Introduction:
In the dynamic landscape of renewable energy development, companies like empower renewables, specializing in wind, solar, and battery projects across Europe, are playing a crucial role. As they navigate the complexities of managing finances and project costs, the integration of advanced project management tools becomes paramount. This article explores the journey of empowering renewables, particularly from Sharon Brown’s, the Finance Controller’s perspective, in adopting Planyard to streamline their financial processes and enhance project management.
Background:
Empower renewables, a forward-thinking firm dedicated to sustainable energy projects, faced challenges in managing diverse finances across entities in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Sweden, and Finland. While they successfully used Xero for bookkeeping and financial management, it lacked the detailed project information crucial for their operations. The absence of a tool to seamlessly integrate project management and finance resulted in discrepancies, especially in tracking project costs and managing subcontractors.
The Quest for a Solution:
Empower renewables began the search for a comprehensive solution that would integrate with Xero and provide detailed project insights. The need for a tool capable of managing budgets, contracts, project performance, and subcontractors led them to Planyard. The Finance Controller, responsible for overseeing payables and producing management reports, sought a system that could bridge the gap between financial understanding and project management.
Why Planyard?
Planyard, a project management tool, proved to be the missing piece in empower renewable’s financial puzzle. Unlike other software experiences characterized by promises that fell short, the Planyard journey was marked by ease of implementation and continuous support. The cloud-based, multicurrency platform allowed consistent financial management across jurisdictions, providing the team with real-time visibility into project costs and progress.
We found that tying together purchase orders, project progress, and costs was a significant challenge. Project managers across countries were using separate tools, often spreadsheets, leading to a disconnect between our understanding of project costs and theirs.
Sharon Brown, empower renewables
The Impact on Finance and Project Management:
The implementation of Planyard brought about a transformative change for empower renewables. The tool’s ability to present information in various views, from budget levels to subcontract levels, addressed the challenge of understanding commitments across project managers and countries. The collaborative approach facilitated by Planyard ensured that everyone in the team, regardless of their finance orientation, could comprehend project figures, reducing misunderstandings and aligning financial and project management goals.
Planyard makes it very easy to ensure that everybody understands the figures and commitments. It’s like a collaborative bridge between finance and project managers, eliminating misunderstandings and aligning everyone toward common project goals.
Sharon Brown, empower renewables
User-Friendly Adoption:
A notable aspect of Planyard’s success at empower renewables was its user-friendly interface. Sharon highlighted that the team found it easy to use, even for those less inclined towards finance. The streamlined process for approving and paying invoices, coupled with seamless integration with Xero, not only accelerated financial processes but also contributed to subcontractors’ satisfaction with the efficient handling of invoices.
Training and Implementation:
Empower renewable’s software-oriented culture and the team’s willingness to embrace new technologies played a crucial role in the successful implementation of Planyard. The platform’s simplicity meant that new project managers required only a couple of hours of training. Weekly calls with Planyard support ensured that the team gradually explored advanced features, continually optimizing their usage.
Empower renewables’s experience with Planyard exemplifies the positive impact of adopting the right tools, not just in terms of efficiency but in contributing to the larger goal of developing renewable energy sources to save the planet.”
Sharon Brown, empower renewables
Conclusion:
In the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions, companies like empower renewables find themselves at the intersection of finance and project management complexities. Planyard emerges as a beacon, seamlessly integrating these aspects and providing a user-friendly interface that accelerates processes. Empower renewable’s experience with Planyard exemplifies the positive impact of adopting the right tools, not just in terms of efficiency but in contributing to the larger goal of developing renewable energy sources to save the planet.
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