Karibu: clevergig's invoicing speeds up the processes

About Karibu

Karibu started as a company from the need to provide sports lessons during breaks. They knew people in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost who could do that, and that's how it all started. The company was founded by four people and has now grown into a staffing agency collaborating with 40 schools and having a flex pool of more than 100 people. 'Karibu' means 'Welcome' in Swahili, and that's their motto: everyone is welcome. "We offer clay lessons, sports, graffiti, philosophy, music, dance, and theatre. But we also have other offerings; our team is very diverse. This allows us to always find a match," says Max Bukuru, one of the co-founders.

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Covid was a turning point for Karibu: there was more demand for creative education in schools as children were at home for so long. Nelson Bukuru, another co-founder, says they "started at the right time with a good idea, hence such rapid growth." Now, Karibu also assists summer schools and youth institutions. Although they are currently mostly in the regions of Amsterdam, Almere, North Holland, and South Holland, they aim to go national as soon as possible. Asked about Karibu's ultimate goal, the owners say, "Apart from growing larger, it's crucial that we genuinely contribute to schools. There is a shortage of teachers, and we want to inspire people to enter education. Enrollments in teacher training are not very high, but maybe potential individuals can be found in a different way. We now have many creative individuals who have also become interested in education."

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Planning and time registration before Clevergig

At the very beginning, Karibu used Numbers for their planning and time registration. Then they switched to 'Werktijden,' but that didn't work for them either. It only provided them with a roster that they could also create manually. Nelson knew about Clevergig through another agency and had been considering switching for a while. They only had difficulty choosing the right time to switch. Max explains the moment they made that decision: "In November, we had our best month ever. I was scheduling all services myself, checking all time registrations, and verifying incoming invoices. The entire administration was on my shoulders. At the end of the month, I said I never wanted to do it like that again, spending a whole month checking everything by myself. It was too much work. I spent the whole day checking. And when the invoices arrived, I had to respond to all incoming invoices. At one point, I think I even had a dream, and I called Nelson in the morning and said that I had made an appointment with Clevergig at night." Since December 2022, Karibu has been actively using Clevergig, including its invoicing program.

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Experience with Clevergig

The transition happened very quickly, only e-invoicing took a bit longer — two days. Karibu started during a holiday, so they could take their time switching. "It couldn't be any different in no time," says Nelson. According to both owners, the tasks have become easier, and other people within the company can also handle planning and electronic invoicing. This gives them additional support. They also respond more quickly to last-minute shifts. In the three months of using clevergig, they've already grown by 30-40% again. At Karibu, planning is often tailor-made, but with Clevergig, they can create a role for everyone. They still often send personal messages to people, but the rest is now automated, and they find it super convenient. Max admits, "It saves so much time and headache for both sides. The person working also doesn't want to email all the time about the hours that do or don't match."

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Clevergig's invoicing program

Since Karibu also uses our invoicing program, we asked how that's going. Mostly, Max works with invoicing software: "Our accountant fills it all in. I just have to create and send it, and then I'm done. It's straightforward. Everyone gets their invoice quickly, which makes a difference. It has so many advantages. Especially that people who work with us get an invoice quickly on the first or second of the month. So far, we've only received positive feedback. People are just glad that we arrange it for them. When we invoiced without invoicing software, it often went wrong."