Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct is now taking signups for our new Free Property Management Software, Rentec 2.0! Click here to visit our main site, and get signed up today risk free.

Most existing Rentec users have already dramatically reduced their time and effort when managing their properties with Rentec Direct.  Chris over at software advice have written up a good read on some of the benefits of using property management software and he covers some items we have not previously written about.

The article covers six important items and only briefly mentions the very best property management software (Rentec Direct) <grin>, but he makes some excellent points.  We have independently polled and asked thousands of landlords what is important to them.  Visit our main website to review what we have consistently found to be the most important tools for landlords.

External Resources

We released invoice printing some time back and we’ve had a significant influx of customer requests for a more expanded option.  What all the requests boiled down to was a statement print job was necessary for many landlords and property managers.

We’ve just completed the beta rollout of a statement print job.  Because of the compexity of a statement, we’re going to leave this feature in beta for a period of time and request your feedback.  It has gone through extensive testing, but as every landlord manages their properties a bit different we want to make sure it works for everyone before we release it out of beta.

Please try it out.  To print a statement, click the Tenants tab, then right-click on a tenant.  You will be presented with the following menu.  Choose Print Statement.

You will be prompted with some options to define the dates for which you want to produce the statement.  Choose your begin and end dates and select the options you wish to present on the statement, then choose Create Statement.  You will be presented with the report preview for the new statement.  Click the printer icon to print if you wish.

Please report any feedback to support@rentecdirect.com.  Thank you.

Product Update, Rentec Pro

Firefox and Safari users may never have seen this issue, but Internet Explorer issues have often missed something when printing their reports.  IE often chops off the right hand side of the report when printing to some printers.  We had earlier anticipated that IE might correct the issue with the print jobs; however, we waited and waited and nothing came.  We’ve taken measures into our own hands to fix the issue and also make the print engine more flexible.

You’ll notice when you pull up any report preview now that the print button opens a new window instead of sending directly to the printer.  This follows common practice used by online applications such as mapquest and google maps when printing directions.  This allows for a couple things.

1. We can assign new styling just to the print job so when printing it does not include the border and a few other elements designed for the preview.
2. We can assign custom font sizes to your print jobs so you can define the size of the print.  Just visit Settings, then Program Defaults, and set the font size to your preference.  The default is 12px; however, a lot of users are opting to bump this up to 14px for easier readability on paper.

Product Update, Rentec Basic, Rentec Pro

Another popular request that our dev team just completed is for the ability for landlords/property managers to maintain a list of popular or frequently used vendors within Rentec Direct.  Think of it as your property management address book and it doesn’t have to be only for vendors.  It’s easier than ever to create workorders now because within each new or existing workorder is a dropdown of all configured vendors.

To use this new feature, visit the Settings tab, and select Setup Vendors.  Enter the necessary information, save, and then the next workorder you enter you can simply select the vendor from the dropdown menu instead of typing in the info each time.  Upon selection, the vital contact information for the vendor selected immediately pops up below your selection so you have a number to call and schedule the repair.  No more flipping through the rolodex!

This is a time saving feature, as well as a record keeping improvement available to all Rentec Pro users.

Product Update, Rentec Pro

At the request of Rentec Direct users we’ve expanded the functionality of the workorder system.  When viewing an open workorder there is a new option labeled “printable version / work ticket“.  Once you have successfully created a workorder, edit it and click this new link.  You will be presented with a printable workorder suitable for records or for dispatch.  Click the sample report to the right to expand and see what these work tickets look like.

If you haven’t used workorders before, to create a workorder, simply select the Properties tab once logged in and then right-click on the property you wish to create a workorder for and select workorders.  Then click Add new workorder in the lower left and you will be prompted for the necessary fields.

Product Update

In June we posted an update that you can print invoices and receipts.  Since then we’ve received some feedback that it would be great to customize some aspects of the invoice.  The message printed at the bottom in particular.

We’ve added new functionality within the Settings menus to let Rentec users edit the message.  Simply visit the Settings tab, click on the new Accounting Defaults option, and edit the option you see in the screenshot below.  By default it will say ‘Thank You’; however, you can add any text you like to print on all invoices up to 200 characters.

Of note, to keep the interface clean, we’ve split up the Default Settings pages into two unique categories.  When you click on the Settings tab you will now see a new option called Accounting Defaults.  All program defaults that had to do with accounting functions have been moved into their own section.

Product Update, Rentec Basic, Rentec Pro

We’ve added some great reports, based on user feedback, to Rentec Direct.  These new reports are available to you today!  We base a lot of our development on user feedback.  If you have any ideas for reports which would help you manage your properties, please email them to us at support@rentecdirect.com.

• Account Summary – See all of your banking accounts in one spot with their total income, expenses, and balance.
• Property Summary – See all of your property accounts in one spot with their total income, expenses, and balance.
• General Ledger - Customizable general ledger report by property or account.  Fully sortable by your own custom dates.
• Current Deposits – Quick report to show you deposits held per property.
• Lease Expiration - Quick report to show you which properties have leases and when those leases expire.
• Rent Roll – At a glance report of properties and tenants, their rent due, and current balance.
• Vacant Properties - Quick report to show you all vacant properties.

Product Update

We’ve received quite a few inquires from our customers about the federal home buyer tax credit and how it might apply to them.  We’re not an expert on the topic; however, here’s an excellent FAQ published online with most of the same questions we’ve fielded.  It should prove useful.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

The following questions and answers provide basic information about the tax credit. If you have more specific questions, we strongly encourage you to consult a qualified tax adviser or legal professional about your unique situation.

1. Who is eligible to claim the tax credit?
2. What is the definition of a first-time home buyer?
3. How is the amount of the tax credit determined?
4. Are there any income limits for claiming the tax credit?
5. What is “modified adjusted gross income”?
6. If my modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is above the limit, do I qualify for any tax credit?
7. Can you give me an example of how the partial tax credit is determined?
8. How is this home buyer tax credit different from the tax credit that Congress enacted in July of 2008?
9. How do I claim the tax credit? Do I need to complete a form or application?
10. What types of homes will qualify for the tax credit?
11. I read that the tax credit is “refundable.” What does that mean?
12. I purchased a home in early 2009 and have already filed to receive the $7,500 tax credit on my 2008 tax returns. How can I claim the new $8,000 tax credit instead?
13. Instead of buying a new home from a home builder, I hired a contractor to construct a home on a lot that I already own. Do I still qualify for the tax credit?
14. Can I claim the tax credit if I finance the purchase of my home under a mortgage revenue bond (MRB) program?
15. I live in the District of Columbia. Can I claim both the Washington, D.C. first-time home buyer credit and this new credit?
16. I am not a U.S. citizen. Can I claim the tax credit?
17. Is a tax credit the same as a tax deduction?
18. I bought a home in 2008. Do I qualify for this credit?
19. Is there any way for a home buyer to access the money allocable to the credit sooner than waiting to file their 2009 tax return?
20. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has announced that HUD will allow “monetization” of the tax credit. What does that mean?
21. If I’m qualified for the tax credit and buy a home in 2009, can I apply the tax credit against my 2008 tax return?
22. For a home purchase in 2009, can I choose whether to treat the purchase as occurring in 2008 or 2009, depending on in which year my credit amount is the largest?

External Resources

Rentec Direct is pleased to announce a major enhancement to the Rentec Direct accounting system.  Tying in bank accounts to your properties is now supported and of course, all the financial reports are now available to both the property accounting as well as these new bank accounts giving you the ultimate flexibility.

Rentec Direct has expanded the capabilities once again of the accounting systems available to you. While many landlords who manage one or just a few properties do not need enhanced accounting features, it is very useful for those who manage more units to have the ability to link in bank accounts.

Here’s some common use cases:

• Managing more than one property, and feeding all transactions from these properties into a single checking account. This is very easy to accomplish. Simply visit the Settings tab, choose Property Banking and add a new account. Name it either the same as the bank calls it (ie. Wells Fargo Business Checking), or any other name you prefer. Now visit the Properties tab, and edit any properties you want associated with this new account. Within the edit screen there is a new drop down menu for Default Account. Select your new account and all transactions associated with these properties you have edited will apply to your new account.
• For property managers managing one or more properties for an owner. Depending on your existing accounting policies, there are multiple ways to use these new features to your benefit.  The most common case would be continue using the property accounting to keep track of what is owed to the owner, and add a new banking account for maintaining and tracking your property holding account(s). In the same way as item 1, edit each property and assign the default account to the holding account you use for this property. As you apply owner disbursements (debits) to the individual properties when you disburse funds, the associated banking account will automatically be updated with the same transaction. When you post transactions against the property/owner such as management fees, in the account drop down select None so it does not also affect the bank account balance.

You can access and setup accounts under the Settings tab, option Property Banking. If you use this feature frequently it may be convenient to add an Accounts tab to the top of your window for easier access to your bank accounts. You can add this tab simply by going to the Settings tab, Program Defaults, and then mark Yes next to the show the accounts tab option. The tab will show in the main interface between the Tenants and Reports tabs.

Product Update, Rentec Pro

You may have noticed the new right click interface within Rentec Direct, if not we posted about it here.  One of the primary goals of adding the right click interface was to be able to bring you new tools without cluttering the screen.

We’ve released our first set of new tools based on landlord requests.  Rentec Pro users can begin using these immediately.

Print Invoice – You can quickly print the most current rental invoice for any tenant by clicking the Tenants tab and right clicking the tenant, and choosing Print Invoice.

You can also print any historical tenant expense in invoice format by entering the accounting history for a tenant, selecting any charge, right clicking on the line item and selecting Print Invoice.  Invoices are generated in the same reports screen you are already used to.

Print Receipt - Additionally you can within the tenant accounting select any payment or credit made to a tenant, right click on it and select Print Receipt.  If you handle walk-in payments this is incredibly useful as you can post the payment into the system on the spot, and immediately print out a receipt for your tenant.

With the great added functionality of the latest web techniques like this new right click menu functionality, we plan to be able to implement many other feature requests from our users.  Keep them coming.

Product Update, Rentec Pro