In today’s digital world, companies must continuously optimize their processes in order to work more efficiently and secure competitive advantages. There is still a lot of potential for automation and digitalization, especially in administrative areas such as contract creation. This is where our project comes in: Together with students from Aachen University of Applied Sciences, we have developed an automated process for creating employment contracts that not only reduces the time required, but also avoids manual errors and enables seamless integration into existing systems.
The project: Automation of contract creation
As part of the lecture “Cloud-based information systems” under the direction of Prof. Dr. Christian Drumm and Leon from jovoco, two student teams have developed an efficient solution to digitize and automate the entire contract creation process. The developed workflow makes it possible to create employment contracts as well as customer contracts and other documents quickly and easily – with just a few clicks.
The two teams each chose a different approach. One team relied on Microsoft Power Apps, the other on Microsoft Power Automate. Both solutions offer significant advantages, but differ in the way in which the process was automated.
Objective: Less time, more efficiency
The aim of this project was to automate the entire contract creation process as much as possible. In concrete terms, this means less manual work, no delays and significantly less time spent. The solution we developed saves up to 50% of the time previously needed to create and process contracts manually. At the same time, the solution ensures that all legal requirements are met by integrating digital signatures.
The process is as simple as possible: the relevant information is recorded, automatically inserted into the contract and the contract can be digitally signed directly. This automation not only improves the efficiency of contract creation, but also minimizes the error rate.
The different approaches to automating contracts: Microsoft Power Apps vs. Power Automate
- Microsoft Power Apps: A team relied on Power Apps to develop a user-friendly application that allows users to enter contract data and generate a contract instantly. The application provides a clear, intuitive interface that makes the contract creation process quick and easy for end users. The output is a fully generated contract.
- Microsoft Power Automate: The other team worked with Power Automate, a solution specifically designed to optimize work processes by automating data flows. Power Automate speeds up the contract creation process by automating data queries, processing and transfers between different systems. The workflow works in the background and ensures that all information is processed automatically and in real time – without manual input.
Benefits for companies: Efficiency, flexibility and time savings
The biggest advantage of this solution is the enormous increase in efficiency: companies that previously relied on manual processes can now fully automate their contract processes. This leads to a drastic reduction in time and better scalability.
With the developed solution, companies can not only create employment contracts quickly and easily, but also other types of contracts that are regularly required in many companies. The digital workflow works not only for HR departments, but for any company that works with contracts and wants to digitize these processes.
Technology in use: Microsoft Power Automate and Power Apps
The choice of technologies was crucial to the success of the project. Both tools – Microsoft Power Automate and Microsoft Power Apps – offer individual benefits and enable seamless integration into existing IT infrastructures without the need for complex or expensive hardware.
- Microsoft Power Automate ensures that the data required for contract creation is automatically recorded and processed.
- Microsoft Power Apps makes it possible to create a user-friendly interface to capture the data and generate the contract – all in a single workflow.
Both approaches offer a scalable, cloud-based solution that can be easily adapted to the requirements of different company sizes and sectors.
Conclusion: A future-proof solution for companies
Our project for the automation of contract processes impressively demonstrates how companies can optimize their workflows and increase their efficiency by using modern digital technologies. With the solution we have developed, companies can not only speed up their contract processes, but also eliminate manual work and sources of error. The result is a digital, flexible workflow that is tailored to the needs of the future.
By using Microsoft Power Automate and Power Apps, we have developed two different but very effective systems that enable companies to work smart and efficiently – with a solution that is contemporary, easy to implement and user-friendly.
