MCD Productions Harmonises Gig Management with Business Central and mhance
Background
MCD Productions, one of Ireland’s leading live music promoters, handles more than 1,200 concerts each year across venues ranging from small clubs to sold-out stadiums. But behind the scenes, their financial system was stuck in the past.
“For years we were running on an ancient version of Great Plains, probably version 7,” said Peter O’Hara, Financial Controller. “It was set up when we were a much smaller business, and it just didn’t scale. Trying to analyse performance across thousands of gigs became a nightmare. We used to try and pull info by searching text fields for Artist names. But you need everyone to spell names consistently. If only every band was U2!”
Venue-specific account codes led to an explosion of duplicate and manual effort. Simple processes like invoicing or analysing profit per concert became unnecessarily complex, and meaningful forecasting was near impossible.
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The Solution
A Clean Break with Business Central. MCD saw an opportunity not just to upgrade, but to transform. Working with mhance, they decided to make a clean break from the past. Instead of trying to migrate outdated structures, the team started fresh, redesigning their chart of accounts and implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with a focus on event-level dimensions. “The power of dimensions in Business Central stood out straight away,” Peter explained. “We could finally tag every cost and revenue line to a unique event code. And if someone entered the wrong dimension, for example, the wrong venue for an artist, we didn’t have to create a messy journal. We could simply edit the dimension code, with a clear audit trail.”
Why It Works: One Gig, One Code, Total Control
Each event now has a unique identifier, capturing artist, venue, and date. This gives MCD a powerful level of granularity across over 1,000 gigs a year, without drowning in data.
For example, if a band originally booked for the Olympia sells out and moves to the 3Arena, the system allows the team to simply update the venue while keeping the same event ID. This enables accurate, real-time reporting and avoids creating redundant or conflicting entries.
“Dimensions are a game-changer,” Peter noted. “With Business Central, we can group, filter, and report by venue size, genre, event type, even promoter. And if we spot an error, the correction process is seamless and traceable.”
Flexible Event Reporting
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Flexible Event Reporting
Track profitability by gig, venue, artist, or genre
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Faster Invoicing
Users can search and select events quickly using smart filters
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Fewer Errors
Dimensions reduce the need for journal corrections
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Better Data Integrity
Unique identifiers prevent duplication and confusion
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Scalable Design
Simplified chart of accounts supports business growth
Implementation Approach: Timing It Right
MCD timed the transition to align with their quiet season in December, avoiding disruption during peak periods.
“We decided not to do a mid-year cutover. Instead, we closed off December with Great Plains, extracted our opening balances, and started January fresh in Business Central,” said Peter. “mhance helped guide us through every step, from conceptual design to data testing and training.”
Encore: Business Central Hits the Right Notes
With Business Central in place, MCD has gained visibility and agility across their live events business.
Whether managing small club gigs or arena-sized spectacles, the team now operates with a centralised, structured view of every cost and revenue stream, freeing up more time to focus on what matters: delivering unforgettable live experiences.