Digitalisation for SMEs: First Steps Towards Efficient Administration
In many small and medium-sized enterprises, everyday life looks like this: customer data in an Excel spreadsheet, invoices as Word documents, appointments in the boss's head and important information scattered across email inboxes. This "organised chaos" works — until it doesn't. According to the KfW SME Digitalisation Report 2024, only 36% of small businesses (fewer than 5 employees) have digitalised their business processes (Source: KfW Research, 2024). This means that almost two thirds of all small businesses still work mainly on paper or with isolated solutions. In this article, we show you why digitalisation matters especially for SMEs, which areas you should tackle first and how to make the switch successfully — step by step, without overwhelming yourself.
Why digitalisation matters for SMEs
Does digitalisation sound like something for large corporations with million-euro budgets and IT departments? Far from it. Small businesses in particular benefit enormously from digitalised processes — often even more than large ones, because the efficiency gains are proportionally greater.
The concrete benefits
1. Time savings: According to a study by Bitkom (2024), digitalised companies save an average of 30% of the time spent on administrative tasks. In a 5-person business where each employee spends 2 hours a day on administration, that means a saving of 3 hours per day — or around 60 hours per month.
2. Fewer errors: Manual data entry is error-prone. Typos in invoices, forgotten appointments, lost contact details — digital systems drastically reduce these sources of error. Automated processes such as creating invoices from quotes eliminate duplicate data entry completely.
3. Better customer service: When every employee can instantly access the complete customer history, service improves noticeably. No more follow-up questions, no "I'll have to check first", no "Only my colleague knows that, and they're not in right now".
4. Scalability: Excel works with 50 customers. With 500 it gets confusing. With 5,000 it is no longer manageable. Digital systems grow with your business — without you having to reinvent your processes every time.
5. Competitiveness: Your competitors are digitalising too. Customers expect quick answers, professional quotes and smooth processes. If you can't offer that, you lose orders to more agile competitors.
The 5 areas to digitalise first
Not everything has to happen at once. Start with the areas that have the greatest impact and deliver noticeable improvements the fastest:
1. Customer management (CRM)
The most important first step. A CRM system replaces the Excel customer list and collects all information in one central place: contact details, communication history, open quotes, past orders, notes.
Typical situation before: Customer data in Excel, emails in the inbox, notes on scraps of paper, quotes in Word files on different computers.
Situation after: One system, one login, all information — instantly available to every authorised employee, from anywhere.
2. Invoicing and accounting
Creating professional invoices, monitoring outstanding items, automating payment reminders — this saves an enormous amount of time. According to Bitkom, 53% of German SMEs already use digital accounting software (Source: Bitkom, 2024). The key benefits:
- Generate invoices from quotes in seconds
- Automatic payment reminders and dunning notices
- Simplify advance VAT returns
- GoBD-compliant archiving (German legal requirement for digital bookkeeping since 2015)
- Real-time overview of revenue and outstanding receivables
3. Scheduling and task management
Who does what by when? In small teams, this often stays "in someone's head". But as soon as a company grows, a lack of transparency becomes a problem. A digital task management system creates clarity:
- Assign tasks with deadlines and priorities
- Visualise project progress (Kanban board)
- Automatic reminders for tasks that are due
- Documentation: who did what and when?
4. Document management
Contracts, quotes, delivery notes, certificates — the flood of paper in many SMEs is enormous. A digital document management system (DMS) organises all documents centrally, makes them searchable and ensures that the current version is always used.
According to the Bitkom Digital Office Index, 76% of office workers would like a paperless office. At the same time, 62% say that documents are still regularly printed out and filed physically in their company.
5. Communication and collaboration
Email threads with 20 replies, WhatsApp groups for business coordination, important information scattered across different channels — this costs time and nerves. Modern communication tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack or Google Workspace bring messages, video calls and files together in one place.
From Excel to professional software
Excel is the most widely used "database system" in German SMEs — even though it was never designed for that. A spreadsheet has its place, but as a customer database, project management tool or invoicing system, it quickly reaches its limits.
When Excel is no longer enough
| Problem | Excel | Professional software |
|---|---|---|
| Several users at once | Conflicts, data loss, version chaos | Simultaneous access, automatic synchronisation |
| Linking data | Complicated VLOOKUP formulas | Automatic linking of customers, orders, invoices |
| Automation | Hardly possible without VBA skills | Automatic workflows (e.g. quote → invoice) |
| Security | File can be deleted or overwritten | Access rights, backup, audit trail |
| Mobile access | Limited, hard to read on a smartphone | Responsive web interface or app |
| Scaling | Becomes slow and error-prone from 1,000+ rows | Performs well even with 100,000+ records |
| Reporting | Manual charts and pivot tables | Real-time dashboards, automatic reports |
Switching from Excel to professional software doesn't have to be painful. What matters is a clean data export from Excel (CSV or XLSX) and a planned import process. At Adlegio, we support our clients with data migration — from cleaning up the Excel data to the complete import into the new system.
Cloud vs. on-premise: the right infrastructure
One of the first questions when choosing software: should it run in the cloud or on your own servers (on-premise)?
Cloud solution
The software runs on the provider's servers and is used via the browser. You don't need your own IT infrastructure.
Advantages:
- No server of your own required — saves hardware costs
- Access from anywhere (office, home office, on the go)
- Automatic updates and backups by the provider
- Scalable: more users or storage as needed
- Lower initial investment (monthly costs instead of a one-off payment)
Disadvantages:
- Dependence on the provider and its availability
- Data is stored on third-party servers (mind data protection!)
- Ongoing monthly costs that add up over the years
- Internet connection required
On-premise solution
The software is installed and operated on your own servers.
Advantages:
- Full control over data and infrastructure
- No dependence on external providers
- One-off licence costs (no ongoing subscriptions)
- Maximum data protection: data never leaves your network
Disadvantages:
- High initial investment for hardware and setup
- IT specialists needed for maintenance, updates and backups
- Your own security measures required
- External access only via VPN or special configuration
Our recommendation for SMEs
For most SMEs, a cloud solution with German servers is the best choice. It combines flexibility and low entry costs with GDPR (DSGVO) compliance. When choosing a provider, make sure the data is stored in data centres within the EU (ideally Germany) and that the provider offers a data processing agreement (DPA, German: AVV) in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR.
Observing data protection and the GDPR
Digitalisation also means more digital data that must be protected. The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, German: DSGVO) has applied since May 2018 and affects every company that processes personal data — including your SME.
The most important GDPR requirements for SMEs
1. Record of processing activities (Art. 30 GDPR): You must document which personal data you process, why, for how long and who has access to it. That sounds bureaucratic, but it is much easier with a digital system than with paper files.
2. Data processing agreements (DPA): If you use cloud software, the provider processes data on your behalf. For this you need a DPA — a contract that governs data-protection-compliant handling. Reputable providers make this available as standard.
3. Technical and organisational measures (TOMs): Encryption, access controls, regular backups, password policies. Digital systems often offer better protection here than paper files in an unlocked office.
4. Data subject rights: Customers can request information about the data stored about them, request its deletion or receive their data in a portable format (data portability). A good CRM system makes fulfilling these rights possible at the push of a button.
5. Data protection officer: From 20 employees who regularly work with personal data, a data protection officer is mandatory. But smaller companies should also appoint a contact person for data protection questions.
According to a survey by the IHK (German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, 2024), 42% of SMEs feel uncertain about the GDPR. That is understandable — but no reason to postpone digitalisation. On the contrary: digital systems often make data protection easier, because they automate access controls, deletion periods and documentation.
Costs and ROI of digitalisation
What does it cost to digitalise a small business — and when does the investment pay off?
Typical costs for SMEs
| Area | SaaS solution (monthly) | Custom solution (monthly) |
|---|---|---|
| CRM system | €30–100/user | €39/user (Kontira) |
| Accounting | €15–50 (e.g. sevDesk, lexoffice) | Integrated into the management system |
| Project management | €10–25/user (e.g. Asana, Monday) | Integrated into the management system |
| Document management | €10–30/user | Integrated into the management system |
| Communication | €4–12/user (e.g. Teams, Slack) | Integration possible |
Sample calculation, SaaS route: A 5-person company with CRM (€50/user), accounting (€30), project management (€15/user) and document management (€15/user) pays: 5 × 50 + 30 + 5 × 15 + 5 × 15 = €430/month — excluding setup, training and data migration.
Sample calculation, custom solution: Kontira, Adlegio's management system that combines CRM, task management, invoicing and document management: €39 per user per month — €195/month for 5 users, including hosting, updates and support.
ROI of digitalisation
The investment pays off faster than many people think. Let's take a concrete example:
Company: Trades business with 8 employees
Time spent before: 3 employees each spend 1.5 hours a day on administrative tasks (searching for customer data, writing quotes, creating invoices, searching through emails) = 4.5 hours/day = 90 hours/month
Time saved through digitalisation (conservatively 30%): 27 hours/month saved
Hourly rate for administration: €35/hour
Monthly savings: 27 × 35 = €945/month
Monthly cost of the management system (Kontira, 3 users): 3 × 39 = €117/month
Net savings: 945 − 117 = €828/month
On top of that come soft factors that are harder to quantify but can be even more valuable in the long term: fewer errors in invoices, faster quote creation (and therefore a higher closing rate), better customer service, less stress in the team and a more professional image.
According to the KfW study (2024), 74% of digitalised SMEs state that their investment paid for itself within 12 months.
Adlegio's management system: digitalisation from a single source
At Adlegio, we have developed a custom management system tailored specifically to the needs of SMEs. Instead of piecing together many separate solutions, we offer an integrated platform that grows with you:
What our management system offers
- CRM & customer management: All customers, contacts and communication in one place. Custom fields that fit your business — not the other way round.
- Quotes & invoices: Create professional documents in seconds. A quote becomes an invoice with one click. Automatic numbering, tax calculation and PDF export.
- Tasks & projects: Kanban boards, deadlines, assignments and automatic reminders. Every task is linked to the relevant customer.
- Dashboard & reports: Real-time overview of revenue, open quotes, due tasks and customer growth. No more manual reports.
- File management: Store documents directly with the customer or project. Central, searchable, versioned.
- User management: Define roles and permissions — who may see and edit what.
Why Adlegio instead of standard software?
- Fair price per user: €39 a month — hosting, updates and support included, no expensive add-on modules
- Individual customisation: The system is adapted to your processes, not the other way round
- Django technology: Secure, fast and future-proof — the same technology used by Instagram and Pinterest
- German servers: Your data stays in Germany, GDPR-compliant
- No vendor lock-in: Your data belongs to you and can be exported at any time
- Personal support: No ticket system with a chatbot — direct contact with your personal point of contact
Would you like to take the first step towards digitalisation? We will be happy to advise you — free of charge and without obligation. Together we will analyse your current processes and show you where digitalisation offers the greatest leverage. Contact us at kontakt@adlegio.de or visit adlegio.de.