From the Winter 2019 Issue
There's an App for That
Technology to Manage Business and Life
There’s a great app for managers called Report and Run. You can take pictures and make notes on-site walks with the board and have it sent to them in pdf format within minutes so you don’t spend time typing up handwritten notes in an email later at your desk. Imagine how great this is in the spring when a portfolio manager is doing 5–10 spring walkarounds per year. Our leadership team sent this to our managers earlier this year and it has been a huge hit with the boards (who get information quickly), trades (we can have them quote on items with pictures quickly) and managers (who save time by making site walks more efficient).
Colin Ogg, RCM
Community Director
Maple Ridge Community Management– An Associa® Company
When it comes to efficiency in condominium management my favourite app is SparcPay – an app to replace cheques. City Sites Property Management was the first property management company in Canada to replace paper cheques with this digital approval and payment process.
Invoices are provided electronically, coded online and can be securely accessed for auditing purposes. SparcPay integrates with our accounting software, so entries are made automatically. There is no longer any need to send paper invoices or cheques to the condos that we manage, and there are no unnecessary delays in paying vendors for their services.
Directors can approve or reject invoices online with ease by accessing a secure web portal with their personal computer or smart device. This is so convenient for directors who may be out of town and can now review and approve payments from anywhere.
SparcPay is saving time and money, while providing a whole new level of customer experience. No paper, no signatures, no delays. That’s what I call innovation!
Nicholas Chirametli, RCM
Vice President
City Sites Property Management
The holidays are upon us and that means packages, packages and more packages. In 2018, the average 350-unit condominium in the GTA received approximately 1,500 packages in December alone! According to Emarketer.com that number will jump another 20% in 2019! Manual
registration and recipient notification methods average about 2.1 minutes per package, which translates to over 62 hours spent this December processing packages and notifying recipients. This could mean up to 75 hours for larger buildings. Not to worry because ‘there’s an app for that’.
Geo by BuildingLink is a simple-to-use app that cuts processing time by over 80%. Using a combination of computer vision, algorithmic matching and artificial intelligence, packages can be entered and notifications sent in just seconds. The app matches the recipient with the registered occupant and automates the notification Residents can choose to receive an email, text, voice or mobile notification or all four if they want. With an 80% time savings, front desk staff can focus on other important duties.
Nicholas Gill
Director of Marketing and Sales
BuildingLink Canada
