emineo
Case Study
Interview
Werner Zecchino
Managing Director
Customer tasks are handled on consultant basis at emineo, and it can take several months to complete a task. By working on long&term projects customers are billed across calendar months. Emineo's main problem was their lack of control in regards of what had already been billed, and what were to be billed in the next billing period. This led to an inadequate basis for billing that cost the company both money and valuable time.
The consulting and software development company emineo has specialised in solving problems relating to operating economy. Their specialised expertise and knowhow cover the entire process; from strategy to technical concept development to software development.
The entire billing process takes half the time as previously, and we are at any time assured that all registered hours are billed.
The solutions are custom-designed and developed on the SAP NetWeaver® platform by using J2EE technology. Apart from traditional solutions emineo develops applications for SAP portals as well as applications for mobile units, and ensures system integration in the entire company.
High-skilled consultants and effective implementation give emineo a market leadership position in regards to the development of SAP NetWeaver® and Java projects.
The Challenge – A Weak Basis for Billing
Emineo's CEO, Mr. Werner Zecchino, identified a problem in the company. Too many resources were used on administrative tasks, which led to a reduction in the contribution margin and turnover.
"Before implementing TimeLog Project we spent a huge amount of time on keeping track of time registration and billing. Additionally, we lost a great deal of money because we were unable to register and bill time correctly as we did not have the right system to handle those processes", Werner Zecchino explains.
Before using TimeLog project, emineo's employees entered their working hours in a WebTimeSheet, which were forwarded to the financial department. The billing process was conventionally done in Word. The problem occurred because emineo works with longterm projects that are not always billed on a monthly basis. That led to a loss of control in regards to billing. It was difficult to gain an overview of what had been billed and what had not.
"It was crucial for us that we got an effective system for time tracking, which also could provide us with an overview of billing, so we could avoid unnecessary financial losses", Werner Zecchino explains.
Finding the Only Perfect Solution!
In his search for a new system that could handle time registration and billing correctly Werner Zecchino came across TimeLog Project.
TimeLog Project was the only product that included all required processes from time registration to billing.
Another aspect that made TimeLog Project right for emineo was the billing process and the high level of user-friendliness.
"The billing process in TimeLog Project in regards to registered hours is swift and you have a constant overview of projects on which you have registered time, already billed projects, and outstanding invoices on projects. An invoice is swiftly created and printed directly from TimeLog Project. The entire process lasts only half of the time it took previously, and TimeLog Project ensures that all registered hours are billed", Werner Zecchino says and continues:
"What I like about TimeLog project's design is the fact that it is a very simple and easy–to–use system. There are no flashing symbols and icons to distract you on each and every page. You get a simple system that is easy to use, and that is important for me."
The Result – Saving 10-15%
After implementing TimeLog Project emineo has improved their financial position in regards to their expenses in their internal administrative department.
We are now able to get a quick view of which projects, customers and processes we spend time on – that is extremely important in order to manage emineo.
"We have saved about 10-15 percent on expenses. But more importantly we save a lot of time on billing every month."
TimeLog Project has made a huge difference in regards to time registration and financial management, but the system has also provided us with a high degree of transparency in regards to different business processes.
Now we can easily see in which areas we spend time, and which projects, customers, and processes that are time consuming, which are all very important factors in managing emineo", Werner Zecchino explains and continues:
"TimeLog project has helped us optimise our internal processes as well as our basis for billing – both financially and in regards to our processes."
