Crafts in changing times

“We have to keep pace with digitization. Especially today, now more than ever.” Words that many craft companies would certainly choose today. In these times of skilled worker shortages and the ever-increasing demand for handicraft services, there is simply no longer time for manual and time-consuming processes. In addition to quality craftsmanship, short internal distances and perfectly organized business processes have become indispensable.

Sage 50 Handwerk helps

The Sage 50 Handwerk solution, which is specially designed for craft companies, has been successfully helping these companies to simplify and accelerate their accounting processes for years. Thousands of companies have already opted for this solution from the Frankfurt industry giant. Sage 50 Handwerk handles craftsmen’s daily tasks like creating quotations or writing invoices. One thing that was not part of the solution until recently was document management. But since this area involves critical legal issues and other complexities, Sage went to the pros.

Sage concentrates on its core competencies, while d.velop delivers the document management system

Since Sage has worked with d.velop as an OEM partner for many years, the question of who should handle the document management system was an easy one. Thanks to the seamless integration and high availability of the cloud solution, craft companies’ receipts are now automatically archived and made available everywhere at any time. Frank Wissel, Product Evangelist for Sage 50 Handwerk, is frequently in contact with customers of the craft company. “In addition to the reliable technology, our customers particularly appreciate that all archived documents are available from a mobile device,” he reports. “The craftsmen thus benefit from clear added value. Sage can fully concentrate on its core competencies, while d.velop expertly handles the document management side.”

Easy integration into Sage 50 Handwerk, powerful API, high availability—the cloud makes it possible

Wissel is also enthusiastic about the technology and the cooperation with d.velop: “The modern, easy-to-use API and the first-class support from d.velop enabled us to integrate d.velop cloud into our product in a very short time.” By opting for cloud delivery, Sage benefits from archives that can be started up and are ready for use in a matter of minutes, and documents that are available at any time and from anywhere, whether on a desktop computer or a mobile device at the construction site. d.velop also offers its own intuitive web client. And maintenance and updates now play less of a role, since all Sage 50 Handwerk customers benefit directly from the new value-added features that are rolled out with the regular d.velop cloud releases.

Partnership means teamwork

To help Sage integrate the d.velop cloud archive as quickly and easily as possible, Dennis Reese, Product Owner at d.velop, provided support throughout the entire project. As the permanent contact person, he supported the developers at Sage in all phases of the implementation. “Sometimes we simply programmed together in a webcast to clear various technical hurdles. I don’t think there’s an easier way to do it. And then when you see how quickly things are progressing and how quickly we’re able to complete the integration, it’s twice as much fun, of course,” Reese says happily. Frank Wissel from Sage shares this assessment: “The support from d.velop was first class! It’s amazing how fast we moved.”

Making craftsmen happy

The customers, too, immediately recognized the new added value that Sage can now offer them: “In our trade it is important to have a complete history of the documents belonging to a project. This is important not only for legal reasons, but also for processing customer enquiries quickly and accurately. With the integrated DMS, we have an automated, complete archive that contains every order and that we can access at any time. It’s better to pay a higher price for the product than to deal with increased office expenses,” says Peter Schuhmann, Managing Director of Peter Schuhmann GmbH. Craftsmen are pleased with the new and improved Sage 50 Handwerk solution, which means both higher sales for Sage and increased customer satisfaction. And in today’s world that’s an important thing—if not the most important thing.

Want to become a d.velop partner?

Need to store documents in the cloud? Have great software, but you’re just missing a document management system? Contact us! We’re a specialist in our field, just like you are in yours.