Innovative Dunweg Uitvaartzorg breezes through its Elari implementation

Dunweg Uitvaartzorg is a family-owned business that, over the course of a century, has grown into a company that arranges funerals at eight different locations. This wouldn’t be possible without active innovation.

Denzel van der Pijl explains: “I am the third generation of the Van der Pijl family, and I run the business together with my father. At Dunweg, we’ve been committed to doing something different every day since 1911. Take, for example, launching the very first natural burial ground in North Holland. Because we continue to innovate at a rapid pace, we’ve been around for so long. That same mindset is also present at Elari, and that’s really great.”

It’s no surprise that the implementation of Elari, Visma.net Financials, and FuneralView went so smoothly and quickly. In this success story, you’ll read how Dunweg made it happen.

From an in-house server to a more sustainable and secure way of working

“We used to have our own server and our own database,” says Denzel. “Unfortunately, the service provided by the vendor who managed our server didn’t meet our cybersecurity standards. So we immediately started looking for an alternative way of working. We switched to FuneralView right away, with help from Arch-IT.”

“Looking back, it’s also clear that our current way of working is much more sustainable,” Denzel continues. “Before the switch, we were already aware of the server’s electricity consumption and the materials we used in our services. We wanted to have a smaller environmental impact anyway.”

So sustainability wasn’t the main reason for switching to the current approach, but it’s certainly a very nice bonus. Denzel: “These days, we are very conscious of sustainability certifications. It’s fantastic that we automatically meet all kinds of strict requirements thanks to Elari. For example, we no longer need to print anything, and we ask suppliers to send only digital invoices.”

The switch to Elari, Visma.net Financials, and FuneralView

Denzel: “After we switched to FuneralView, we started talking with Arch-IT about our accounting software at the time. We’ve since transitioned to Visma.net Financials. From there, the move to Elari for our expense management processes wasn’t that big of a step.”

Why did Dunweg Uitvaartzorg choose Elari?

“Former account manager Gerjan didn’t have to show me much during his Elari demo to convince me,” says Denzel. “I was immediately enthusiastic and wanted to get started right away. We began at Dunweg with contract management and invoice processing, and later added Elari Expense. Expense is ideal for expenses that employees incur on behalf of the organization. Since we’re a company with multiple locations, it was quite challenging to set up that process. Above all, we wanted to get rid of the hassle with banks. We’ve certainly succeeded in that.”

Denzel: “Since these processes are all running so smoothly now, we’ve also recently started using Elari Procurement. That means we’re now working with the entire Elari suite. We’re super excited. We handle more than 5,000 invoices annually, so you really can’t do without a good spend management system.”

How did the Elari implementation go?

“I’m really, really satisfied with the implementation,” Denzel says right away. “Elari Consultant Jeffrey was well-informed from the very beginning. He knew exactly what we wanted and how we could achieve it as efficiently as possible. It was very easy to work with him. The combination of Jeffrey’s personalized approach, his ability to adapt quickly, and my own digital skills was essential to the success of such an efficient implementation.”

“It helps that I’m pretty good with computers myself,” Denzel explains. “Consultant Jeffrey picked up on that right away, so he adapted and sped up the standard approach. His approach, which was fully tailored to our needs, was definitely a crucial factor in our success.”

How does Dunweg work with Elari now?

Denzel: “I handle all Elari application management on my own for our 70 employees and 8 locations. Of those, 20 employees are involved in the approval process, and there is one smart debit card per location. This approach is scalable for acquisitions, because the rights structure is easy to apply to new locations. We can easily build on the foundation that Jeffrey and I laid together. This way, we keep spending processes easy to manage.”

“Advanced, manageable, controllable, and workable”

“I’m very proud of how our systems work together,” says Denzel. “Our new Controller is very impressed with how advanced everything is. The way Elari integrates seamlessly with Visma.net is simply fantastic. It’s great that these systems exchange information, so you don’t have to manually keep track of everything everywhere. That combination is highly manageable, controllable, and workable.”

The results: time savings and flexibility

Denzel: “Thanks to the combination of FuneralView, Visma.net Financials, and Elari, we’re saving a lot of time. Employees no longer have to enter data twice. Files don’t have to be uploaded twice. You can save drafts so you can continue a task later instead of having to start all over again.”

“That flexibility is incredibly important in our industry,” Denzel continues. “One moment we have a quiet day, and the next we’re sometimes overwhelmed by how busy it is. That’s why it’s especially nice that people can easily work from home as well as on-site. It’s also great that the Knowledge base has an extensive list of articles to fall back on. That way, we aren’t dependent on the support department, for example, outside of regular office hours. And when we do call, we get immediate assistance. Elari fully delivers on both product and service in this regard.”

How big is the difference between the past and now with Elari?

Acquisitions make that difference very tangible time and time again.

“Within 5 minutes and a few clicks, we have a whole new set of books up and running”

Denzel has been through a few acquisitions over the past few years. “That’s when you really notice how much of a difference Elari makes. Often, the accounting at such companies is still done by hand, or they work with spreadsheets. After the acquisition, everything basically stays the same for that location, except that we implement our automation process.”

“That used to be a labor-intensive and expensive process. These days, all I have to do is call Jeffrey for five minutes to ask if he wants to adjust some permissions. Then I enter some data, and we’re up and running with the accounting for that additional location right away. The same goes for Elari Expense. I create a single new balance account for a new BV, go through the verification process, and we’re live. You add a few new employees, and it works right away. It can be that simple, and that’s really great.”

“The biggest advantage is the control over expense processes”

Denzel: “The biggest advantage of Elari is the manageability of and control over our expense processes. We run eight separate sets of books for eight different BVs (private limited companies), ranging from financial holding companies to operating subsidiaries. I can pull almost all my analyses at the vendor level directly from Elari. It’s just user-friendly and easy to navigate.”

“You simply have a clear overview and control over what’s happening in your accounting. Plus, it offers manageability and accountability for the employees involved in the day-to-day operations.”

Denzel van der Pijl, Director at Dunweg Uitvaartzorg

Visma: the same philosophy and comparable user-friendliness

“You also notice that all Visma tools share the same philosophy,” Denzel continues. “You’re always working with search functions and filters, whether we’re talking about Elari or Visma.net Financials. You can also always create your own reports and tailor them to your needs. All of this is great. It feels like you’re working in a single intuitive environment instead of having to use many different tools.”

“New employees can start navigating Elari right away,” Denzel adds. “We encourage them to just get started after a brief explanation. I’m involved in the approval process myself, so if something does go wrong, I’ll hold up the invoice and the employees learn as they go. That works really well for us. I hardly ever get any questions.”

Tips for similar organizations

Denzel is happy to share his most important lesson for organizations considering the same step.

“The investment pays for itself”

“To organizations that are a bit less willing to take risks with automation than we are, I’d still advise them to take a look,” says Denzel. “Elari might be a lot more expensive than some competitors, but you really get your money’s worth. The added value lies primarily in Elari’s analyses, reports, and overviews. And in how user-friendly and intuitive the system is.”

“With a single click of a button, we can show the total amount we’ve been invoiced by a supplier. That’s an incredibly powerful solution. I don’t stand to gain anything if more organizations use Elari, but I’m genuinely happy for them to experience job satisfaction and achieve great results. You’ll never have to deal with lost receipts or manual invoice processing again. So I definitely recommend requesting an Elari demo.”