• A.CRE
    • A.CRE Help Home
    • A.CRE Home
    • Accelerator
      • Learn More
      • Login
    • Careers
    • CRE Event Calendar
    • CRE Job Board
    • Education
    • Library of Excel Models
    • Contributors
  • FAQs
  • Knowledge Base
  • Contact Us
  • A.CRE
    • A.CRE Help Home
    • A.CRE Home
    • Accelerator
      • Learn More
      • Login
    • Careers
    • CRE Event Calendar
    • CRE Job Board
    • Education
    • Library of Excel Models
    • Contributors
  • FAQs
  • Knowledge Base
  • Contact Us
home/Knowledge Base/Financial Modeling Questions
Popular Search:How do I, What is, Why

Argus vs. Excel vs. Others – And Why the Focus on Excel?

358 views August 22, 2020 November 26, 2022 1

Microsoft Excel is the industry-standard software tool for analyzing real estate. While Excel has its drawbacks, and various non-Excel based alternatives are used, the ubiquity of the software and the flexibility it provides continues to support its prevalence.

With that said, Argus is also commonly used and other non-Excel solutions are gaining traction. Firms that use Argus will often model unlevered cash flows for stabilized office, retail and industrial properties in Argus due to its ability to more effectively handle complex reimbursement structures. What those firms will often do is model their office, retail, and industrial properties to Cash Flow from Operations in Argus, and then export those cash flows to Excel where they layer in debt, calculate partnership-level returns, perform scenario analysis, etc.

At A.CRE, and specifically in our real estate financial modeling Accelerator program, we focused on teaching real estate financial modeling via Excel for a couple of reasons. First, the concepts taught in the program are relatable across platforms. So given that Excel is universally used, whereas Argus is not, we chose Excel as the medium to teach those concepts. And second, each firm uses Argus differently and so in our experience, assuming one already understands real estate financial modeling, it’s best from a practical standpoint to learn Argus on the job.

Was this helpful?

1 Yes  No
Related Articles
  • Waterfall Distribution % and Promote Calculation
  • Macros are disabled – I downloaded your model and the macros are disabled. How do I enable them?
  • I need help to modify (customize) the model
  • Have you heard of recent college graduates state that the accelerator helped them land a job?
  • Do a substantial amount of employers know of your program and find it reputable?
  • If I wanted to restart the program let’s say in 6-9 months before it expired, could I do that and reset the quizzes so the answers aren’t immediately shown?
Leave A Comment Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Financial Modeling Questions

  • Argus vs. Excel vs. Others – And Why the Focus on Excel?
  • Waterfall Distribution % and Promote Calculation
  • Macros are disabled – I downloaded your model and the macros are disabled. How do I enable them?
  • I need help to modify (customize) the model
  • Is debt yield always calculated on the first loan amount (total loan amount) rather than the present value considering amortizing each year?
  • In an acquisition investment where the company is going to renovate all the units in the first 2 years (50% each year), how can we calculate the net cash flow yield on cost?
View All 18  

Popular Articles

  • Argus vs. Excel vs. Others – And Why the Focus on Excel?
  • Do you have any calculators for yield maintenance pre-payment penalty on multifamily loans?
  • As a college student with no experience, do you recommend I take the ARGUS certification training and exam?
  • I need help to modify (customize) the model
  • Have you guys built a SFR Build-for-Rent Model?

KB Categories

  • The Accelerator (Non-member
  • The Accelerator (Members
  • Website Troubleshooting
  • I have a question about a model…
    • A.CRE Geocoding Excel Add-In
    • All-In-One
    • 3-Tiered Acquisition Debt Module
    • Actual + Forecast Construction Draw Schedule
    • Advanced Amortization Model
    • Apartment Acquisition Model with Monte Carlo Simulation Module
    • Apartment Development Model
    • Back-of-the-Envelope Office, Retail, Industrial Acquisition Model
    • Basic Hotel Acquisition Model
    • Commercial Mortgage Loan Analysis Model
    • Condominium Development Model
    • Construction Draw and Interest Calculation Model
    • Ground Lease Valuation Model
    • Equity Waterfall Model with Monthly Periods
    • Excel Pro Forma for Flipping Houses
    • Hotel Acquisition 2.0
    • Hotel Development Model
    • Hotel Valuation Model
    • Industrial Real Estate Development Model
    • Loan Payment Schedule and Balance Tracking Tool
    • Mixed-Use Development Model: Condo and Retail
    • Multifamily Apartment Acquisition Model
    • Multifamily Redevelopment Model
    • Multifamily Value-Add Acquisitions
    • Real Estate Acquisition Due Diligence Checklist
    • Real Estate Acquisition Model – 2.0
    • Real Estate Capital Account Tracking Tool
    • Real Estate Portfolio Valuation Model
    • Residential Land Development Pro Forma
    • S-Curve Forecasting
    • Self Storage Development Model
    • Simple Acquisition Model for Office, Retail, and Industrial
    • Single Family Home Construction Pro Forma for Home Builders
    • Single Family Residential Investment Analysis Model
    • Single tenant NNN Lease Valuation Model
    • Value-Add Apartment Acquisition Model
    • 4-Tier Equity Multiple Waterfull
    • Waterfall Model for Real Estate Joint Ventures with Catch-Up
    • Waterfall Model with Cash-On-Cash Hurdle
    • Waterfall Model with Catch Up and Clawback
    • Waterfall Model with IRR and Equity and Multiple Hurdles
  • What model should I use for…?
  • Career Advice
  • Financial Modeling Questions
Not finding an answer to your question?

Click here to contact us

About A.CRE

Adventures in CRE is the most popular real estate financial modeling, education, and careers website on the web. Use this section to get help with models, the site, or the Accelerator.

Help Sections
  • A.CRE Help
  • My Account
  • FAQs
  • Knowledge Base
  • Glossary
Knowledge Base

I have a question about a model…

What model should I use for…?

The Accelerator (Non-member)

The Accelerator (Members)

Career Advice

A.CRE

A.CRE Home

Join the Accelerator

Download a Model

CRE Careers

 

 

 

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • © 2020 Adventures in CRE, LLC. All Rights Reserved.