Fact check
- Who:
Landesimmobilien-Gesellschaft Steiermark
- Team size:
40 persons
- Objective:
Release 13,000 incoming invoices through a 7-step process
- Result:
235 days of work & 1 ton of paper saved
Optimize your workflow now!
Landesimmobilien-Gesellschaft Steiermark (LIG) is placing its approval processes and its 13,000 incoming invoices into the hands of the Graz-based software company Joinpoints. Find out here how the innovative platform can also bring digital benefits to your company:
We have probably all been confronted with the question of what the key to a perfect workflow is. A workflow that engages all employees and ensures clear and simple processes – that boosts motivation and productivity in equal measure and makes everyday working life easier in the long term.
What if there was software for this?
Landesimmobilien-Gesellschaft Steiermark (LIG), which stands for a high degree of efficiency and responsibility in its sector, has also asked itself this question. Maintaining an excellent standard as a company also means identifying and seizing opportunities for optimization. For this reason, LIG turned to the young team from the Graz-based start-up Joinpoints.
Can Joinpoints’ software do exactly what is expected? Optimize internal company processes and promote a smooth and customized invoice approval process?
What does LIG do in Graz?
LIG’s tasks include the management of around 180 properties that are leased to the Province of Styria for the fulfillment of public tasks. The company, which consists of real estate management, accounting and construction management, therefore has a comprehensive area of responsibility. Around 13,000 incoming invoices are managed each year. But how do you manage so many invoices?
Home office as an opportunity?
Previously, processing was carried out via “paper management” – everything was printed out and passed on to the individual departments for approval. Due to the coronavirus-related home office, the processes and edits were managed via email. The system was well established, but there was certainly potential for improvement, as Managing Director Skela recognized:
“The distribution of tasks, the dual control principle, the entire processing – we were looking for a solution that could make our processes even clearer and more transparent. And that’s how we came across Joinpoints .”
After registering on the site, a process developed with a 6-month validation period. In summer 2021, the software was finally established throughout LIG.
We were looking for a solution that could make our processes even clearer and more transparent. And that's how we came across Joinpoints
Joinpoints CEO Jakob Deimbacher describes the initial situation:
There was no truly centralized system before. As the approval of invoices is a predefined and detailed process, every responsible person up to the management level has to sign off on it.
This meant that invoices with problems ended up back at the beginning of the communication chain and had to be processed all over again.
He calculates: “With 13,000 incoming invoices per year, this means 235 days of work that we can save LIG with our software. We have replaced practically all internal e-mail correspondence. “
An idea that could also become interesting in the future for property developers and property management companies, with whom LIG works closely. The same applies to countless other sectors. Perhaps your company too?
Book a free appointmentto find out.
Transparency instead of misunderstanding
We all know how difficult it sometimes is to say and express things. Problems in everyday life often arise because our communication doesn’t work the way we want it to. Misunderstandings arise above all when we don’t communicate clearly – this applies to our relationships, professional conversations and, of course, communication in companies.
Many companies already have the potential to enable a good workflow, but the hurdles of internal communication make this difficult. We all have our individual tasks and it's often difficult to keep track of the big picture - that's completely understandable. In principle, we did nothing other than transfer the system that LIG already had to digital
Communication is the key to a perfect workflow – Joinpoints overcomes obstacles that other tools ignore. The difference between pure task management and comprehensive workflow management is huge when it comes to complex task distribution and processing. This was also a decisive factor in LIG’s decision.
Everything that was tried before did not achieve the desired simplification in internal communication – with Joinpoints, the process can not only be better displayed, it also reduces the likelihood of errors! With a practical 360-degree view and workflow builder, all to-dos are clearly displayed and can be assigned and processed using automated lists.
Advantages: Sustainable & unbureaucratic
How can software like Joinpoints make your company sustainable? Joinpoints can take on many tasks thanks to its extensive functionalities. In the case of LIG, “paper management” was fundamentally reinvented. Huge amounts of paper and working time were used to process orders. The versatile functions of Joinpoints not only saved 235 days of work per year, but also a ton of paper.
The LIG benefits above all from the following outcomes:
- Time saving
- Traceability of the invoice run
- Error reduction
- Quality improvement
- Clear communication methods
Invoice approval process made easy
Wondering how the LIG is doing now?
We have good news to report!
After two months with Joinpoints, significant improvements can already be observed, according to the LIG management.
“Implementing the software has definitely paid off. We have a great business process – comprehensible processing of invoices, useful functions and a nice release history. And it’s all tailored to our needs. Email chaos is therefore completely eliminated, no information is lost and everyone knows what they are responsible for .”
Any sources of error can be kept to a minimum with Joinpoints, as the system acts as a virtual messenger and seamless documentation tool.
How was the software received by the team?
Even though the employees started at completely different technical levels, they immediately became friends with Joinpoints due to its ease of use and great time savings.
This means:
- Prompt payment processing
- Faster throughput time
- Better utilization of cash discount
- Less search time
- happier suppliers because they are paid more quickly
The accounting department in particular is enthusiastic about the simplicity and efficiency. In general, the company sees further potential uses for Joinpoints within the company, including in areas other than invoice approval.
Great trust is followed by great responsibility
Is all this possible by improving internal communication? Does it really make that much of a difference?
As is so often the case, the magic word is trust. If employees can rely on processes running smoothly, this is exactly the kind of workflow we are looking for. Trust is also one of the basic elements of Joinpoints’ business philosophy.
“A stable basis of confidence is required to entrust us with such a great responsibility and we really appreciate that,” says Jakob.
“LIG deals with sensitive data and responsible amounts of money that need to be managed, and we take this task very seriously. We are grateful that so much trust has been placed in us and we are motivated to develop further. In general, we are optimistic about the future and hope to be able to support many more companies with their processes.”
