EUN, or European Schoolnet, is a non-profit network of European Ministries of Education. With its base in Brussels, EUN aims to innovate teaching and learning within the European Union. To achieve this, they are largely dependent on support from the European Commission. It goes without saying that clear, detailed budgets and reporting are of great importance for this. And so, EUN approached scapta for the development of a custom ERP tool.
The old ERP system, developed over 10 years ago, no longer met the needs of EUN's approximately 100 employees. An upgrade of the software was not possible, so the team looked for a new, modern Microsoft solution. Various parties were screened with an external IT consultant. Scapta emerged as the best candidate, a specialist in the field since 1998. Under the motto One size doesn't fit all, The IT consultants then looked for a tailor-made solution for European Schoolnet.
The challenge
“Subsidized projects are closely monitored by the government. Every detail of a budget is therefore important and must be traceable. Clear financial reporting is key,” says Laurence Abrassart, Finance & Administration Manager at EUN. Each project is also different, so the ERP system must be able to respond to different needs. This was impossible with the old tool, developed in 2008 based on outdated reporting requirements. Furthermore, it was developed abroad at the time, without knowledge of Belgian legislation.
Solution & Implementation
After an intensive search, the choice fell on scapta. Laurence explains: “We quickly decided to go with a Microsoft application again. An external consultant put us in touch with various parties, including scapta. They soon turned out to be the right party – the team captured our needs and translated them very concretely. Moreover, they did the intake with two people, a project manager and a financial expert. Where the start with other companies is often purely commercial, we immediately received a concrete and solution-oriented approach here.”
And so it happened, Scapta got to work with EUN's questions, and consultants Marco Donati and Sebastian de Vaan returned with the right answers. After extensive testing, Business Central was implemented, with Continia for general workflows and Jet Reports for detailed reporting. Not without a hitch, because during testing, both parties encountered some difficulties. For example, the launch was postponed by a year until everything was perfectly in place in January 2023. This naturally caused some frustration, but in retrospect, it was the only correct choice. Result: a brand-new ERP system that meets the needs of the key users and project managers.
For testing, EUN primarily looked to their financial coordinator Charlotte Culot. The fact that she also possesses the necessary technical background was a big plus in this situation. Throughout the entire process, Charlotte was in close consultation with the scapta team: “It was a very open and proactive collaboration. The fact that business consultant Marco Donati has a financial background, understands the business, and also knows the specific VAT regulations, is a huge added value.”
From a more accounting-focused perspective in the old ERP system, the focus has now shifted to a more user-friendly approach for key users. The number of user licenses was also significantly reduced. Whereas previously every employee could enter a purchase order, today this is limited to project managers and a few key finance users. Their reactions are unanimously positive: the clear overview of the project and associated expenses is a clear step forward.
“It was a very open and proactive collaboration. The fact that business consultant Marco Donati has a financial background, knows the business, and also the specific VAT regulations, is a huge added value.”
Charlotte Culot
Future music
It doesn't stop there, because even now, after the implementation, EUN and scapta continue to work together like a well-oiled machine on improvements, additional modules, and nice-to-haves. Both teams are fully engaged in the further development of the reporting module. This is not only necessary to maintain financial overview, but this aspect of the tool is also essential for financing and subsidies. As it turns out, this is no easy feat, as each project has its own rules and timing. It is achievable, however, with thorough testing. In addition, work is also being done on a contract module. The goal is to issue contracts via the software using templates and also to offer the possibility of signing them via a signature module. In this way, EUN and Scapta are jointly building a future-proof ERP system.
“As a consultant, the collaboration feels very natural. The project team is highly skilled and always looking for ways to improve and optimize Business Central for their needs.”
Marco Donati.