Blog / Property Management

---

By Andrew Emanuelli Rockend

Paper is quickly becoming a thing of the past with many offices turning to electronic systems for their document storage. Although it can be difficult to part with your traditional business processes, transforming your office into the paperless age can provide you with far-reaching benefits.

Storage

How many filing cabinets and document storage facilities do you currently use? Think about how much more valuable this space would be if it was filled with people building your business. Implementing an electronic document management system provides your business with a central document storage facility that takes up far less space than filing cabinets, for the quick retrieval and distribution of documents. In Australia it is mandatory to store documents for 7 years, so having an electronic storage solution eliminates the physical storage cost of these records.

Time Savings

As your property portfolio grows, so too does your paperwork. How much time do you currently spend searching for documents? On average a property manager will spend 10% of their working week copying, filing, searching, retrieving and refiling, and sending/ mailing/faxing documents.

A property manager will also spend another 10% of their time taking enquiries from owners and tenants for copies of documents and other information that can be made available online with the aid of an electronic document management system, such as fileSMART. This system allows you to publish owners' and tenants' documentation online, reducing your number of inbound client calls and time spent retrieving documents.

Email Efficiency

End of month or any payment run is traditionally a paper laden and stressful process, but it doesn’t have to be! The traditional end of month process for an agency with 500 managements costs a business on average $3,069 per month, taking into account printing, collation, postage and staff time. An electronic system such as fileSMART eliminates the printing and postage costs of end of month through the use of email. Not only does this provide a cost effective alternative to your business, it gives your clients an electronic record of their statements.

Improved Customer Service

An electronic document management system allows you to access your documents faster than ever before. This means that retrieving information such as statements and invoices can be done instantly, even while your client is on the phone making the request. Your business can proactively provide customer service and respond to enquiries faster. The time savings will allow you to spend more time developing and increasing your property portfolio.

Return on Investment

As listed above, there are a variety of ways to see a return on investment through either time savings, space savings or monetary savings. Businesses generally see a return on investment within the first six months of implementation, not to mention the environmental benefits of creating a paperless office. These are just a few of the many benefits a paperless office can provide your business. Take the time to evaluate your current processes and see if a paperless office could work for you.

ANDREW EMANUELLI is the Product Manager for fileSMART at Rockend, Australia’s leading provider of property software. Andrew’s extensive document management software and technical experience leads the fileSMART development team at Rockend and sets strategic direction for Rockend’s electronic document management system.

 

 

---

← Go back