Simplify Your Processes with PropertyBoss Utility Billing

Say farewell to the days of manual calculations. Our automated system ensures precise billing based on real-time usage data, eliminating the need for manual intervention. This streamlining is not just about efficiency; it’s a game-changer for property managers seeking simplicity in their operations.

Residents can now access their usage and billing information through an intuitive online portal, promoting open communication and reducing disputes. The transparency provided by PropertyBoss Utility Billing is more than a convenience—it’s a catalyst for fostering positive relationships between property managers and residents.

Customization is key in property management. Tailor your billing methods to fit your property’s unique needs, whether it’s a flat-rate structure, submetering, or the increasingly popular RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing System). This adaptability ensures that the solution aligns perfectly with your property’s individual characteristics.

Efficiency doesn’t just save time; it saves money. With reduced administrative effort, fewer errors, and more accurate billing, PropertyBoss Utility Billing leads to significant cost savings for your property. Beyond financial benefits, this efficiency contributes to a smoother operational flow, enhancing overall property management.

Detailed consumption insights are crucial for fostering a sustainable community. PropertyBoss Utility Billing empowers you and your residents with the data needed to identify opportunities for energy and water conservation. This commitment to sustainability goes beyond the bottom line, contributing to a healthier environment and community.

Take Control with Real-Time Utility Consumption Data

Are you tired of being in the dark about where and when your resources are being used? PropertyBoss Utility Billing delivers real-time utility consumption data, allowing you to pay only for what you use. Here’s what sets us apart:

Improved Sub-Metering: Integrated technology provides deeper insights into utility consumption for informed decision-making. This goes beyond basic utility tracking, offering a comprehensive understanding of usage patterns.

Water Leak Detection: Smart meters instantly detect unusual water usage, helping prevent damage and conserve resources. This proactive approach not only saves money but also contributes to environmental conservation.

Environmental Impact: By choosing PropertyBoss® Utility Billing, you’re actively contributing to environmental conservation. Recognized by NextCentury, we’ve conserved over 144 million gallons of water. This isn’t just a utility solution; it’s a commitment to a greener future.

Conservation Savings: Submetering actively involves both management and residents, yielding conservation savings of up to 30%. This collaborative effort goes beyond monetary savings, fostering a sense of responsibility and community involvement.

PropertyBoss Utility Billing provides a customer-centric approach with rapid same-day response and 24-hour issue resolution. Our unwavering support for property management teams is all part of our mission to provide top-tier customer service. We understand that exceptional customer service is not just about fixing problems; it’s about preventing them in the first place.

Ready to take control of your utilities and make a positive impact? Join us in the journey towards smarter, eco-friendly living with PropertyBoss Utility Billing. This isn’t just a utility solution; it’s a step towards a more efficient, transparent, and sustainable future for property management.

The post Unlocking Efficiency and Sustainability with PropertyBoss Utility Billing appeared first on PropertyBoss.

Tip #1: Delay the Audit

It can be a scary thing to get that audit notice, and you might be tempted to just contact them and get it over with. However, you don’t have to do that. You can take the time you need to make sure your records are in order, and if you postpone it, that usually works to your advantage.

Tip #2: Don’t Play the Host

It’s not always necessary for the IRS to come to your place of business to perform an audit. Go to them, if possible. At the very least, talk to your tax professional and find out what they suggest for you to do about the location.

Tip #3: Protect Your Tax Information

When the IRS schedules an audit, they’re scheduling it for a particular year. They don’t need to see your tax returns from previous years, so don’t volunteer any information that’s not for audit year.

Tip #4: Know the Appeal Process

It’s best if you assume that you will probably end up owing something once the audit is complete, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept the final outcome. You can appeal the result of your audit, which might mean more conversations with the auditor or his or her manager. If you don’t reach a solution, you can appeal to the IRS or even go to tax court.

Tip #5: Know the Law

The law states that the IRS has three years after you file your tax return to audit you for any particular year. If you receive a notice for an audit and it’s been more than three years, you do not have to comply with their requests.

The best way to survive an IRS property management tax audit is to make sure you’re keeping excellent records on all of your accounts. We can help you with that, and our property management software can easily be tailored to meet the needs of your business. Contact us at PropertyBoss for more information.

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Renters insurance is vital, and here are three pieces of information that you can give your tenants to encourage them to get a policy of their own.

Renters Insurance isn’t Expensive

Quite often, tenants don’t get renters insurance because they don’t want an added expense on top of what they already pay each month. However, many of their own current insurance providers probably offer renters insurance as an add-on. Encourage them to find out because they could get a discount. In addition, it’s typical for insurance companies to offer even more discounts when tenants pay for their entire premium (for one year) in full.

Renters Insurance Covers Loss of Use

When you talk with your tenants about renters insurance, ask them to inquire about the company’s policy on loss of use. It’s typical for renters insurance to include a loss of use clause that will offer coverage in case they are displaced from their home for a period of time. This coverage will be useful to cover living expenses until repairs to the property are made.

Renters Insurance Offers Replacement Value Insurance

Finally, renters insurance typically offers two options for payments. Tenants can opt for actual cash value payments or replacement value payments. Cash value payments will cover only the value of the items when the incident occurred. Depreciation and usage will be considered. When tenants opt for replacement value payments, they will receive money to go out and purchase new pieces without any thought of depreciation. This makes renters insurance a much more attractive option.

Here at PropertyBoss, we can help you improve the rental experience for your tenants even more. In fact, we can improve it for you and your staff as well. Contact us for more information.

The post The Power of Renters Insurance appeared first on PropertyBoss.

We all know that’s not how it works. Reconciling your accounts is hard enough to do on a monthly basis, but when you get behind, it can really be a problem. How often have you run into problems? Things like:

• Transposed transactions that are throwing off your balance
• Missing cash deposits that you or someone else forgot to enter
• Interest that hasn’t been added into your system since the beginning of time
• Small checks you wrote for bills, but that you forgot to record

Property management is a tough business, for sure. You’re constantly busy; either working on new projects, securing new tenants or keeping current tenants happy. Still, making sure your accounts are in order needs to be high on your list of priorities because it could end up setting you back and costing you a lot of money in the end.

PropertyBoss can help you with all kinds of great features that will make reconciling your bank accounts a breeze. We can integrate with different types of accounting software to provide you with a seamless experience that’s easy to read and easy to maintain. This is the best internal General Ledger accounting system you can find in property management software, and we offer support for QuickBooks accounting groups too. Everything you need to see and compare will be readily available for you, yet you can keep your information separate.

When it comes time for you to export your reports, PropertyBoss can assist you with that too. We interface with many different accounting packages to make sure you get the accurate reports you need.

At PropertyBoss, our goal is to find solutions that will work for you, and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, let us know! We love creating customized answers to our clients’ biggest challenges. Contact us to learn more!

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Oh, how quickly things change.

It wasn’t long before you began having issues with them. Rent payments became later and later, damage was being done to your property, and your income from the rental very slowly (or even swiftly) put you in the red. You knew you had to act, but you might not know how or what you should do.

The reality is that bad tenants are a given when you’re in property management. The key is knowing what to do about them.

Review the Laws for Your State

Laws change frequently, and the laws for eviction in your state might be different from the last time you reviewed them. Stay up to speed on what you need to do when eviction becomes necessary. Some states require a three-day eviction notice to be served, and then you need to take the tenants to court to complete the process. Other states make it easy for tenants to stay as long as they want to. Be proactive and get the information you need.

Hire a Lawyer

A long, drawn out eviction process can be very costly for you, and if you’re evicting these problem tenants, you’ve probably already lost quite a bit of money. Hiring a lawyer might seem expensive, but it could save you a lot of money in the long run.

Cash for Keys

It might seem absurd, but some property managers or landlords will even offer tenants money to move. They don’t have any problem with letting them out of their leases early; they’re just looking for quick relief from the financial stress. It’s actually a quick and easy fix for many property managers, so it’s worth considering.

Here at PropertyBoss, our goal is to provide you with the best property management experience possible. While we can’t always prevent problem tenants from renting from you, we can give you the tools you need to identify issues early on, before they become costly. Contact us for more information.

The post It’s Time to Evict: When and How to Remove Problem Tenants appeared first on PropertyBoss.

Making your property management website work for you is the key to reaching prospective tenants, and PropertyBoss can help you with that. Did you know that:

A Responsive Website is a Must: The world of the desktop PC is fading away in favor of mobile devices that can be used anywhere. Your tenants are constantly on the go, and they’re looking for properties during their morning commute, on their lunch breaks and while they’re watching television at night. Responsive websites provide for an integrated viewing experience that’s easy to see and simple to understand. If you don’t have this as a part of your website, you risk losing out on a lot of leads.

Search Engine Optimization is a Must: Do you know how prospective tenants are looking for property management companies? They’re using search engines such as Google and Bing, and they’re entering keywords. If your keywords don’t appear on your website, you lose out and your competition succeeds. When your website is optimized correctly, your website will appear on the first page of every search engine. When your website traffic increases, you have a better chance of gaining those tenants.

An Easy to Navigate Platform is a Must: When potential tenants do find your website, how easy is it for them to find the information they’re looking for? You have approximately ten seconds to gain their interest when they look at your site, and if you don’t have a platform that’s simple to use and navigate, they will click away. You want your site to be filled with the appropriate information, but make sure it’s easy for visitors to access.

PropertyBoss has a lot of great tools to help you grow your property management company. Contact us to find out more! And check out our Solutions page for more information!

The post Is Your Property Management Website Working for You? appeared first on PropertyBoss.

After all, that’s what it’s all about, right?

Let’s talk about some of these free resources and how you can start using them for your property management company.

Google Analytics: When it comes to your website, you probably went through a lot of trouble to make sure it looked just right and appealed to your visitors. However, do you know how your website is performing? Many business owners don’t, but Google Analytics can change that. You can learn incredible insights about your website, such as which blog posts are getting the most clicks and how visitors are finding your site. This is a valuable tool, and it’s free.

Social Media: Maybe you’ve stayed away from social media because you just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of posting all the time. There are so many social media sites available to you, and they are all fantastic at helping you build your brand and bring in new tenants. Posting on social media doesn’t have to take a long time when you use other free tools like HootSuite, which allows you to write your posts and schedule them ahead of time.

SurveyMonkey: Have you ever wished that your tenants would be honest with you about their experience as your tenants? There may be all kinds of features and amenities that would be easy for you to add or even take away if they’re not needed, but tenants don’t usually like to “rock the boat.” Why invite them to fill out a survey through SurveyMonkey? This is a free service that allows them to stay anonymous and give you valuable feedback you can use to make changes.

PropertyBoss has a lot of great features that you can also put to good use for your property management company. Contact us to find out more!

The post Free Resources for Property Management Companies You Should be Using Now appeared first on PropertyBoss.

Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect with Windows 10.

No Hardware Changes

As soon as most people find out about a new Windows operating system, their first thought is, Oh great. Now I need to upgrade my computer…again. That’s not the case with Windows 10. In fact, it works on the same equipment that you used to run your beloved Windows 7 on before Windows 8 threw you for a loop. So you can rest easy with no major hardware changes with this newest version.

Improved Security Features

Whether you’re talking about your business security or your personal security, it’s very important for the operating system you run to have the best in security settings. Windows 10 does. They offer support for biometric authentication, and if your computers have infrared illumination cameras, users can even login with facial or iris recognition. Credentials are all stored locally, giving you peace of mind that all of your data is well protected.

Better Continuity Across the Board

You’ve undoubtedly noticed the shift in popularity from the desktop to the mobile device, but not all operating systems provide you with a seamless transition from one to another. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that Windows 10 has done a fantastic job to unify PCs, the Windows Phone and even Xbox One as a part of this upgrade in their operating system. It’s all about giving you a more compatible environment, whether you’re on the go with your tablet, or you’re working in your office.

PropertyBoss has an incredible assortment of tools and features that can help you get the most out of Windows 10. If there are challenges you’re facing, let us know! We’ll personalize your software so that you can provide the best service to your tenants. Contact us to learn more!

The post Attention Property Managers: Is Windows 10 Right for You? appeared first on PropertyBoss.

Employees can “steal” from their employers in a variety of ways. Some of them are intentional and some are not. These include:

Through Account Reconciliation: Individuals who are responsible for reconciling accounts create fake transactions all the time. Maybe it’s never happened to you, but the reality is that it could happen to you. Having an automated system is a much better way of keeping track of everything in all of your accounts. If reconciling can occur automatically, that’s even better.

Through Overtime: There are probably certain times of the year when you wish you had an extra pair of hands in the office, maybe even more. These are the times of year you’re more likely to grant requests for overtime. Finding ways to efficiently complete various tasks is always at the top of your list of priorities, but it doesn’t always make it to the list of tasks you’ve completed.

Through Work Order Management: Is there ever any confusion over which one of your property management team members or vendors is supposed to complete certain tasks? That can cause you all kinds of problems, not to mention a lot of wasted time and unhappy tenants. Their confusion isn’t their fault, but with the right system in place to help you manage your work orders, you’ll save time, money, and keep everyone happy.

At PropertyBoss, we understand how important it is for you to manage your company properly, and that’s why our software offers you the best features available in the industry. Contact us and let’s talk about how we can make your property management business more efficient.

The post Are Your Property Management Employees Stealing From You? appeared first on PropertyBoss.

Pre-Sale Technical Support

If you are evaluating PropertyBoss software, we provide numerous support options on the PropertyBoss website. The website contains a number of tools that will assist you in your evaluation including technical articles, EinsteinAnswers, PropertyBoss User Manual, and web sessions. We recommend you review the recorded web sessions. These short sessions (typically five to ten minutes each) provide good introductions into the features and use of PropertyBoss.

If you have additional questions about the use or capabilities of PropertyBoss, please submit your question to a sales representative who will answer or investigate your question. This process ensures that we respond promptly to your inquiry and enables us to guide you to the appropriate information or training resource. A sales representative can be reached at solutions@propertyboss.com or by calling 864.297.7661 x2.

After-Sale Technical Support

PropertyBoss offers a number of different ways to obtain technical support, training, and implementation support. Clients with an active PASS agreement have access to the following technical support offerings:
EinsteinAnswers – an extensive collection of documentation, technical articles, and white papers
Web-based Support Request – online request for assistance
E-Mail/Fax Support – e-mail or fax your technical support request
Telephone Support – if you still need help, we are available to help you in person
Web-based Training and Implementation support – services not covered by the PASS agreement are available ala carte
Technical Support / Training / Implementation

Support Requests or assistance typically fall into one of these categories:

• Technical Support Issue – A technical support issue is for any situation where PropertyBoss is not working as defined in the documentation. Examples of technical support issues include installation problems, error messages that appear when using PropertyBoss, invalid information appearing on a screen or report.
• Training Issue – Most requests fall into this category. Typically the first question we are asked is ‘How do I…?’ For training questions we recommend you search the forums, Knowledge Base, and recorded sessions first. Most questions can be answered through this method. For other training issues or if you would like in-depth training on a particular issue, we are happy to schedule a web-based training session with one of our trainers.
• Implementation Issue – For issues about how to use PropertyBoss to handle your specific requirements, we offer implementation support through interactive web sessions. These sessions are geared toward your specific needs and requirements.
• PropertyBoss Annual Subscription Service – Your first year PASS is included in the initial purchase price of PropertyBoss. After the first year, clients are encouraged to renew their subscription. Current PASS holders receive the following benefits:
  • maintenance releases for current version
  • all upgrade releases while under contract
  • ten support units including calls, e-mails, faxes for each year
  • subscription to quarterly newsletter

Calling the HelpDesk

The HelpDesk is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. We endeavor to answer calls personally. If all of the HelpDesk specialists are busy, please leave a short voice mail describing the nature of your problem, the urgency of your call, and a callback number. We will provide a response as soon as possible, usually in less than two hours and always within the same business day.

We log all HelpDesk requests in our Client Care Tracking System. You will receive a tracking identifier via e-mail for each request. Please reference the identifier in additional communications. We track the status and resolution of every HelpDesk request to insure that everyone is receiving prompt and reliable service.
What is a Support Incident?

Each subscription agreement (PASS) includes ten support incidents. Your initial purchase of PropertyBoss includes the first year PASS subscription with no limit on incidents in the first month to help with startup issues. Additional packages of support incidents can be purchased as required. Support incidents can only be used for technical support issues and simple training questions that can be answered within 15 minutes on the phone and do not require web-based interaction. Training issues longer than 15 minutes will be scheduled with a trainer and are purchased separately.

A “support incident” is a contact with our support group using any medium (phone, fax, e-mail, web submission, etc) requiring 15 minutes or less of time on interaction or research. We wish to encourage individuals to seek solutions through other mechanisms (outlined in the After Sale Technical Support section above) before directly involving the HelpDesk.

Training Services

Training services include web-based training seminars, one-on-one web-based training, classroom training, and on-site training. Web-based training can be purchased through the support team. Contact a sales representative for information on classroom and on-site training.
Consulting and Implementation Services

Consulting services are available to customers that require more detailed assistance with implementation, data conversions, operational assessments, or best practices. In general these services require a greater amount of time and resources, and a Statement of Work (with estimate) will be provided prior to the engagement. Call a sales representative to purchase this service.

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