Domofrance

Domofrance is a low-rent housing corporation (SA HLM) that builds and manages social housing. It offers its tenants new or renovated homes for sale or rent. 

With over 70 years of experience, Domofrance is part of the Action Logement group and mainly covers the Gironde department—75% of its rental properties are located in this department—although it also operates in eight other departments. 

The company, which has 730 employees, manages a portfolio of 42,000 housing units, including 1,500 student residences, and serves approximately 115,000 people. The company's revenue, mainly from rent collected from tenants and sales, amounts to €275 million.

Domofrance wanted to implement a solution for digitizing supplier invoices in order to automate certain tasks, increase productivity, and anticipate an increase in the number of invoices to be processed.

Interview with Vincent Cailheton, Accounting and Tax Director at Domofrance.

What was your initial problem?

Before implementing the Freedz solution, Domofrance encountered difficulties related to invoice management, which was entirely paper-based. The mail department was very busy, with risks of loss and duplicate invoices. 

Manual document processing had become too cumbersome with the increase in the volume of invoices to be processed, especially during periods of strong growth. Our annual volume of supplier invoices will increase from 115,000 to 150,000 following our merger with the lessor Clairsienne. 

What made you take the plunge? 

We began considering changing our processes five years ago. At the time, we looked into existing solutions, such as automatic document reading (ADR) and automatic recognition (AR) software. Then we decided that if we were going to change everything, we might as well do so with a solution that would give us a head start. What's more, we were already starting to hear talk of European standards being introduced, requiring the use of electronic invoicing in the relatively near future.

Why did you choose the Freedz solution powered by Neovacom?

With the LAD RAD system, you need an accountant to check and complete what the automatic reading hasn't done properly. I wanted to take the automation of the process further. What I like about Freedz is that it's up to the supplier to submit their invoice. And if there's a problem with document recognition, it's them who corrects it, not us. What's more, they can switch to EDI (electronic data interchange) mode to simplify the task, or simply submit PDFs in bulk to the platform...

The choice of the Freedz solution was motivated by the need to modernize invoice management while anticipating the reform of electronic invoicing. After studying several solutions, Domofrance opted for Freedz because of its flexibility, its ease of integration with other tools, particularly our IKOS ERP, and its adaptability to different invoice formats (PDF, EDI, etc.).

Finally, Neovacom, through its Freedz solution, already works with many social landlords, and we have sensed a real desire to continue working with these players, of which we are a part, to adapt to our specific needs and to develop the tool together.

How was the project set up?

In two stages. We decided to start implementing the solution with our 100 largest suppliers (out of 3,000) who generate more than 80% of our invoices, mainly orders. This transition went well for several reasons. First, we were able to conduct a communication campaign with our suppliers, then we carried out tests. This allowed us to take the time to support them through the change. But I must say that once the change was accepted, the operational phase with the solution went quickly, which enabled us to digitize the processing of a large volume of invoices very quickly.

How did your suppliers adapt?

Very well. We were able to rely on Neovacom's Customer Success Manager (CSM), who provided us with "mailtips" (personalized messages) to communicate with our suppliers, then helped them get started with the platform with personalized documents and tutorials. I also appreciate the Freedz website, which provides quality support. Freedz also organized webinars with our suppliers. We were able to count on Freedz to help us deploy the solution.

One of the big advantages of Freedz is that it is "multi-supplier," meaning that a supplier who connects to the platform generally automates their process with all their customers, so there is a rapid "mass" effect, which has saved us a lot of time. Sometimes, we even had suppliers send us their invoices without us mentioning Freedz, because they knew that colleagues were already working with Freedz, or Neovacom put the supplier in direct contact with us to use the solution...

Finally, our suppliers appreciated the platform's user interface, which is very easy to use and fun. In comparison, Chorus Pro, the equivalent for invoices sent to the government, is extremely complex, to say the least...

What benefits do you see from using Freedz?

Of course, thanks to this solution, we will save a lot of time that we can devote to tasks with higher added value, which is the goal. We are working on implementing a process in which our accountants can focus, except in complex cases such as construction projects, on checking incoming invoices to ensure that the allocations are correct. This will allow them to concentrate on analyzing accounting data. We are currently fine-tuning the process to eliminate any potential pitfalls when we receive supplier invoices.

Why did you choose the Construction Site module?

Invoices relating to work situations do not represent a large volume, accounting for around 10 to 15% of all invoices processed, or 10 to 15,000 per year. However, they are the most complex to manage. They often involve co-contractors and subcontractors, and must be reconciled with the progress of the various works, validated by a project owner and approved, and therefore verified, by an architect. In short, we want to simplify and streamline the management of this task! 

Freedz's Work Management module is interesting; it will give us more flexibility. We are working with the Freedz teams to develop the module according to our specific needs. We sense a desire on Freedz's part to improve the module. We are moving forward together on this issue. Freedz is attentive to our needs, and we know that the development of this solution dedicated to social landlords is part of the platform's roadmap, so we're happy with that!

In addition, as the lessor, we have a legal deadline for settling invoices for work, which starts from the day the project manager signs off on them. Implementing this solution will enable us to improve our payment times and also streamline complex management. With Freedz, the project manager's time-stamped signature puts an end to all kinds of complications: lost invoices, missing signatures, delayed mail, difficulty knowing when the architect has received the work status report, etc. 

How is Domofrance anticipating the regulatory requirements for 2026-2027 related to the electronic invoicing reform?

We anticipated the reform a good two years in advance. We know that Freedz is developing its solution in line with the changes required by the legislator and will enable us to be ready on the day. 

We are not yet operational in terms of managing condominium fund calls. We want to use the Freedz platform to take a step forward in this area, as our business is creating condominiums at an exponential rate. We therefore really need to build a solution that helps us. Here again, we are working closely with the Freedz teams to develop an effective solution.

I believe you also use the Docoon messaging platform platform?

Yes, absolutely. We needed a tool to create, distribute, and analyze our email campaigns, which were aimed at Domofrance's priority targets: our tenants and partners. The solution was implemented very smoothly, thanks to face-to-face training and the high availability of our contacts. 

What benefits do you get from it?

The real benefit for us is being able to pace out the mailings and avoid overwhelming our customer relations center, which receives phone calls following our communications with tenants. It also allows us to study/analyze the results of the campaign's impact.

What would you say to a company hesitating to adopt a solution like Freedz?

There are several reasons why you shouldn't hesitate to go for it. First of all, because the Freedz platform for digitizing supplier invoices is a safe and secure solution. Secondly, it is a SaaS-based solution, which means it is easy to integrate and requires little effort. Finally, Freedz is already PDP (Partner Digitization Platform) certified. For us, Freedz is much more than a supplier; it is a trusted partner that listens and is open to developing its solution. 

Do you have any other projects underway related to digitization?

We have a major challenge with the integration of the social housing company Clairsienne, which will generate an additional 35,000 invoices to manage. They are looking for a solution to digitize their invoices, so they are eager to implement Freedz. 

On the regulatory side, the reform of electronic invoicing also requires us to digitize outgoing invoices. This is a less significant issue in our sector, and we will be looking into it with Neovacom, who can also assist us in this area.

(1) Neovacom, a publisher of business process digitization solutions for real estate professionals, particularly through its Freedz platform, is part of the Docoon group, a leading French publisher in the development of digital trust services.