Sometimes a deposit entry get flubbed and the best way to fix it is to just undo the entire deposit and start from scratch doing it right the first time.
Previously this process was not very intuitive and involved individually modifying each transaction. Now it’s much easier. When you are viewing your deposit you’ll now see a link labelled [undo]. Clicking this link will open up a confirmation window and when you click Undo Deposit, all the funds are removed from the deposit and placed back into your Undeposited Funds account where you can then re-do your deposit correctly.
Not currently using Rentec to manage your deposits? It can save a lot of time and keep your records straight. See our original feature post on undeposited funds and deposit support.
Rentec now provides utility billing and sub-metering integration with all standards based utility billing vendors. We’ve already tested and completed integration with Ista, one of the nations largest and most wide-spread utility billing service providers; however, it doesn’t end there. Rentec can tie into most any billing service vendor on demand with technology available right inside Rentec PM.
With added user permissions, Rentec users can now even setup a new user with just the necessary permissions to download and upload the monthly data. This is especially useful if a single employee handles this task, or even better yet, if the utility billing company will login and handle the task.
This can be a major time saver for larger property managers who bill for utilities. To learn more and get started today, see our utility billing manual.
New for June, 2011! Rentec Direct helps prospective tenants find your vacancy faster by publishing your listings to the world’s most popular and most frequently used real-estate rental listing websites. Rentec Direct’s distribution network consists of nearly 20 distribution partners including Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo, Trovit, Oodle and many more. See the image below to view the entire network.
Automatically when you select to create a rental listing in Rentec Direct your listing is transmitted to this network which all automatically link back to your listing here on Rentec and include basic contact information to reach you to apply for your vacancy.
In the short time we have been beta testing this program managers with listing syndicated to Rentec’s distribution network received double to triple the number of leads they would have through ordinary existing advertising methods. This means your vacancies could fill 2 to 3 times faster than average.
Because this feature shares property listing information and your contact information with third-party listing sites, we’ve also added an option for you to opt listings out if you wish. When creating your listing within Rentec Direct, simply click the ‘No Syndication’ option to opt out.
Note: Rentec Direct helps you make stunning craigslist ads; however, craigslist policy prohibits automatic posting, therefore craigslist postings still have to be copy/pasted into their post interface. Other sites within the distribution network place listings on a schedule from 24 to 72 hours after the listing is published. If any details are left out of the listing (description, price, amenities, etc) or any special characters (html or otherwise) the listing may not be accepted by the network.
Not too long ago we added a feature to create stunning craigslist ads which assist landlords and property managers to insert great listings onto craigslist using existing data already entered into the Rentec property management system. Well, the feedback on the craigslist ads was so positive and the format looked so good we’ve taken the same layout and applied it to your rental listings at rtd4.com.
This update produces as more consistent feel for prospective renters as well as significantly improves on the design. To learn more about making your own online listing see our property management knowledge-base article.
Here’s an example of what the listings now look like.
We’re introducing two new features today.
OWNER STATEMENT – A property owner statement has been added to the Misc reports section. This statement is ideal for property managers to provide the owner a brief, yet informative, view of their inflows and outflows. An example of the report is shown here with an arrow pointing at our 2nd new feature.
MANAGE AND REPORT RESERVES - It only made sense to incorporate an easy way to track and report on property reserves if we were going to create a useful property owner statement. In an effort to “make sense” today, we’re simultaneously releasing support for tracking and reporting property reserves. Within the same location as you edit your management fees, you can now specify a reserve per-property.
For help on either of these features, please visit our property management knowledge-base article on the topic.
We’ve just completed the addition of a new feature based on your requests. When viewing any report, statement, invoice, or receipt in the upper-right corner there is now an option to email this report to one or more recipients. Better yet, when you enter the send email screen, once you begin typing the recipient the system will automatically search through the email addresses of all your tenants and owners and give you a selection to complete the entry thereby saving time. You can also send to multiple recipients by adding a comma between the addresses.
Reports now include your contact information in the upper right to help differentiate and identify your reports. This has been a direct result of user feedback to our support department. Keep up the great suggestions and our developers will keep improving the software to better meet your needs.
To setup your name and address, visit Settings, Your Contact Info.
A new setting option has been added to Accounting Defaults which allows for fine tune adjustment of printer calibration when printing checks. The vast majority of printers works great with the default settings; however, if when you print checks the text prints a little too far up, down, left or right, you can make adjustments to these within Rentec Direct.
Using the universally recognized X, Y coordinate system (see image right), you can move the text in any of four directions. Each value represents 1/100th of an inch; therefore a value of 50 is 1/2 of an inch. A few examples:
- To move all text down 1/4 inch, enter -25 in Y.
- To move all text up 1/4 inch, enter 25 in Y.
- To move text 1/4 inch down and right, enter -25 in Y and 25 in X.
To make use of this new feature, visit Settings, Accounting Defaults. You’ll find the option right next to the other check printing settings.
We are officially launching and making available dedicated merchant accounts to all property managers and private landlords. One of the major benefits of having your own merchant account tied to Rentec EasyPay is being able to pay owners via ACH. But that’s not all. Setting up a merchant account has these benefits too:
- Quicker turn-around on funds. ACH funds typically are in your bank account in 3-5 business days. Credit card funds 1-2 business days.
- Lower per-transaction fees on both ACH and credit card transactions
- Ability to use and process your own ACH authorization forms
- And of course, the ability to pay owners via ACH
Sounds great huh? How To Get Setup. To get setup with your own merchant account, just login and visit Settings, Setup EasyPay. At the bottom of the screen is a link which will provide you a new application to get your own merchant account setup. Once setup, paying owners via ACH is extraordinarily simple. You’ll right click on the owner and choose Send Money. Then fill in their bank account information, the amount, and click Send. It’s as quick and simple as that (see screenshot below)!
We’ve expanded the EasyPay system to now accept credit card payments. Any tenant wishing to pay with a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover can now use the tenant portal to make those payments. Once logged into the tenant portal, a tenant will click the EasyPay tab, which now gives them the option to pay by check (ACH) or by credit card.
By default, accepting credit card payments is off. You must enable it by going to Settings, Setup EasyPay. Select the type of credit card payments you wish to accept, then save your settings. Most landlords should select all three(VI/MC/DISC). In order to pay for processing costs, Rentec Direct will add a 5% convenience fee to the charged amount. Then the full charge amount, minus the convenience fee, will automatically deposit into your checking account.
If you already are setup with EasyPay all you have to do is enable credit cards, nothing more. If you aren’t yet enrolled in EasyPay, there is no cost to get setup, just visit Settings, Setup EasyPay and return the application. ACH transactions using Rentec EasyPay are a flat $2.00 and credit card payments are just $0.50.
More exciting news! We’re now accepting a limited number of applications into the merchant service program! This program sets your property management operation up with a merchant account which allows all EasyPay transactions to go directly to your checking account without interacting with ours. This shaves valuable days off the clearing process for ACH transactions and for larger volume accounts has a much more compelling fee structure to save you processing costs on both ACH and credit card transactions. To inquire, please email easypay@rentecdirect.com and we will reply with the necessary information and documents to you.
