AVR Realty improves reporting efficiency with Spreadsheet Server and MRI Software

About AVR Realty

Founded by Allan V. Rose, AVR Realty Company (AVR) is a leading private real estate development, investment, and management firm. Headquartered in New York, its portfolio covers 20 states and over 70 cities, including hotels, multifamily apartments, retail centers, office buildings and ground-up developments. Over the firm’s 70-year history, AVR has built its reputation for vision, innovation, and quality.

Business Challenge

As a business that operates across multiple jurisdictions and asset classes, AVR’s reporting process was complex. MRI Property Management X was used as a cross-asset platform to aggregate both in-house and externally managed data from third-party management companies, which necessitates report customization.

Jennifer Carman, Director of Operations, oversaw the reporting process. As a longtime user of MRI, she was the person on staff with the strongest knowledge base and expertise to create the necessary reports. As a result, she spent considerable time helping the accounting team with monthly reporting. Additionally, AVR was doing ad hoc reporting which required manipulation in Excel.

“We had come a long way in cleaning up reports and creating financial statements, but it was very basic,” Jennifer said. “Without prior experience in MRI, it was difficult to know how to properly create the reports you need.”

The reporting process was so time consuming that the team wasn’t finished with the process until the 20th of each month. Jennifer and the accounting management team needed to simplify the reporting process and add self-service capabilities to give accounting the power to report more independently.

Solution

The key requirements for AVR’s reporting solution were flexibility, ease-of-use, and an Excel-based interface. While at an MRI Software conference, they discovered Spreadsheet Server, an application from insightsoftware that enables users to gain live access to MRI data within Excel for secure financial/operational reporting, budgeting and automated report delivery.

Implementation

As an MRI platinum solution partner, insightsoftware’s Spreadsheet Server effortlessly integrates with MRI solutions. Through the extensive MRI Partner Connect program, MRI clients can easily leverage partner products through pre-built integrations, facilitating a streamlined implementation process.

AVR began implementing Spreadsheet Server at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic hit. “It was perfect timing when we implemented it and had our training,” Jennifer said. “We were able to create a lot of reports that helped management with monitoring and making decisions during a crucial time. They were concerned with the rent collections every day, so we were able to create a report that showed what was collected by property and by tenant.”

AVR worked closely with its insightsoftware account manager for a smooth implementation. “For me, implementation was easy because I already had a background with MRI,” Jennifer explained.

Afterward, AVR hosted staff training so that accountants could quickly get comfortable with the solution. “Our Accounting Manager, who didn’t have as much experience in MRI, was able to get up and running quickly,” Jennifer continued.

Business Results

During a time when digitizing business was crucial, AVR used Spreadsheet Server to save time, create mission-critical reports, and achieve better visibility on its properties.

• Reduction in reporting times – After implementing Spreadsheet Server, monthly reporting for the organization’s in-house portfolio was reduced from 20 days to 10.
• Self-service and flexibility – The tool has given AVR’s accountants the ability to efficiently generate reports on their own, without assistance from IT.
• Accurate reporting – Using Spreadsheet Server together with AVR’s MRI system has eliminated the need for backup reports and reduced the risk of human error.

Improved accuracy and workflows

Jennifer is responsible for the operations and lease administration of the AVR retail portfolio, and she also checks the reports generated by the accounting team.

“My background is heavily involved in operations and lease administration. When reviewing the CAM/Tax recoveries, I used to review the accountants’ work papers, then open additional MRI reports to compare,” Jennifer said. “We’re human. You can easily type in the wrong number. Your eyes can mess with you and you can put in the wrong line. Spreadsheet Server has made the process so much quicker for our accountants, and it’s made the review process easier for me because I don’t have to double check their numbers. Now, I only have to make sure they’re accruing it correctly, deferring it correctly, and the percentages are correct. It’s helped on both sides.”

Being able to pull from MRI and update the data quickly is huge from an administrative perspective. It aids in the day-to-day functions of most people.

Jennifer Carman Director of Operations