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In view of digitization and a shortage of skilled workers, handicraft companies have to rethink many processes. Suitable software solutions provide significant help, as the example of the painting company Guder from Hoya shows.
Author: Kerstin Moser | Photos: Moser
Apprenticeship as a painter, business studies, work in wholesale: Jan-Ole Guder has already gotten around a bit in his life. He has been on board his father's painting business for three and a half years. Richer in impressions, experiences and above all in knowledge. "Today, craft businesses have to be attractive for customers and employees," explains the 29-year-old junior. Attractiveness begins with the successful external presentation, for which the entry in the phone book has long been insufficient.
The times of cost estimates from the head, which are typed by the typist with the typewriter, are over. Guder is digitizing the processes within the company step by step. "When I found software with the classic DOS functions, I thought okay, we have to do something about it." With the aging merchandise management program, it was only possible to record orders and invoices - digitization is different. “We wanted a program with more potential,” explains Guder. The goal: "From the first customer inquiry to the final invoice, we want to digitally represent all processes." All of this with care, because not all processes can be cast in bits and bytes in the trades. But there is often room for improvement. So also with Guder:“After completing my apprenticeship as a painter and studying wholesale, I came from a company in which I electronically recorded every process and every article. I'm now trying to find a middle ground here."
Gradual digitization
Since the beginning of 2016, the company and its 25 employees have been using the MOS'aik craftsman software from Moser Software. Their modular structure enables gradual digitization of internal processes.
The heart of MOS'aik is project management and calculation. It starts with the preparation of the offer, where Guder can work with templates and read in the articles of the suppliers. "It is a real relief. I have all articles and minutes of wages in the system, can add surcharges and discounts. Everything is very transparent.”One must not forget: Guder has simple service orders that start at one hour and large projects with up to 800 hours.
Based on the offer, Guder can generate a timeline for its employees so that they know how long they can take for each order and what exactly needs to be done. "You get more information than before." And when goods are delivered, a delivery note can be generated via the program. Breakthroughs are a thing of the past. Order confirmation, final invoice and other required documents also come via the software.
Calculated exactly
Working with GAEB is also easier. The corresponding interface saves Guder a lot of work: "If inquiries for offers from architects come in, I no longer have to sit down and recreate the entire service specification, but simply save my calculation." The interested party receives a precisely calculated price and no longer estimates how before. The openness of the system has also proven itself for Gu-der in connection with the tax consultant and DATEV, who receives all documents at the end of the year at the push of a button.
Further expansion planned
At the same time, the software minimizes the amount of paper in the office. Guder finds all documents, such as supplier offers, bundled in the project structure. This is particularly useful for large projects with lots of offers and lots of drawings. This means that hardly any paper is stacked, some documents are simply scanned in and are then digitally available. But: “Ultimately, it doesn't work entirely without paper.” This currently still applies to time recording. The goal is that the teams record the times and consumption for each construction site and then submit them in the evening so that the data is available in the system the next day. This enables timely controlling. The introduction of the mobile measurement is also planned. Guder hopes that this will not only make work easier, but also provide more precise data even before the project starts.
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Jon-Ole Guder
The demands on craftsman
software are as diverse as the companies themselves
