Dutch Ministries Save Time (and Skip Frustration) with Tangelo

The Dutch national government has once again chosen Tangelo’s software to streamline collaboration and publishing. All twelve ministries now rely on our platform to prepare and publish critical parliamentary financial papers—working more efficiently and with less stress.

“We hear from all contributors that it’s fantastic to always work with the most recent version,” says Stephanie Kriek, Senior Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Finance. “That sounds basic, but it’s not when you’re dealing with many people and moving parts.”

A Timely Transformation

The implementation across all ministries wrapped up in early 2020—just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Managers were relieved we had Tangelo when we suddenly couldn’t work together physically,” says Kriek. “The interface is modern and clear. The process is smoother than ever. While the turnaround time stayed about the same, we now have more time to focus on quality. And even with last-minute changes, we feel far more at ease.”

Leading the Way: Ministry of Finance

The Ministry of Finance was the first to adopt Tangelo, using it to produce the 2019 Budget Memorandum and, later, the Spring Budget Adjustments and the consolidated Annual Financial Report.

Before Tangelo, the process hadn’t changed in 17 years: endless Word documents, handwritten edits, version confusion, and stressful final print checks. While earlier attempts to modernize fell flat, this time it stuck.

“I’d been involved in several software rollouts before,” Kriek recalls. “Tangelo is simply a strong product. And people are more open to cloud-based solutions now. It’s become the new normal.”

Smooth Roll-Out, Seamless Transition

Tangelo onboarded three ministries at a time, with teams testing features and giving real-time feedback. Just over a year later, all twelve were on board.

Then the pandemic hit.

“We couldn’t have done this with our old process,” says Kriek. “The realization was immediate: ‘How lucky we already have this!’ We no longer needed to be in the same room to get things done.”

Empowering Teams

The Tangelo platform proved so intuitive that the Ministry of Finance now runs a helpdesk for other ministries. In most cases, users help each other—and when they can’t, they turn to Tangelo’s easy-to-follow video tutorials.

Today, 90% of all documents produced in Tangelo are legal in nature. Each one has a coordinator who assigns tasks, keeping responsibilities clear and contributors focused. That means no more bottlenecks or chaotic final sprints. Changes can be made directly in the system, even at the last minute.

Clearer Oversight, Cleaner Output

Version management is one of the biggest improvements—and it's not just about tracking changes. With Tangelo, ministries can now deliver polished, well-formatted parliamentary documents instead of rough Word drafts.

“We still print some versions, but all changes happen in Tangelo now,” says Kriek. “Audit Services have much more visibility. They can follow discussions, track their feedback, and stop maintaining parallel records.”

What’s Next

The success of the platform has earned it a permanent role in the ministries’ document processes. The next phase? Direct integration with financial systems. While Excel uploads are currently used for tables, ministries are eager to publish documents themselves using Tangelo’s export tools.

“Step by step, we’re building a faster, more efficient, and error-free process that saves time and eliminates frustration,” Kriek explains. “We’re excited to keep evolving this with Tangelo as a partner. And it helps that you’re patient, responsive, and truly service-minded.”