ista, a leading real estate service provider, has achieved significant process optimisation in heating cost billing in collaboration with ERP software provider Impower. By implementing the new bved standard, a first integration for automatic data exchange has been successfully completed. This innovation enables the direct transfer of billing-relevant data between customers' administration software and the ista system via the specially developed ista DataHub.
The primary objective of this development is to substantially simplify the billing process. Property management companies benefit from the elimination of manual exports, uploads and duplicate data entry, as the entire process remains within their familiar ERP environment. This means that customers only need to enter their data once in their own ERP system. All information necessary for heating cost billing, such as master data, tenant changes or property data, is automatically synchronised with ista.
Once all necessary data has been fully transmitted, ista creates the billing in the background and sends the result directly back to the customer's ERP system. In case of any required corrections, feedback is also provided directly within the software used. This end-to-end approach avoids leaving the familiar working environment and leads to a reduction in manual effort of up to 95 percent, as Jonas Kwaschik, Senior Product Manager at ista, notes. He emphasises the potential of automatic data exchange for less administrative effort, faster processes and a noticeable relief in daily business, which he describes as essential for the ongoing digitalisation of the industry.
At the core of the new solution is the ista DataHub, a platform that standardises the connection of ERP systems with ista's services. This creates the necessary foundation for end-to-end digital processes in heating cost billing. The technical basis is the new standard of the German Federal Association for Energy and Water Data Management (bved), which defines uniform interfaces for secure and automated data exchange. ista is the first company in the industry to implement this standard in practice within the DataHub.
The cooperation with Impower demonstrates the functionality and advantages of the new standard. Jürgen Forscht, Managing Director of Impower, highlights that the direct integration of data exchange into the familiar working environment results in time savings, increased transparency and a simplification of daily administrative tasks. The system's architecture is deliberately designed to be open, to allow other ERP providers to connect to the ista DataHub based on the bved standard.
ista is already working with further software partners on additional connections. The overarching goal is to make automated data exchange accessible to a significant part of the ERP market and thus establish a new industry standard for the housing sector. The aim is that by 2027, many property management companies will be able to bill for the 2026 heating period based on fully automated data exchange processes.
