Imperium Building Systems Limited

The Figures

• 23 staff members supported by 10–20 subcontractors.
• Hundreds of hours saved annually in back-office operations.
• Increased revenue driven by reduced inefficiencies and improved oversight.

The Story

Who They Are – Imperium

Imperium is a building technology contractor specialising in high-end luxury residential properties. Based in Carshalton, Surrey, United Kingdom they deliver cutting-edge automation solutions for HVAC Building Management Systems (BMS), lighting, window treatments, networks, Wi-Fi, audio-visual systems, and more.

Founded by three industry friends in 2013, Imperium has grown from a small operation into a thriving business serving London and the South East of England. Today, they employ 23 staff members and up to 20 subcontractors, with founder and director Steven Crocombe overseeing finances, operations, and project management.

What They Do – Building Technology Solutions

From bespoke residential HVAC control systems to complete home automation solutions, Imperium is a leader in high-end building technology services. The team’s expertise spans the luxury residential sector, with projects that integrate advanced systems like lighting control, audio-visual setups, and network solutions. Additionally, Imperium’s commercial work includes large-scale BMS, ensuring efficiency and innovation for businesses across the region.

Why They Started – Meeting an Industry Need

As Imperium grew, managing over 25 concurrent projects became increasingly challenging. Manual methods and disparate systems, such as spreadsheets, led to frequent financial errors, duplicated data entry, and difficulty tracking project balances and retentions.

“Our systems and people were not able to successfully keep up with the demands of the project paperwork, and the quality of our processes suffered, causing lots of wasted time and effort,” explains Steven Crocombe, Director of Imperium. The need for a centralized, automated solution became clear, leading Imperium to adopt Simpro.

How Simpro Changed Things – Centralized Financial Clarity

Simpro has been transformative for Imperium, particularly in its financial management. The software enables seamless tracking of payment applications, project balances, and retentions, eliminating the need for complex spreadsheets and manual calculations.

“Simpro keeps all our data in one place and links everything together,” Steven says. “When we create a payment application, it tracks this against the project balance automatically. No more updating Excel files and hoping the maths is correct!”

With Simpro, Imperium has eliminated many of their previous pain points, including:

• Financial errors from manual spreadsheets
• Lost project retentions
• Difficulty tracking resource costs and project performance

The time savings have been significant, amounting to hours per week for multiple team members, translating to thousands of pounds saved each month.

Where To Next – Continued Growth and Efficiency

With Simpro streamlining its operations, Imperium is better equipped to pursue its growth goals. Improved credit control, timely collection of retentions, and more accurate resource tracking have enabled the company to increase revenue and drive operational efficiency.

“The construction payment features are my favorite part of Simpro,” says Steven. “It’s the first software I’ve found that handles the entire payment process from start to finish, including converting applications into invoices and syncing with our accounting package.”

Steven’s advice to other trade and field businesses facing similar challenges is clear: “If you're struggling with lost data and manual processes, Simpro is absolutely worth the effort. The onboarding process is manageable, and the Simpro team is great at helping you get started.”

With a decade of success under its belt and Simpro as a trusted partner, Imperium is ready to take on even bigger projects, confident in its streamlined, future-ready systems.