Odéfel: “With BoondManager, I save 16 days per year”

Can you introduce Odéfel?

Odéfel is a consulting firm based in the Lyon region. We support executive teams on strategy, organization, and the economic performance of information systems.

Our mission is to simplify complex IT challenges and deliver solutions tailored to real business needs.

Our team is made up exclusively of senior consultants with diverse professional backgrounds. Founded at the end of 2016, the firm has grown organically ever since. We carefully select our projects and clients to ensure our consultants work in intellectually stimulating and human-centered environments.

We typically engage in long-term assignments, working in close partnership with our clients across multiple links in the information systems value chain.

Why did you choose BoondManager at Odéfel?

We are currently a team of six—and at that size, we needed proper tools. In addition to my consulting work, I also handle the business development of the firm. We needed a solution that would both structure our processes and save us time.

So we applied the same methodology we recommend to our own clients: a formal needs assessment and specifications, which we sent to several ERP vendors, including BoondManager.

We shortlisted two solutions in the final round. Technically, both met our requirements. However, Boond came with pre-built processes and integrated workflows, which was a major advantage for us, as we had not yet formalized these practices internally. BoondManager was going to help us work better.

Our initial need was simple: allow employees to submit leave requests, expense reports, and timesheets.

Previously, these were managed across three separate Excel files, which had to be consolidated every month to prepare invoicing. It was complex and time-consuming.

BoondManager handled all of this natively, without configuration, and even anticipated future needs. The choice was obvious—I went for it and have never regretted it.

What was your onboarding experience like?

Four hours of training were enough.
I was able to fully onboard without stress, alongside my usual client work.

We benefited from outstanding availability and attentiveness from our BoondCoach, Yamina. The onboarding and upskilling process was extremely well structured. She quickly understood our needs, adapted her approach to the profiles she was working with, and followed a very clear program.

Each session came with detailed summaries, reminders, and clear next steps. It was highly professional. You could tell she mastered both the tool and the learning process, as well as ongoing support.

What are your favorite features at Odéfel?

• Electronic signature: sending timesheets as PDFs is a real bonus
• Profitability calculations, which help us steer the business
• Payroll preparation, fully automated—another major time saver
• CRM, which wasn’t part of our initial requirements, but whose clarity and simplicity we now really appreciate
• Marketplace apps, which help us better support employees, manage HR interview reminders, and add bonuses

These are features we hadn’t even thought about initially—but once you have them, it’s hard to live without them.

BoondManager solved problems before we even encountered them.

Have you seen productivity gains?

BoondManager saves me an incredible amount of time.

Before, I spent 1.5 days per month managing these processes. Today, it takes me a maximum of 2 hours.

For a firm like ours, that kind of gain makes a real difference. That’s around 15 to 16 days saved per year—time I can now dedicate to billable work or business development.

Whether it’s the solution itself, the people, or the quality of service, I haven’t found a single flaw.

Have you recommended BoondManager to peers?

Yes, I’ve already recommended Boond to several firms—one of which is now a client.

Interestingly, when talking to peers in the market afterward, many told me:
“You should have asked us—we’re using BoondManager!”
At least we completed our market study thoroughly 😉