"The best AI is useless if the work processes are not adapted" - Thomas Klews, CEO of Impower. In this edition of "In Focus", Thomas Klews, founder and CEO of Impower, talks about the changes in the property management industry brought about by the use of artificial intelligence - and explains why many reservations are unfounded.
Thomas Klews: The shortage of specialists is getting worse, while regulatory requirements and administrative tasks continue to increase. Our aim is to offer administrators a platform that relieves them of as many administrative tasks as possible and enables them to work in a modern, flexible way.digital solutions will only prevail if their added value is clearly recognizable. Many property managers realize every day how time-consuming and time-consuming their work is. As soon as they see how much time and money they can save with our platform, the benefits become obvious. That's why we offer interested parties the opportunity to test our solution without obligation. That way, they can see for themselves how easy it is to make the switch. Impower is ready to use straight away and requires hardly any training.
Skepticism often arises from uncertainty. Many administrators are concerned that a digital switchover is complicated or risky. But I speak from experience when I say that the opposite is true. The most important thing is to make the added value immediately recognizable. As soon as administrators see how much time they save with our solution, they are usually quickly convinced. That's why we make sure that interested parties can test our platform without any obligation. This allows them to see for themselves how easy the changeover is. Data migration in particular is a critical point for many. We have developed processes that enable a quick and smooth changeover. One customer with 2,000 administrative units completed the entire changeover in just 19 days - from initial contact to full implementation. A digital transformation in real estate management doesn't have to be complicated.
We will continue to expand automation - the accounting area offers enormous potential here. Our clear goal is to fully automate ongoing accounting! However, processes can also be simplified and accelerated in the evaluation of master data and documents or processes such as digital document verification. We are also planning stronger networking with market participants to enable automated workflows between property managers and service providers. We also see potential for simplifying processes in the area of rental management.
The time savings are enormous. Our customers are already saving between 50 and 80 percent of the time in accounting alone. This is particularly evident in invoice processing. A property management company with 1,000 residential units processes around 4,000 invoices a year. Traditionally, this takes around eight minutes per invoice - with Impower, it only takes one to two minutes including file storage and process linking. This corresponds to a saving of over 60 working days per year for every 1,000 residential units managed, but many other processes can also be made considerably more efficient through digitization. Whether it's property management statements, dunning processes or the organization of owners' meetings - with modern digital solutions, many processes can be made not only faster but also more sustainable. The elimination of paper is a valuable side effect.
Audit security and legal compliance are our top priorities. Our accounting solution complies with GoBD requirements and legal changes are immediately integrated into the software. All data is hosted exclusively in Germany and regularly checked for legal compliance. Our accounts are also audited by experts to ensure the highest standards.
We consistently develop our software based on practical experience. This means that we specifically analyze and optimize workflows instead of simply using technology for technology's sake. For example, we automatically link invoices and incoming documents with the associated processes, making approval processes more efficient and transparent. AI is used in a targeted manner where it offers real added value.
This interview was published in the "Im Fokus" issue of the IMO magazine of the Presse Company.