Creating a central hub for Danco Group's deal documents & data

"We used to spend days updating our files manually. Now that it's all streamlined with Builders Patch, we can get the same tasks done in about 30 minutes."
Michele Kerrigan, Asset Manager, Danco Group

Customer Overview

• Customer Type: Developer
• Team Size: <10 people
• Development Team Size: 2,000+
• Affordable Housing Units: 50+
• Projects:

Problem Statement

Like many developers, The Danco Group managed its growing portfolio with siloed Excel files and Word documents, making project tracking time-consuming and fragmented. With data scattered across multiple platforms, pulling insights and comparing projects required excessive manual effort, slowing down critical decisions.

Solution

Danco implemented Builders Patch to transform their workflow, in under 10 weeks, receiving consistent support and customization options tailored to their needs. Weekly meetings with our dedicated Customer Service team ensured seamless onboarding, with custom templates and AI tools that optimized for the intricacies of affordable housing projects.

Results

Danco’s team now enjoys a streamlined workflow, drastically reducing manual tasks and increasing efficiency. Generating financial reports used to take days – now it takes minutes. Their team can instantly compare construction costs across projects, track land deposits and due dates in real-time, and automatically generate professional deal pages and reports for stakeholders—all from a single platform. This has enabled them to focus on strategic development while maintaining real-time access to all project data.

Danco Group streamlined affordable housing development with Builders Patch, boosting efficiency, automating reports, improving compliance, and enhancing stakeholder communication in just 10 weeks.

Navigating Growth as a Developer

With over 20 years of experience in the affordable housing space, The Danco Group faced data and process-related challenges that developers their size typically face. With only a traditional filing system in place, Danco's data was fragmented across multiple Excel sheets and Word docs, making it difficult to track active projects on both the development and asset management side.

Chris Dart, President of Danco Group explained:

"As we've been growing and building our portfolio projects, we found that we were having a hard time keeping track of things like land deposits, due dates, and milestone expirations. Updating our financial models was becoming increasingly onerous."

Looking for Solutions in the Industry

We have heard similar anecdotes in multiple customer conversations. Especially as portfolios begin to grow, developers typically find that their needs have outgrown their traditional way of managing operations.

When is a Centralized Technology Solution Necessary?

According to Danco, the sooner, the better. Even if you are a smaller team with limited resources, investing in the right technology from the start will allow you to grow and ultimately, do more with less.

Chris Dart asked his colleagues about other comprehensive options available on the market. He found none. According to him,

"There isn’t any software out there that meets the specific needs of affordable housing deals. Other asset management softwares on the market did not have the forecasting capabilities we needed. You are the only player in the market who already has a product like this."

Before coming across the Builders Patch solution, Danco worked with an external group that could build the system they needed in-house. The process was incredibly expensive and took a lot of the development and the executive team’s time to define the needs. They quickly recognized the value we offered after learning about our solution at a conference.

Hands-On Support and Ongoing Customization

Many small to mid-size developers hesitate to adopt new tools due to past experiences with prolonged onboarding processes for accounting and asset management tools. Builders Patch committed to a lifelong collaborative approach to our customer service, making us stand out from competitors.

Michele Kerrigan, an Asset Manager at Danco, said:

"A key selling point was the personal engagement. Kanan Ajmera, the CEO, was involved in every call, which added a personal touch. She shares a similar background with us in the development world and understands the frustration with some of the software available."

How Danco Transformed Its Workflow in Weeks

Danco was onboarded in just a few weeks, thanks to a streamlined process led by the customer success team. Weekly meetings ensured constant communication, allowing Danco to ask questions, provide feedback, and customize the platform to fit their unique needs.

The Builders Patch team’s consistent, hands-on approach meant that Danco could see results quickly. This collaborative relationship has set a solid foundation for future enhancements, with custom features and AI tools that continue to evolve alongside Danco’s needs.

Enhanced Tools for Real Estate Developers

With Builders Patch, Danco upgraded their capabilities, from data management to investor communications:

• Automated proforma management ensures real-time updates to critical financial metrics, dramatically reducing manual errors and enhancing financial forecasting accuracy.

  "We used to spend days updating our files manually. Now that it's all streamlined, we can get the same tasks done in about 30 minutes."

• The platform’s centralized deal tracking system brings every phase of the project lifecycle into one accessible hub, allowing the team to track everything from initial planning through asset management.

  "Being able to instantly compare operating costs, construction costs, and land prices has been invaluable for making informed decisions."

• Polished, up-to-date deal pages have transformed stakeholder communication, allowing the team to easily share detailed, professional reports with lenders and investors.

AI Integration Into Danco’s Operations

As AI becomes an increasingly powerful tool in the real estate industry, Developers are tapping into AI features to improve workflows and enhance decision-making.

The partnership between Builders Patch and Danco Group has opened up exciting new frontiers in AI integration. The AI document summary feature has been a game-changer for Danco's queries.

Michele Kerrigan shared:

"AI-powered document summaries have been a great time-saver for us. We can quickly extract key details from complex legal documents."

As AI technology evolves, so does the platform, ensuring that developers stay included in market trends while still valuing years of industry experience.