Stein Skaar – How the Master Builder Gained Complete Control with Xledge

When master builder Stein Skaar from Kristiansand switched to the accounting system Xledger, his company saved both time and costs.

– It was a whole new world, says Skaar.

Doing it the old-fashioned way

For nearly 25 years, the traditional craft business hammered and nailed its way through the scenic Sørlandet region. But accounting was far from idyllic.

– We did it the old-fashioned way, with pen, paper, and duplicated sheets. Timesheets were manually entered for payroll every two weeks. Looking back, we realize a lot was missed back then, he explains.

What fell through the cracks

Binders stuffed with handwritten papers were far from an optimal accounting workflow. On top of that, an unnecessary amount of time was spent both recording and collecting timesheets.

– Often people were far behind and had to reconstruct their days just to log hours. And sometimes I found myself chasing them to send them in. It was neither efficient nor accurate. Now they just enter it on their phones the same afternoon or evening, says Skaar.

Managing the projects themselves could be just as challenging.

– One thing is that we spent a lot of time on timekeeping, which could also be inaccurate. But it was also about tasks and costs. When everything isn’t properly tagged and controlled, it becomes difficult to capture everything, including outgoing items.

– A whole new world

But when Stein Skaar adopted Xledger – leaving pen and paper behind – order returned to the accounting side of the business.

- It’s invaluable. We now have control in a completely different way. Hours are captured automatically, and I can monitor project progress at any time. We have full visibility over all projects recorded in the system, and it’s much easier to report to our suppliers.”

The master builder, who speaks highly of a paperless construction site, has also become a firm advocate for EHF invoicing.

“It’s much easier to track errors in incoming invoices now. Previously, we even had an employee whose sole job was accounting. We no longer need that; we simply outsource the services we require,” he says, concluding:

“Of course, it was important for us to find a partner we feel comfortable with. Aider shares our values, and there’s mutual respect – there really was no other option.

—but when it comes to invoicing, I still insist on being involved. I just enjoy that too much.”

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