at a glance
Over 10 years with NetSuite, REA Group and Annexa have gone from replacing legacy systems to solving complex challenges that fuel growth and innovation.
- Sage Accpac
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Unified 26 databases into one global NetSuite platform
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Continuous innovation with tailored modules and global rollouts
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Custom solutions for REA’s unique scale and complexity
the client
About REA Group
Born in a garage in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne in 1995, REA Group has developed into a multinational digital company specialising in property. REA Group operates Australia’s leading residential and commercial property websites – realestate.com.au and realcommercial.com.au – along with other leading brands in Australia and India.
In our original go-live, NetSuite was viewed as a like-for-like replacement. However, we now see NetSuite as the tool to solve complex business challenges.Phil MoonSenior Manager ERP
the challenge
Breaking free from a dead-end ERP
By 2014, REA Group’s finance systems had hit a technical dead end. The business was running on an ageing, heavily customised ERP that had reached end of life and was no longer able to support REA’s growth. Finance teams were stuck managing a patchwork of databases, with month end stretching across most of the month. Consolidations and deferred revenue were handled manually, reporting lagged weeks behind and even small system changes became painful because the platform was so customised.
At the same time, REA was expanding aggressively – both in Australia and overseas. Supporting this scale meant finding a finance backbone that was flexible enough for rapid change and future-fit for long-term growth.
“The technology stack was so customised it couldn’t even be upgraded. It caused a lot of pain to make modifications and keep up with expansion,” recalled Matthew Owens, Director at Annexa.
Phil Moon, Senior Manager ERP, REA Group adds, “our old ERP was end of life and was no longer able to support the growing plans of our business… Month end was incredibly complex. Back then it was effectively a series of databases that had to be loaded and reloaded multiple times to get the final results.”
the results
From foundation to continuous innovation
With Annexa, REA Group replaced 26 databases with NetSuite OneWorld, creating a single global finance platform. This removed duplication, improved reporting speed and gave the business a financial backbone capable of supporting international operations from day one.
Over the following decade, Annexa and REA continued to innovate on this foundation. NetSuite moved from being a finance tool to becoming embedded in REA’s broader business operations. Together, the teams delivered tailored solutions that solved challenges unique to REA’s scale, including:
- Custom CAPEX module to track allocation to our software projects
- Automated dunning module to strengthen collections and cash flow
- Slack integration for Purchasing approvals and notifications directly into daily workflow
- International rollouts, including navigating India’s complex transaction tax landscape
- Playbooks for acquisitions, ensuring each new integration could be approached with accuracy and consistency
These innovations have transformed month-end with real-time reporting replacing weeks of manual effort. Complex consolidations now happen instantly and REA’s finance team is free to focus on insight rather than firefighting.
Annexa’s support has also been instrumental in helping REA integrate new acquisitions. And the partnership is now extending into emerging technologies like AI, with Annexa bringing new ideas to the table.
“REA is a growth company and has grown tremendously… there’s no way we could be at the scale we are now without the technical improvements that Annexa has helped deliver,” explains Norm Duce, General Manager Transformation and Integration, REA Group.
For Annexa, the partnership has been just as transformative. As Matthew Owens shares, “our business has grown significantly over the duration of the partnership and REA has grown even faster. It’s been mutual – we’ve been challenged every week with new opportunities and it’s enabled us to keep extending our technical capabilities.”
Annexa are our trusted partners. There have been many times we’ve gone to them without a clear solution in mind, and they’ve always been the team we can be open with, collaborate with and rely on to work through challenges together.Norm DuceGeneral Manager Transformation and Integration