Client Snapshot
Industry:
Commercial Property Management & Real Estate Investment
Location:
Tampa, Florida, USA
Portfolio Focus:
Commercial real estate properties across Florida and Alabama
Software:
Spectra, MRI
Service Scope:
Software migration support, lease setup, tenant accounting, AP balances, reconciliations, reporting setup, CAM/recovery support, and parallel accounting transition
Key Highlights
Migration Delivery:
Spectra to MRI migration completed on time
Speed Gain:
MRI go-live achieved at least 2 months faster than a non-outsourced scenario
Cost Savings:
35% ongoing cost savings through outsourced support
Execution Model:
3-member team with manager, senior accountant, and junior accountant
Client Background
The client is a mid-market property management and real estate investment company based in Tampa, Florida, specializing in commercial real estate properties across Florida and Alabama. Strong growth in the southeastern U.S. commercial real estate market created the need for a more scalable accounting and property management platform.
The client was transitioning from Spectra to MRI while the internal accounting team was already stretched with day-to-day accounting and year-end activities such as budgeting. OHI was engaged to support the parallel MRI setup, manage accounting transition tasks, and bring structured project management to the software migration.
Business Challenge
The client needed to migrate from Spectra to MRI quickly and accurately while maintaining ongoing accounting operations and avoiding additional back-office investment.
Software and GL Structure Differences
Spectra and MRI had major differences in accounting workflows, report formats, training requirements, and general ledger structure.
Multi-Level Property Accounting Complexity
Accounting had to be handled across property/building, entity, and project levels, with different transactions recorded at each level.
Lease and Tenant Accounting Complexity
Tenant move-ins, move-outs, lease options, security deposits, utility rebills, recoveries, and lease clauses required careful setup in MRI.
Strict Migration Deadline
Historic data, opening balances, reconciliations, and reports had to be completed before ongoing accounting could move fully to MRI.
The migration required more than basic data entry. OHI had to understand the client’s accounting structure, reconcile historical data, map GL differences, and support a controlled go-live without disrupting ongoing accounting activities.
OHI's Approach & Solution
Detailed Migration Planning
- Divided the assignment into two structured phases.
- Phase I: Rent setup, lease options, security deposits, tenant/AP balances, rent runs, late fees, bank and credit card reconciliations.
- Phase II: Report setup, budgets, CAM reconciliations, lease recoveries, and tax-basis books.
- Set clear timelines for all Phase I activities and major Phase II milestones.
Dedicated Team Structure
- Formed a 3-member team: manager, senior accountant, and junior accountant.
- Junior accountant handled simpler tasks such as AP entry and security deposit setup.
- Senior accountant handled lease setup, rent runs, and balance sheet comparison between Spectra and MRI.
- Manager led project planning, client communication, and process control.
Software Training and Accounting Process Setup
- Completed intensive MRI practice for daily accounting procedures.
- Studied MRI reports and compared them with client reporting needs.
- Mapped general ledger differences between Spectra and MRI.
- Reviewed client-specific practices for intercompany transactions, expense rebills, and reporting.
Communication and Process Control
- Used weekly conference calls, frequent chats, GoToMeeting/Webex sessions, training videos, demos, and detailed emails.
- Created formats to track work status, pending data, weekly activity plans, old instructions, and archived files.
- Maintained structured communication between the U.S. and India teams to accelerate knowledge transfer.
Historic Data Reconciliation and Go-Live Readiness
- Compared MRI historic data with Spectra before go-live.
- Reconciled AP data vendor-wise, expense-wise, invoice-wise, and payable-balance-wise.
- Analyzed budget variances and prepared notes for property manager reference.
- Ensured data was correctly entered and reconciled before the final transition.
Results & Impact
| KPI | Before OHI | After OHI | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Migration | Transition from Spectra to MRI was complex and resource constrained | Migration completed on time and as per schedule | Controlled go-live achieved |
| Migration Timeline | Longer projected timeline in non-outsourced scenario | Parallel offshore support accelerated setup and reconciliation | At least 2 months faster |
| Ongoing Cost Structure | Higher internal back-office cost requirement | Outsourced support model used for transition and ongoing work | 35% ongoing cost savings |
| Data Reconciliation | Historic data needed validation before MRI go-live | AP, GL, balances, leases, and reports reconciled across systems | Higher transition accuracy |
| Internal Capacity | Accounting team stretched by current tasks and year-end budgeting | Flexible offshore team supported MRI setup in parallel | Reduced internal workload pressure |
OHI helped the client complete a complex Spectra-to-MRI migration on schedule while reducing internal workload pressure. By combining structured project planning, MRI training, lease and tenant accounting setup, historic data reconciliation, and ongoing communication, the client achieved a faster go-live and 35% ongoing cost savings.
“OHI helped us manage a complex accounting software migration with structure and discipline. Their team accelerated our MRI transition while supporting reconciliation, reporting setup, and ongoing accounting needs.”
Finance Leadership
Tampa-Based Commercial Property Management Firm
Migrate property accounting systems without disrupting operations
Accelerate software transitions, reconcile historic data, and keep accounting work moving with a structured offshore migration support team.
