Purchasing is also possible without ERP: The Leipzig International School digitized both the procurement of school materials and invoice verification during the holiday break. Now JobRouter® manages communications between the teachers and the administration and controls data transfer to the DATEV finance and accounting software.

Project details

Client
Leipzig International School
Industry
Leipzig International School is an international, non-profit co-educational day school for students from Pre-School/Early Childhood and Nursery through grade 12.
Employees
195
Database
DATEV
Ongoing processes
Purchasing process, invoice verification Module: JobRouter® Professional, JobArchive

Digital lessons not necessary

The Leipzig International School (LIS) is a state-recognized comprehensive school with current a enrollment of 950 students from kindergarten to grade 12. The language of instruction is English. Since 2014, LIS has also offered a day nursery with crèche places, where even the very youngest can grow into the intercultural environment from their very first birthday. Unlike state schools, LIS operates under the auspices of a foundation more like a company than a public institution. This independence brings with it advantageous freedoms - from the choice of teaching materials to the latest technical equipment, which is managed by the school's own IT department.

While the administration is located in an ancillary building on campus, the day care center has moved into a specially erected new building located in a nearby district. This separation of locations made it more complicated for teachers and administrators to order materials, coordinate processes and control and process invoices. It was also difficult to keep track of the status of orders and processes. In order to reduce the administrative effort at both locations, a small team of IT, accounting and controlling staff began looking for a digital solution for document management. The software had to be DATEV-compatible and bring both the invoice verification and the procurement of school materials to a modern digital level.

Advantages : The advantages of the JobRouter platform with DATEV integration

  • seamless connection without interruption to workflows
  • JobRouter® collects, checks and validates all information required for account assignment and subsequent posting in DATEV.
  • allows synchronization in both directions: JobRouter® can also be accessed from DATEV
  • directs DATEV error messages through error handling routines
  • enables real-time controls
  • completes the process including audit-proof archiving

Examination task: What fits DATEV?

The school has been working with DATEV's accounting software since its founding. What was missing was a system for automating the complex paper-based processes in procurement and invoice control that many users could access from any location. Stefan Kaudelka, head of the IT department, finally found an IT service provider in the JobRouter partner, Steigauf Data Systems, who specializes in DMS with interfaces to DATEV.

The first presentation of the JobRouter digitization platform proved to be a direct hit: "When we saw that JobRouter made it possible to work in DATEV without any further workarounds, or to search for documents from DATEV in JobRouter, it was clear to us that we had found our solution," recalls Stefan Kaudelka. "No extra step would be needed for order processing, as would have been necessary with another software presented to us. Because we communicate with our 195 colleagues in English, the multilingualism of JobRouter convinced us immediately."

"Multilingualism, online access and synchronization with DATEV in both directions were crucial for us." Stefan Kaudelka, Head of ICT, Leipzig International School

In May, the LIS team met up with Steigauf for a three-day workshop and decided to take the first step in tackling the connection to DATEV and the procurement process. The Go Live was set for the beginning of the new school year: At the beginning of August.

First day at school with JobRouter®

When the teaching staff returned from the summer holidays, the JobRouter ordering process was ready, long before the first day of school. Not only the teachers, but also the new staff member who was hired for procurement, could be trained directly on the new system. Even in the first few weeks it became clear that the JobRouter workflow was working really well. Teaching materials for the new school year could be ordered faster and error-free, with fewer questions and without exceptions. One reason for this is that the electronic form asks for the information in a way that was familiar from the old paper orders.

Easy ordering process

The digitized ordering process "EasyOrder" promises to be a simple and intuitive application - as you might expect based on the name the school chose for the process. As soon as a teacher logs into the school system, he or she can access JobRouter. To order new school materials, they can choose between saved favorites or a new blank order request. Suppliers are listed in a selection menu. If an order is to be placed with a different supplier, its URL is simply copied into the corresponding field. It is now also child's play to order mathematics books from Australia, for example, or small teaching devices from the USA, as JobRouter automatically converts foreign currencies into euros for internal controlling purposes.

Full budget control

"Automatic budget control is a great advantage for the teachers, but also for us," says a delighted Anne Winkler, who as Financial Controller has a view of the big picture. Each school year, teachers and educators can freely dispose of a budget that is dependent on the subject or the form of supervision. Teaching and learning materials are based on the curriculum of international schools. As soon as a new order is generated in JobRouter, the platform displays the reduced residual budget. If the order has to be rejected by the accounting department, the client is not only informed via process feedback about the reasons for rejection and possible order alternatives, but also immediately sees the budget with the rejected order amount restored.

We did not have this transparency in the past. A budget that was exceeded was only noticed when the goods were already in the house and the invoice was posted. Today, we can react directly to the application and, for example, search for a cheaper supplier in the case of a critical budget.
Anne Winkler
Financial Controller at Leipzig International School GmbH

Leipzig International School GmbH

Leipzig International School is a state-approved English-language comprehensive school with an international curriculum, offering education from kindergarten through to the International Baccalaureate, which qualifies students for university study worldwide.

"Everyone benefits from the new transparency that JobRouter brings with it: teachers and the team of educators, accounting and controlling." Anne Winkler

After the holidays: automatic invoice veri­fic­a­tion

JobRouter training for all 195 users was efficiently implemented in a decentralized manner with a specially created online user guide that explains the individual steps using visual elements. Since the second stage was launched - automatic invoice verification in JobRouter - accounting has benefited from a transparent process that covers every eventuality. This time, the winter holiday break was used to automate the checking of invoices in time for the second half of the school year. With this new process, around 2,000 invoices are scanned each year, the ordering processes are assigned to the documents via JobRouter and checked via a JobRouter process. After approval, JobRouter transfers the data to DATEV, where it is processed and posted. Finally, all documents are archived in JobArchive in a revision-proof manner - also completely automatic.

A longer processing time due to the release of invoices on paper no longer exists today. If teachers want to order material, they can already see on the start page whether documents from previous orders still need to be checked. We have a complete overview at all times and can intervene anywhere, even cancel processes and refer invoices to other people. In addition, JobRouter automatically reminds the responsible colleagues of invoices to be checked. Perfect!
Rita Hilbich
Chief Accountant at Leipzig International School GmbH

Leipzig International School GmbH

Leipzig International School is a state-approved English-language comprehensive school with an international curriculum, offering education from kindergarten through to the International Baccalaureate, which qualifies students for university study worldwide.

Before the next school year begins, orders are to be bundled on the basis of the digitized procurement process wherever possible in order to realize potential savings. Stefan Kaudelka summarizes: "Overall, we had many wishes and are pleased that in the end everything really could be implemented! We receive consistently positive feedback from the teachers".

Inquired

In the interview Stefan Kaudelka, Head of ICT, Leipzig International School, talks about the decision for the JobRouter® digital process automation platform and the big project:

Stefan Kaudelka
Head of ICT
Leipzig International School GmbH

Mr. Kaudelka, as an IT manager you have experience with changeover projects. Didn't you have any doubts about the deadline?

SK: "There was not the slightest doubt. A school thinks in school years, so the beginning of the semester was important for us. Despite the tight schedule, there were no difficulties or delays. We had already coordinated well with Steigauf in May and that worked really well from all sides in terms of processes and communication".

What conclusion can you draw after a good nine months with JobRouter®?

"For example, we can now draw conclusions from the calculation process that were previously impossible or only possible indirectly. For example, you can access the documents from DATEV via JobRouter®."

What advice would you give to other educational institutions dealing with process digitization?

"You have to know for yourself what the desire process is, which people can be involved in the project, how the information flow runs, which feedback and decision-making tools have to be planned. If you know that, you can reach your goal quickly."

Company profile : Leipzig In­ter­na­tion­al School GmbH

The Leipzig International School (LIS) is a state-recognized comprehensive school where students are taught in small classes with a maximum of 20 children from elementary school through high school. The language of instruction is English - as well as German and other foreign languages. Since its foundation in 1992, LIS has been teaching according to the International English Curriculum. At the end of the 10th grade, an international school leaving certificate equivalent to the intermediate school leaving certificate can be obtained. In grade 12, students take the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB Diploma). The IB Diploma entitles students to study at a university anywhere in the world. Even the very youngest can grow into the intercultural environment from their 1st birthday since LIS also provides them a daycare center. In 2017, sponsorship was transferred from the founding association to the Leipzig International School Foundation. 

www.lis.school