Gelbgroup implemented Yardi’s Investment Accounting (IA) solution for Seattle-based Laird Norton Company, streamlining their financial systems and processes. This implementation stemmed from Gelbgroup’s comprehensive Business Process Review, which identified IA as a key initiative to drive operational efficiency by consolidating disparate platforms and reducing manual processes. The project went live in March 2025 after kickoff in early 2024.
President, Laird Lorton Properties
Our business is not Yardi reporting; our business is to be making good investments. If our focus has to be spent more on systems and processes rather than driving our business, then we have a problem. This project is one of a suite of things we’re working on to really simplify our systems and processes so that we can spend more time on what is our core business.
The implementation addressed Laird Norton’s complex needs as an eight-generation family-owned investment company. As CFO Trevor Parris described it, before implementation they had “manual and time-consuming processes to bridge multiple systems,” whereas the IA implementation now “allows us to have a complete record of truth over our financial records and leverage Yardi’s capabilities to tie detailed operating information from our real estate portfolio back to the overall parent company financials.”
We’re essentially a family business, but we’re an investment holding company with a large real estate portfolio. The move to consolidate financial records in Yardi is because we realized that Yardi’s functionality developed for real estate investors could help us track the financials of our various corporate investments with all the complexity that Yardi has developed.
Chief Financial Officer, Laird Norton Company
Our team architected a sophisticated structure in Yardi that accommodated Laird Norton’s unique organizational hierarchy. As President of Laird Norton Properties Deva Hasson noted, our Gelbgroup project team “mapped our existing, very complex structure into the Yardi environment. And they worked effectively with a lot of different stakeholders in the organization with both attentiveness to detail and technical expertise.”
The solution created a unified system across Laird Norton Company (LNC) and Laird Norton Properties (LNP), which previously used different reporting methodologies and systems.
Key transformations achieved:
- Created a single source of truth for financial records across their portfolio
- Accelerate the efficiency of the closing process by “turning a four-to-five-day consolidation and reporting process into a half day process”
- Enhanced reporting capabilities by connecting transaction level accounting entries to parent consolidating financials
- Enhanced accuracy through systematic validation rather than manual spot checks
- Provided comprehensive closing process documentation for sustainability and knowledge transfer
- Helped achieve Laird Norton’s goal of minimizing third-party systems
Most notably, this implementation pioneered an innovative application of Yardi’s Investment Accounting for non-real estate investments. As Trevor Parris highlighted, “We’re essentially a family business, but we’re an investment holding company with a large real estate portfolio. The move to consolidate financial records in Yardi is because we realized that Yardi’s functionality developed for real estate investors could help us track the financials of our various corporate investments with all the complexity that Yardi has developed.” This innovative approach has allowed Laird Norton to track investments in companies like Zevia (NYSE: ZVIA) and other corporate entities within the same Yardi system they use for real estate, creating true portfolio-wide visibility.
The project perfectly aligns with Laird Norton’s brand identity as “patient capital” investors focused on long-term value. As Deva Hasson explained, “The intentionality behind patience and patient capital is that as an eight-generation family company, we obviously take the long-term perspective.” The IA implementation supports this philosophy by freeing up their team from manual processes to focus on strategic investment decisions: “We have capital to invest, and we have a charge to do so. We will have the ability to do more of that as we have more attention being able to focus on those things.”
The project also exemplifies Gelbgroup’s mission to empower clients to “love Yardi more” by unlocking the full potential of the platform. The implementation has transformed Laird Norton into true Yardi advocates, as evidenced by their decision to consolidate all their systems within Yardi rather than rely on third-party solutions. As Deva noted, “they’re trying to do less third-party systems and trying to get everything within Yardi if they can.” This commitment extends beyond the current implementation, with their team now exploring additional Yardi solutions like Performance Manager, demonstrating they’re truly “all in” on the Yardi platform.
Our dedicated project lead Anthony Parvin balanced deep technical expertise with effective communication, which Trevor Parris praised: “I was exceptionally impressed with our implementation consultant because he really balanced deep technical experience with the ability to relate and communicate to everyone… bringing humor and positive energy to what can sometimes be pretty dry topics.” Equally important was flexibility – “he would work with our accounting teams to talk about their existing business processes and think about ways to use the software that would minimize the impact and retain practicality for the inevitable business process exceptions that occur.”
Yardi Implementer, Gelbgroup Consulting
“We’re essentially a family business, but we’re an investment holding company with a large real estate portfolio. The move to consolidate financial records in Yardi is because we realized that Yardi’s functionality developed for real estate investors could help us track the financials of our various corporate investments with all the complexity that Yardi has developed.”
The implementation positions Laird Norton to focus more on analysis and strategic decision-making rather than data gathering, aligning with their mission as Deva Hasson explained: “Our business is not Yardi reporting; our business is to be making good investments. If our focus
has to be spent more on systems and processes rather than driving our business, then we have a problem. This project is one of a suite of things we’re working on to really simplify our systems and processes so that we can spend more time on what is our core business.”
Ready to Transform Your Financial Systems?
If you’re inspired by what Gelbgroup accomplished for Laird Norton Company and want to explore how we can streamline your organization’s financial processes, we’d love to hear from you.
Whether you’re managing a complex investment portfolio, looking to consolidate disparate systems, or seeking to unlock the full potential of your Yardi platform, our team brings the technical expertise and strategic insight to make it happen.
Get in touch: info@gelbgroup.com
We’re excited to learn about your unique challenges and discuss how we can help you focus more time on what matters most to your business.
Photo of Seattle by Thom Milkovic on Unsplash
