“Introduction process? It was just a case of getting started and using it!”

Affingo is a management and business consulting company based in Stockholm. The company has 13 employees and its customers include Telia, Vattenfall, Stora Enso and Toyota. The consultants at Affingo are mainly senior consultants, which means that most employees set up projects and assignments in Retendo themselves. One of the founders, Pelle Sandö, was asked a few questions about Retendo compared to other project tools.

How do you use Retendo?

“We use it for time reporting, invoicing and to plan utilisation. We’ve had the system since 2012.”

Why did you choose Retendo?

“We chose Retendo for its simplicity and because it’s a cloud service. The fact that it’s a cloud service is particularly good for those of us who are growing. We just have to make a call and we have another user. It’s also extremely fast and easy to get started with.”

In what way will Retendo make you more efficient?

“The reporting method is much simpler than in other tools we’ve used. Both in terms of the method for entering data and the logical structure for building up cases and reporting on different projects and activities. This means that all hours are actually reported, which is absolutely vital for us as a service provider. Since the new interface supports mobile devices, you can also file reports on a daily basis no matter where you are.”

What are the main benefits?

“Simplicity when it comes to reporting and flexibility when it comes to administration. A newly-graduated project manager at our company was given a ten-minute run-through and after that he was able to set up his own projects. That shows how intuitive the interface is. Another tremendous advantage is the fact that it’s a cloud service, so we can automatically take advantage of all other customers’ development initiatives and improvements.

The utilisation planning is also extremely strong. We’ve added a user we call “säljpipe” [sales-pipe] at our company. We use that user for entering that status of an assignment and how many hours it requires, as well as assignments that are coming in. We can therefore keep a close eye on all assignments in progress and current and upcoming utilisation and we are able to answer the customer much more quickly with regard to when we can accept assignments. In some cases, it has probably helped us to accept more hours and assignments.”

Have you added any special features?

“Yes, we wanted to be able to move planned utilisation from the sales-pipe user to a real person. Then we ordered an additional service based on our idea of how we wanted it to work. It took less than a week for Retendo to programme it in.”

How well does support and contact with Retendo work?

“They usually get back to us with a solution within one to two hours, regardless of what it’s about. The few cases we’ve had have mostly been about where to change a setting or find a function. They deliver what they say they’re going to and always on time.”