around 15 recurring supplier invoices processed every month, the finance team has already eliminated approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes of repetitive manual processing each month — equivalent to more than one full working week (45 hours) of finance time saved every year — while also reducing the risk of manual data entry errors.

What’s particularly impressive is that these efficiencies were identified just 16 days after going live with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. While this represents the impact of automating just one recurring process, it demonstrates how quickly the platform can begin delivering measurable value. As Hinchliffe Hydraulics continues to automate additional finance tasks and adopts more of Business Central’s capabilities, these efficiency gains have the potential to compound significantly over time, freeing up valuable capacity for higher-value activities and strategic finance work.

Complete Visibility Across Every Transaction

One of the biggest improvements has been the ability to retain every piece of supporting documentation alongside each purchase or sales transaction.

From purchase orders through to invoices and customer-specific documentation, everything is now connected within a single process. This provides greater visibility for the finance team, reduces time spent searching for information and helps ensure customers receive the documentation they need first time.

A Platform Ready for the Future

Perhaps the biggest benefit isn't what the business is doing today, but what it can do next.

With Business Central providing a modern Microsoft platform, Hinchliffe Hydraulics is now preparing to introduce Power BI dashboards, enhanced financial forecasting, AI-driven capabilities and automated credit control processes, including automatic payment reminders.

Instead of investing in another replacement system in a few years' time, the business now has a scalable platform capable of evolving alongside its ambitions.

Conclusion: Investing Once, Growing for Years to Come

By implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with The HBP Group, Hinchliffe Hydraulics has done far more than replace its finance software.

The business has created a modern operational platform that simplifies everyday processes, improves visibility across purchasing and finance, reduces repetitive administration and provides the flexibility needed to support future growth.

With automation already delivering efficiencies and a roadmap that includes Power BI, AI and advanced financial reporting, Hinchliffe Hydraulics is now well positioned to continue building on nearly four decades of engineering expertise with technology designed for the future.