Hotel management companies are looking for solutions for boosting efficiency as they juggle challenges of portfolio management including hotels at all different stages of the development and renovation pipelines, as well as larger issues of labor scarcity, rising labor rates, and how to do more with smaller teams. 

In the hotel back office, legacy systems, error-prone manual entry processes, piecemeal software, complicated workflows, and bouncing from system to system slow down the productivity of already busy teams.

Enter the ERP & Accounting Software from Hotel Investor Apps (HIA). This all-in-one ERP system can significantly help hotel management companies boost efficiency and do more with less by providing a single source of truth.

Let’s take a look at 5 specific areas where HIA’s ERP system transforms processes and generates huge time savings for management companies. 

1. One Unified Back Office System 

Since HIA is an ERP software  – and the only one specifically customized for hotels – it means that back office financial data is all within one system rather than being passed through multiple software. This makes the data more accurate, processes more efficient, and visibility much better.

One System

For example, as a company grows and adds PMS codes, typically in most hotel accounting software, the code would need to be manually entered into the accounting software, then separately into the budgeting and forecasting software, and then separately into the business intelligence software. Then, multiple reports need to be run to make sure that the code was put in correctly.

In HIA’s system, the codes need to be set up just one time and then they are accessible in all modules – such as budgeting and forecasting and business intelligence and financial reports. One entry does it all since the system is connected.

Dashboards

Similarly, HIA’s dashboards provide a huge time savings by visualizing data on both a property and portfolio level so that hoteliers can see the status of each at a glance instead of running multiple reports to get the same insights.

The dashboards show customizable key performance indicators with color coding of green, yellow, and red so it is easy to see what needs attention. As one of our team members says, “Just look at the red!” 

Dashboard widgets provide a wide array of data including different types of flash reports, F&B reports, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and options to stream in other data, such as Medallia.

2. Accounts Receivable with Advanced Intercompany

In addition to running their portfolios, management companies are also responsible for managing their own company overhead, income and expenses, and keeping their own corporate books. 

However, many hotel-specific accounting software cannot accommodate corporate books due to the lack of an adequate Accounts Receivable module, or the lack of advanced intercompany functionality. In this case, intercompany transactions may need to be done manually, entering debits and credits into each separate system, which can be very time-consuming. 

HIA’s ERP & Accounting software is built to enable both corporate and property books to be done on the same platform – so there is only one accounting system. This includes an Accounts Receivable module ideal for management company billing. Plus, if an integrated electronic payment option is used, billing can literally be done in minutes. More in this video “How to Bill Hotels and Get Paid in Minutes.”

Additionally, HIA’s Advanced Intercompany functionality helps management companies allocate expenses back to the hotels and easily split transactions, whether across the whole portfolio or a group of properties. It is also easy to attach invoices to transactions, so management companies can clearly show properties what they are being billed for. 

Read more on intercompany accounting, “Why Hotel-Specific Accounting Software Fails Management Companies”. 

3. Smart-Matching Bank Recs

For some hotel companies, it can take days to complete bank reconciliations, especially if they have multiple companies and accounts because everything has to be reviewed manually.

HIA’s BankConnect module with Smart-Matching transforms this process, making it much faster and more streamlined. The system streams in live bank balances and can bring in transactions daily. 

For example, when a check clears, that transaction comes into HIA and the system can Auto-Match it to an existing transaction. This makes it much easier for teams to do bank reconciliations daily since so much of the work has already been matched/reconciled during the month. 

The end result is a huge time savings, teams stay up to date, it prevents fraud faster, and saves time at the end of the month so you can do other things – like get reports out faster, and reviews sooner. And if Accounting gets reports out faster, then that helps Operations gain time back and helps the whole company

4. Dynamic Approval Process and Mobile App

HIA’s dynamic AP approval process changes the game in expense approvals. No longer do teams need to scan invoices, add any handwritten notes on invoices, upload to a shared folder, manually enter the invoice, and then email it around for approvals.

After initial setup, HIA’s AP automation tool streamlines this whole process so that invoices are scanned, read with OCR technology, automatically coded to the GL, and then routed through approval workflows based on rules so that only the right people look at the right invoices. 

For example, rather than some systems that require all approvers to review every invoice, in HIA dynamic rules can be set up for invoice workflows, such as by dollar amount. 

Additionally, notifications can be set up in HIA’s mobile app so that approvers are notified when an invoice needs an approval. Prakash Magan, CFO at RainMaker Hospitality, a management company with 24 hotels based out of Lexington, KY comments, 

“My ops team loves the mobile application and uses it on a daily basis. Reviewing performance is easier than ever and all at our fingertips. We have a four-level approval process that sends push notifications out to the approver via the mobile application. They can review the details, look at the invoice and then approve or deny with notes sent back to the requester.”

5. Integrated Business Intelligence

Unlike many other hotel-specific accounting software or ERP systems where business intelligence is a separate or third-party software, HIA changes the game by offering business intelligence within the ERP & Accounting system.

Not only does this eliminate a separate system and logins, but it eliminates a lot of manual data entry – for example when new PMS codes are added, typically this has to be separately added to business intelligence software, but with HIA, it just needs to be added once to the system.

Financial and operational data that is live in the accounting system is also live in Business Intelligence, and data from partners, such as payroll providers, can be seamlessly layered with operational data for better insights and comprehensive reporting. 

With operations, financial, labor, and STR data, HIA’s Business Intelligence makes it easier to monitor performance, hold the line, and lead your portfolio to higher profit margins.

Summary 

In summary, HIA’s ERP & Accounting software has many features that help to streamline management company processes. The all-in-one system provides greater accuracy, a single source of truth, and significant time savings across the board – whether by facilitating management company billing and intercompany transactions, smart-matching bank transactions, dynamic approval processes, or providing integrated business intelligence. The hospitality ERP helps management companies boost efficiency and optimize operations. 

Ready to see HIA in action?  Request a Demo today.