Getting Started

Installation planEASe Desktop is the Windows application included with your planEASe subscription. It is designed for current versions of Microsoft Windows and is also compatible with many earlier Windows versions. If you are using an older Windows computer, there is generally no harm in trying the installation to determine whether planEASe will run on your system. To install planEASe, log in to your planEASe account, download the current installer from your subscriber home page, and run the installation. planEASe may be installed on multiple Windows computers, although only one planEASe session may be in use at a time.

Your planEASe Subscription Your subscription gives you access to the current planEASe Desktop software and the web services included with your subscription. Your analysis files may be saved on your own computer or network. planEASe web services, including files you publish to the web, are available through your subscriber home page.

The planEASe Assumption Set. planEASe is built around Assumption Sets. An Assumption Set describes the property, financing, revenues, expenses, development costs, sale, and other assumptions that make up an analysis. Each time you analyze an Assumption Set or view a report, planEASe runs those assumptions through its calculation engine as a month-by-month simulation. It progresses through the analysis one month at a time, applying the assumptions as they occur and producing the resulting monthly cash flows. Once the simulation is complete, planEASe calculates the ratios and measures from those results. This is fundamentally different from a spreadsheet model built from linked cells and formulas. The resulting ratios can be independently checked, and discounted cash-flow measures such as NPV and IRR can be compared with monthly Excel XNPV and XIRR calculations.

Creating an Assumption Set You can create and edit an Assumption Set directly in planEASe Desktop. Subscribers can also use the planEASe Assumptions Builder web service, available from the subscriber home page, to create an initial Assumption Set by describing an investment in ordinary language. The resulting Assumption Set can then be opened in planEASe Desktop, reviewed and edited just like any other planEASe analysis.

Review Your Assumptions Whether you create an Assumption Set directly in planEASe or begin with the Assumptions Builder web service, you should review the assumptions before relying on the results. planEASe does not change your assumptions; it simulates them month by month and calculates the results they produce. If an assumption is incorrect or changes, edit the Assumption Set and run the analysis again. This ability to see exactly what is being assumed, and to trace the results back to those assumptions, is fundamental to the planEASe system.

Learning planEASe planEASe can analyze an extensive variety of commercial real estate investment and development situations. You do not need to learn the entire system before beginning. Start with the assumptions and reports that apply to the analysis you are working on, and use this manual and the planEASe Support Center as you need them.

Help and Support The planEASe Support Center is the central resource for help using planEASe. It brings together planEASe documentation, training videos, articles, and searchable assistance so you can find instructions and answers while you work. Use the Support Center whenever you have a question about entering assumptions, running an analysis, using a report, or working with a planEASe feature.