SOFTWARE REVIEW
should weigh up the perceived cost of a solution which does provide full functionality against those which provide no tenancy management functionality”. Glyn says that the increased number of
agents has led to a change in the services they offer. Some are looking for software which enables them to offer rent guarantee schemes that give their landlords greater security that their rent will arrive on time, as well as giving the landlord the option to change the service mid-tenancy. Greater flexibility and functionality is required.
increaSed market driveS demand The sector is also consolidating as larger groups of letting agents are starting to build multi-branch portfolios. Mark Howlett of Propco says, “There seems to be some consolidation, but there’s quite a lot of new entrants as well.” He believes that the consolidators are
now driving software demand, since they need to invest to reach a larger scale. “A portfolio of 250-300 properties is the critical point where you need to strengthen your back office, and if you do, you’re then able to get a greater volume of transactions without increasing investment.” Propco is geared towards larger firms, so he sees interest from acquiring agencies. “Bigger agencies are using our software
to create a hub and spoke format,” he says – whether that’s within a franchise or a corporate model. In a hub and spoke arrangement, the central office takes care of administration and accounting while the local offices can then be dedicated entirely
mark howlett propco
Consolidators are now driving software demand as they need to invest to reach a larger scale.’
to selling. That gives all the advantages of localised customer service, coupled with the reliability and low costs. But this creates new demands on the
software. Propco has now developed multibrand capability to support the consolidators, “regardless of what brand you have, you’re contained within the same system.” He says that with corporates increasingly investing in lettings, there is greater demand for visibility control, measurement of objectives, and targeting. “The sophistication is changing as the corporates want to know what’s performing, what’s not, have we got the capacity to absorb a new portfolio?”
Speed and efficiency With more competition around, speed also becomes a factor. Nigel Stanley says, “The lettings process goes through more quickly than the sales process, but the documentation is more complex,” and that documentation can hold progress up. It’s therefore important to cut out time spent waiting for approvals or documents – for instance LetMC has introduced a credit referencing module that links through to Equifax and gives a credit score “in a matter of seconds”, Glyn Trott says. Mark Howlett points out that while
earlier generations of software focused on removing duplication and rekeying – and that is still a valid objective – it’s much more useful to the business if it can also speed up the business processes. Like LetMC, Propco offers access to credit reference (in this case Experian) within the system, in seconds; the process formerly could take from two to four days. He comments, “basically we’re reducing the time from the point where someone sees a property and likes it to when they get the keys and move in – so we’re reducing the landlord’s voids. And where agencies are measuring these statistics all the time, they’re very quickly turning the fast turnaround into a sales point.” Integration with other systems continues
to be a focus. Lettings solutions can’t afford to be standalone systems – not only does LetMC integrate with Equifax, for example, but it is able to upload deposit information direct to TDS, and can provide an automatic upload of bond deposits recorded in LetMC to My|Deposits. While automation for its own sake might
30% of all viewings are booked online, without a single phone call.’
54 JULY 2011 PROPERTYdrum
sound like yesterday’s project, there are still gains to be made. For instance, when LetMC introduced an online viewing booking system, Glyn Trott says, one client told him that “thirty per cent of all our viewings are booked online, without a single phone call”. That’s a massive gain in staff time. And while shared databases have reduced rekeying substantially, until recently agents would still have to rekey or cut-and-paste information from applicants’ and clients’ emails into the system. Now, however, Propco’s software can read emails – Nigel Stanley says, “The email reader in our system enables agents to pull data straight out of Outlook. You don’t have to type anything.” The nature of the lettings business
creates a huge number of repetitive tasks – monthly payments, six-monthly tenancy notices, periodic inspections, and so on.
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