🏗️ Why I Built It: From Chaos to Clarity
Leasing budget season meant 3 weeks of manual entry by 7 accountants — every year — just to get rent assumptions into Yardi’s ABF system. The process was labor-intensive, error-prone, and disconnected from upstream leasing inputs.
I knew we could do better.
What started as an experiment to automate rent projection with Python became a full-stack solution integrating SQL (Athena), Excel (via xlwings), and leasing team inputs. The result? A 10-minute turnaround — from input to reforecast report — replacing 200+ hours of work.
See detail for the project:
https://databykevin.com/projects/budget-reforecast/leasing
⚙️ What I Built: Rent Reforecast Automation Engine
I designed a fully automated workflow that:
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Pulls 7-year in-place rent data from Yardi via SQL Athena
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Consolidates leasing assumptions from the leasing team
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Read these two sources of information to Python VSC for reprocessing the data
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Detects overlaps, handles rent steps, and calculates GLA/monthly rent
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Outputs validated projections and dashboards in Excel
The entire system updates with a click — no copy-pasting, no version mismatches, no ambiguity.
📈 The Impact: Beyond Just Time Savings
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✅ Replaced manual Excel/Yardi entry with a single Python script
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✅ Created a “source of truth” for rent assumptions
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✅ Reduced turnaround time from 3 weeks to 10 minutes
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✅ Earned trust and buy-in from both leasing and accounting teams
🚧 The Caveat: Competing with Forecast Manager
Yardi has released a Forecast Manager module — a powerful, integrated budgeting engine. If adopted, it could replace much of what I built.
But here's the truth: this project wasn't just about the tool. It was about leveling up my skills — learning Python, SQL, and real-world ETL — while solving a real problem at scale.
🧠 What I Learned
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Domain expertise matters: understanding leasing mechanics made the automation relevant
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SQL + Python + Excel = unmatched agility in finance workflows
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Impact isn’t about code — it’s about adoption, trust, and timing
🏁 Looking Ahead
Whether or not Forecast Manager becomes the standard, this project proves that finance professionals can be builders. My focus now is scaling up and streamling the process — tackling larger, smarter projects that blend automation with insight, bridging strategy and technology.