Going Paperless
September 8, 2009
Leading real estate management software producers are creating new software solutions that reduce paper flow and improve efficiency.
By Joel R. Nelson
The real estate industry is moving into a “leverage and extend” mode. This refers to the growing trend among residential property owners and managers to get the best possible value from their investments while complementing them with solutions that enable business process efficiency.
The procure-to-pay process, which traditionally required much manual and paper-intensive work, is ripe with opportunities for improvement, including green initiatives that reduce paper flow. In response, leading real estate management software producers are delivering sophisticated electronic and paperless processing capabilities. Here are a few areas in which residential real estate companies are “leveraging and extending” technology toward new solutions.
Vendor management
The process of signing up a vendor typically begins with a paper-based application that the vendor completes and submits. Such an application can be many pages in length. Once submitted, it still needs to go through a manual approval process. One way to improve this paper-heavy scenario is a vendor portal, which streamlines interaction between vendors and property managers in both certification submissions and various day-to-day tasks. Once signed up, vendors can use the portal to submit invoices, check payment status and upload insurance certificates to a central location.
Request for proposals/request for quotes
Customers are seeking streamlined delivery of RFPs and RFQs to certified vendors, one that does not involve the cumbersome process of compiling and mailing paper bundles. One approach to automating this process involves working with supplier sources to develop green purchasing strategies. This step calls for engaging the supplier to provide portfolio-level product usage and devising alternative suggestions for lighting, janitorial and other supplies that include potential energy, waste and cost reductions. Such supplier sources might also recommend eco-friendly MRO supplies, along with an online supply catalog. They also can leverage integrated, centralized spend management to refine spend analysis and intelligence, allowing tracking and monitoring for additional savings opportunities.
Purchase Orders
Using advanced software, organizations can move a purchase order through the approval process electronically. Complex approval criteria can be established within such a system, automating the approval process within the purchasing workflow and delivering automated notifications to the appropriate individuals who enter their approvals directly to the system. Benefits of this approach include advance capture of budget details and significantly faster invoice processing. Real estate companies that implement a purchase order system avoid the back-end obstacles created by an unmanaged procurement process.
Invoice Processing
The trend toward eliminating the paper invoice is growing. Vendors can upload invoices or fill out forms online. Leading-edge procure-to-pay systems that nearly eliminate paper invoices and reduce the time and money needed to store, sort and mail printed invoices are on the market. These solutions, some of which are developed specifically for the real estate industry, automate the manual steps involved in receiving, entering, coding and approving invoices. Many real estate companies have completely outsourced invoice handling and processing to service providers, relieving them of a non-value, added paper handling task.
Payments
Processing cheques is time consuming, so the move to electronic payment in the form of electronic fund transfer is growing in popularity. In this scenario, vendors are paid either through automated clearinghouse (ACH) or cheque, eliminating the need to print checks internally. This lowers transaction costs, reduces payment processing errors, and makes cash flow more controlled and predictable.
Forward-thinking real estate interests are quickly grasping electronic processing’s significance in streamlining their invoice processes. Offering competitive advantage, efficiency, customer service, environmental sustainability, return on investment, newly created technologies can be a significant factor in helping real estate owners and managers attain their business goals.
This article appeared in the November 2008 issue of Canadian Apartment Magazine.
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