Integrated software streamlines property management

Integrated software streamlines property managementRather than drawing solutions from multiple vendors, the optimal real estate technology platform is a single, integrated solution.Typically, property firms are plagued by administrative work, with time wasted filling in forms, filing reports, double-checking figures and tracking transactions – and the risk information will get lost or muddled in the process. The good news is that by successfully integrating these processes, companies can save time, money and potentially costly errors.Successful integration’s no simple matter, however. “When you start moving data to disparate systems you need to develop an interface, some kind of validation tool and a whole list of processes. It takes technical know-how,” says Terry Gowan (as pictured), Yardi Systems’ regional director for Australia and New Zealand. “In the past, we built interfaces or re-keyed data manually. Either way, this usually meant risk.”Single-stack software such as Yardi’s Voyager helps minimise that risk: the moment a piece of information is entered into the system, the Voyager application adjusts the platform-wide database automatically, greatly reducing the costs of errors, duplication and manual updating.”What it offers firms is a single source of truth,” Gowan says. “Enter data once, and in real time it’s available to all other users in the system.”Cloud-based software also frees up staff for more important business. “With Voyager, users can access data in real time on their phones while they sit with tenants, or on tablets to present to investors,” notes Gowan. “They’re out facing stakeholders and making informed decisions, not locked to their desks.”Gary Shaw, head of third-party commercial property management company Arcadia Management Group Inc., is among the 16 clients using the latest version of Voyager.Along with the family business, Shaw inherited a DOS-based system that provided no reporting or work-order management and no technology path towards a better, more integrated solution. What he needed was software modules that would support all aspects of the property management life cycle and offer a platform from which he could grow the business.”Going with Voyager’s single-stack approach was a no-brainer,” Shaw says. “It’s so much more efficient housing several business operations in one place rather than updating software in separate databases for finance, maintenance and other operations.” In addition, the single-stack strategy makes it simple to add new solutions to the core system.The paperless procure-to-pay system saves time, money and resources. “Our per-invoice cost has dropped 60 per cent,” says Shaw. Swapping a paperwork order system for Voyager’s platform-integrated portal enables tenants to submit maintenance requests, pay rent and update records online, while the integrated property inspection system lets staff enter information via smart phones in the field.”Arcadia’s growth shows that using a single technology platform for multiple business operations can achieve a tremendous amount of efficiency,” Shaw says.For more