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Tech update: lettings software innovation

Are you up to speed with the most recent letting software innovation? Marc Da Silva reports.

PROPERTYdrum

speed_softwareFrom marketing properties to managing clients, almost all letting agents now use lettings software solutions to improve their systems and workflows. Technology is now among the most important elements in building a successful business.

The software allows agents to optimise their business to comply with regulations and industry best practice.

mark_goddard_gmg_property

Mark Goddard Property Software Group

Designed to help letting agents and property managers run their business more efficiently, whether office-based or operating while on the move, many of these systems now offer impressive features, enabling agents to automatically process, store and quickly access key information and effectively match applicants with properties, but technology is changing rapidly so it’s clear that we need to keep up with the latest innovations.

“The technology in your business should assist you in delivering quality communication while keeping administration to a minimum,” said Peter Grant, Managing Director at VTUK. Among the advantages, high quality software should also bring significant time savings in the accounting process. “I believe it now takes our accountants less than a minute to reconcile balances, process rent runs and produce HMRC reports,” said Lucy Morton, Head of Residential Agency at Jones Lang LaSalle, which uses letting agency software provided by Reapit.

Lettings software innovation

Reapit, like various other letting agency software providers, offers a fully integrated software solution across sales, letting, property management and client accounts to help agents improve lead generation and cross-referrals, to help create multiple revenue streams.

“This approach enables agents to maximise the value of every business relationship by allowing them to quickly refer leads between departments and branches,” said Matt Goddard, Director, Reapit.

With a growing number of single software operating systems now available, designed to meet not only the agent’s requirements through the entire lettings cycle – but also across the business, delivering efficiencies for back office staff, negotiators and managers – there is now far more chance of ensuring that everybody is on the same page.

Automating administration leaves the agent free to focus on winning instructions and giving great customer service. Gary Whittaker, Rentman

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Gary Whittaker Rentman

“By automating the onerous and complex administration involved with keeping landlords, tenants and contractors happy, time and money are saved, leaving the agent free to focus on winning instructions and providing more personal customer service,” said Gary Whittaker, Sales and Marketing Director at Rentman.

Significant advantages

Having the right high quality letting agency software, designed and updated to support all areas of the letting agency business with plenty of easy to use features, offers agents a great deal in terms of benefits, helping them stand out from the competition, as Mark Goddard, CEO of The Property Software Group (PSG), which incorporates brands like Vebra, Core, CFP and Jupix, explains.

“Lettings agency software acts as a central task management system, ensuring compliance, flow and day-to-day task management,” says Mark. “From recording calls, to booking safety inspections, arranging maintenance jobs to invoicing landlords and taking payments. Everything happens in one system, continually backed-up to support the ongoing functions of letting agents across the UK,” he added.

With seamless integrations of tenant referencing and updated legislation and innovative integrations such as Docusign, PSG’s software also allows agents to optimise their business to comply with regulations and industry best practice. “With a stand-out landlord login, allowing landlords to take control of their own invoicing and checking up on maintenance jobs, PSG is continuously developing new features to ensure that PSG agents are using the best in lettings software, helping agents stick to compliance time and time again, providing full management functionality, and stand-out reporting features.”

Legal compliance

When it comes to compliance, the letting agent software system should operate within set regulations to provide all the latest legal requirements – updated regularly – to ensure that an agency is always up to speed with the latest legislation. This should include approved letting template documents and practices, which are fully compliant with industry standards.

Arranging for inventories, gas and electrical safety checks, EPCs, tenancy agreements, offer letters, anti-money laundering checks, risk management reports, an audit trail, landlord tax returns, legal notices, these are just some of the essential items that the software should offer.

Our ‘Compliant Letter Pack’ contains all the major legal documents required throughout the lettings process. Richard Wilson Dezrez

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Richard Wilson Dezrez

Dezrez’s latest piece of software, Dezrez PM, is one of a number of systems that has been designed to help agents stay compliant. Richard Wilson, Technical Director at Dezrez, said, “We provide a ‘Compliant Letter Pack’ containing the major legal documents required throughout the lettings process including, tenancy agreements, Section 21 notices, Section 8 notices and many more. Dezrez PM automatically populates these documents to ensure uniformity across the business and they are kept up to date by The Guild of Letting Management.”

Accreditation

When deciding on which letting and property management software provider to choose, you may want to consider whether or not the software package has been accredited by the likes of ARLA, NALS RICS, NFoPP, Law Society compliant or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

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Trevor Youens, Qube SLM

 

All relevant information is stored in one place so agents can monitor and action all property management tasks. Trevor Youens, Qube SLM

“Qube SLM is RICS and ARLA compliant, avoiding risk and enhancing customer service,” said Trevor Youens, Managing Director of Qube SLM.

He added, “Because all relevant information is stored in one place and the software is underpinned by a diary system, agents can monitor and action all property management tasks, such as gas and electricity safety checks, mid-term inspections and maintenance activities.”

Property management

As Trevor Youens points out, property management tools enable agents to perform a wide range of tasks, with some of the other main functions allowing for tenant reference requests, EPCs, monitor agency fees and rent payments, register and retrieve tenancy deposits with the appropriate schemes, among many other jobs, while a full audit trail is generally recorded against each property, acting as an historical file.

Visionbase Software Ltd is another good example of a software provider that has developed reliable and robust property management solutions, with their latest release, Decorus for Sage, building on the success of Landlord Manager for Sage by catering for landlords, agents and property managers looking after blocks.

“Like Landlord Manager, Decorus links with Sage in real-time, offering instant profit and loss reports against properties [and blocks],” said Paul Oxley of Visionbase Software Ltd.

“This cost-effective solution will not only save money when it comes to accountancy fees, it minimises labour-intensive tasks too,” he added. “Decorus allows users to spend their time more wisely, with clients and properties, delivering a better service and growth to their business.”

Leading lettings software solution providers:

Acquaint CRM
A fully integrated software package for letting agents and estate agents, Acquaint CRM is robustly designed using the latest technologies to seamlessly handle lettings, property management, contact management, marketing, diary and client accounting, among other functions.
www.acquaintcrm.co.uk

Dezrez
The firm’s latest software Dezrez PM is a SaaS web application with a fully accessible API at its core. As a complete property management solution which enables letting agents to automate many of their daily processes, Dezrez PM offers impressive features like CSV batch payments to help agents control expenditure.
www.dezrez.com

Estates IT
Estates IT’s fully integrated system, PCHomes Plus, provides a full virtual office online with Outlook, Word and Excel as well as PCHomes, allowing agents to remotely handle all admin and client accounts, match applicants with properties, issue management reports and multi-branch interfacing, organise diary viewings, valuations, appointments, meetings, gas checks and management visits.
www.estatesit.com

ETSOS
ETSOS offers software that permits agents to track jobs and tasks, access a free quote and referral system, issue branded compliance packs, manage properties, comply with legislative changes, outsource payments, among other benefits.
www.etsos.co.uk

PropCo
PropCo Software incorporates various documents, including tenancy agreements and legal notices, offers various features for letting, client accounting and property management. Furthermore, the software’s accounting functionality is compliant with RICS, NFOPP and ARLA regulations and Bylaws.
www.propco.co.uk

Property Software Group
PSG’s letting agency software includes market-leading property management and accounting software CFP and unified sales, letting, property management and accounting cloud-based platform Jupix, which both offers a whole host of stand-out benefits.
www.propertysoftwaregroup.com

Property Software Solutions Ltd
Property Software Solutions Ltd launched C.A.R.L. to the market in 1997, a leading software package that has streamlined the entire residential lettings and management process.
www.propsoftware.co.uk

Qube SLM
Qube SLM manages the letting process life cycle, right through from marketing the property to deal closure. On a single system, the software provides complete marketing support, tracks the progress of tenants and issues automatic prompts whenever an action is required, allowing agents to stay on top of legal requirements, oversee the rental transaction, manage viewings and accounts.
www.qubeglobal.co.uk

Reapit
Reapit’s CRM platform is a fully integrated ICAEW and NALS accredited RPS software solution across lettings, property management, client accounts and sales, offering many unique selling points, including its Landlord Tracker; an online login area accessed through the agent’s website that allows landlords to view key information about their property or portfolio 24/7.
www.reapit.com

Rentman
Rentman’s letting and management software not only produces a complete range of documents, such as letters or emails, but also automatically creates copies and logs histories, as well as provide agents with various other tools, including instant uploads to their website and property portals, applicant and property matching and mailing.
www.rman.co.uk

Visionbase Software Ltd
This software comes with configurable filters, fields and views, giving relevant and concise results and reports. Aside from a property matching facility and accounts, users can also keep on top of tenancies throughout their duration with a timeline documenting every transaction and communication, monitor work orders closely, and stay organised with the advanced CRM.
Decorus-pms.com

VTUK
GEMINI, VTUK’s lettings management software, offers various tools, from repairs and viewings to diary management. The facilities are designed to streamline and automate an agent’s must-do tasks and keep them right up-to-date with the status of each of their properties.
www.vtuk.com

June 2, 2015

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