The benefits of the SmartFP information system from Gappex are praised by all employees, regardless of age and function. Digitalization has made their work easier, communication faster and continues to improve processes so that everyone at the institute can function even better.
Botanical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is the largest centre of botanical research in the Czech Republic. Scientists work at Czech and foreign workplaces, so the Institute was looking for a way to connect them and digitalize accounting and personnel administration (for example, recording and approval of invoices, contracts, attendance, leave requests, business trips, etc.).
Papers were transported between workplaces in bags
Documents sent by post and left at reception desks. Sometimes lost or forgotten in a drawer. This was the reality of the Botanical Institute in 2020. “The long-term pressure for change was already unbearable. We used to send paper documents between our centres in Prague, Brno and Třeboň by post or transport them by car, in bags. With invoices, we had no control over exactly where they were or whether they were forgotten,” Lenka Doleželová, Deputy Director for Economics of the Botanical Institute, describes the situation.
The institute hoped for greater supervision and easier transfer of documents, thus saving time and money, and no loss of important papers. “At the same time, we hoped to automate some processes related to the settlement of subsidies, of which we draw a lot,” adds Doleželová.
What the Institute of Botany of the CAS solves
- 400 employees in 11 departments in 3 cities,
- the need to share documents between workplaces,
- attendance records, leave requests, home office approvals,
- authorising and accounting for business trips,
- recording and approval of orders by the responsible person,
- as a state institution, often works with grants and their accounting.
A system that adapts
From the beginning, Doleželová had a clear idea of what the new solution should meet.
At the institute, they needed:
- software that can leverage data across agendas,
- a program that connects to the existing accounting and HR system Helios,
- a solution that adapts to their requirements – rather than having to change established processes for a new system
- and a system that’s intuitive and employees will embrace.
“We knew exactly what we wanted. We didn’t want to fit our requirements to a boxed system where concessions would have to be made. We knew our needs, and the people at SmartFP were great at responding to them. They tailored the core modules for us while meeting all the planned deadlines.” summarises Doleželová.
Switch from paper to electronic processes within six months
All modules were deployed in parallel and the transition from paper to electronic processes took less than six months. “Gappex managed to deploy the first phase of administration to us a few weeks before the covid pandemic. Everything worked 93% of the time. I consider this a great result,” Doleželová recalls.
For more complex modules, such as workflows linked to calculations and bulk reporting, the procedural and logical functioning of the entire agenda had to be resolved first. “We had to involve the Gappex developers in our processes in detail to achieve our vision. Here, too, the deadlines were pushed back, but we really wanted to have a polished result.” explains Doleželová.
In total, we delivered and customized 20 modules for the Botanical Institute. Thanks to SmartFP now:
- record and approve invoices or contracts online without having to physically hand them over or think about who to forward the invoice to for approval,
- online they ask for rental cars, but also for vacation or home office,
- record attendance and entire employment contracts and agreements,
- easily account for business trips,
- keep in one place all documents and payment summaries for internal accounting,
- keep track of small expenses and fixed assets,
- monitor and report on the use of budget money.
“We knew that we were processing a large number of invoices per year, but it was only thanks to SmartFP that we found out that there are around 5,000 invoices per year. Today, we have an electronic trail for every invoice and always know the status of the invoice,” describes, for example, the benefits of the invoice module.
This is also important for the Botanical Institute due to its funding from subsidies. “We not only have to book the invoices, but then we have to report the use of the subsidies on the basis of the invoices. Thanks to SmartFP, we can do the recharging in a few minutes, which makes our job much easier,” praises Doleželová.
The system facilitated communication and scored with employees
The digitization of processes saves a lot of time and money, and it has also made it possible to have an overview and system in all processes. It has made it easier for all employees to function. “Previously, everyone used to deal with travel requests or billing on their own and on paper. Today we approve everything electronically and we can do bulk billing. If a whole group goes on a business trip, one person will then bill it for everyone,” Doleželová mentions another advantage.
The management appreciates the clarity and all kinds of reports they can easily pull from the system. In addition, SmartFP enables two-way automatic communication with Helios, so there is no need to transcribe data from one program to another. “We don’t have to do double work. All employees have access to SmartFP, where they deal with their agenda, and then only accountants and HR staff work in Helios, and data from SmartFP is automatically transcribed there,” says Doleželová.
The new system has been accepted by all employees regardless of age. “They even keep coming up with ideas on how to improve some things,” Doleželová adds. The Botanical Institute continues to benefit from the fact that instead of a boxed solution, they have chosen a customised software that they can modify themselves. “And what is beyond us, the developers at Gappex will solve it for us,” she concludes.
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