Due to the data captured in IMS, we are able to more easily provide data to our CPA for K-1 production. This has reduced the spreadsheets we would otherwise have to maintain. The functionality available for investors to complete Subscription Booklets online and obtain proof of Accreditation via VerifyInvestor has also been a huge improvement for us and our investors and has allowed us to raise as much as $27MM in equity in one month (fully complete/accurate paperwork; fully funded). In addition, the type of data we are able to collect at the CRM Contact level as well as at the investing entity level has helped us market to our investors appropriately whether we are doing a 506(b) or a 506(c) type of deal.
Pros:
In looking at several products, the most important aspect for me is data. Is the type of data that I need to be able to search on or analyze later available for data capture? I look at functionality next. For us, IMS provides the best data out there for a company who raises Private Equity (we focus on Multifamily real estate). Although the user interfaces and functionality have not been as slick as some of the other products we have seen, upon deep review of those other products, they just do not collect the level of data we need them to. IMS has also been working to makeover their UIs to make them more intuitive and streamlined from a functional perspective. One of the other strengths in this software that I love is that IMS tends to build functionality where, as a sponsor, you can turn certain data or functionality on or off if it doesn’t work for your company’s processes/procedures. This provides flexibility that allows their multiple sponsors to handle certain processes and displays differently based on their specific needs. I have not seen this offered on other tools to the degree it is available on IMS. This is a great strength in this tool and huge win for the multiple sponsors.
Cons:
In the past one of our biggest issues we ran into was functionality deployed that was not fully tested or where existing functionality was not fully regression tested. As a result we would run into bugs. However, this has changed dramatically in the past year. IMS is really taking care to fully test what they deploy.
