Finding the Right IT Tool for Real Estate Management

By Alexander J. Narcise

 If you own a real estate investment or property management firm and are reluctant to take on the time-consuming hassle of running a financial report, it’s time to upgrade your accounting software system.

Off-the-shelf accounting software systems don’t know your business. They don’t speak your language. They can’t respond to requests for construction project accounting or help you manage leases, issue tenant arrears reports or run a partner distribution schedule. In fact, they can barely provide the balance sheets, P&L statements, accounts payable listings and payment processing responsibilities you need.

As a result, your accountant can’t give you the information you need to balance the books or provide reports to partners, bankers and prospective investors.

The answer is accounting systems that specialize in meeting the needs of the real estate industry. Here are our favorites.

  • MRI Software. Especially effective for smaller real estate management groups
  • Yardi. Generally best fits larger real estate investment groups
  • Sage 300. Preferred choice for the budgeting and financial reporting demands of new construction projects.

All understand the financial reporting needs of your real estate business. They know the language and can handle whatever drills you need them to. So, with one single purchase, your troubles are over, right? Well at least you’re on the right track. But now you have to install the software and train your employees to use it.

Time to call in the experts

Yes, you can install a system yourself if you have time, patience and the right internal resources.

You will need three months or longer to fully integrate a new software system into your operation to do so without disrupting day-to-day business, costing yourself time and money.

Instead, consider hiring a third-party consultant with a team whose collaborative expertise is at the nexus of IT, real estate and accounting. By bringing in specialists who understand all phases of the challenge, your consultant will efficiently and effectively install your new system and integrate it seamlessly within your operation. The next step is training people how to use it in such a way that you don’t feel an interruption. It’s also imperative that the consultant will be there to offer tech support as needed. And it will be needed.

Now you’re using the right tool for the job, and your decision will be rewarded the next time you need to quickly and easily run a tenant lease report.

As co-partner in charge of the Real Estate and Construction Services Group, Alexander J. Narcise, CPA, specializes in all areas of accounting, auditing and taxes for family-owned real estate businesses. Reach him at anarcise@wiss.visioncreativegroup.com.

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

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