Are your business systems propelling your commercial real estate (CRE) development project forward, or are they holding you back?
Record-keeping applications may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re planning for a successful CRE project. You immediately think of getting a talented team of reliable professionals signed on to the development. Then you might think of your materials and supply chain. But your data systems keep your team on track and keep the money flowing so your workers can get the supplies they need to complete the project on time.
Spreadsheet software may have been good enough for tracking CRE projects a decade ago. But with substantially better real estate development solutions available today, successful real estate developers are giving their systems an upgrade. Modern real estate companies can’t afford to have their data management software hold them back.
Let’s count down the top five ways outdated development data systems could be holding back your CRE project.
5. Missing Historical Project Data
How have your previous commercial property developments gone? Do you have information on historical projects you can leverage for your new development? And is that information accessible?
If you’re keeping your project data on static spreadsheets, it’s exceedingly difficult to carry the lessons from previous projects into future projects.
Holistic database solutions incorporate historical project data so you can build on previous successes and avoid repeating mistakes.
4. Cash Flow Issues from Poor Invoice Tracking
Can your current commercial property development software manage loan draws and capital contributions? Does it accurately track invoicing and payments?
Without a solid cash-in/cash-out accounting system, your CRE project can quickly run into cash flow issues. These issues then create delays in payments to your supply chain, which can result in further delays in delivery, and ultimately, pushes back your project’s timeline.
3. Lack of Transparency With Current Project Data
Is your team able to access the project data they need to be successful in their roles?
In many commercial real estate development projects, the developer knows how they expect the project to go. But they don’t have a place to record this information so it’s accessible to key members of the team.
With today’s cloud-based property development software solutions, current project details are recorded and disseminated to the appropriate personnel. This means fewer misunderstandings, fewer oversights, and greater efficiency.
2. Manual Data Entry Errors
Keeping old school spreadsheets often requires maintaining parallel records; the same data may need to be entered into multiple spreadsheets. And because of the inevitable human error involved in manual data entry, this leads to inconsistent data. As anyone who’s ever managed a CRE project can tell you, these discrepancies require hours of tedious reconciliation work to correct.
CRE software solutions mitigate the risk of errors by minimizing the required data entry. Data entered once can be used in multiple auto-generated reports. So you save time by both reducing the amount of data entry required and minimizing the time spent reconciling various reports.
1. Inaccurate Forecasting
If you can’t forecast accurately, your project is at a far greater risk of coming in over budget and blowing past the original completion date. Pulling forecasting data from a series of ad hoc reports is time-consuming at best, error-riddled at worst, and messy in any case.
Comprehensive commercial real estate development software is designed to provide more accurate forecasting capabilities, helping you stay on schedule and on budget.
Set Your CRE Project Up for Success
If you’re still using spreadsheets to manage your commercial property development projects, you’re holding yourself back. Sign up for a complimentary demo of Budgetrac’s commercial real estate development software today, and see how it can lead to more successful projects.