We have come into contact with many agencies. One thing that stands out is the variety of processes in place from agency to agency when dealing with client accounts. From our experience, we have witnessed two common operational systems that agencies generally fall into. CATEGORY A – THE ORGANISERS Agencies falling into Category A tend to have clear and concise ... read more >>
Data entry is one of the necessary evils of our job. No matter what way you look at it, it is the #1 priority on our daily agenda. Why do we continue to falter when it comes to keeping consistent, well-maintained data entry policies and procedures? Time. Creating effective data entry policies is a time intensive task. Implementing effective procedures ... read more >>
There has been lots of discussion over the past 12-18 months regarding the need to overhaul the Property Services industry. We all agree that there are areas that are crying out for an overhaul, in particular in the areas of training requirements. We have read, digested and rummaged through the points made by the NSW Fair Trading and have summarised what ... read more >>
New changes to the Residential Tenancy Act 2010 are coming into effect as of the 30th January 2017 that it is now mandatory for all private landlords and agents to be registered with Rental Bonds Online and must now invite tenants to lodge their rental bonds using the system. Rental Bonds Online is an online service from the NSW Department ... read more >>
Despite this regulation being in place since January 1st, 2015, it was evident in this years audit that some agencies are still being reprimanded for not complying with the legislation of having a Unique Identification Number (UIN) for all their existing trust accounts. So if you've had a trust account prior to January 1st, 2015 and you're still not sure what the ... read more >>
Retaining good people is essential in business. No matter how good you are or your product or service may be, without key personnel, they are worth nada. Which brings us to the topic of staff retention. Your first thoughts on staff retention strategies may drift initially to your key sales staff. Those who bring in the bread and butter to ... read more >>
We understand that by mid December, part of you may check out. Or be on the way the way to checking out. Focus turns from end of month reporting and reconciliations to Christmas parties and fun with friends and colleagues. After a hard year’s work we can see how this can happen… Yet, it is best to not let the ... read more >>
There are times when we just want an easy fix, there are times when an easy fix is OK and legitimate, but there times when it isn’t. There will be times in your trust accounting travels that you will receive unidentified funds and the process is pretty clear on how to treat these type of transactions. The Easy Fix Create an ... read more >>
Unclaimed trust funds can cause some serious unwanted headaches and financial penalties. Unfortunately, receiving unknown money into your trust account is a common occurrence. We need well organised plans and systems in place with our tenants to educate them on using the correct reference. However, every now and then you will need to deal with unclaimed trust funds. So what to ... read more >>
TAKING THE TIME TO BACK UP YOUR DATA Backing up your data is right up there with those mundane, everyday tasks that you procrastinate on (like regularly cleaning out your coffee machine) until either something catastrophic happens (your coffee machine dies), or hopefully you’ve read a blog like this that jogs your memory. We are hoping it’s the latter. The ... read more >>
