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What makes a property management software great, isn’t how many tenancies it can store or how it looks (while those things are, of course, important), what tends to really matter is what it can actually do.
How often have you read up on a software, found it has all kinds of interesting titbits, but somehow you never get around to fully exploring it and its useful little features?
With that in mind, this month we thought we’d introduce you to the top Landlord Vision features that people often overlook but are much more useful than you might think.
Manage Keys for Properties
We can confidently say no other property software allows you to track and monitor keys. This is more useful the more properties you have. At a glance you can see how many keys a property has and who has hold of them at any point in time.
Keys and their details can be added at property level. In your portfolio click on Property Manager>Properties. Click on the property you want to record keys for. Click on the Key Management tab and then Add Key.
Once you’ve added keys to your properties you can see them all at a glance in your key tracking report. You can find the report under Reports>All Reports in the Property Reports list.
Track White and Brown Goods in Properties
This is a relatively new feature, and although we shouted about it at the time it was released, you may not have seen it. This allows you to track the white and brown goods in each of your properties and their warranties. Entering the warranty details means that when they’re about to expire you’ll be the first to know.
Track Property Maintenance Issues
Landlord Vision has some incredible task management tools, these can take the hassle out of remembering what needs doing at any one time. It’s easy to use these tools to track maintenance issues, find out how here.
Record Property Sales
As a landlord, selling your property comes with a whole host of additional paperwork and involves a lot of extra workings out when it comes to taxes. Here you can find out how to handle a property sale in Landlord Vision. It’s a great checklist of things you should do if you’ve sold the property. Following this tutorial will ensure the expenses and money made are correctly accounted for in your financial statements making your tax return easier.
Record HMRC Payments
No one likes paying money to the tax man, but it is a necessary evil. Regardless, it’s something you can record in Landlord Vision. Following this tutorial to enter your HMRC payments means you won’t end up paying tax on your tax.
Record Tenancies in Past, Present and Future
If you click into your portfolio and then in Tenant manager>Tenancies you can set up tenancies that haven’t started yet, record past tenancies that have ended and set up tenancies that are active. This means you can enter properties from any time period to keep a record of them and add future tenancies to save you time in the long run.
Follow this tutorial for creating a tenancy and simply adjust the start and end dates to suit your needs.
Record Property Valuations
There’s a huge amount of information you can record at property level, the more you enter here, the more useful your welcome pack report will be for tenants. One of the overlooked features is the ability to record property valuations. You can record the contact that carried out the valuation, the date, valuation amount and any notes you want to make. You can also upload any valuation documents via the property documents tab. This makes it easy to find all the relevant information next time you need a valuation.
To record a valuation, click into your portfolio and select Property Manager from the menu on the left. Click Properties and select the property you want to add the valuation for. Select the Property Valuations tab.
Click Add Property Valuation to enter the details of your valuation. If you want to record who carried out the valuation you’ll need to add them as a contact first.
Track and Monitor Landlord Insurances
Probably one of our most under-used features is the management of insurances and safety certificates. As a landlord there are all manner of insurances and licences that you are required to hold. Recording these in Landlord Vision means you’re notified when an insurance is expiring giving you time to hunt around for the best renewal price.
To record insurances and safety certificates click into your portfolio and select Property Manager from the menu on the left. Click Properties and select the property you want to add the insurance or safety certificate for. Select the Safety Certificates & Insurances tab.
Set up Direct Debits to Collect Rent
Direct Debits are easy to set up in Landlord Vision. Not only do they automate a lot of the financial admin associated with rent payments, but they are a safe and secure method of payment that gives you a lot more control of your finances. Check out this video tutorial on setting up direct debits.
Have you found these features useful? Or can you think of any features we’ve missed that you would have included? Let us know in the comments!
If you want to get involved in the Landlord Vision community, vote on our next development priorities or suggest new features, head over to User Echo where you can do just that.
