This week, an earthquake rattled Cleveland, Ohio. Around the same time, Salesforce announced that it was buying Tableau Software. The earthquake was short-lived with minimal aftershocks, but the impact of the latest big acquisition by Salesforce will be felt for quite some time.

A bit over a year ago, Salesforce acquired Mulesoft, and I called it a turning point for enterprise software. I still stand by that claim today, and this latest news is a natural extension of that deal.

At the time of the Mulesoft deal, Salesforce Chairman and co-CEO Mark Benioff was quoted as saying, “Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will enable customers to connect all of the information throughout their enterprise across all public and private clouds and data sources—radically enhancing innovation.”

In the press release announcing this week’s deal, Benioff said, in part, that “Tableau helps people see and understand data…”

The simplicity of this strategy is what makes it so compelling. Figure out how to get access to the data of the enterprise, then make it accessible to the people of the enterprise.

The promise of radically enhanced innovation will be enabled, in large part, by the combination and analysis of data across multiple sources, potentially in real time, and presented in a visual manner that is easy to consume.

The promise of big data has and continues to be in the utilization of the data to drive better business results. The challenge of big data is that it continually grows in variety, volume, and velocity, outstripping the capabilities of traditional reporting tools and conventional consumption practices.

With more and more data being generated, collected, and curated every day, the challenge is how to find the important data quickly so you can make the best use of it. How will you find the signal in the noise when the volumes of data make it akin to a needle in a haystack? Will you be able to identify an unwanted trend before it is too late?

The impact of data visualization

The visualization of data changes how the data is consumed. In place of a standard report with rows and columns, subtotals, and totals, you can have a well-constructed graphic that draws the reader’s eye to the outlying datapoints.

In the commercial real estate industry, there’s great value in placing data in the context of physical space with what I call spatial intelligence:

• Imagine taking the floor plan from your local mall and having the ability to see how people move through the space, where they stop, and for how long. Using data to describe the flow of shoppers across the physical space of the shopping center is substantially more powerful than traditional methods that basically amount to turnstiles, counting entrances and exists.
• Take the site plan of your apartment community. What if you could literally see a correlation between vacancy and physical location, a trend in maintenance requests and a specific area of the property? Placing data in the context of physical space provides different insights than any list or chart, by bringing to light what is happening in and around a physical space.

In the real estate industry, spatial intelligence can be done at a property level (expiry heat maps, retail health heat maps, work order heat maps, energy consumption, etc.) or at a geographical level (apartment interest by originating zip code, proximity to public transport, portfolio-level views of energy consumption, vacancy, and other metrics etc.).

Leveraging well-constructed and interactive data visualizations gives the consumers of data the best chance to quickly find what they need to find. Instead of spending time searching for the data that needs attention, they can spend more time thinking about what to do based on what the data is telling them. The reader does not have to scan through a “wall of numbers” to find data that needs attention, action and inquiry. Instead, the data that needs attention almost jumps off the page like it was shaken loose in an earthquake.

Brian Zrimsek is a well-known subject matter expert, industry panelist, and trusted advisor in the real estate tech market. He is Industry Principal at MRI Software, where he leverages his experiences as a former client, IT leader, and Technology Analyst to help shape product strategy and direction.

We’re excited to announce that the MRI International Users Conference (IUC) is being renamed to “MRI Ascend.”

While the name may have changed, the experience remains the same. MRI Ascend will continue to provide an educational, inspiring and fun experience that unites clients, partners, and MRI staff in a unique open ecosystem.

Since MRI Software pioneered the real estate tech industry 48 years ago, we have worked together with our clients to create solutions and integrations that drive success. Our users conferences have been the catalyst for collaboration, community and innovation, bringing together MRI clients and partners in one unique open ecosystem. No other provider in the industry can match the true freedom and choice on display at the event formerly known as the IUC.

New name. Same revolution.

Today, with an expanded global presence and clients operating in nearly every corner of the world, our users conferences still remain the heart and soul of our relationships. These unique events extend beyond software — the worldwide community has transformed into multiple events around the globe, and clients remain unified by a common desire to reach new heights.

Whether you’ve been with us for 40 years or four months, we are all on a mission together to amaze others, get it done, and promote an open and connected ecosystem.

We hope to see you at MRI Ascend Anaheim this October! Did you know that registration is now open? Register here and reserve your spot with early-bird pricing!

This article was written by Nexus, a partner of MRI Software.

‘Virtual’ is virtually everywhere. We’re playing virtual games, using virtual memory, and experiencing virtual reality. It comes as no surprise, then, that virtual credit cards exist as well. Just what are these virtual cards and what do they do?

Virtual cards are a form of electronic payment that’s great for accounts payable

A virtual card is not actually a card at all. It’s a randomly generated, 16-digit number that exists electronically as opposed to physically. Each virtual card number is unique and generated for a specific transaction.

Virtual cards have been making a splash with real estate companies because they offer an easy and rapid way to pay large volumes of invoices each month. They work like this:

• An email with the virtual card details is sent to the payee/supplier.
• The virtual card is processed similar to a credit card in the supplier’s POS.
• The money is transferred to the supplier’s bank, following the same rules set by his or her merchant account.

Besides ease of use, virtual cards also touch upon several other areas of interest for your accounts payable department:

• No check processing costs – When you pay by virtual card instead of check, you can cut out the supply costs associated with checks, including check stock, envelopes, stamps, printer ink/toner, etc. Plus, you can reduce the amount of time and labor dedicated to processing, paperwork, and administration.
• Rebates – You can earn lucrative cashback for purchases made with virtual cards. The more you use virtual cards, the more you stand to get back.
• Security – Since there is no plastic card issued with a virtual card, it cannot be stolen. Plus, even if a virtual card number happens to fall into the wrong hands, it has built-in security features that make it almost impossible to misuse, such as company-chosen pay limits and a limited lifespan.
• Spend controls and oversight – Virtual cards allow you to set restrictions and limits on what may be paid for, so you can enforce spending guidelines.

With these benefits in mind, is it any surprise that virtual card spend is projected to grow at 19 percent annually?

How is a virtual card different from other cards out there?

It’s important to note that virtual cards are not the same as corporate credit cards or purchasing cards (P-cards).

With these more traditional cards, you share your sensitive account details each time you make a payment. This information may be stored by suppliers and vendors, where it may be intercepted during data breaches. Conversely, when using virtual cards, you don’t need to give out your credit card details so it’s less likely that your information will fall into the wrong hands. Furthermore, since virtual cards exist in digital format only, you don’t need to pass around a physical card and constantly worry about its whereabouts.

What about suppliers, though?

You may be left wondering how suppliers feel about receiving payment via virtual cards. It’s not uncommon for them to express some apprehension about accepting them. However, it can help to share some of the benefits they can expect on their end:

• Virtual card payments clear faster than traditional payment methods like checks and help suppliers maintain their cash flow.
• With the reliability and speed of virtual cards, suppliers won’t need to call you about lost checks or late and duplicate payments.
• Suppliers receive detailed remittance data with virtual cards, simplifying their reconciliation.
• Suppliers don’t have to worry about fraud with virtual cards, since there’s no need to store and secure your financial information.

Virtual cards sound great – Where do I start?

Many AP automation solutions make it easy for real estate companies to get started with virtual cards by converting suppliers to this new form of payment. They can contact suppliers about the benefits of receiving virtual cards, notify them when payments via virtual card are made, and help them troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

Here are some of the things an ideal payments solution provider should offer and what should be on your ‘must-have’ list:

• The provider should have a strong outreach program to find the right people at your suppliers’ offices to authorize the acceptance of virtual cards.
• They should be able to work with your existing business infrastructure by fitting virtual cards into your existing workflows and accommodating your established banking relationships. In addition, virtual card payment data should sync back to your GL/ERP.
• The solution should provide transparency/visibility into the status of virtual card payments for both you and your suppliers. Each stakeholder will want to know if payments have been delivered and when.

Considering the above, virtual cards are a natural choice for secure, streamlined, and convenient payments to your suppliers. Interested in starting to use this payment method? Check out Nexus, MRI’s preferred partner for AP and payment automation.

The proper training and technologies can help your PHA boost its HUD PIC score and keep up with HUD’s regulatory requirements. Keeping on top of your PIC score is a vital part of receiving the proper funding for your PHA, but with such a thin margin of error, you can’t risk taking chances with your data entry.

The more accurate your data, the higher your HUD PIC score will be. You can’t operate efficiently if your PHA is struggling to maintain PIC data and spending lots of time correcting errors each month.

The right PIC software

The right software makes the cumbersome monthly filing processes easier. Avoid incorrect or incomplete data with software that prevents you from skipping required fields and checks for errors as you enter data. This completeness of information ensures that you meet PIC requirements.

As PIC continues to evolve its systems, MRI is actively working with HUD to shape the next-generation system. MRI is committed to making our public housing software solutions as user-friendly as possible so our 975+ PHA clients can easily maintain the data needed to submit to PIC each month.

The right staff training

With the small margin of error involved in the HUD PIC score, your staff must know how to properly navigate the PIC process. It’s also vital for them to know how HUD scores are generated and how PIC scores affect your funding. Special PIC training can close this gap and prepare your PHA for what lies ahead.

PIC training can help your team learn the key indicators to look for when dealing with late tenants, missing tenants, and SSN errors. For example, the proper training can keep staff informed on how to run reports on late tenants and resubmit them to PIC. Training can also prepare staff to manually check for missing tenants and run identity verification reports to ensure there are no Social Security Number errors on your PIC submission.

The benefits you need

Implementing the right software and training your staff properly can help meet HUD compliance requirements and boost your PIC score. MRI’s PHA clients have an average PIC score of 99%, and our compliance expertise and PHA software solutions are designed to help you successfully navigate the PIC process.

“PIC was a nightmare, but I’ve got a handle on it now,” says Shelli Nesmith of the Grant County Housing Authority. “I could not have done this without MRI Software.”

Preparing your staff through software and training doesn’t just put you on the path to better PIC scores; it actively makes the process of entering monthly data easier. This allows you to spend your time assisting those in the community instead of fixing PIC errors. MRI Software PHA clients receive a complimentary PIC score report each month, so they can stay on top of their score and take action, if necessary.

In the world of public housing, the margin for error is thin, and you can’t afford small errors that end up affecting your PIC scores. Learn all about MRI’s PIC training and software opportunities here.

If you handle property accounting for commercial real estate, particularly involving retail or office tenants, you’ve probably run across the challenge of managing real estate expense recoveries. These expenses don’t fit nicely into your well-organized GL, and they typically require manual tracking of complex reconciliations. So, what exactly are real estate recoveries, and what’s the best way to manage them?

What are real estate recoveries?

Commercial real estate expense recoveries and retail recoveries refer to the shared expenses that a landlord passes on to its tenants, and subsequently recovers by generating an invoice to the tenant for their pro-rata share. Recoveries are also referred to as outgoings or Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges. These shared expenses can include utilities, services, repairs, maintenance, property taxes, insurance and other additional expenses.

Tenant leases often include provisions that outline their responsibilities for paying a portion of shared property expenses. Net leases and gross leases take different approaches to this:

• Net Lease: A lease in which there is a provision to pay, in addition to base rent, certain costs associated with the operation of the property.
• Gross Lease: A lease in which the tenant pays a flat sum for rent, out of which the landlord pays all recovery/CAM expenses

Challenges of managing recoveries in accounting

Without careful planning and separation of recoverable and non-recoverable items in your chart of accounts, the process of managing real estate recoveries will be complex. Property accountants should choose standardized codes and nomenclature to identify and group recoveries together. This can make the process easier, but exceptions and inconsistencies will occur — in some cases, one GL may be tied to more than one building, which makes it difficult to keep track of the expenses that are unique to each building.

How to manage retail recoveries

MRI Commercial Management clients have access to retail recoveries tools that make it easier to calculate and process complex reconciliations. Let’s take a general look at the steps involved in billing for recoveries using MRI.

Calculate monthly recoveries and estimates

The recoveries process begins with calculating monthly outgoings and estimates, which is typically performed at the end of budgeting season. First, we’ll need to create the budget for the next year, based on the pro-rata share for each tenant, then create invoices to the tenants based on that estimate. At end of year, we’ll reconcile those estimates and adjust them based on actual figures, while taking into consideration any provisions in the lease agreement.

• Get GL expenses – Based upon building-level recovery profiles, load the actual figures for accounts into each of the expense pools.
• Make adjustments to expense pools – Adjustments can be made to each line item in the expense pool.
• Load the estimate worksheet – Each tenant’s unique recoveries profile is applied to the expense pools to calculate out a total forecasted recoveries payment amount along with the monthly estimates.
• Make adjustments – Adjustments and overrides can then be made at the tenant level.
• Bill next year’s estimate charges – Raise the charges on each tenants’ account using the recoveries estimate income category. This will now sit in the recurring charges table on each lease and will be invoiced as part of your normal monthly invoicing process.
• Generate recoveries invoice – Run a report outlining the details surrounding the estimate for next year that can be sent out as a letter to the tenant.

Perform annual recoveries reconciliations

These steps are typically performed a few months after year-end close. Follow the same steps from above, but this time, bill the actual reconciled amount due instead of next year’s estimates. Raise the charges on each tenants’ account using your calculated reconciliation amount. This will be added to the tenants ledger as a one-time charge/credit and will get picked up in the next invoice process.

Are you tasked with managing retail recoveries? If you’re already using MRI Commercial Management and accounts payable software, the additional retail recoveries functionality can automate the billing process and shorten the time it takes to perform a reconciliation. Smooth out the cashflow for annual property expenses with estimated monthly billing and generate detailed invoices to your tenants, all while eliminating errors and providing evidence to support calculations.

To see best practices for how to set up retail recoveries in your MRI system, watch the webinar here.