Press Release

Halifax Port Authority Implements Intuit Real Estate Solutions’ MRI Commercial System

The Halifax Port Authority (HPA) recently implemented the Intuit Real Estate Solutions’ MRI Commercial property management and accounting solution to help them improve the management of their diverse real estate portfolio. Intuit Real Estate Solutions, a division of Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) develops software for the global real estate market. 

The bulk of HPA’s revenue comes from their real estate operations. They own 241 acres of land and manage 170 commercial leases including one of the city’s largest event centers, Cunard Centre. They also lease out space to terminal operators, and lease the land to help move cargo.

Their old system, which required a great deal of manual reporting, was no longer conducive to their business and could not provide them with the level of flexibility and scalability they needed to effectively manage their portfolio. It was clear from their evaluation of numerous vendors that IRES was the best company equipped to handle their unique needs…and one they could develop a long-term partnership with. 

“It was critical that our property management and accounting systems would be on one platform,” explained Venkatesh Thyagarajan, business analyst.  “We also wanted one interface for billing and invoicing, with functionality that would enable us to bill for things other than real estate, including cargo invoices.” 

It was the customizability of the MRI Commercial module that helped HPA accomplish their goals. “With the help of Lynx Systems Inc., the Canadian partner of IRES and the Application Toolkit, IRES’ easy-to-use tailoring tools, we were able to combine the Corporate Accounts Receivable and the Commercial Accounts Receivable modules to create the kind of billing system we needed to streamline our billing processes.

“Furthermore, with the Application Toolkit and Lynx Systems, we are developing our own customized Purchase Order system. We greatly appreciate a company who is willing to partner with us on the product development side. Their commitment to the Canadian market is also impressive,” Thyagarajan added.

 “We were pleased that the project was completed in our initial timeframe and within budget,” Joanne Dykeman, Director of Finance expressed. 

HPA is confident that the implementation of this solution will provide them with a competitive edge in their various markets. “We are in competition for cruise and cargo business with other ports and for real estate with other property management firms. Even though our organization is different from other real estate companies, we are still in the business of delivering superior service to our clients,” Thyagarajan asserted.  “The MRI Commercial system will help us automate processes so we can spend more time doing just that.”  

“We realize that real estate companies come in all forms and have vastly different requirements,” said Jeff Thompson, president of IRES.  “Therefore, our open architecture is a key competitive differentiator that enables our software to be easily modified to support the way our clients work.”

About Halifax Port Authority

As an Agent of the Crown under the direction of the Minister of Transport, the Halifax Port Authority is responsible for administering Halifax Harbour. The HPA is a local port authority with a mandate "to develop, market and manage its assets in order to foster and promote trade and transportation and sere as a catalyst for the local, regional and national economies."