Royale Union Saint-Gilloise structures its growth with Adfinity
Since its return to Division 1A, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise has experienced remarkable growth, both on and off the pitch. Behind this momentum, financial challenges have become significantly more complex. Samuel Braekmans, who has been working as an accountant at the club for five years, shares insights into this transformation and the key role played by Adfinity.
Rapid growth, new challenges
As a professional football club competing at the highest level in Belgium, Union Saint-Gilloise stands out not only for its on-pitch performances. The organization is also committed to strong social and environmental values, as demonstrated by its B Corp certification.
However, this growth and increasing structuring also bring new challenges. The finance department has had to quickly adapt to new requirements, including the introduction of analytical accounting, the implementation of departmental budget management, and the setup of a supplier invoice approval process.
Need for a solution that matched the club’s ambitions
As a result of these developments, existing tools quickly showed their limitations. For Samuel Braekmans and his team, it became essential to implement a solution capable of supporting this growth.
The objective was clear: greater efficiency, reliability, and visibility. This included optimizing invoice approval processes, improving financial reporting, and introducing multi-dimensional analytical accounting.
Beyond functionality, however, the solution also needed ot fit the realities of the sector: a tool aligned with the specific requirements of professional football and already proven in other clubs.
“The solution we were looking for had to meet very specific requirements. It needed to manage multiple environments (at least three in our case), provide integrated reporting functionality - without relying on external tools - and allow certain postings to be automated. We also wanted to work with at least four analytical dimensions to gain detailed insight into our financial performance. In the end, we chose Adfinity because it met all our criteria and expectations", concludes Samuel Braekmans.
Well-managed transition
Moving from one system to another is never easy, especially when teams are used to working with a specific tool. Habits and reflexes are built over time. Transitioning to a new solution is therefore a sensitive phase that requires special attention to ensure that all Finance teams embrace and actively support the change.
“The implementation went very smoothly. We were supported throughout the project by a team of skilled and committed consultants. The process was well structured, and the planning was both strict and efficient. The main challenge was ensuring a smooth transition while going live at the start of a new financial year - a challenge that was successfully met", explains Samuel Braekmans.
Key partnership with Easi
In this transformation, the support provided played a decisive role. This partnership is built for the long term and is based on a strong understanding of the club’s challenges, enabling concrete solutions tailored to the daily operations of the teams.
Tangible day-to-day benefits
Today, the benefits are clear and tangible. One of Adfinity’s main strengths lies in the centralization of functionalities, making previously essential external tools redundant.
“Internal reporting perfectly illustrates this shift. Where Excel-based manual work used to be required - with its associated risk of errors - teams can now produce financial reports directly within the system, in formats aligned with industry regulations", adds Samuel Braekmans.
“There are several other features we particularly appreciate in Adfinity, but if I had to highlight just one, it would certainly be supplier invoice approval. This functionality significantly simplifies internal workflows, eliminates manual email follow-ups, ensures full traceability, and offers greater flexibility in reallocations.”
Beyond operational efficiency, it is the entire financial management approach that has matured. The club now benefits from more reliable reporting tools, more precise budget management, and an improved ability to analyze costs.
“All of these elements contribute to better decision-making and support the club’s development strategy", he concludes.
Solution built for the future
Intuitive, high-performing powerful, and scalable: this is how Samuel Braekmans summarizes Adfinity. Three essential qualities to support a club that, like Union Saint-Gilloise, continues to grow and structure its ambitions - both on and off the pitch.