Case Study 11 - Yardi Implementation

Sector: Property

Client Type: Publicly listed property company

Challenge/Opportunity 

The client had identified that its current accounting and property ERP system was nearing end of life. The company was also growing and needed a new ERP that could scale successfully. They selected Yardi as the preferred software supplier but the team had no experience of an ERP implementation. They sought an implementation partner to manage the project and to provide strategic advice on process improvement and change management. 

Value Delivered

Hague Consulting provided a strategic roadmap, created a Project Charter, and managed the project. Hague also identified and facilitated a range of other strategic and change management activity, including mapping, review, and redesign of business processes and planned and led software testing.

Hague's Approach

Hague and the client agreed to take the time to set up the project to succeed. We worked through the strategic drivers for the project, mapped out the journey and sought out advice from others who had implemented the product before. We captured lessons that we could apply at the start of the project and recorded our own lessons at the end. We then set up project governance and scoped the project. This was all time well spent. 

There were weekly team meetings, formal project update reports, as well as less formal sessions. The Covid rules and lockdowns required much work to be done remotely and we adapted, maintaining effective communication through many very technical design meetings.

Hague facilitated business process change workshops and created 'as is' and 'future' process maps. We developed a Data Migration Plan and a Test Strategy and Test Plan. Expected change was documented in the Project Charter and updated through the project, supporting change management activities and communications. Expected benefits were agreed and defined, updated during the project, and reviewed on completion and subsequently. 

Project quality was controlled with requirements documents, scripted testing documents, formal reporting of test results and a comprehensive pre-Go Live quality checklist. Acceptance criteria were set at the start of the project, monitored and assessed prior to Go Live and at project closure. Project benefits were defined and reviewed during the project. Hague maintained a strong focus on tasks that produced benefits rather than just deliverables. 

Outcome/Result 

The project was completed on time, on budget, and realised a range of business benefits beyond the direct improvements from more advanced software. Yardi's ERP was implemented successfully. It functioned as planned, correct invoices were sent to all tenants on time and all creditor invoices were paid on time in the first month. The first month-end was completed. There was no negative impact on tenants, creditors, suppliers, or the client post Go-Live. The company achieved its expected benefits and achieved further process improvements.

Hague Consulting can plan, support and manage Yardi implementation projects in New Zealand or Australia.