Two locations, two systems, and too much time spent searching. Maatman Accountants was looking for a solution that delivers on its promises. They found it in Docubird. Owner Stephan Zijlstra explains.
About Maatman Accountants
Industry: Accounting and Consulting | Locations: Wolvega and Raalte | In business for nearly 50 years | 30 employees | Full-service: bookkeeping, payroll, financial statements, tax returns | Switch to Docubird for Accounting
Maatman Accountants at a Glance
Maatman Accountants describes itself as a standard accounting firm with not-so-standard accountants. The firm has been in business for nearly fifty years and handles everything you would expect from an accountant: bookkeeping, payroll, financial statements, and tax returns. Full-service, operating out of Wolvega and Raalte, with thirty employees and a solid portfolio of small and medium-sized businesses. Stephan Zijlstra has been the owner for fifteen years. He describes himself as an odd one out, and that fits the picture: someone who knows what he wants and has no patience for cumbersome systems.
Two locations, two systems
A few years ago, Maatman acquired an office in Raalte. That branch was using a different document management system than the rest of the organization. Having two parallel structures just didn’t work. “We weren’t satisfied with the user-friendliness of our DMS,” says Stephan. “The transition to SharePoint proved difficult. The differences between the software structures became very apparent. That took time, and in our line of work, time is money.”
Searching for documents was a tedious process. “You had to be very specific with your search terms,” says Stephan. “There were layers in between that made it difficult. It was possible, but it was never easy.”
From demo to decision
Maatman joined Docubird through Richard Schouten, commercial director at Docubird and a specialist in the accounting industry. Richard walked Stephan through the process, and Stephan was enthusiastic from the very start. “The moment I saw Docubird, I knew right away: this makes much more sense,” he says. “The simplest things are often the hardest. It was precisely the product’s simplicity that appealed to me from the start.”
Easy search, quick results
Stephan jokingly calls Docubird “a bit of a non-product,” and he means that as a compliment. “Essentially, it’s no different from finding your own files. Even though you have a repository of data in SharePoint, it’s still complicated to find things. Docubird makes that simple. Finding the right documents, quickly, without any fuss.”
Maatman runs entirely on Microsoft SharePoint. Integrating with Docubird was therefore a natural choice. And what are the benefits? “Efficiency,” says Stephan. “Its simplicity means you can get where you need to be faster. That saves a lot of frustration from not being able to find things. At its core, the key word is efficiency.”
First user, no inconvenience
Maatman was one of the first accounting firms to start using Docubird. “We didn’t really feel like we were guinea pigs,” says Stephan. “Except for the added benefits: we were able to help shape the structure. We’ve reaped nothing but the rewards of that role.”
He sums up the collaboration succinctly. “Pleasant. Straightforward. Down-to-earth. Direct communication. And effective: it does what it’s supposed to do. Above all, they don’t make things more complicated than they need to be.”
The migration process is also worth mentioning. “I’ve never experienced a migration as simple and smooth as this one,” says Stephan.
Tip for fellow firms
His advice for fellow firms? Stephan doesn’t have to think twice. “Don’t wait too long. It sounds crazy, but if this product had been available sooner, I would have switched sooner. It’s simply a solution that delivers on its promises. We should have had this sooner.”