"I wanted speed, scalability, and the manual work had to go out."

Unpacking and Implementing

When Jacob Quartier took on the role of CFO at Smappee, one of the first things he did was implement BrightAnalytics. There was no need to compare it with other tools because he had already very positive experiences with the software at his previous company. What convinced him was the fact that this ”out of the box” software could be implemented quickly, saving valuable time on scoping and follow-up.

”Smappee has five different legal entities in Belgium and abroad. The systems of all these entities are not always well-harmonized,” Jacob begins.”We needed well-consolidated figures to determine the right course for our rapidly growing company. We wanted to be able to view those figures not only from a statutory perspective but also from a management perspective. When I joined in September 2022, there was no consolidation tool in place. That meant we had to rely on Excel, which involved a lot of manual work. It was a waste of time, energy and the figures were always delayed. I wanted speed, scalability and to eliminate the manual work.”

Fast and straightforward

So Jacob decided to immediately implement a reporting tool. ”For me, it was important that the software was operational in a very short time frame. I had previous experience with BrightAnalytics at another company and knew that it was set up very quickly and straightforward. I’ve been in finance for a while and have done similar exercises multiple times. That’s why it wasn’t necessary to compare with other vendors. The requirements for Smappee were quite similar to those in my previous job, so I quickly chose BrightAnalytics to avoid wasting time. We implemented BrightAnalytics around the New Year and it was operational by the January closing.”

The great value of the system for Jacob lies in the fact that there is almost no customization required. ”This is not an unwieldy system that requires months of scoping and aftercare, but an out of the box technology. Implementation is not a matter of months but weeks. Moreover, we had a very good team at our disposal that didn’t leave us on our own. BrightAnalytics provided quality training to educate our users. Our customer success manager supported us from implementation to follow-up. We were guided until we were operational and up-and-running.”

Overview of the whole world, in a single language

In addition, he appreciates the fact that the different legal entities of Smappee, with their various chart of accounts, are mapped into one consolidated management report, taking into account the different currencies used by the companies. ”With just one click, we have a view of the whole world, in one common language: that of consolidated figures – viewed from a management perspective,” Jacob continues. ”And this is in real-time, not just at the level of a chart of accounts, but also, for example, at department level. Instead of simply filing an annual report, we can do so much more with analytical accounting.”

Finally, Jacob mentions that he sees BrightAnalytics growing along with Smappee’s ambitions, and they are clear: ”Between 2021 and 2022, our revenue has more than tripled. In the coming years, we want to at least double the revenue again. We are experiencing this growth in Belgium and beyond, but the most exponential growth is abroad. With BrightAnalytics, we can be confident that we have a financial reporting tool that can grow with us, even across borders.”