New Demands of a Growing Business
Brightwild had been a long-time user of VRPlatform’s legacy product, which connected their property management system, Guesty, to Sage Intacct. At the time, it provided a structured way to move operational data into the general ledger.
However, as Brightwild began bringing accounting fully in-house and strengthening internal controls, their needs evolved.
“We started integrating more team members internally to take control, feel comfortable with the data, and understand the timelines,” Danielle shares.
While the old system successfully moved data into the GL, the team found that as transaction volume and entity complexity increased, they needed deeper visibility and more structured trust-level workflows inside the accounting process itself.
Brightwild’s legacy processes created significant challenges because Sage Intacct is a general ERP—not purpose-built for short-term rentals. “Reconciling AR subledgers, managing deferred revenue and pro-rata recognition, and handling large batch payouts from Stripe, Airbnb, and other OTAs became increasingly complex. We needed more modern technology with a higher level of automation,” Danielle explains.
In addition, the accounting team needed purpose built reporting to better understand trust cash position, advance deposits, financial performance and inter-company balances.
As Brightwild scaled, the question shifted from ‘How do we sync data into the GL?’ to ‘How do we control, reconcile, and report on it efficiently across multiple entities?’
The Move to VRTrust
When evaluating their options, Brightwild briefly considered using Guesty’s accounting module, but the team quickly recognized that they needed a purpose-built accounting infrastructure designed to support their business at scale.
VRTrust provided exactly that, and they had the advantage of working with a familiar team.
Despite the scale of their operation, the implementation was thoughtfully streamlined. Rather than maintaining seven separate trust accounts as they had previously, Brightwild consolidated into a single master trust.
“We have one environment and one master trust that we use,” Danielle explains. VRTrust general ledger tagging ties all entries to listings and owners, which are all mapped to Sage Intacct using VRTrusts turn-key two-way integration workflows. This, along with VRTrust trust reconciliation reports allows for proper separation of cash, while using one trust account for simplicity.
Onboarding included weekly working sessions and a dedicated Slack channel for real-time support. While software conversions always come with concerns, Danielle had confidence that the team behind VRTrust would work to solve any problem that arose.
“It’s been a smooth journey. We’ve hit bumps in the road, but those bumps have resolved.”
Faster Closes. Greater Clarity.
“Our close time has decreased tremendously,” Danielle shares. “We’re getting out the owner statements faster than we’ve ever gotten them out, and that’s even with the transition.”
Previously, statements for their largest entity wouldn’t go out until between the 15th-18th. Within the first month of using VRTrust, owners received statements and payments by the 15th, with most owners receiving statements before the 10th of the month.
“The owner success manager reached out and said that’s the quickest that I’ve ever been able to report back to my owners.”
Beyond speed, the team gained better visibility through export-ready, industry-specific reporting.
“VRTrust gives us insight into accounts receivable and advanced deposits that we haven’t had before. Being able to quickly pull reports and see exactly where we stand is really good.”
Today, the team regularly relies on reports such as:
- Owner Statement Summaries
- Guest Balance Reports
- Lodging & Occupancy Tax Reports
- General Ledger Review
- Trial Balance Report
Automation has also dramatically reduced manual reconciliation time.
“The team used to spend hours and hours every day checking Guesty to Sage Intacct. Now with VRTrust, they do it in an hour once a week.”
This operational efficiency directly supports Brightwild’s long-term growth strategy. According to Danielle, “VRTrust allows us to grow without having to grow our team.”
Perhaps the most meaningful outcome, however, has been the impact on morale.
“If we didn’t have this solution… I don’t think I’d have a team.” Danielle says that her employees are much happier and more productive now that they have less busy work on their plate and can grow within the organization.
Future-Ready Financials
Many companies like Brightwild found VRPlatform at a time when automation between PMS systems and external accounting systems simply didn’t exist. Since then, both the industry and the technology supporting it have evolved, making it possible to move beyond integration alone toward fully purpose-built trust accounting systems.
VRTrust represents that next stage of evolution: a comprehensive, standalone trust accounting solution that amplifies the power of automation with native reconciliation, flexible trust accounting, and industry-specific reporting.
For other long-time users hesitant to make the switch, Danielle offers simple advice:
“I’m very pleased at where we are at this point. Trust the process — the system works.”
With faster closes, cleaner general ledger postings, stronger internal controls, and a happier team, Brightwild has transformed accounting from a friction point into a growth-enabler, positioning the company for its next phase with clarity and confidence.
