An Interview with the Agency royalmedia® on the Topic of Agency Software

In our blog, we also want to give our customers the opportunity to have their say. In March, we therefore conducted an interview with Florian Fischer, the Managing Director of the company royalmedia®  and are now pleased to share his answers with you.

When did you realize that your company needed agency software and what were the reasons behind that?

We have been using agency software since 2003, but an overpriced service contract meant that it was not technically maintained and therefore no longer up-to-date. At the beginning of last year, during an internal audit of our technical equipment, we realized that the server used to run our agency software was also getting on a bit and that a computer crash or malfunction would put us in a predicament. We therefore decided that we needed to take action immediately and unanimously rejected the option of purchasing an expensive update for our existing software together with a service contract and a new computer. As a result, we needed to find alternative agency software. We used Google to research different options.

Why did you decide to use PROAD Software?

The fact that we had been using agency software for a number of years meant that it was particularly difficult for us to decide to switch to a new system. After a long and intensive period of consideration and excellent persuasion by Mr Schymitzek and Mr Hutschenreiter, we finally decided to choose PROAD. On 1st January 2015, the software was installed and we were ready to go online. Our decision to choose PROAD was ultimately based on the software's simple and clear structure and handling, its browser-based independence and, of course, the crucial argument of its price and costs. We felt that we were in good hands right from the start.

How would you evaluate the current acceptance of PROAD Software at your company?

The proverb says that you should "never change a running system" and I sometimes think the same. In some cases, however, you need to face up to new challenges and rethink a workflow that may as well already be stuck in a rut. Everyone at our company was aware of the change and knew that familiarising themselves with the new system would require a great deal of work and care, especially at the beginning. Nevertheless, I can now say that after a few teething troubles, all parties involved are extremely satisfied and appreciate the diversity of the software.

What do you consider to be the advantages of using PROAD Software in terms of workflow and process?

The huge advantage is most definitely the administration and organisation of projects for project managers using the wide range of project management options provided by the software, from task planning through to the simple overview of projects and right through to quick cost control. The fact that I can access all information immediately on the start screen or with just a few simple clicks saves time and spares me any nasty surprises when balancing accounts.

What do you consider to be the advantages of using PROAD Software in terms of corporate management and controlling?

To be completely honest, I have to say that we still need to gain some experience, because the system has only been properly online for just under 3 months and therefore first needed to be brought to life. What I can already say, however, is that the simple and extremely quick evaluation process using reports or the list editor also makes life much clearer and easier these areas concerned.

How does the integration of financial accounting function at your company?

The accounting department of our tax consultancy visits our company once a week. When it comes to financial accounting, we of course attach importance to the interface between PROAD and DATEV Pro so that all data can be transferred to DATEV Pro. This process has been running completely smooth ever since we installed the new version. The fact that we are also able to transfer incoming invoices alongside outgoing invoices was an important relief for our company. We are now considering whether we also want to map our complete overhead costs in PROAD in the future. This would enable us to view all costs at a glance and mean that we would not always have to ask the tax consultancy for prompt information.

What do you consider to be the largest benefit for your company?

The largest benefit for us is without a doubt the fact that PROAD enables us to save time in many areas. This is topped off by the software's simple handling and overview (all information at a glance). I would also definitely like to draw particular attention to the easy creation and rearrangement of different document templates, which made creating, optimising and graphically adapting forms to suit our needs and requirements a piece of cake. I additionally want to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Ms. Dörrstein and Mr. Kaufmann, who have always responded to our enquiries extremely quickly and always had an open ear for our problems.

What recommendations would you make to potential interested parties looking for the ideal agency software to suit their needs and requirements?

If they do not already have agency software, it would definitely be helpful to produce a needs assessment. Companies need to know clearly what they want to achieve, optimise or analyse with the software right from the start. They can use these guidelines to select and compare suppliers.
If they are already using agency software, they should avoid making the mistake that we made at the start, namely making too many comparisons with our old software. Every application is different and works in a different way, meaning that you sometimes simply need to rethink things in order to achieve your desired result.