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Web Application Case Study

Synopsis:

A fast growing accounting firm came to Core101 because they we're having major problems with their internal scheduling process. Their scheduling had originally been done on paper and was later migrated over to a spreadsheet based system that was developed in house. While this spreadsheet system worked well in the beginning when there was fifty employees, it became increasingly difficult to manage as the company added dozens of new employees as their system required a unique spreadsheet for each employee as well as a master spreadsheet.

It was extremely time consuming and cumbersome to search through and edit eighty spreadsheets for each week. Mistakes were often made, and changes to spreadsheets caused major inconsistencies with the data. Scheduling out the staff during tax season took a team of four people one day each week to sift through the files and update the numbers. While there were other solutions on the market for time tracking and project management, the costs and licensing fees were extremely prohibitive. Additionally, even the best canned solutions couldn't handle some of the business requirements the client had. Finally, many of the accountants were not very tech savvy, so big changes and complicated systems would only stand to make matters worse.

Solution:

Using our Listen, Think, Create process, Core101 developed a custom web application for time tracking and project management. This application was developed from the ground up to match the needs of the business. The impact of the application was immediately felt and the return on investment happened in a matter of weeks. Some of the immediate benefits included.

• Time to schedule staff members went from taking 8 hours for 4 people, to 8 hours for 1 person (24 man hours per week savings).
• Employees were able to immediately use the application without training, as the interface was built to be familiar.
• The amount of time spent by managers trying to get information about work in progress was reduced by 85%.
• The data was now being held in an SQL database which allowed real time reports to be generated on the fly.
• The application did not require quarterly or even yearly licensing fees. It also did not cost money to add new employees throughout the year.
• The application was installed on a remote web server, so employees and managers could access it while traveling or working from home.
• Because the application was centralized, it did not require an IT person to update it on individual employee workstations.
• Employees were able to be scheduled in a more efficient manner which increased overall production by 10%.

The Bottom Line

The return on investment for this client was huge. Based on hours no longer needed for doing the scheduling alone, over $65,000 was saved during the first year. After figuring in the other added benefits and increases in productivity, this total savings is estimated to be $100,000 for the first year. As our client continues to grow their business and add new employees, the total savings is expected to be at $250,000 by the end of the second year.