04.26.2009 by Don Wood.

Recently I was visiting someone at an upscale apartment community. I struck up a conversation with the Property Management and being me, I asked her what PM system they used. She told me and said he didn’t like it. No names needed here. I asked her why she did not like the system and discovered a crucial reason.

It turns out that she has to fill out a report in Excel every week and email it to the Regional Manager. All, I repeat all, of the data on this Excel report is from the PM System. I suspect that not only does each Property Manager fill out and email this report, there is someone at the corporate office that consolidates the data and creates another report.

This very manual process could easily be automated with a custom report. It might cost a few thousand to create it but it would be a quick return on investment in process efficiency and accuracy. All it takes is for corporate to talk to the on-site Managers about there system needs.

Leverage the system you have!

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03.02.2009 by Don Wood.

There are still some Multifamily Property Managers using DOS applications like Rent Roll and the AMSI DOS version. Many of you may be surprised that these products are still in use and will wonder why do people still use them? Well, frankly, they work, albeit with risks! Smaller, cost conscience firms find it difficult to justify spending the money for an upgrade when the old DOS system still gets the job done.

The expense to upgrade to a new product can be a lot. Plus, new equipment, training and changing business processes can be daunting and costly. But is the risk of staying on the old DOS application too great? I say “YES!” Early versions of Microsoft Windows actually ran on top of the DOS platform; however since Windows 95, DOS is no longer needed and has fallen in disuse. That does not mean you can’t still operate a computer with DOS, in fact there are some companies that will sell you a PC with FreeDOS as the operating system. DOS is not the only problem or risk, you have to consider the hardware, support, expertise, security, and opportunity costs.

Risks of not Upgrading

Hardware
It is increasingly difficult to purchase hardware compatible with running DOS. As I mentioned you can purchase a PC with FreeDOS but that is certainly not a mainstream purchase. If your current PC crashes you won’t be able to run to the local retailer and grab a replacement off the shelf. New printers don’t usually work with DOS and finding a DOS compatible printer is increasingly harder. You may have to buy used equipment on ebay.

Support & Expertise
Most companies that produced the old DOS software provide little to no support. There are few programmers around that know anything about DOS. Most experienced property management personnel are trained on more modern systems.

Security
If your DOS application becomes corrupted there is little support and expertise to fix the problem. Consistent, daily backup best be your policy! In addition, your data is at risk for hackers using vulnerabilities associated with dial up modems. Newer systems are more secure.

Opportunity Costs
Granted, I did say the old DOS programs still work, but in our changing economy and business drivers, the old software can’t compete with the new functionality. New systems don’t merely do the basics; they provide analytical reports, traffic tracking, and frankly too many features to cover here.  Plus, upgrading opens numerous opportunities to improving your processes, efficiencies, and profitability. Having staff run to a dedicated DOS computer to look up data is inefficient. Your competitors are using up-to-date programs with up-to-the-minute data to make pricing decisions and leaving you in the dust! So cover your risk and upgrade before your luck runs out.

Reduce your risk and improve your business processes and bottom line by upgrading to a web-based solution.

Posted in Real Estate Accounting, Multifamily Software, Real Estate Software | Print | No Comments »

02.18.2009 by Don Wood.

If you are on the RealPage OneSite property management system there is a great feature you that most users don’t leverage to their advantage. I’m referring to the Letters & Notices feature.

The Letters & Notices feature allows users to create custom letters and notices that can be generated from the system. Data in the database will be merged into the documents and a record will be maintained of the document you sent each resident. Some of the benefits of using this feature are:

• Less time required to generate resident documents
• More accurate documents as data from the system is merged into the document
• Adds to your green initiatives as the final documents are stored in the system rather than printed and stored in a file cabinet

The letters & Notices functionality include:

• on-line training
• preloaded standard documents
• Ability to create custom fields
• Access to hundreds of data fields

There are a wide variety of documents that can be created. For example:

• Lease Agreement
• Lease Addendum
• Renewal Letters
• Inspection Notice
• Late Notice
• Eviction Notice

How to Get Started

The best way to begin is to watch the on-line training videos RealPage offers. They can be found on the RealPage website under training and on-demand catalog. The videos will show you how to create new letters and merge data fields. If you don’t have a test site I highly recommend you get one. Using a test site will enable you to create documents and test them to make sure you are merging the correct data.

Other systems such as Yardi and Intuit RES (MRI) have similar features.

Don Wood has over 25 years of experience in project management, business process improvement, and information technology for the real estate industry. Please visit www.dbrw.com for more information.

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02.18.2009 by Don Wood.

A few years ago, Microsoft purchased the Great Plains accounting software company and rebranded it as Microsoft Dynamics - GP. This product is not about to take on the property management software leaders like Yardi and Intuit RES (MRI), however, it does offer a solution for a much needed niche: corporate accounting, consolidations, and non-real estate related business accounting.

There are excellent property management software products that manage resident traffic, rent, maintenance, etc. Where they often fall short is in handling the corporate office accounting. In the past JD Edwards has been the leader in solving this problem. However, MS Dynamics-GP is starting to gain momentum in this area. Several large multifamily companies use MS Dynamics - GP. A few months ago I helped CAS (Riverstone’s parent) select MS Dynamics-GP as their corporate accounting platform. I have since assisted Aztec Systems, a Microsoft Partner, better understand the Multifamily requirements.

Microsoft has placed GP in their Office division and that has enabled some powerful integration with MS Office. For example, a report can be run in GP and placed in an Outlook folder. Users can open the report and drill down to data from their Outlook and never log into GP. Therefore, they don’t need to purchase a license for GP. Microsoft has taken a best of breed approach and rather than developing their own software modules they promote tight integration. This can be very good for users. For example, project accounting, project management, and project controls can be crucial to many multifamily companies. Microsoft Dynamics-GP has partnered with WennSoft to bring a full featured product to the table. Microsoft also empowers and encourages their partners to develop add-on products. Binary Stream has created a feature that really enables GP to work in the multifamily space. GP on it’s own doesn’t handle multi-company consolidations as well as needed. But Binary Stream created the Multi-facility module that makes multiple entity consolidations a snap. In a nutshell, the module enables users to process centralized and decentralized AP/AR accounting transactions for multiple entities within a single company database. The same partner is also working on a real estate management module. It will be interesting to see how that develops.

I realize this post sounds like I’m a shill for MS Dynamics-GP. I’m not. I think JD Edwards is a fantastic product as well as some others. I’m independent and want people to know about their options.

Don Wood is a PMP with over 25 years of experience in project management, business process improvement, and information technology for the real estate industry. Please visit www.dbrw.com for more information.

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