Disability Housing Network

Disability Housing Network

Spring Conference

Workshop Notes

Property Management and Financial Accounting Software

for Housing Corporations

Presenter: Bill Bray, COO, North Coast Community Homes

Randy Miller, CFO, Creative Housing, Inc.

March 29, 2011

Handouts: “Powerpoint Presentation: Changes in Property Management Software Through the Years.”

Note: This session was offered at the DHN Spring Conference March 29, 2011. DHN Training Director Cathy Allen attended the session and took notes. Below, in black, are notes from the handouts. Cathy’s notes appear in blue.

The Early Years 1992-1996. Maintenance out of a trunk. Accounting was knowing how to add and subtract.

v  NCCH grew from 1 property and 4 tenants in 1 county to 36 properties and 121 tenants in 2 counties

v  Property maintenance was responsibility of Executive Director and Property Coordinator.

v  We carried tools in the trunk of our cars.

v  Several handymen under contract.

v  Landscaping services provided under contract.

v  Work orders were handwritten notes.

v  The database was in our heads and in various forms.

v  Telephone and faxing were main means of communicating.

v  Accounting was ledger based.

The Formative Years 1997-2000. Our first dedicated maintenance position. How do we track this stuff?

v  NCCH grew from 36 properties and 121 tenants in 2 counties to 93 properties and 348 tenants in 4 counties

v  Maintenance dedicated staff grew from 0 to 3 FTEs

v  Landscaping department established with 2 FTEs

v  Vehicles purchased for maintenance and landscaping staff

v  A property management database was developed using Microsoft Access. Database was relational to an extent. Work orders and reports were generated through Access.

v  Accounting was handled using QuickBooks but remained separate from the property management functions (and that soon became problematic!)

v  Nextel direct connect became the routine means of communication between office and field staff

The Growing Years. 2001-2009. A true property management database.

v  NCCH grew from 93 properties and 348 tenants to 145 properties and 584 tenants in 4 counties

v  A Maintenance Supervisor was hired in 2001

v  Field staff (maintenance and landscaping) grew from 5 to 11

v  Service fleet grew from 5 to 10 vehicles

v  NCCH bought the YARDI property management program, a server based relational database integrating property data, leasing, accounting and maintenance functions

The Mature Years 2009-?. Time to renew and reflect.

v  NCCH grew from 145 properties and 584 tenants to 147 properties and 590 tenants in 4 counties.

v  The slow growth gave us time to re-examine practices and implement new ways of doing business.

v  NCCH subscribed to Propertyware, an internet “cloud” based property management program

v  Propertyware integrates with QuickBooks and all the data from the old data base was brought over into Propertyware/QuickBooks

v  Field staff were issued Blackberries and Net books with mobile broadband capability in order to access the Propertyware database

v  Blackberries were GPS enabled for tracking and billing purposes using Comet Tracker by Actsoft

v  Each Blackberry user had an email account established. Email begins to supplant direct connect as the preferred means of communication.

v  Vehicles were equipped with modems for tracking, billing and fleet management purposes using Geo Manager by Trimble

v  Field staff levels remained static but duties were shifted to address shifting priorities

Our Problem: While we were keeping a lot of information in our database, much of the knowledge our maintenance staff had was not making it into the system.

The Solution: everyone now has access to the information in the cloud. Data can be entered and extracted by anyone, anytime, and be immediately available to anyone with credentials to access to the system.

The old way of processing work orders involved writing them down on paper, entering them into the database, and forwarding them to maintenance staff. Then maintenance staff made their notes on paper and returned them to clerical staff for entering into the database. Maintaining the old system would have meant hiring additional clerical help.

The new way information is immediately available to system users. Paper and pencil are a thing of the past. Anyone who learns of a maintenance request enters it into the online system, which goes out to the entire team. Whenever it is handled, that information is also entered directly. Tenants can still call the office with a work order, and that information is sent directly to the field electronically.

Why we did it? A convergence of factors.

Economic

n  All of our constituents feel the pinch and question costs

n  They ask us to validate and confirm our expenditures

n  to do so we must track costs accurately and continuously

n  The economic climate demands that we strive for efficiency

n  do more with the same dollar

n  do the same with less dollars

Environmental

n  The economic climate demands that we minimize our environmental impact and save dollars as well

n  decrease use of consumables (paper, ink, printers, etc)

n  manage utility costs and fuel consumption

n  adopt green construction and maintenance practices as they become cost effective

Informational

n  Regulations are becoming stricter

n  Informational demands are increasing

n  accuracy and timeliness are more important than ever

n  Paper processing is inefficient, creates lag time and breakdowns in communication

n  Hiring additional clerical staff is expensive

n  Need to share and verify information to meet increasing expectations

Technological

n  Cloud computing has come of age and is cost effective

n  server based programs require in house resources which cost $$$$

n  Offsite data storage costs have decreased markedly

n  Broadband connectivity has become reliable, faster and cheaper

Procedural

n  As we continue to grow and meet constituent demands:

n  we must adopt a set of standard operating procedures (business model)

n  we must insure that everyone is on the same page and operating within that business model

The goal is to adopt new strategies and practices which permit us to operate more efficiently and more economically and deliver the same or a better level of services.

Resources

n  www.yardi.com PC based property management program

n  www.propertyware.com cloud based property management solution

n  www.actsoft.com mobile device GPS tracking solution

n  www.trimble.com vehicle based fleet management solution

Property Management Software. Part II: Accounting and Finance

Software should:

¨  Be a management tool

¨  Enhance productivity

¨  Provide “ATM” reports Accurate, Timely, Measurable

¨  Provide audit trails/internal controls

Management Tool

¨  What are we managing?

o  Tenants

o  Properties

o  Vendors

o  Employees

o  Grants – Funds must be tracked separately

Tenants

¨  Ledgers

¨  History (Rent Changes/Move in)

¨  Other changes (Late fees, NSF, Damages)

¨  Security deposits

¨  Tenant statements

¨  Past Due Notices/Letters

Property/Unit Data

¨  Fixed Assets

o  Reserves

§  Age of assets

§  Projected Replacement Date and Cost

o  Depreciation

¨  Profitability of Property

o  Does rent cover expenses?

o  Are all expenses properly included/allocated?

§  Invoices

§  Work orders

§  Employee time

o  Are property specific reports available?

§  Profit and loss

§  Utility costs. We have been able to identify water leaks by monitoring usage.

Vendors

¨  Insurance Information

¨  Worker’s compensation

¨  Ability to print 1099’s

¨  Shortcuts

o  Account number

o  Payment terms

Employees

¨  Work orders

¨  Payroll tracking. I believe in third party payroll services. They are inexpensive for what you get.

Grants

¨  Track expenditures

¨  Reporting capability

Processing Tool

¨  Property management tied into accounting

¨  Record costs by property

¨  Ability to include budgets

¨  User friendly reporting options

o  Allow managers to run their own reports

o  Customizable reports

¨  Ability to download to other programs

Processing Improvements Using Technology

¨  On site Check Deposit

o  Can tie directly to Tenant Ledgers

o  Eliminate deposit delay and trips to the bank

¨  Vendor Invoice Scanning

o  Eliminates keypunch into payables system

o  Eliminates hard copy of Invoice

o  Allows for electronic approvals and retrievals

Other Options

¨  Databases. These are still maintained in MS Access, customized in-house to meet our needs.

°  Tenant. Mailing lists.

°  Provider

°  Property. We can run vacancy reports.

Choosing Software

¨  Due diligence

°  Websites

°  Webinars/demos

°  References

°  User reviews

¨  Assume growth

°  Will the software grow with you?

¨  Training

¨  Initial set up is critical

Gather the kind of data you need now, so when you are looking for software, you know what you’ll need it to do. This process is never as easy as it seems.

Google “Property Management Software Reviews” to get list of well-recommended options.