ERP Business Analyst in Miami

Pre-construction sales: deposits, escrow and buyers abroad

Pre-construction condominium sales are a defining feature of Miami's property market. A buyer reserves a unit, signs a purchase agreement and pays deposits in stages while the tower rises, and many of those buyers live in Latin America, Europe or Canada. Florida law sets rules on how buyer deposits are held and when a developer may draw on them, and the developer's attorney and escrow agent decide how those rules apply to each project.

For a business analyst, the task is turning that arrangement into data requirements. I document each deposit stage and what triggers it, who records an incoming wire and who confirms it against the escrow agent's statement, how identity and source-of-funds documents for each buyer are tracked, what happens when a payment arrives late or short, and how unit changes, assignments and cancellations are recorded.

Sales teams usually work in a CRM, deposits sit in the escrow agent's records and construction costs live in the developer's accounting system. The requirements have to say which system owns each fact, how the three are reconciled and which reports the lender and equity investors expect. That reconciliation requirement often decides whether a specialist sales platform or an extended ERP is the better fit.

Brokers, commissions and the paperwork before payment

Many Miami developments sell through an in-house team and a wide network of cooperating brokers, some local and some abroad. Commission terms vary by project, by broker agreement and occasionally by unit, and payment is often split into installments tied to contract signing and closing. When those rules live in email threads and a spreadsheet, disputes follow.

I capture commission requirements in plain, testable form: the agreement that governs each broker, the basis for calculating what is owed, the events that make each installment payable, the documents needed before release, such as a signed agreement and the tax forms your accountant asks foreign brokers to provide, and the approvals required. Withholding on payments to foreign persons is a question for your accountant. The requirement is that the system stores their decision and blocks payment until the paperwork is complete.

The same method covers resale and rental brokerages that pay agents on splits and caps. Commission calculation is a common gap in general ERP packages, so the fit-gap matrix shows plainly whether a candidate handles it natively, needs a specialist tool or would require custom work, and what each option means for testing and support.

Association management under Florida's newer condo safety rules

Florida has tightened its rules for condominium buildings, introducing milestone structural inspections and structural integrity reserve studies for many older buildings and limiting how associations can skip reserve funding. For management companies in Miami-Dade, inspection reports, repair projects and large special assessments became part of everyday business.

A management company may keep separate books for many associations, each with its own bank accounts, budget, reserve funds and board. Requirements here reach beyond accounting. I document how each building's inspection and reserve study status is tracked, which notices and deadlines the association's attorney says apply, how repair projects are approved and costed, how special assessments are billed to owners on payment plans, and which reports boards and owners receive. Which obligations apply to which building is for the attorney and engineer to confirm.

Many management companies run specialist association software, and that is often the right call. The analysis then concentrates on the gaps: the company's own payroll and billing, project tracking for major repairs, and owner communications in English and Spanish, with the Spanish wording written by bilingual staff. Wider industry context sits on the property management page.

Condo-hotels and rental programs that share income with owners

In Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Brickell, some towers operate as condo-hotels or run rental programs in which owners place their apartments into a pool managed by an operator. Income and costs are allocated back to owners under the program agreement, and each owner expects a statement they can follow, often from another country where they think in another currency.

The requirements are specific. I document how nights and room revenue are captured from the hotel's property management system, which costs are shared and on what basis, how owner stays in their own unit are handled, how furniture and repair reserves are charged, when statements and distributions are produced, and how an owner joining or leaving the program partway through a period is treated. Short-term rental rules differ between Miami Beach, the City of Miami and other municipalities, and the operator's counsel confirms which apply.

Distribution calculations are where spreadsheets break first. Specifying them precisely, with worked examples the operator signs off, lets vendors prove the calculation during demonstrations instead of promising it. The hotel ERP page covers the broader picture of hotel finance and operations.

Documents your team keeps after the analysis ends

The deliverables are written to outlast the project. You receive current-state process maps for sales, deposits, commissions, association accounting or rental programs, depending on your business; a business requirements document with each requirement numbered, prioritized and tied to the document or report it supports; a fit-gap matrix covering the specialist and ERP candidates you shortlist; and acceptance scenarios built from real cases, such as a canceled reservation, a broker paid in installments or an owner leaving a rental pool.

Everything is produced remotely through recorded interviews, shared drafts and written sign-off, which suits teams split between a sales gallery, a management office and owners abroad. A visit can be arranged when a workshop in person helps. The engagement runs in English, and Spanish or Portuguese text in owner-facing material is written and checked by your bilingual staff.

For the general approach to US requirements, see the ERP business analyst page for the USA and my requirements gathering service. The wider systems picture for the city is on the Miami ERP consultant page, and independent hiring options on freelance ERP consulting in Miami.