Efficient Time Tracking Streamlining Workforce Productivity for 
Kapadia Associates



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Company Name: Kapadia Associates Pvt. Ltd.
Location: Mumbai India
Industry: Architecture consultants
Users: 100
Odoo version: v14
Hosting: odoo.sh
Storage: 50 GB
Workers: 3
Modules used: CRM, Sales, Accounting, invoicing, Projects, Timesheets, Time-off and Expenses

Kapadia Associates Private Limited (KAPL) is a professional architecture firm, who have explored the uncharted terrain between architecture and design. With their architecture of excellence they have designed spaces that make inhabitants happier, more inspired and more productive.

KAPL is working with the top notch property development firms, like Godrej properties, Lodha associates, Raheja Corp, etc. They have also done projects for the well-known corporate companies like (HUL) Hindustan Unilever, Kalpataru group, etc. KAPL team of architects have designed a residential girls school for BAPS at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The campus is designed to accommodate 1000 girls. The design concept is extremely innovative and sensitive to climatic and environmental conditions.
 
KAPL's legacy IT system

Since years KAPl were using a desktop based application based on PHP and .Net, specially tailor-made for their requirements to manage the time-sheets of their architects work.
 
​Legacy system limitations

The legacy system was less user friendly and semi-automated. As it was a desktop based system the timesheets were only filled when the architect were personally present in office, so the timesheets were not filled on daily basis. Plus the system did not manage public holidays or the employee leaves, so the timesheets were filled even for the days when the architects did not work. The reporting was limited to certain level, dynamic reports were not generated.

Challenges to be achieved (KAPL Requirements)

 
Challenges

  • Friendly and “less click” time sheet module 
  • Data from our current Database to be extrapolated to extent possible 
  • In time and Out time should be managed accurately and as far as possible with less manual punch. 
  • Alerts to be generated and intimated to the immediate manager if the timesheet is not filled on daily basis 
  • Online updating of timesheet entry and reports for any from date -- to date (DD/MM/YYYY) to (DD/MM/YYYY) format.
  • Comparative between estimated time and actual time inputs on daily basis. 
  • In case of time spent > 80% by 15th and 20th of the month of the estimate – alert should be raised and sent to the immediate manager. 
  • Dashboards formats and Look & feel (graphics) to be shared for review and finalization.
 
Challenges

  • In case the time spent is < 30% by 15th and 20th of the month of the estimate – alert should be raised and sent to immediate manager.
  • Reports to be in excel formats defined by KAPL. 
  • CRM module to be incorporated 
  • HR module to be incorporated 
  • Financial Management reports should be available 24X7 to all Director’s 
  • Software should work smoothly on mobile devices too 
  • Project dropdown menu should have a search or alphabet letter prompt to reduce search time of projects.
  • The chairman should be able to see total organization performance and cost sheet for the month
  • Directors have team for Projects & PA and they should be able to view the work progress with time & cost.
  • Management Team should be able to see total organization performance and cost sheet for the month with Planned v/s Actual.

Challenges achieved by Synconics with Odoo ERP System


Looking at KAPl's requirement we offered odoo.sh v14 enterprise solution. We listed out the modules which could fulfill the requirement. The odoo.sh modules selected were, CRM, Sales, Accounting, Invoicing, Projects, Temesheets, Time-off and Expenses. Initially in the system the customers, clients, projects & tasks, employees & departments, master data was exported to Odoo from their legacy system. The data was exported with the excel sheets and the format was set as per Odoo standards. To make it simple we mapped the requirement with the standard Odoo functionality with the requirement, 70% of the requirement was covered with the standard functionality. Some of the functionality was fulfilled with Synconics modules, like "Global Search", for the remaining functionality we customized additional modules to the tailor-made need of the client.

After configuring, customizing the system, the final output was a robust system where in all the above listed requirements were achieved. 



​Solution - How the system worked?


First let's understand the work flow. KAPL has around 200+ projects of multiple companies/clients and every clients has multiple projects with multiple tasks. The scale of the projects range from 1 to 5 years or even more.

KAPL architectural project are divided among their team of architects and each group or team is headed by their project architect/manager and they are headed by junior directors and they report to senior directors. Above all the CEO and co-founder of KAPL heads the company.

Organization structure

 

  • Chairman: 1
  • Senior Director: 2
  • Junior Director: 5
  • Project Manager: 1
  • Project Architect: 12
  • Senior Architects: 4
  • Junior Architects: 56 
  • Senior Interior Designer: 1
  • Interior Designers: 2
  • Civil Engineers: 2
 

  • Administration: 1
  • Senior Graphic Designer: 1
  • Graphic Designer: 1
  • Junior Graphic Designer: 2
  • Support - Architectural Draftsman: 1
  • Support- BIM Modeler - 3
  • Support- Engineering - 1
  • 3D Specialist: 1
  • Administration: 1
 

The challenging part is managing the timesheet of the architects. It sounds simple, but every individual architect is not confined to one project in one group, they are associated with multiple projects of multiple groups. Plus the architects are shuffled or shifted from the ongoing project to another projects, thus it becomes more challenging to manage the reports for individual architects and the time associated with individual projects. 

Time Gauge

Time gauge functionality was developed, as every architect's team is associated with a project or task and the targeted time is assigned to complete the project/task. With the progress of the project/task the time gauge meter reduces the time from the time allocated to a project or a task. From descending to ascending order the timeline would be deducted as the task proceeds further. If the task is not achieved in the target time then the ERP system informs everyone associated with the project/task, from the CEO, to the directors and the group members associated to the project/task, about the delayed or if the task is completed too early than the estimated time.

For accuracy and to maintain the discipline, the time-sheets are managed on daily basis. Plus an dynamic options was provided wherein the time duration for filling the time-sheet could be changed depending on the hierarchy. If the time-sheet is not filled in the constrain time, a automated mail is sent to the mentor of their project. On public holidays or if the architect is on leave, the system would restrict to fill the time-sheet. In exceptional cases when the architect worked during the holiday's, only then the IT head or the admin head would allow the architect to fill his time-sheet.

Dynamic Formula calculation

Dynamic Formula calculation functionality was developed by Synconics expert programmers for accurate time calculation, project/task wise and architect wise. Based on the time spent by each architect on a particular project/task plus the salary defined for individual architect, the hourly cost is defined by dividing the salary with hours spent. The system would automatically define the cost per architect on a project/task and the total cost would be defined by summing up the cost or every architect in the group, working on the project/task. In addition the boarding and the lodging or any miscellaneous occurred during the project process was also taken in to account through Odoo expense module.

Invoicing

Based on the dynamic formulation the KAPL investment cost is calculated for a project/task and adding their administrative cost and their profit ratio, an invoice was generated through Odoo invoicing app, either on monthly or quarterly basis depending on the project scope.

Reports

Odoo provides multiple reports options, like "Task analysis report", project cost and revenue, time-sheets by employee, by task, by billing type, time-off by employee, by type. In additional following dynamic reports were customizes as per she tailor made requirement of the client.




Director summary report

A quarterly report is generated for a director and its associated multiple teams working on multiple projects. The report defines the quarterly expenditure (Cost) to a director and its associated multiple groups, the invoices generated during the quarter and the difference between the cost and the invoices generated.



Director's project wise summary report

The report is similar to the director summary report but it also provides the quarterly cost associated to an individual project, from the director to the members associated with the group of a project.

Project architects summary

A quarterly report is generated for a project architect and its associated multiple teams working on multiple projects. The report defines the quarterly expenditure (Cost) from project architect to its associated multiple groups, the invoices generated during the quarter and the difference between the cost and the invoices generated.



Project architects, project wise summary report

The report is similar to the Project architects summary report but it also provides the quarterly cost associated to an individual project, from the project architects to the group members associated with a project.

Result


After the implementation of Odoo v14 and customization done by Synconics Technologies, a robust ERP system was made available to KAPL, wherein it achieved all the functionality they were looking for in an ERP system. With just a few clicks the employees were happy to fill in their time sheets from anywhere as the work is balanced between onsite and offsite visits.

odoo.sh  v14 not only provided the ease to manage their projects but it also resolved the problem of managing the time-sheets of individual architect and time-sheets of the group team members. Based on the actual time spend, accurate invoices were generated and the payment collection was also streamlined. Detailed reports with the actual time spend by the architects, the expenses related to the project, invoicing, payment received and the ratio of profit/loss project wise reports are generated. KAPL employees had the liberty to access the system from their mobile phones or tablet or laptop and fill the time sheets from anywhere. In Covid situation Odoo changed the inbound office working culture and provided the opportunity to work from home, with accurate monitoring process.

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