Accurate Cash Flow Forecasts Helps Plan for the Future
Company Size
11-200
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Centage
- Planning Maestro
- Microsoft Great Plains
Tech Stack
- Cloud-based FP&A platform
- Microsoft Excel
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
About The Customer
Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation is a nonprofit organization that develops affordable housing communities for low-income working families, seniors, and people who have experienced homelessness. Since its inception in 1998, the organization has created more than 7,500 units of affordable multifamily rental housing at 53 properties throughout the state of California. Wakeland works with a variety of municipalities, developers, and redevelopment agencies throughout California. To build its communities, Wakeland partners with investors, and also taps into federal, state, and local funding resources, including tax-exempt bonds and tax credits. Each property is its own entity, and Wakeland serves as the nonprofit general partner of that entity.
The Challenge
Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that develops affordable housing communities, was facing challenges with its financial forecasting. The organization's major revenue stream comes from developer fees, which are built into the financial structure of each development. These fees are earned based on triggered mechanisms such as when the development team completes construction, closes permanent financing, and receives form 8609 from the IRS. Prior to discovering Centage, Wakeland was using an Excel spreadsheet for its pro forma budget, which was difficult to update and manage on an ongoing basis. The spreadsheet was not providing the analytic information needed and forecasting future cash was a difficult process. The accounting team was also responsible for managing the effects of Wakeland’s pipeline, which required them to project cash flow, balance sheet, and P&L. If a milestone was late, the team had to recreate the forecasts in their spreadsheets, which was time-consuming.
The Solution
Wakeland's Controller discovered Centage, a cloud-based modern FP&A platform that offers a better way to plan, budget, forecast, and report financial performance. The platform fully integrates with their accounting software, Microsoft Great Plains, enabling automatic import of expenses, rather than manual keying of numbers into the budget. This resulted in more accurate and trustworthy budgets and forecasts. Planning Maestro, part of Centage, also streamlined Wakeland’s forecasting. It allowed for easy updating of cash flow, income statement, and five-year forecasts. The flexibility of Planning Maestro enabled quick changes to forecasts and faster access to new information. This significantly reduced the time taken for forecasting from a week to a monthly basis.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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