Building a Better Future in Real Estate: An Interview with Michael Antonelli of Acumatica Partner Anton Systems

In real estate, property development, and property management, decision-makers are moving away from manual, legacy, and lagging business management methods toward centralized cloud platforms and digital transformation. Today, Michael Antonelli, CEO and President of Anton Systems, gives his expert insights on these sectors and covers how Acumatica Cloud ERP helps real estate organizations prepare for and succeed in a more data-driven, connected industry.

Please tell us a bit about Anton Systems and what you do for real estate development companies.

Anton Systems is a gold certified Acumatica partner, and, for over three decades, we have focused specifically on real estate developers, property owners, and property managers. In short, we help companies replace disconnected spreadsheets and accounting tools with a modern cloud ERP solution that becomes their single source of truth.

For real estate developers, that means supporting the whole lifecycle of a deal, from land acquisition to construction to property and asset management, all on one platform. We don’t just install the software. We configure it. We migrate the data. We train the team. We stay with the clients long-term to make sure the system actually transforms how they work.

How are modern real estate development companies optimizing their operations—or how should they be?

Real estate in general and its various sectors have historically been technological laggers, but most developers today are in some stage of digital transformation. They are moving away from spreadsheets and manual workflows toward cloud platforms that centralize the project, the financial, and the operational data. The big unlock comes from standardizing processes—such as budgeting, commitments, and loan draws—and automating the flow of information from the field to accounting.

For anyone still running on software like QuickBooks and Excel, moving to a cloud ERP solution like Acumatica is the most significant step they can take. It gives them real-time cost visibility and multi-entity reporting they can’t get from the software they currently have.

Working with Anton Systems ensures this move is not just a software swap but a guided transformation, with real-estate-specific configurations, data migration, and training—all handled by a team that has done this for developers and property managers for more than three decades.

What key trends and innovations are shaping business transformation for real estate development?

We’re seeing three significant trends. First, cloud adoption is accelerating because teams want access from anywhere and easier integration with their other tools. Second, everyone wants real-time visibility into budget versus actual cost to complete loan draw status across every project. And third, the rise of automation and early AI tools is helping companies reduce manual work and forecast more accurately. All of this is pushing firms toward unified cloud platforms where development, construction, accounting, and property management are connected.

What are the biggest operational challenges in business management for this industry? How would you advise companies to address them?

The most significant issues come from fragmentation. Real estate developers often manage complex entities, budgets, loan draws, and commitments in Excel, emails, file shares—you name it. That leads to errors, delays, and conflicting versions of the truth. Our advice is to tackle both process and technology together. Standardize how you manage your projects and entities and support that with a real estate focused cloud ERP solution. And don’t skip the change management piece because training and adoption make or break any transformation.

That’s why Anton Systems pairs each Acumatica implementation with structured onboarding, data migration, and expert training services, so teams adopt consistent processes and actually use the system as their single source of truth day to day.

In your experience, what business management strategies have proven most effective in your key industry? How can cloud ERP solutions, like Acumatica, support these strategies?

The best real estate developers think in terms of portfolios, not individual projects. They insist on real-time visibility, consistent coding structures, and clear dashboards, so they can compare performance across entities. A system like Acumatica supports that by bringing multi-entity financials, project accounting, commitments, and loan draws into one place. It basically becomes their operational backbone.

What features should businesses look for in real estate development ERP software?

We always tell people to look for a few must haves. For example:

• True multi-entity and intercompany accounting.

• Strong project cost management, not only for budgets but for commitments, change orders, and that most important value: cost to complete.

• Integrated loan draw and funding workflows.

• Contract and commitment management.

• Compliance.

• Flexible reporting.

• And role-based dashboards.

If a business holds stabilized assets, integrated property management is also a big plus.

What do you believe the future of the real estate development industry will look like? How do you think business technology, like Acumatica, can support that future?

This specific industry is going to be more data-driven and more connected because real estate developers rely on real-time financial operational data to make faster decisions and manage risk. Cloud systems will act as the digital backbone tying together ERP and construction tools, customer relationship management (CRM) in some cases, and property management with analytics lying over it. Acumatica is positioned well for that future because it’s flexible, cloud native, and already integrating things like AI and advanced analytics. Real estate developers who lean into this kind of transformation—backed by partners like Anton Systems who understand both the software and the industry—will be better able to control costs, satisfy their lenders and investors, and stay competitive.