Blog / Prospecting
APH Property Services, Charlotte Norman
By Charlotte Norman, Communications Coordinator - Rockend
Establishing a new business is a daunting and often stressful task, but it doesn’t need to be. If equipped with the right tools and technology, your start up can be a far more relaxing exercise.
Amy Parker Hilton is the proprietor and founder of APH Property Services, a newly established agency based in New Lambton, NSW. With her extensive experience in the real estate industry over the past 20 years, Amy has worked in both large and small agencies. After having children, Amy needed a flexible working arrangement and decided to establish her own property management business. I recently caught up with Amy to discuss her business operations and experience using Rockend’s cloud based property management software, PropertyTree.
Amy’s previous real estate experience involved a variety of property management software solutions, including PropertyTree’s sister product, REST Professional. When deciding what software to use in her newly formed business, Amy decided upon PropertyTree, Amy explains “PropertyTree suited my needs, it was easy to use and install and being cloud based, it allowed me to have flexible working arrangements.”
Cloud based software allows for an online set up, eliminating the need for physical hardware installation, allowing businesses to be up and running as soon as possible. Amy started her business managing two properties, this heavily impacting her decision regarding a software provider. “The cost of the other software providers were uneconomical for my needs. PropertyTree’s features and cloud based nature drew me to the product. I needed something cost effective to help get my business up and running.”
It has been proven time and time again that trained staff are closely linked with increased productivity. Training during the early stages of your business can aid business growth and reduce down time. PropertyTree’s free online training helps to ensure all users, like Amy, are operating as soon as possible. “PropertyTree is incredibly straight forward and easy to use. When setting up my business I knew I wanted to get it right from the start, so I took the time to learn and understand the functionality of the software to reduce any problems down the track.”
As Amy’s business expanded and evolved, it was important her software assisted with this growth. “I constantly discover new features. I feel that as I’m growing, PropertyTree is growing as well.” One such feature which aided Amy’s business growth was the routine inspections tool. “The tool sends automatic emails and schedules future inspections, creating a stress free and timesaving process for me. It’s one less thing I have worry about doing, and even if the client doesn’t get back to me, they are aware that I have scheduled the inspection and will be visiting their property.”
Communication with clients is a key role for all Property Managers. Utilising the full functionality of your software can improve your client communications. Automating manual tasks with software features can save you hours of time each week. Amy found this has drastically improved her customer service. “I love how PropertyTree automatically sends tenants receipts. My clients love this as they know when I’ve received their rent. When managing repairs, if I cancel a job PropertyTree notifies the creditor, creating a clear line of communication between both parties.”
Although running a growing business, PropertyTree’s online accessibility has helped create a manageable work-life-balance for Amy, “It gives me that peace of mind and freedom to go places. As long as I have the internet, I can log on and do work from anywhere, even overseas!” When describing her overall experience with PropertyTree Amy states, “It’s professional, easy to use and I love that it’s constantly developing."
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