Real estate investment post-COVID: Technology is here to stay

Posted on by Chris Vroman

Since March 2020, the real estate industry has experienced a large shift to a digital environment in the face of a global pandemic. As investors shift their attention to the future of commercial spaces in a tech-driven world, many are wondering which COVID-related changes can be expected to stick around.

In our upcoming webinar, a panel of experts from Deloitte, One11 Advisors, CohnReznick, and MRI Software will share their insights into the specific ways investors, owners, and occupiers in the real estate industry are reacting to current market trends. Here are some key pointers to look out for:

1) There’s increased interest in innovation – from all parties

Even as both the traditional office environment and brick-and-mortar retail were experiencing turbulence, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology. Real estate owners and managers were forced to move their businesses further into the digital space than ever before, and many have come to recognise the benefit that these innovations can have on how their organisations are run. To quote Ken Meyer, Principal at Deloitte Consulting:

On a foundational level, everyone recognised that everything needed to be accessible, and everything needed to be properly integrated so you could drill down and see the data.

Since the pivot to digital in 2020, many of the reasons that owners and operators traditionally opted against impactful tech adoptions simply vanished. Now, with those barriers gone, companies are investigating the possibilities of tech innovation as a competitive advantage more than ever before.

2) Tech adoption can mitigate risk in strategic planning

Having access to the right data can help you make more informed business decisions, but in a world where it seems like everything is “unprecedented,” access to historical information isn’t always enough. Utilising technology that enables businesses to analyse market trends, variables, and other external factors can provide valuable insight that can be used to drive better decision-making and optimise return on investment.

3) Investors want to understand the end users of their services

Core aspects of offices and retail centres were dramatically impacted by the loss of foot traffic at the start of the pandemic. Real estate investors have become acutely aware that they rely on more than just consistent rent rolls and cashflows, they also rely on the employees that work for the occupiers, or on the customers that retail tenants depend on for profit. To boost performance in businesses dependent on the human element, investors need more information on the end users of their services – customers, employees, visitors – than ever before. By taking cues from the relationship-driven residential sector, commercial real estate investors are adopting smart technologies that enable them to benchmark the behaviours of those end users in order to drive performance.

Among all these observations, one thing that stands out is that the digital transformation in the real estate industry is here to stay, and when it comes to tech adoption, looking forward will be the only way to stay ahead of the curve. Learn more about the opportunities for real estate investors in a post-COVID environment in this thought provoking the webinar “Future-Proof Your Real Estate Investment Strategy: Best Practices from a Panel of MRI Partner”

Real estate investment post-COVID: Technology is here to stay

Posted on by Chris Vroman

Since March 2020, the real estate industry has experienced a large shift to a digital environment in the face of a global pandemic. As investors shift their attention to the future of commercial spaces in a tech-driven world, many are wondering which COVID-related changes can be expected to stick around.

Recently, a panel of experts from Deloitte, One11 Advisors, CohnReznick, and MRI Software shared their insights into the specific ways investors, owners, and occupiers in the real estate industry are reacting to current market trends. Here are some of the key takeaways:

1) There’s increased interest in innovation – from all parties

Even as both the traditional office environment and brick-and-mortar retail were experiencing turbulence, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology. Real estate owners and operators were forced to move their businesses further into the digital space than ever before, and many have come to recognize the benefit that these innovations can have on how their organizations are run. To quote Ken Meyer, Principal at Deloitte Consulting:

On a foundational level, everyone recognized that everything needed to be accessible, and everything needed to be properly integrated so you could drill down and see the data.

Since the pivot to digital in 2020, many of the reasons that owners and operators traditionally opted against impactful tech adoptions simply vanished. Now, with those barriers gone, companies are investigating the possibilities of tech innovation as a competitive advantage more than ever before.

2) Tech adoption can mitigate risk in strategic planning

Having access to the right data can help you make more informed business decisions, but in a world where it seems like everything is “unprecedented,” access to historical information isn’t always enough. Utilizing technology that enables businesses to analyze market trends, variables, and other external factors can provide valuable insight that can be used to drive better decision-making and optimize return on investment.

3) Investors want to understand the end users of their services

Core aspects of offices and retail centers were dramatically impacted by the loss of foot traffic at the start of the pandemic. Real estate investors have become acutely aware that they rely on more than just consistent rent rolls and cashflows – they also rely on the employees that work for the occupiers, or on the customers that retail tenants depend on for profit. In order to boost performance in businesses dependent on the human element, investors need more information on the end users of their services – customers, employees, visitors – than ever before. By taking cues from the relationship-driven residential sector, commercial real estate investors are adopting smart technologies that enable them to benchmark the behaviors of those end users in order to drive performance.

Among all these observations, the panel of experts agreed on one thing: the digital transformation in the real estate industry is here to stay, and when it comes to tech adoption, looking forward will be the only way to stay ahead of the curve. Learn more about the opportunities for real estate investors in a post-COVID environment.

MRI Software wins 2021 Stevie® Award!

Posted on by Chris Vroman

MRI Software is thrilled to announce that we’ve won a Stevie® Award for the fourth time in the Large Computer Software Company of the Year category! For the past 50 years, we’ve taken pride in our ability to come together as one company with the best and most enthusiastic employees to deliver excellent software, services and support to our clients. As we continue throughout another year of tremendous growth, we’re honored to receive another Stevie Award as a result of our efforts.

Helping clients innovate for the future

Since 2019, MRI has expanded its technology solutions for real estate owners, operators and occupiers through new product launches, enhancements to existing offerings, and strategic acquisitions. MRI’s solutions help businesses respond to the challenges of COVID-19 and plan for the future by using technology to embrace digital operations and prepare for the return to the office. MRI is proud to be a PropTech industry pioneer that helps clients plan for the future by becoming technology visionaries through the execution of several key strategies including:

Transition to digital services – When the pandemic forced a sudden shift from in-person to online operations, MRI clients had access to software that allowed them to easily transition to virtual processes and maintain business continuity — from collecting rent payments online to managing the leasing process virtually and collecting digital signatures.

Reinvent the workplace – As a “new normal” rears its head, MRI has been at the forefront of helping real estate occupiers and landlords adjust to and navigate changes in space requirements, lease agreements and contracts. With space scheduling software and tools that help manage employees and visitors in the physical office, MRI is offering clients a way to reinvent the workplace for their business needs.

Forging a path forward together

This award underlines MRI’s understanding of where the real estate industry has been headed with or without the pandemic. Having the right technology in place will not only enable real estate organizations to preserve business continuity in the short term as they return to the office – it will position forward-thinking companies as industry visionaries that are able to thrive in the face of change. As we move forward into an era where the workplace experience will be more varied than ever, MRI is committed to both innovation and an open and connected approach to real estate software. Learn how you can become part of our award-winning team.

4 essential workplace tech features to manage the return to office

Posted on by kestoesta

Despite the current lockdown and work-from-home situation, employers need to think ahead about how to reopen offices efficiently when the time comes.

What will the office look like once workers begin returning? Without a doubt, there will be plenty of new safety protocols involving strict personal hygiene and physical distancing, but how do we make this transition as simple and as safe as possible?

As employers, we are all navigating new territory. The workplace we left many months ago is unlikely to be the same when employees return. Most organisations plan to increase their use of technology to manage the flexibility that will be required in the office of the future. In these unprecedented times, the reality is likely to be very different than we anticipate.

Despite the current lockdown and work-from-home situation, employers need to think ahead about how to reopen offices efficiently when the time comes.

Using technology to keep your employees safe

Companies across the globe face many challenges when it comes to opening their offices again, and it can be hard to know the best way to ensure employee welfare is maintained. We’ve pulled together the top four features to look out for in any people presence management software:

Employee and guest screening

Screening all employees and guests before they arrive at the property ensures that only those who meet your organisation’s onsite criteria are granted access. It’s also incredibly beneficial to get alerted when you encounter a person who does not meet your criteria so their access can be restricted.

Touchless sign in/out

The fewer surfaces we touch in the workplace, the better for slowing the spread of germs. Ensure your software has the option for employees and guests to enter and exit your location using a touchless kiosk, QR code poster, mobile app, or via the front of house team. These systems reduce health risks, improve overall hygiene, and create peace of mind for anyone entering or exiting your property.

Onsite policy acknowledgement

Make sure that everyone who enters your location is aware of your organisation’s requirements by using a system that allows them to acknowledge your onsite policies. This could be as simple as asking them to agree that they will use hand sanitizer or stay six feet away from other people. For any question not answered correctly, someone on your team can be notified.

Limit numbers onsite

Automatically set the number of people allowed to be onsite at any one time rather than leaving it up to an individual. This feature takes the responsibility off your receptionist or facilities team and ensures that anyone attempting to gain access after your maximum number is reached will not be allowed to enter, and one of your employees will be notified. This is a great feature to help manage density within your office space.

MRI Workplace Central offers these and other features to help you keep your organization and those within it safe and secure. Watch the latest webinar here to learn more about how technology can help you prepare for the future of the office.

Property management software update: Property Tree August 2021

Posted on by kestoesta

No more workarounds are needed with the new print communications option in Property Tree! This plus more property management software features are in the August 2021 release. Here’s a quick rundown of all the enhancements available for you starting this month.

August 2021 Property Tree updates

Communications History – Print View

The new print-friendly option from the Communications History screen will display the details of Outbound messages with recipient(s) name, date, time and the entire body. A definite time-saver when you need to show evidence of communication history with tenants at tribunal hearings.

Communications Tab update

The Communications Tab has also had an upgrade with new field headings visible: Category, To/From, Subject, Reference, Delivery/received status, Latest Date Time and type

Tribunal Report update

Now you can create a more comprehensive Tribunal Report, detailing all correspondence and conversations for a given tenant and or owner in a period of time.

Manage Rent Roll export Report update

GST and ABN information has been added to the Manage Rent Roll export report, providing you with an easily accessible overview of Commercial Property Profile settings in your rent roll.

Default account code update in Invoice Genius

You can now update the default income account code for tenancy invoices via Invoice Genius.

More on Property Tree August 2021 Release

To learn more about this release you may read the release notes here. You can also take the self-paced training for a step-by-step guide in using the new features.

Check out our upcoming webinars

Join us at any of the following free webinars as we share the latest in technology to help creating amazing experiences that will elevate your service, drive greater productivity and set you apart from the competition!

Conversational AI: The game-changer for property managers

Thursday 19 August | 1:00 pm AEST

During the free online session, we’ll explore:

  • An overview of what is conversational AI
  • How the power of AI can be realised in your property management business
  • A walk-though of a new solution offering enliven AI to better manage your property listings process
  • The immediate benefits your teams and customers will achieve

>>Register Now

Maintenance Plus – Dial up efficiencies and customer experience

Thursday 26 August | 1:00 pm AEST

During this free online session we will share how Maintenance Plus can:

  • Automate processes to remove the manual tasks around the maintenance workflow
  • Provide transparency to better engage all stakeholders
  • Refocus where your team best spends their time to help grow your business
  • Get started quickly with different solution options available for agencies of all sizes

>> Register Now

11 features your facility booking system should include

Posted on by cmarson

With incredible potential to enhance the productivity and efficiency of your business, what should you be looking for in a facility booking system to turn this potential into a reality?

Meeting space – it is a precious commodity in most companies, and can often feel like it is in short supply.

Impromptu, unscheduled discussion can block up a room without anyone’s knowledge, leading to awkward clashes if someone else needs it for their own meeting. Cancellations and no-shows can go unreported, meaning actively available rooms are ignored because people presume they’re occupied. Admin errors lead to frustrating double-bookings, leaving one party in limbo over what to do next.

These scenarios can have a lot of undesirable repercussions. Productivity grinds to a halt. Business efficiency takes a big hit. Admin teams are put under pressure to find solutions. Tensions can rise between co-workers over clashing reservations. Massive problems that can be overcome with an effective facility booking system.

In a previous article, we have already outlined the valuable ways that room booking solutions can boost business efficiency. But, that hinges on finding the right booking solution – one that contains all the key features you need to make these problems a thing of the past.

That is what we intend to do here. Explore our 11 recommended features to look out for in a facility booking system so you can approach this decision with the right expectations.

1. Flexible displays of meeting spaces

First, it is important that your chosen facility booking system is user-friendly and adaptable to the needs of each user. Without this inherent usability, it is unlikely that the solution will be adopted by your team, and will therefore not make any difference to the ease of arranging meetings or how frequently you run into problems.

So, to accommodate end-users, it is beneficial that your system can interact with them in a way they feel is comfortable. They may prefer to see a complete floorplan of your company and select potential meeting rooms through this. They may find a simple list is more straightforward to engage with, or a calendar view.

By selecting a system with an adjustable interface that can change from user-to-user, this makes it more likely that your entire workforce will be able to intuitively engage with it, improving buy-in potential and helping you reap the benefits of this technology.

2. Accessible from any device

Another critical feature to help encourage people to use your facility booking system is the flexibility to book spaces at any time, on any device. If there is only one path to reserving rooms, this restriction can reduce the number of people who actively use it, again limiting its overall usefulness to your business.

If people have multiple options over where they use the system – on their phone, on a tablet, at their desktop, from the room itself – then they can choose the approach that feels most comfortable with them. Again, this will encourage them to use the system frequently, helping your workdays become more productive and efficient.

3. Ability to filter rooms based on requirements

It should be a seamless, streamlined experience for users to find an appropriate room for their needs. Every meeting is different after all, and an effective booking solution will make it straightforward to find a good place for the meeting you want to conduct.

For instance, in our own Facilities Booking Suite, the easy-to-use filter system allows users to locate rooms based on:

  • Date and time of intended meeting or event

  • Number of people a room or space can accommodate (especially important to meet social distancing guidelines)

  • Various room features (projectors, video conference devices, whiteboards, etc.)

This feature helps users find a fitting room much faster than having to hop from location to location on their device. It becomes less of a hassle to book and reassures them that the room they choose will have everything they need for the meeting to run smoothly.

4. Real-time information

Particularly in busy work environments, meetings can be booked, switched and cancelled multiple times on any given day. It is therefore crucial that the information your facility booking system gives you is always accurate, preventing the chances of double bookings, or unoccupied rooms being left bare because people weren’t aware a previous meeting had recently been postponed.

A system that delivers real-time information is therefore vital to preventing scheduling conflicts and keeping your team in the loop over available space at all times.

5. Automated communication

Manually arranging a meeting or event can be a tedious process and involve a lot of emails. While it is necessary that every attendee is sent the meeting details, and areas such as catering and housekeeping are in the loop over what they need to do in preparation for the meeting, this places a lot of burden on the person setting everything up.

You may think this will only take 5 minutes. But, depending on how many meetings are arranged each day and how many people are responsible for setting these up, these 5-minute blocks can quickly eat up hours of time across your workforce.

Instead, a facility booking system that automatically sends notifications to all attendees and relevant other groups when the booking is confirmed makes informing everyone a quick and painless process, releasing the burden on your admin staff.

6. Visitor management and wayfinding

If someone is new to the business, or is a visitor unfamiliar with the office layout, it can be a real challenge to find where you need to go for an upcoming meeting or event. If they’re late because they couldn’t immediately find the room, it can force the meeting to be rushed and therefore not as productive as it should have been.

To prevent this from happening, your facility booking system should present users with complete visibility of the building, enabling them to guide their way to the meeting without difficulty. Tagging directions against every room should also be an option, offering unfamiliar users with points of reference and clear instructions that will help them arrive on time.

7. Integration with popular software

No matter how easy-to-use a new facility booking system may be, some people simply aren’t comfortable with change, and will always revert to solutions they’re familiar with. Consequently, it is important that any solution you choose can connect with more well-known, widely-used software.

As an example, our Facilities Booking Suite fully integrates with Microsoft Office Appointments, as we understand how prevalent this is in organisations worldwide. This means that people can continue to arrange meetings on software that they are comfortable with, yet benefit from the more comprehensive capabilities and support these systems offer.

8. Connects to conference room displays

Regardless of how frequently you use a room booking solution, impromptu meetings are always going to happen. This can leave people wandering the corridors in search of a suitable space for a decent chunk of time, or cause confusion when another person books the room which has become occupied.

Therefore, an effective facility booking system should integrate with interactive room signage and in-meeting displays positioned outside each room. This means that people walking by are immediately aware if a room is free or busy, and can then quickly claim an available room through the booking system which will then switch the displays to occupied for others.

This is also useful to minimise the chances of interruptions or loud noises outside the room causing disruption. If people can clearly see that a room is occupied, they will be more likely to tone down the volume and be conscious of the people working.

At MRI Software, our Facilities Booking Suite achieves this through Qubi – interactive light cubes that give a clear indication if a room is booked or available. Using optional RFID cards or tags, you can also use Qubi to:

  • Check in and check out of rooms

  • Extend room booking times if meetings overrun

  • Directly book rooms

  • Get notifications of booking times ending or cancellations

9. Set permission levels for relevant employees

There may be certain rooms or booking privileges that you want to reserve for certain employees. For example, you may want to limit certain rooms for client meetings, or for your management team to strategise and reach key decisions.

With our own facility booking system, you can set permissions over who can access what on the system, again limiting the potential for conflict over who can use particular rooms and when.

10. Customisation capabilities

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to facility booking software. Space availability, company needs and building occupation will differ from organisation to organisation. As a result, it is important that the system that you end up using is designed to meet your business requirements.

The best way to ensure this is by choosing a system produced by an experienced, trusted supplier. They will likely have the expertise and understanding to tailor your solution to suit your needs, and will be receptive to unique adjustments and integrations you require.

Furthermore, it is beneficial to choose a system that can be customised with your brand logos, colour and imagery. This gives your team ownership over the system, helping foster a bond between your workforce and a solution that is going to greatly improve efficiency.

11. Data analytics and reporting

Finally, your facility booking system can be a useful asset in your organisation’s overarching space management strategy. Are any rooms fully booked for weeks ahead? What about rooms that are barely ever booked? How long are certain rooms, desks or spaces occupied for on a daily basis?

All of these questions and more can provide valuable insight into how space is utilised across your property, as long as your system can capture and share the relevant analytics. With this data to hand, you can:

  • Analyse what makes certain rooms so popular, and adjust less popular rooms accordingly

  • Determine better purposes for meeting rooms that are often left unoccupied

  • Assess if meetings are overrunning too much, or are delivering productive results for the time devoted to them

  • Propose ways to make lesser-visited rooms more visible to users, so the spread of meetings is wider

  • Discover if people are using much larger rooms for meetings than the number of attendees would suggest, which may be impeding other, more crowded meetings from taking place

Find the right facility booking system with MRI Software

The right facility booking system can be a game-changing development for practically any organisation. By keeping scheduling conflicts to a minimum and making the process of arranging meetings effortless, it means your company can operate more efficiently, admin teams are under less pressure, and your teams are empowered to organise their own get-togethers.

But, not all of these systems are created equal. We hope that by providing this insight into these 11 crucial features for any outstanding booking system, you will be better positioned to find the solution that meets your expectations.

Our powerful Facilities Booking Suite delivers on all of these key features and more. Available standalone or in conjunction with our comprehensive MRI Evolution and Customer Portal solutions, you can be confident that all meetings run smoothly and no time is wasted.

Get in touch for more information on how you can control company-wide bookings like never before.

Posted in FSI

How MRI Property Tree can help with rental property management

Posted on by MRI

It’s no secret that rental property management can be a stressful occupation. Property managers are regularly required to manage portfolios in the hundreds, and staying on top of maintenance requests, routine inspections and everything else required in the day-to-day management of rental properties can be overwhelming.

MRI Property Tree is designed from the ground up to meet the needs of leading real estate agencies as effectively as those of individuals managing a single rental property. It makes your work that much easier with a host of innovative and useful functionalities, allowing you to provide more proactive management and give your landlords and tenants great experiences.

Reasons why MRI Property Tree makes rental property management easier

1. Cloud-based to support your new way of working

The cornerstone of MRI Property Tree’s unique capabilities is the fact that it is 100% cloud-based. This allows users to access the system at any time and from anywhere to manage rental properties. Rather than being tied to a server-connected computer, your property managers can securely access the information you choose to make available to them from their laptops and smart devices no matter where they are. Managing properties in the cloud also saves you the start-up cost of purchasing and installing server hardware and maintenance and upgrades, making it easily scalable to match your needs.

2. Automated services all around

One of the most time-consuming aspects of property management is the large volume of tedious, repetitive tasks – many of which require manual data entries.

MRI Property Tree addresses this by providing multiple automated functionalities including arrears notices, receipting and reconciliation, ownership statements and inspection reminders. With ‘set and forget’ communications to owners, tenants and creditors, the time saved is immense, freeing you and your property managers up to tackle other pressing tasks.

3. Personalised communications

Communications is such an integral part of rental property management and MRI Property Tree is designed for you to connect with landlords, tenants and stakeholders easily and effectively. Merge fields and template customisation allow you to deliver messages with a personalised touch, while a full communications history ensures you have access to all information and conversations required to get the job done. To make it even better, a universal communications platform is currently in the works to provide you with better visibility to your communications in a single location including email, SMS and portal posts, so every message is easy to find.

4. Deliver great customer experiences

At the heart of rental property management are the landlords and tenants who rely on you to make their lives better. MRI Property Tree’s features are made to help you deliver great experiences, whilst ensuring you save time. Owner and Property Portals provide your customers with online access to inspections, maintenance, important documents and financials information at any time. Tenants can also access MRI Property Connect a comprehensive ANZ-first tenant mobile app that gives your tenants the digital services they expect to manage their property information.

5. Easy adoption and property management data importing

Even when a system’s feature set will make processes simpler, there is often the tedious and time-consuming task of importing huge amounts of data from another rental property management platform. MRI Property Tree makes the data migration process fast and simple, allowing you to spend less time setting up and begin enjoying more efficient rental property management.

6. Integrated accounting solutions

Forget separate accounting systems with a steep learning curve. MRI Property Tree takes care of nearly all your accounting needs to manage your rental properties comprehensively. The Invoice Genius feature allows you to upload invoices and extract information in bulk, making the invoicing process a breeze. An upload of your receivables will result in automatically reconciled and receipted payments. Meanwhile, creditor disbursements, payouts and all statements are easily managed and available at a moment’s notice. All your trust accounting can be done with confidence in the knowledge that MRI Property Tree is fully legislatively compliant in both Australia and New Zealand.

7. Unparalleled security for your peace of mind

Data breaches are a real problem for any property management business. To protect your business, financial, landlord and tenant data, MRI Property Tree makes security a number one priority. In addition to offering enterprise-level security and industry-leading security protocols, it also provides unique logins to each user and thereby logs every user’s actions. Additionally, you can easily bulk assign security roles to over 290 users – giving you more flexibility to manage what the different roles can access and modify. Our longstanding dedication to security is part of what makes MRI Property Tree the leader in managing rental properties across Australia.

Learn more about MRI Property Tree

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