If you invested in Yardi Investment Accounting (IA) and/or Investment Manager (IM), and your implementation has become a leaning tower of delays, you’re not alone.
We’ve seen clients hire other consultants to design their IM module, and take over a year muddling through the implementation before hiring our team at Lynx to get it done in 4 months. We’ve also seen clients have to completely rework how their IM module is structured within 5 years of implementation because it wasn’t built to grow with the company.
The reason IA and IM modules get so complicated is that even though they’re stuffed with useful features, the product in many ways is a blank slate. Other Yardi modules come with a basic foundational structure, but with IA and IM, you’ll be building from the ground up. On one hand, this offers phenomenal flexibility. On the other hand, you really need people with a strong skill set and Yardi knowledge who know what they’re doing to design and implement the system.
To ensure success with your IA and IM implementations, the first step is understanding the difference between the two, which we’ll discuss in Part 1 of this series on getting the most out of IA and IM. In Part 2, we’ll give you 5 hacks to make sure your implementations go smoothly.
Although IA and IM are similar, and there is some overlap between the modules, they each have their own distinct purposes and functionalities. Gaining a thorough understanding of this will allow you to effectively design both modules to your specific needs.
IA
IA is best suited for accounting. It offers features such as enhanced performance management, incentive structure calculations and accounting, and the ability to handle complex consolidations.
IA tackles the challenges associated with managing complex investment data, including the need for robust consolidations, accounting functionality to prevent manual consolidation, and the capability to develop customized KPIs. IA also supports the management of complex preferred returns and consolidations, making it essential for clients with more intricate investment structures.
IM
IM is primarily focused on investor communication. It caters to the need for clear and timely communication with investors, providing them with up-to-date information through a portal. It also allows for the management of investor onboarding processes and gives investors control over the data they can access.
IM enables centralized management of contacts, tracking of investor activities, and improved collaboration through access to information for internal stakeholders. IM also facilitates the management of opportunities and capital activities, including the automation of the subscription agreement process and tracking fundraising status. It does have some of the accounting and data management tools of IA, but if you have complex accounting needs, you’ll want to stick with IA for that piece and use IM for the investor communication side.
Conclusion
Although there may be instances where you might use just IA or just IM, if you have a large number of assets and/or subsidiary companies, you’ll want both modules to make sure your accounting and investor relations bases are covered. You’ll also want to make sure that both modules are implemented correctly.
We’ll be talking more about that in Part 2 of this series.
