Achieving Real-Time Financial Control and Efficiency with NetSuite and Eureka Solutions

Established in 1885, Millwall Football Club is one of the most well-known football clubs in England, with the men’s team currently competing in the EFL Championship. The club’s home is The Den, a 20,000-capacity stadium with a range of hospitality choices for both matchdays and events.

WHAT WERE MILLWALL’S CHALLENGES?

While Millwall Football Club is known for its on-pitch performances, its finance team had long struggled with inefficiencies behind the scenes. When Emma Parker joined as Chief Financial Officer, she brought first-hand experience of how legacy systems and outdated processes can limit effectiveness.

The club was operating on Sage 50 with insufficient reporting capacity, time-consuming paper-based processes, and disconnected systems.

They needed a modern solution to streamline finance operations, deliver real-time insights, and ultimately empower the finance team to become a strategic partner across the organisation.

Despite being a Championship club, Millwall’s back-office team is lean and operates under tight budgetary constraints. “There’s a perception that football clubs are cash-rich,” Emma adds. “But behind the scenes, we run on tight budgets. There’s no room for inefficiency, so you need the right people—and the right tools.”

Key challenges included:

• Outdated Sage 50 system that relied heavily on manual processes
• Lengthy month end process, leading to reports becoming outdated before use
• Disconnected systems for basic accounting processes
• No live budget tracking or real-time reporting
• Multiple disparate systems: AP, AR, budgeting, and document storage all operated independently
• Cumbersome audits due to poor data accessibility

SELECTING A SOLUTION

Partnering with Eureka Solutions—one of Europe’s leading NetSuite partners—Millwall implemented Oracle NetSuite to consolidate and modernise its financial operations.

“I wanted an end-to-end system—from invoice and expense processing all the way to board reporting and statutory accounts. NetSuite fit the bill, and Eureka Solutions was the right partner to implement it,” said Emma.

The implementation included:

• Fully integrated financial management for three entities operating in GBP
• Budgeting and forecasting with real-time reporting
• Purchase Order and Accounts Payable automation
• Accounts receivable with sales order and billing schedules
• Expense management with approval workflows
• Automated bank statement imports and credit control
• SuiteApp for budget validation and expense commitments

Many of the changes presented a culture change but processes were soon adopted. “We introduced a PO system for the first time,” Emma explains. “The initial fear from staff about changing from a familiar system was quickly eradicated once it became evident how much quicker invoices were processed.”

WHY EUREKA SOLUTIONS?

Millwall chose Eureka Solutions thanks to their deep understanding of both NetSuite and the football industry. With several other football teams already as clients, Emma felt the knowledge held was invaluable.

“We’d looked at other systems and partners, but Eureka Solutions’ experience and approach stood out. Their scoping process was thorough, and they tailored everything to how we work. It wasn’t just a box-ticking exercise.”

THE RESULTS

Faster, More Accurate Reporting

With real-time data and fewer manual processes, the team delivers reports faster and with greater confidence.

“I got the February draft management accounts just 13 days after month-end. Before NetSuite, we’d be waiting up to two months.”

Real-Time Financial Control

The new system gave Millwall the tools to manage budgets live, rather than retrospectively. With the SuiteApp for budget validation, transactions are flagged before overspending occurs, offering a new level of financial control.

“Now, if the media team asks if they have travel budget left, I don’t have to estimate—I can give them a real-time answer.”

Streamlined AP/AR Processes

The team now benefits from automated workflows and timely payment processes. Suppliers adapted quickly, and payment performance has improved significantly.

“Until recently, we were approving invoices post spend, which leaves little room for control. Now, with PO approvals and NetSuite automation, everything is faster—and suppliers are happier.”

On the receivables side, automated reminders improved collection rates and helped stabilise cash flow.

“Most payments now come in the day after an automated reminder is sent. That’s made a huge difference to cash flow and to the amount of time it took for chasing unpaid invoices.”

Seamless Audit and Document Access

With all financial data and documents stored in a central system, Millwall drastically reduced audit preparation time and effort. Internal and external auditors can now self-serve using their own access to the system.

“The next annual audit will be much smoother, we will provide the external auditors with view-only logins, which will allow them to streamline the fieldwork, cutting out significant time spent on complying audit evidence This kind of efficiency is unheard of.”

Elevated Role of Finance

Thanks to real-time insights and streamlined reporting, the finance team is no longer just a compliance function—they’re now true business partners across departments.

“My Head of Finance now holds budget meetings with department heads. Forecasting is accurate and the team feels empowered.”

BENEFITS REALISED

• Invoice Processing Time Reduced by 60%
• Budget Visibility Increased by 100% (Live vs. Retrospective)
• Audit Prep Time Reduced by 70%
• Management Reporting Turnaround Improved by 75%
• Document Storage Access Time Reduced by 90%

FUTURE PLANS

With core processes transformed, Millwall is now focused on expanding its use of NetSuite to include non-financial dashboards: “We want to give the board insights like how many pints were sold at halftime or shirts bought in the club shop. It’s about giving context alongside the cash flow.”

The next phase of the project will integrate NetSuite with Ticketmaster using Besyncly, Eureka Solutions’ integration platform. This integration will automate the transfer of ticketing transaction data, eliminating the need for manual journal entries and saving significant time. It will also provide more granular data within NetSuite.

“Manually inputting journals is time-consuming, meaning we’ve only been able to do it at the highest level, losing transparency and the ability to report effectively. Integration will solve all of this!”

SUMMARY

Millwall FC’s finance transformation is a clear example of how the right technology and implementation partner can elevate the role of finance in any organisation. What began as a need to modernise has turned into a strategic investment in ongoing improvement and team empowerment.

“This wasn’t just a system change—it was an investment in our people. The short-term pain of implementation was more than worth the long-term gain.”