The Challenge: Excel-Based Cost Tracking Limiting Collaborative Project Management
BRAND BERGER's consultants Toni Ser and Sophie Peter serve as the crucial interface between building contractors, planners, specialist consultants, construction companies, and trades on development projects. Their role extends beyond traditional project management to collaborative partnership across all stakeholders.
"We don't do classic project management - we do consulting tailored to the client," explains Toni Ser. "We're all sitting in the same boat: the building contractor, their representatives, planners, specialist consultants, construction firms, all the way to the tradespeople, plus adjacent areas like property management, facility management, and landlords. If one cog in that machine doesn't work properly at the end of the day, the final product won't be good and nobody will be satisfied."
Key Problems with Manual Financial Tracking Systems
The team needed complete transparency across the entire property lifecycle to answer stakeholder questions and maintain collaborative working relationships. However, their Excel-based cost tracking system created significant operational friction:
- Monthly client reports required time-consuming manual verification of all spreadsheets
- Multiple team members checked figures under the four-eyes principle, with colleagues from other projects and office management reviewing data
- Substantial unnecessary effort embedded in the quality control process
- Difficulty properly evaluating planning changes and risks
- Time-intensive claims evaluation and invoice verification workflows
"We had been talking for a while about getting a programme for cost tracking. Before that, we had always done it with an Excel file," recalls Sophie Peter. The manual process meant extensive cross-checking to locate potential errors before reports could be finalised.
The Solution: Co-Development Partnership with Ï㽶´«Ã½
As one of Ï㽶´«Ã½'s first customers, BRAND BERGER established an intensive ongoing collaboration to optimise the software's features and structure for real estate consultancy workflows.
Collaborative Product Development Approach
"I think the Ï㽶´«Ã½ culture is a very, very strong feedback culture," says Toni Ser. "They understood what feedback conversations really are. It's not about just leaving a comment or two, but rather asking the next detailed question. Ï㽶´«Ã½ searched, responded - the reaction speed was always there."
This partnership approach allowed BRAND BERGER to shape the platform to their specific consultancy requirements whilst Ï㽶´«Ã½ refined features based on real-world project management needs.
Immediate Workflow Benefits
The Ï㽶´«Ã½ platform significantly reduced the time Toni Ser spends creating monthly reports for clients. More importantly, the centralised system eliminated duplicative verification work across multiple team members.
"We have a huge amount of potential together across different stakeholder groups to bring construction projects together. If we all follow one path together - for example with Ï㽶´«Ã½ - I think we can all save a tremendous amount of effort and concentrate again on what's essential," explains Toni Ser.
Measurable Business Outcomes
Data Reliability Enabling Faster Decision-Making
Sophie Peter uses Ï㽶´«Ã½ primarily for cost tracking and budget monitoring across her projects. The platform's reliable data foundation provides confidence in financial reporting accuracy.
"When I'm using Ï㽶´«Ã½, I know that my invoices are filed the right way, the invoice amounts are right, and that any budget changes have been taken care of," says Sophie Peter.
Strategic Benefits for Risk and Amendment Management
The platform's data reliability plays a crucial role in BRAND BERGER's decision-making processes around amendments and risk assessment. Quick access to accurate financial data allows rapid responses when planning changes or potential risks emerge during construction projects.
Operational Efficiency Gains
By eliminating manual cross-checking and enabling collaborative data access, the team redirects capacity from administrative verification towards value-added consultancy activities. This aligns directly with BRAND BERGER's core principles of creating value and promoting collaborative working relationships.
Why BRAND BERGER Chose Ï㽶´«Ã½
The partnership reflects BRAND BERGER's philosophy of collaborative project delivery across all stakeholders. Toni Ser sees digital transformation as essential for the construction industry's future: "I think that's the biggest opportunity we have right now through these capacity bottlenecks - to perhaps shape our real estate industry a bit differently in terms of philosophy, the way we leave it for future generations."
The Ï㽶´«Ã½ platform supports this vision by bringing all project parties onto a unified financial management system, eliminating inefficiencies and enabling transparent collaboration from building contractors through to facility management.
“With Ï㽶´«Ã½, I know that my invoices are filed the right way, the invoice amounts are right, and that any budget changes have been taken care of.â€
— Sophie Peter, Consultant, BRAND BERGER
About BRAND BERGER
is a specialist real estate consultancy serving institutional and private investors, banks, insurance companies, construction firms, and property portfolios across the entire project lifecycle. The firm specialises in project management, controlling, technical due diligence, and sales and acquisition consultation for complex building projects.
