Top 3 Questions About CRE Software

The term "Commercial Real Estate software" is pretty self-explanatory but vague, we know — there are just so many different types and they all do different things! We're strong believers that there are no stupid questions; so if you're new to software in the commercial real estate world, we're here to answer your top 3 questions.

1. What is CRE software and what is it trying to solve?

CRE software is technology meant for commercial real estate professionals, generally aiming to address or solve a common issue/pain point in the CRE world and provide strategic insight. After all, there's a reason software is commonly referred to as a technical solution.

But there are a lot of pain points in the CRE world; so what is it trying to solve?

The breadth of available software is wide, ranging from accounting software to portfolio/asset management software to debt management software (like LoanBoss). Yet each one has different capabilities and is meant to handle different aspects of your work. 

The most valuable asset of the digital age has been data — more importantly, the information and insights that can be unlocked using this data.

Unfortunately for many firms, they just lack the internal expertise and tooling to fully extract the value of information they have spread across their files, spreadsheets, and databases. By adopting tech solutions that match business operations, you can leverage the industry expertise of your own firm by utilizing the data and digital expertise of a technology partner. This can help provide:

• Better data and better insights
• Shorter transaction cycles
• Better decision making
• Increased productivity by letting you focus on smart tasks, not mundane ones
• Boost your ability to gain a competitive edge

2. How is technology changing CRE?

Technology changed the commercial real estate industry by streamlining various processes and generally making the lives of CRE professionals easier. 

Spending a lot of time on largely manual, human-powered processes?

This comes in a lot of shapes and sizes, but generally comes in the form of sending paperwork via snail mail or individually generated emails, updating spreadsheets or databases by hand (copy/paste or other manual entry methods), or responding to every request in one-off communications.

Tech solutions like LoanBoss enable firms to completely automate these processes, like generating prepayment penalty reports in a couple of clicks, sending communications at scale, or automating Lender Reporting tasks. Because we’ve automated these into a single platform, you also gain the advantage of centralizing this information and working from a single source of truth.

Do your calculations have errors?

No, seriously. Almost all of the spreadsheets that run your business have mistakes in them. We’ve all seen the studies — nine out of ten spreadsheets contain significant errors due to a myriad of problems coming from bad data and QA practices, copy/paste errors, or spreadsheets going through multiple maintainers.

Spreadsheets will always give you a result, but they’re not very auditable. They have to be built from scratch every time, so when errors do present themselves they’re much harder to debug. Built-in workflows are easily auditable, templating ensures standardization, and errors are much more easily debugged.

Instead of gathering data, focus on analyzing data.

3. How do I know a platform is going to make my business better?

You've got challenges. Software should be a solution to them. 

Software platforms make your business better because they enhance your workflow!

Debt management software gives users the ability to centralize/organize their debt information and find opportunities to optimize their portfolio within their existing debt — something that would be time-consuming and difficult to do manually! It allows for smart and strategic decision-making because your data is presented in an understandable/actionable way. 

The best platforms simply enhance your business. They take the busy work off your plate. Instantly populate internal reports, they're fully customizable with LoanBoss's reporting feature. Stay on top of current and projected calculations with live interest rates to ensure your numbers are always up to date. Remove the manual, mundane, error prone tasks so you can devote more time to smart tasks — the parts of your work that give you an edge. We made sure your data is always current and accurate by integrating with leading property management software!

Software acts as an external partner, working hand-in-hand with your in-house tools/systems, not disrupting them. The best software solutions aren’t trying to change the way you’re doing business — no one in the world knows your industry better than you do. 

Discover what LoanBoss can do for you.

Have questions? Email us at theboss@loanboss.com 

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