AdvicetEchNOLOGy
MANAGE YOURBLOCK
ONLINE
Choosing the right blockmanagement software can save a lot of time, effort and cost. It can also help improve the service on offer to flat owners
HigH-endblockmanagement software packages can set you back more than £10K for asinglelicense andthere aren’tmany cheaper alternatives on themarket. Somanysmalland mediumsizedmanaging agents are still using spreadsheets tomanage theirclients’finances. Now, with theadventofweb-based and ‘cloud’applications, anew breed of software isemerging that allows forflexible working by beingavailablefor useatany timeon any computer with a web browser. Web-basedsoftwarecan be offered at a
much lower cost than desk-based PC software, mainly becauseitischeaper to operateand support.Web-basedproductscan also be developed so that they canbeextendedby
thirdparties.Thismeans that applications fromdifferent software providers can bemade to work together to provide afullsystem solution. Oneresidential blockmanagement packagethattakes advantage of these concepts is BlockManagement Online (www.
blockmanagementonline.com) developed by Cambridgeshire-based software company Esscotti. BlockManagementOnlineisasoftware solution that provides a leaseholder web-
WhAtthE usErsthINk
norwicHresidential management has recently started using BlockManagementOnline to helpmanage its portfolio of properties. NRMmanaging director GaryHudson is enthusiastic about the product so far.“We are excited to offer the Block ManagementOnline portal as part of ourservice to
clients.The leaseholder portal enables our residents to log-on at any time without hassle so they can get the information thatmatters to them. Wehave invested in thetechnology to improve our service and ensure information is available 24 hours a day, seven days aweek”.
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Residents can log-on to the leaseholder webportal anytimeof theday or night
Leaseholder web portal
Secure log-in and automatic user management
portal and tools formanaging a property portfolio. Thesoftwarehas beendeveloped by Arvind Shah,managingdirectorofEsscotti whoexplains: “Blockmanagement Online provides allthe toolsneeded foreffective blockmanagement. It also provides a leaseholderweb portal alongsidefeaturesfor raisingservice chargeinvoices,publishing documents, communicating with flat owners andmanagingmaintenancejobs. The webportalhelps to improvethe serviceto leaseholders by offeringapoint-of-contactand 24/7 secure accesstoimportant documents andinformation”. Arvindemphasises that theleaseholderweb portal in particular is highly valued by propertymanagers using thesoftware, “becauseitprovidesveryvisible evidence of theservice they areproviding their customers”. Theweb portal is styled tomatchthat of the
managing agent’s existingwebsite. It offers flat owners instant, easy accesstoaninvaluable source ofimportant informationrelating to their block including documents, notices, invoices,accounts statements andanything else publishedfor themby theirproperty manager. UsingBlockManagementOnline also means that thetaskofpublishingnotices and sending updates or newsletters is quickly and easily achieved byemail. User access control
Email newsletters to residents and RMCdirectors
SMSintegrationfor 24-houremergency contact
to theportalishandled by BlockManagement Online viathe leaseholderdatabase, so thereis virtuallynoeffort required on thepartofthe agent tomanage user access. Leaseholder usage statistics are also
includedaspartofthe software,whichmeans that propertymanagers candevelop business health checkmetrics to help improvetheir levels of serviceovertime. Anothervery popularoptionalfeature is theability forflat owners to sendemergencyout-of-hourstext messages throughthe leaseholderportaltothe on-duty propertymanager. Twoaspectofpropertymanagementthat
probably causethemost complaints are accounting forservice charges anddealing with invoices formaintenanceworks.Block Management Online offersacomplete accounting software solutionbyintegrating with leadingaccounting software packages. Forexample,propertymanagersusing Sage 50 canuploadinvoices andtransactions automatically to the leaseholder portal, allowing flatownerstoinstantly view their current account balance and invoices and optionally pay online.●
contact Arvind Shah Phone 01353 724234
webwww.blockmanagementonline.com e-mail
ashah@blockmanagementonline.com
Autumn2012 Flat Living kEyfEAturEs
Styled to match
existing property
managers’ website
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