Connection to reporting data and accounting thanks to LucaNet
Success story Upgrade Estate
created in cooperation with our partner SEEFO BVBA
LucaNet allows Upgrade Estate to implement a specific format across multiple companies. The structure currently consists of about forty entities. Therefore, some level of consolidation is needed.
"By reviewing these consolidated data, we maintain a helicopter view, but we can always click through to the details. How efficient we are, how much revenue we generate, where and why costs are rising (or falling) ...: we see it at a glance thanks to LucaNet."
Thanks to LucaNet there is a permanent connection between the reporting data and the accounting system, and we can easily report to management. When we “refresh” the data, the software automatically discovers when there are any new ledger accounts or new dimensions.
Upgrade Estate uses LucaNet software for:
- Management Reporting
- Consolidation
- Replacement for Excel
About the company
Upgrade Estate began as a family business in 1999 and has experienced, particularly since 2010, a tremendous growth as a housing provider for students and young professionals. Upgrade Estate develops large-scale student accommodation under the brand name "Upkot" and apartments for young professionals under the brand name "Upliving". But the company's activities go beyond just developing the buildings: from purchasing the properties and land, project management and construction coordination, selling student rooms (or shares) in a building to private investors and managing the buildings and rooms, to creating a community feeling among the students and young professionals through all kinds of initiatives.
Use cases
-
Industry :
-
Construction and real estate industry
-
Core Business :
-
Development of large-scale student housing and apartments
-
Headquarter city :
-
Ghent (Belgium)
-
Employees :
-
100
-
Website :
The challenge
Need for a reliable, stable reporting tool
"Due to the rapid growth of our company, we were facing some growth difficulties," explains Jeroen De Smet, Financial Analyst & Controller at Upgrade Estate. "We were processing the financial data from our accounting package in Excel, but due to the volumes of that data, that system proved no longer watertight and was unreliable. Excel was at risk of crashing. And when we were working with pivot tables, we were always afraid that they were incomplete. We urgently needed a reliable, stable reporting tool."
The solution
Reliable data with LucaNet
"The implementation of LucaNet went very smoothly, with a turnaround time of less than three months. Upgrade Estate is a rather atypical company, though. For example, on the one hand we needed financial reports that rolled out of LucaNet in a pretty ‘standard’ way, but on the other hand we needed operational reports, for our sales dashboard for example, which required more programming work. From the figures in the sales dashboard we can, for example, analyze how much is sold in a certain period, how much each salesperson sells separately, etc." "Seefo, LucaNet’s implementation partner, is very swift in its approach. Because we are growing fast as an SME, we constantly have new queries and the need for new reports. All new reports will be created from now on in LucaNet. For each new report we get a first draft from Seefo within 3 weeks."
About our partner SEEFO
Seefo is a nod to CFO or Chief Financial Officer, and at the same time the abbreviation of 'to see financial opportunities'. Seefo's core team consists of two consultants with a rebellious side, Kristof Vanherle and Patrick Van Gaelen who both earned their spurs in the financial sector. Together they have more than 50 years of experience. No position - from bookkeeper to CFO - still holds any secrets for them.
Focus topics:
- Controlling and Consolidation
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Budgeting / Forecasting
- Liquidity planning
- Management reporting
