If the contents of this post are a outside of your wheelhouse, don’t worry, this is why I started CREXchange.io! We have free Commercial Real Estate Power BI Reports to help clients get up and off the ground with Yardi Data Integration and Advanced Power BI Custom Reports to help run your CRE business. Contact us there for more details or a demo!

1.     Export and Restore your Yardi Database backup locally

The first step to be able to analyze your data is going to involve getting access to your data. Most SaaS platforms including Yardi do not allow direct access to the database or data model but most do allow for you to export this data to your local instance to do as you please. You will need to build a process that imports and restores the back up database copy to a local SQL Server. This process can be tricky, but it can be done. See our whitepapers below to get more informational on this step. You will require a SQL server license and a virtual machine to host the back up.

2.     Transform the Yardi data into a usable data model

There are thousands of tables in the database, most which you will never need. Extract the handful of tables you need for your data that pertain to occupancy, revenue, properties, tenants, units and accounting and others you may need and organize this data into a data model that can be easily sliced and diced. The model can be complex so be sure to use the right ID and ensure you have similar rules and logic tied to the type id’s and param to be sure you are getting the right data for the right timeline. If you need help with this piece, reach out for more help to get access to our proprietary real estate data model.

3.     Connect Power BI do your Data Model

Once you have your data model created and a process to refresh and reload this data nightly, you are ready to connect your visualization tools to being building cool new reports, analytics, and visualizations. Using Power BI’s default SQL server connector, you can connect to your database weather it is on the cloud or on-prem and import the data into Power BI. Your data model should have the foreign keys establish so that it is inherited and be able to create reports and dashboards. Here is an example of one of our Reports that enables tenant and leasing data.

4.     Connect Power BI to other data sources and combine to your Yardi real estate data

Having Yardi or Real Estate data is never enough. Now with Power BI, you can connect to numerous data sources in your business to begin to combine data too create analytics across all your business units and lifecycle of the real estate business.

Step 1 and 2 are the more technical heavy steps of the process. In previous post I have written white papers about getting data from Yardi nightly or even hourly using transaction log shipping, both available for download.

If the contents of this post are a outside of your wheelhouse, don’t worry, this is why I started CREXchange.io to help clients get up and off the ground with Yardi Data Integration and Advanced Power BI Custom Reports to help run your CRE business. Our reports are free with integration! Contact us there for more details or a demo!

An Upgrade may seem straight forward, there are some key critical considerations organizations must make to ensure the upgrade to this newest, feature-filled version runs smoothly so that business operations are not affected.

Why Upgrade?

In addition to the fact that 90 percent of Yardi’s clients have now upgraded to 7S (and that you may be the last few left behind), there are several reasons why it’s time to pull the trigger and upgrade to 7S. The tool is now completely a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering, meaning that Yardi now takes on the responsibilities of hosting all infrastructure and hardware. This allows them to patch and upgrade the software on their own, reducing the dependency on any on-site resources on your team, thus freeing up valuable time for other tasks.

Things to Know Before/During an Upgrade

• If you are using Yardi 6.0 self-hosted on premise, you will be required to migrate to 6.0 Cloud (SaaS) before you can upgrade to 7S. Plan for additional time for the exercise, as it will require a database migration, testing, and overnight deployment to complete. A Yardi specialist team will be assigned to you to help facilitate the entire process from beginning to end.
• Once you are ready for the 7S upgrade, you will need to sign up for a 7S Upgrade webinar (which occurs every few days). After you register with your organization name and complete the short webinar, you can officially request to be added to the 7S upgrade process. At this point, Yardi will assign you an upgrade team which will assist in seeing you through the upgrade and completion of testing to go live.
• There is no cost associated with the upgrade from the Yardi side.
• Custom objects and scripts will need to be ported and updated before moving to the new environment. It is recommended that you leverage a Yardi partner to assist in getting all necessary development items converted and moved to the new environment
• Menus that you use in version 6 (standard or custom) cannot be brought over to 7S. All new menus are required – and this is where you can expect to spend the bulk of your time prior to testing.
• There are a series of complexities in the upgrade, such as security, roles, workflow, testing, etc., that are not included in the Yardi support for the upgrade. It is recommended you work with a knowledgeable Yardi partner to help guide you through the process. The Saxony team can help broker the conversations between your staff and Yardi to ensure the upgrade goes smoothly and in time all the while not disrupting operations.
• The most important part of an upgrade is testing. Be sure to allocate ample time for detailed testing of each section, as well as full system testing at major milestones of the upgrade. It is not uncommon to find an item or two that does not work exactly as intended. Catching these issues early will give you the opportunity to remediate them before users get in the system to do their day-to-day jobs.

Yardi Voyager 7S also comes with better navigation, fixes to old outstanding bugs, and adds a large set of new tools and functionality to help run your real estate business.

Upgrading the software from 6 to 7 is not as simple as flipping a switch and changing the version number. There are many moving parts and small details that require configuration and set up.

Yardi 6 to 7S Upgrade Checklist

In this situation, owners must employ a team of analyst’s whose job is to collect the different exported file formats from each manager, clean and consolidate into one central source, usually a massive Excel spreadsheet. This leads to a few common issues.

• Data is provided in different formats and a manual mapping exercise must take place every month end.
• All the manual steps and consolidation of data sheets introduce risk of dirty data and data errors.
• The manpower required could be spent elsewhere had the process been streamlined and automated.
• Data history is now preserved in a series of Excel sheets on a shared drive
• Files sent from managers to owners are usually sent via email. This introduces a security risk as well as a data retention problem.

The solution to this problem is not specific to the real estate space rather building safeguards and efficiencies into this process is a data transfer solution that can be implemented across industries that have to deal with disparate flat file data sources coming from out of the network. In a more common solution you have the following architecture.

• The property managers would be instructed to use easy to use and inexpensive encryption software like PGP, once their file processing is complete at month end.
• The files would then be saved to an SFTP such as ShareFile, ensuring secure file transfers. This process usually can be automated based on the source tools capabilities, but manual loads are not uncommon either.
• This is where the true automation is built. A process on the owner’s side using simple high-level data transfer languages can be used to download, decrypt and and archive the files from the SFTP automatically. This will allow raw files to be stored for future reference.
• Once the file is decrypted, the process would have a set of mapping and translation rules to convert and conform the data into a standard and clean format. This removes the risk of human related data errors that could be introduced.
• Data is stored to a database rather then an Excel document. This allows for larger datasets to be stored and queried by the analyst team. Data from the database can be extracted to Excel or a reporting tool for future analysis but the primary source of data remains the database, eliminating multiple copies of excel documents floating around the organization.

SSRS reports in Yardi require two files – a text file containing your SQL, and an RDLC containing the report definition.

If the contents of this post are outside of your wheelhouse, don’t worry, this is why I started CREXchange.io to help clients get up and off the ground with Yardi Data Integration and Advanced Power BI Custom Reports to help run your CRE business. Contact us there for more details or a demo!

The SQL File

The SQL file will contain most of the necessary primary elements and logic. It’s where you will define the title, the filters, the columns and most importantly the SQL statement.

In the filters section (marked //Filter), you can specify the parameter type, data type, caption, values and other attributes for the report. This section is what the Yardi SSRS module uses to create the parameter section before you run a report, not what is in the RDLC. Note: Creating a parameter in the RDLC can cause the report to run into errors.

The SQL is written as regular T-SQL and users must have a working understanding of the tables and data elements to be sure they are writing accurate queries. In the “Where” clause, the filters set up in the previous section can be referenced using hashmarks. (Example: Where Property = #Property#). The filter in the hashmarks will be replaced with the correct value at run time.

Once created, save the file as SampleReport.SSRS.txt – the naming convention is needed for the tool to know how to render the report.

The RDLC File

The second file you’ll need is the RDLC, which can be created in Visual Studio 2012. (The version is important, as later versions of Visual Studio may create rendering errors. I’ve had issues with filters working correctly.)

From new projects, you will want to create a VB Reporting Application project. This is usually included in the default installation.

Once created, skip or cancel all the wizards that pop up. We will be creating all items manually, as it is fairly simple. Once the project is created, you will see the solution on the right-hand side.

Right-click the solution and click “add new Item.” We will be adding a DataSet first. Be sure to the name matches the name on the report. Although not critical, it helps later with tracking your SQL.

Once created, you will find tool box on the left side of the page. Grab “Table Adapter” and drag it into the work space. Then, create a SQL Connection. This will give you a local database to write and test your queries against. Do not worry about the connection string, this does not get used at run time when you deploy. (NOTE: If you are not on a VPN or network where you can connect to a Yardi database, then you will need to follow the steps from our previous blog posts on getting your data out of Yardi.)

On the next step of the Wizard, select “Use SQL Statement”. Add your SQL here, but do leave off any non SQL formatting such as the Hash tag filters. Just the Raw SQL that returns the columns needed should be placed here so the report can create the metadata needed for the report render. We just used two test columns here for the example.

Once the Table Adapter is created, it will appear in the “Solutions” section. Add another “New Item.” Select “Report” – also giving it the same name as the data connector and the SQL text file, just to keep things clean.

Once you have the RDLC file created, you can create the report using typical SSRS development skills (those instructions can be found in basic Microsoft training material online). There’s no need to add parameters or filters, since that’s handled via the text file. Only the table data and layout items need to be defined at this stage.

Once both files are created, they need to be uploaded to the server using Client Central. This is done by an administrator with access to the front-end. The folder and location will be specific to your file system. Be sure the files are added to the correct section and to the correct environment test or production, based on your goals.

That is it! Once uploaded, your report should be searchable via the SQL Reports menu item. Complex reports can be created as long as you have a good power user. The limit of what you can do is only limited to the skill of the report writer.

When running your Real Estate business, it helps to not have to think about the small things. This is where process automation can help free up time for your resources and eliminate the risk of missing tasks or checklist items when certain actions occur.

Need help with getting this solution up and running for your business? Email me at bettermentstudio5@gmail.com to discuss a low cost solution to host your reporting, analytics and integration needs!

If the contents of this post are outside of your wheelhouse, don’t worry, this is why I started CREXchange.io to help clients get up and off the ground with Yardi Data Integration and Advanced Power BI Custom Reports to help run your CRE business. Contact us there for more details or a demo!

For example, most of your Property ERP like Yardi will automatically book transactions to the ledger and to the tenant at the beginning of the month for rent, or automatically trigger an email notification when the lease is nearing sixty days to completion. But there are many tasks that are unique to your business that need to occur without thought based on the rules you have defined, and some of these tasks will not be readily available in your tools automation drop downs.

Supplementing your tools automation can be completed with smart SQL stored procedures. When using tools like Yardi, there are data flows that can be created using the Task Runner Tool. This tool can be used to kick off steps like property list rebuilds or refreshing of occupancy. But when combined with called to custom stored procedures, you can use it to automate property onboarding from 3^rd party systems.

Another clever way to utilize stored procedures is to auto trigger payments and charges. For example, as a tenant moves through the eviction process, you can check for status changes to certain fields to trigger charges directly to the tenant. A high-level screenshot is shown below.

Overall, if you have database access to your core system you can be as creative as you like with making sure processes are followed by elimination humans from the steps and making sure the data drives your business instead.

Automate your Real Estate Software – Yardi ETL and Automation