Kimai
Solidic GmbH
Industry: Civil engineering
Employees: 5+
Using Kimai since: 2020
Homepage: www.solidic.it
Location: Bolzano, Italy
How an engineering firm automated its cross-border invoicing with Kimai
TL;DR
The engineering firm Solidic designs and analyzes load-bearing structures for clients across the DACH region and Italy. Since e-invoicing became mandatory for the company, invoice data from Kimai first had to be transferred by hand into a second piece of software. Today an interface reads the data directly from Kimai, generates the e-invoice, sends the PDF to the client, and transfers the invoice amount back to Kimai for smooth reporting.
About the company
Solidic GzFr G.m.b.H. is an engineering firm based in Bolzano, Italy. It specializes in structural design for metal and structural glass construction. The company develops high-quality, code-compliant project solutions and supports its clients with professional static and dynamic analyses, expert assessments, product development, and international approvals and procurement.
Savings with Kimai
- Reliable invoicing without errors
- Invoice data flows automatically via API from Kimai straight into the e-invoicing software
- Faster review of invoice amounts by the admin team
- Full visibility over work performed and remaining project budget at any time
Felix Bertagnolli is the founder of Solidic and an experienced engineer. A solutions-oriented entrepreneur, he relies on trust and flexibility within the team and uses digitalization to improve work processes.
Dr. Ing. Felix Bertagnolli
Managing Director
Time tracking has long been part of everyday work at Solidic. Founder Felix Bertagnolli was convinced from the start that recording working hours matters: “For me it’s absolutely a productivity booster.”
Employees log their own hours, whether they’re in the office or working from home. At first, Kimai was mainly there to collect those hours and keep projects on track. For invoicing, Solidic used other programs.
That changed when e-invoicing became mandatory in Italy. Every invoice had to be submitted to the tax authority in a specific format. For Solidic, that was a hassle.
At first, the invoice data prepared in Kimai was transferred by hand into the e-invoicing software. The invoice PDF, which had to go out by email, was sent through yet another system. That created several handoffs, and with them several chances for error. The process couldn’t simply be standardized: Solidic works on custom prototypes, and every invoice has to fit the specific project and client. Taxes and social security contributions also differ depending on country and service.
The solution came when Solidic set up a connection between the systems together with the e-invoicing software vendor. The Kimai API reads out the data needed and uses it for the electronic invoice. “Then we decided to eliminate that manual interface,” says Felix.
Since invoicing was fully automated last year, data has flowed in both directions: Kimai supplies the hours logged and the fee. The electronic invoice is generated from that and submitted to the tax authority; the PDF goes to the client automatically. The final invoice amount is then read back into Kimai, because the fee and the invoice amount aren’t always the same — for instance when taxes and contributions are added depending on country or service. For Felix, that return path is the important part: “That amount goes back into Kimai, and our admin team can see what happened. That makes checking far easier.”
“I recommend that everyone introduces a time tracking system. This is not to monitor or reprimand people, but to improve internal processes and identify mistakes.
Dr. Ing. Felix Bertagnolli
Managing Director – Solidic GmbHSo at Solidic, Kimai is more than a place to log hours. The data also helps prepare invoices and keep an overview of projects. The error rate in invoicing has dropped to “practically zero.” Felix then decides himself whether a project is ready to be invoiced, whether a partial service should be billed, and which invoice text fits. Once a week he checks what’s ready for the next invoicing round. After that, the system handles the recurring steps.
The hours logged also help with project evaluation. Felix knows the internal cost of one hour of work, overhead included, and can compare it against a project’s effort.
Felix advises companies that are skeptical about time tracking not to be put off by it. Yes, it creates oversight, but it also gives you the chance to understand your own work and your company’s processes better.
Anyone who skips time tracking entirely has to be able to trust their gut. Felix says that with a wink: “Then you’d better have a very, very good gut feeling. I hope your gut doesn’t let you down.” Because some things only show up in the data.
A big thank you to Felix Bertagnolli for the valuable insights — best of luck to Solidic going forward!