How Can the Right Technology Increase Operating Efficiency?
Is your company taking full advantage of the technology resources and technology enabled services that are available in today's marketplace? Given current challenging economic conditions, it is critical that your real estate management firm operates at maximum efficiency. That means that we all must be adaptable to change, be cognizant of and invest in up to date technology that will promote business process improvement. In the world of real estate property management, there are many real estate technology solutions that can make a meaningful difference for many owners and property management firms. We believe the most important of these technology solutions is a lease-based accounting software, coupled with tightly integrated complimentary technology that address the many other functional requirements associated with the investment, ownership, and management of real property.
What is Lease-Based Accounting software? How will it help manage real estate assets?
Lease based accounting software is a critical core technology solution for property owners and property managers to control, manage and maximize cash flow from operations, increase bottom line profits and improve property values. Different from generic accounting software, the lease-based accounting software drives the overall accounting, reporting and asset management of real estate properties. SKYLINE Real Estate Management software is an example of a fully integrated property management software solution. The core of the lease-based accounting property management solution offers a comprehensive tenant lease administration and property database along with general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable and financial reporting. This type of combined solution allows for effective automation and streamlining of operations within a property management firm. Client server or web-based solutions like portals, mobility, document management and workflow or customizable reporting are typically integrated with the core technology to increase efficiency in other business processes, such as investment accounting, portfolio accounting, debt management, budgeting and forecasting, and computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), to name a few.

Show me an example of a complimentary technology solution that could be integrated within my core property management software to increase efficiency or decrease costs for my firm.
Automated accounts payable technology is a great example of how to leverage document management and workflow processing technology to increase process efficiency and data accuracy while decreasing costs incurred in the management of real property. Automated accounts payable solutions have been in place for a number of years, but only in recent years has it become cost justifiable primarily due to the internet. With an automated accounts payable solution, all paper invoices may be eliminated and the interaction with vendors becomes the responsibility of the service provider allowing for redeployment of resources to the core business activity - management of real estate.
The key benefits of the automated accounts payable application are:
* Faster retrieval of payables documents and invoices
* Improved invoice efficiency and approval process
* Lower costs and elimination of paper
* Enhanced visibility to and control over outstanding invoices
The traditional step-by-step accounts payable process has an average duration of 23 days. It encompasses numerous steps, including preparation of a paper invoice, receipt, sorting and indexing of the invoice by the payor, entry into the accounting system and approval and payment. AvidXchange, a leader in automated accounts payable solutions, reduces this process to three steps and decreases the duration to 2.7 days. With the AvidXchange, the vendor creates the invoice on the payor's AvidXchange system, the invoice is electronically created and stored in the AvidInvoice system and is available for the payor to process the payment.
Michael Praeger, AvidXchange chief executive officer, states that "Across our client base, we have seen that a real estate company which only processes 2,000 vendor invoices per month is able to see discount savings exceeding $200,000 annually. In today's environment, there are not very many treasury functions producing consistent 30%+ returns on your money."
Over the next two months, we will outline in a bi-weekly article how you can leverage technology to increase your bottom line through operational efficiencies which cut direct expenses in the properties you manage.
SS&C Technologies, Inc. and its SKYLINE Real Estate Management software group recognize the need for efficiency and have selected the AvidXchange solution as its preferred automated account payables application partner. Additional information on SKYLINE Real Estate Software can be found at http://www.skyline2.com.

John Meedzan is vice president of SKYLINE Real Estate Software, SS&C Technologies, Inc., Windsor, Conn.