Over the past yr and a half or so, we’ve been working exhausting behind the scenes to enhance the software program. However moderately than redo every part, or give it a facelift, we’ve gone proper out and rewritten the entire thing. And now, lastly, we’re able to launch what we’ve been engaged on. Whether or not you might be new to Landlord Imaginative and prescient or you might be an current buyer, we expect you will like the brand new up to date model of the software program.
This isn’t only a new entrance finish. It’s a full rewrite from the bottom up. So, whereas you’ll recognise the principle options from earlier than (revenue and expense monitoring, compliance, duties, paperwork and e-signing), not all the pieces is similar because it was. This submit discusses why we did it, how we did it and simply what truly is totally different.
Why we made a New Model of Landlord Imaginative and prescient
The structure on which the present model of Landlord Imaginative and prescient relies is approaching the top of its life and shortly will not be supported. We are going to nonetheless proceed to assist the present model and supply bug fixes and different tweaks together with maintaining the tax report updated, however we’re approaching the restrict of what new options we are able to put into it. And the cell app reached that time a while in the past. Landlord Imaginative and prescient has been serving us properly for the final 10 years in its present format, however it’s time to transfer on.
How we made the New Model of Landlord Imaginative and prescient
There have been three primary ideas we used for designing the brand new model. It needed to have a contemporary appear and feel, be cell pleasant and general be straightforward to make use of. We discovered a brand new framework that we might construct the software program on that supported extra trendy options and was going to be round for some time. Then we set to work redesigning the software program and the workflows primarily based on what we (and also you) did and didn’t like concerning the present software program. We now have had a variety of suggestions about Landlord Imaginative and prescient over time and we’ve put as a lot of that suggestions as we probably might into the brand new software program in order that it might work higher for you, the top consumer. There have been conferences. There have been arguments. There have been agonising choices. There was blood (OK, I reduce my finger). However finally, we’ve give you one thing utterly new and one thing that works in another way to what we had earlier than whereas nonetheless retaining the identical core performance. And extra importantly, it really works higher.
First off, we rebuilt the accounting engine with an emphasis on making it extra consumer pleasant for these on the money primarily based system. This contains the properties, tenancies, incomes and bills, financial institution accounts, P&L and the tax report. This took by far probably the most time, however as soon as it was achieved, we have been then capable of transfer on to different issues like mail merge, security certificates and paperwork and out of the blue the software program began to take form fairly rapidly. With accruals assist added as properly, we then began including the remaining sections one after the other, together with the integrations for issues like authorized paperwork and e-signatures, guaranteeing every part was full and totally usable earlier than transferring on to the following one. This implies we are actually at a degree the place now we have sufficient working performance to go dwell with it.
So, What’s Totally different within the New Model of Landlord Imaginative and prescient?
We now have been listening to suggestions and monitoring the function request part and now we have made some main modifications. I’ll break these down in to a few sections, beginning with
What Has Been Faraway from Landlord Imaginative and prescient
Agent Statements
These have been a terrific thought on the time, however real-world agent statements have been simply too sophisticated for them and so they grew to become very assist intensive. Including floats, credit, funds to the agent and monitoring all of these statements, to not point out unpicking them in case you made a mistake made the software program seem ‘labyrinthine’ when actually that wasn’t the plan. So, we’ve stripped them out and now you simply write the funds and bills to a devoted agent account as an alternative, thus permitting you to maintain a working complete of how a lot your agent owes you at any given time and simplifying most of the processes. And sure, the software program nonetheless generates the month-to-month charges.
Fee Schedules
Fee schedules have been utilized in tenancies and mortgages to point out when funds have been due and after they have been made. You arrange guidelines and the software program builds the schedule and all it’s essential to do is reconcile it with the checking account. Nonetheless, many customers struggled to get them to do what they needed and so they have been fairly unforgiving in case you made a mistake. So now, now we have dropped them and changed them with repeating incomes and bills.
Deposit Scheme
The Deposit Scheme part has gone. It merely wasn’t versatile sufficient, so we’re going to use a distinct technique as an alternative. Increase an bill for the deposit obtained and a credit score be aware for the deposit return. And you may put in as many tenants as you want.
Credit score Notes
You not want to lift a credit score be aware and add a refund to it. Merely elevate a detrimental revenue or expense as an alternative.
Bill Sorts
Landlord Imaginative and prescient now raises invoices. Not deposit invoices, cost invoices, rental invoices and different revenue invoices, however invoices. That’s it.
The Early Warnings Part
Now, earlier than you get nervous, we haven’t stripped out Early Warnings utterly. You’ll be able to nonetheless get the software program to inform you when issues are as a consequence of expire, it’s simply that there is no such thing as a longer a devoted Early Warnings space within the left pane of the software program anymore. Which means that while you click on on one thing on the dashboard, you might be taken straight to that part, the place you may make your updates moderately than to the Early Warnings web page.
Some Stories
Once you attain the Stories part, the very first thing you’ll discover is that there are considerably fewer reviews in there, and there are numerous causes for this. One is that by simplifying the software program, now you can get a lot of the data that you just want from the info entry display screen itself. For instance, there’s a devoted part for Security Certificates, and you may extract a report of all the pieces that’s due for expiry from there. Additionally, the Rental Earnings Funds and Bills Funds reviews have been changed by the brand new cash-based Revenue and Loss report. Extra on that later.
What Has Modified in Landlord Imaginative and prescient?
Allocate Funds
The allocate funds web page has undergone a whole overhaul and now seems just like the Reconcile web page, that means you will have fewer options to be taught, as the 2 of them are the identical.
The Dashboard
The dashboard is now a dashboard, not only a record of issues. Instantly see what number of security certificates are as a consequence of expire within the subsequent 30 days, how a lot lease is owed, or if the fastened fee interval on any of your mortgages is about to finish. Press on a dashboard merchandise to go and see what’s excellent and make the required updates. You’ll be able to even monitor your portfolio’s efficiency. All in a fast look on the dashboard.
Authorized Paperwork
We now have modified our authorized doc provider to ‘Legislate’ and now we are able to supply extra versatile tenancy agreements. Need to add a break clause? Want so as to add some sections about pets? Is there no outdoors house? Properly, now you possibly can configure your settlement to cowl all the related data and miss what you don’t want whereas nonetheless having right clauses written by authorized consultants and never one thing you discovered on an web discussion board someplace. And never solely that, however you may as well save the settings in case you want them later. The previous doc solely lined commonplace ASTs, however now now we have sole occupancy, HMO and even bedsits.
One Earnings Part
So lengthy a number of revenue screens, now all the pieces is on one web page. Scroll down the record to see all the funds made to you or the agent and your whole tenant and non-tenant revenue all collectively in a single place. You’ll be able to then use the filters to run a report of what you want with out having to go to the Stories part.
One Contacts Part
There’s a part referred to as contacts and not a separate tenants space. Handle your whole contacts and their particulars in a single place. Additionally, contacts work per portfolio moderately than being unfold throughout your account.
Simpler Navigation
The entire left pane has been simplified. Bills now have their very own devoted part moderately than being hidden in Property Supervisor and we now have a brand new Communications space the place yow will discover all the Mail Merge, e-signatures and different choices for speaking together with your tenants and anybody else. There aren’t any extra sub-pages, so issues are simpler to search out as all the pieces has its personal web page. Additionally, by breaking down the sections, as soon as we relaunch the consumer entry controls, it is going to be a lot simpler to regulate what your customers have entry to as every part is extra focused in what it incorporates.
The Reconcile Web page
One of many objectives of the brand new model was for the Reconcile web page to turn out to be the center of the software program. We now have observed that many customers spend most of their time right here so we’re driving extra performance in its path. Thus far, in addition to all the same old issues you possibly can do on this web page, now you can add transfers, overpayments, and refunds with out leaving the Reconcile web page and there will probably be extra performance to return sooner or later.
Doc Administration
We now have a extra intuitive doc space for storing your recordsdata. It now works extra such as you would count on a folder system to work.
Mortgages
The mortgages part is now radically totally different. The cost schedule has gone, and they’re easier to handle. File an expense and assign it to the mortgage. You’ll be able to even do that from the Reconcile web page.
Additionally in mortgages, you possibly can inform the software program when the fastened fee interval ends and get a notification forward of time.
Portfolio Settings
Every portfolio has its personal settings space, to make updating the settings for any portfolio a lot simpler.
Deleting Invoices and Bills
It’s now potential to delete invoices and bills with out having to delete the funds first. And you may nonetheless delete them in bulk.
Dwell Financial institution Feeds
We now have teamed up with ‘Nordigen’ to deliver the dwell financial institution feeds this time, moderately than doing them straight ourselves. What this implies is that it’s now considerably faster for us so as to add a supplier, so we gained’t want as a lot demand so as to add one. We must always subsequently be capable to add extra banks to the record of obtainable suppliers and assist extra prospects.
Billing
We now have utterly overhauled the billing part. Can’t or don’t need to pay by direct debit? You’ll be able to arrange card funds as an alternative. And we not cost from the start of the month to the top of the month, so no extra complicated pro-rata funds initially of your plan. In any other case, the Ts and Cs are the identical.
What We’ve Added to New Landlord Imaginative and prescient
The Add Button
Want so as to add one thing? Quite than attempting to work out the place it’s, merely press the Add Button within the prime left nook and choose it from the menu. No have to go looking via the software program for it, the Add button can be utilized from virtually any display screen with out navigating away from what you might be engaged on.
Archive
Tenant moved out? Offered a property? Don’t need to see them in your lists anymore however nonetheless need the info? Set them to archived and now you not should scroll previous them. You may also use the filter choice to see what you will have archived so you possibly can both delete or unarchive objects ought to it’s essential to. This function can be obtainable for properties, tenancies, mortgages, security certificates and extra.
Block Administration Help
We not have rooms, we now have models. A unit may be something that sits inside a grasp constructing, whether or not it’s a room, a flat, a storage or no matter. Add your whole models in to at least one single property and run a P&L for the entire constructing. Extra importantly, all incomes, bills, certificates and all the pieces else may be assigned to a unit.
Proper to Lease Monitoring
Now you possibly can monitor the right-to-rent standing of every of your tenants inside Landlord Imaginative and prescient and add the suitable documentation. You may also get notifications when the proper to lease is because of expire.
Electronic mail A number of Individuals at As soon as
Our most requested function lastly makes it into the software program. Construct a message template, ship an individualised message to a lot of individuals without delay. Chill out.
It’s Cell Pleasant
I do know a lot of you will have been studying this this pondering ‘properly what a few cell model?’ Properly, it’s right here. There is no such thing as a app on an app retailer, merely head to https://www.landlordvision.co.uk in your cell machine, obtain the app from the positioning and proceed from there. In truth, that app may even sit on the taskbar of your laptop computer or laptop. All the options you understand and love from the desktop model can be found within the palm of your hand. And you’ll even be capable to take pictures of your receipts straight from the software program and convert them to bills, which is what a cell model is for, proper?
Mark as Paid
Tick all the rents that you understand have been paid and choose Mark as Paid. And now you might be updated. Simple.
An Even Extra Simplified Backside Plan
We constructed the underside plan earlier than we began including the opposite options, moderately than attempting to strip down the present software program. Now the Starter plan is a really slick, streamlined system for recording your incomes and bills and producing your cash-based tax report. In truth, that’s all this plan is for.
Whereas I’m right here I would as properly discuss concerning the different two plans. Normal incorporates just about all the options that you may be used to within the current software program. Premium is precisely that and is geared toward our higher-end landlords with a lot of further options to assist with managing all of these properties. Sure, most of these options aren’t obtainable but, however now we have a prolonged schedule of labor and these will probably be popping up as we full them. A few of them are utterly new to Landlord Imaginative and prescient. Be careful for notifications about these updates.
Money Primarily based Revenue and Loss Reporting
The Bills Funds report has gone and now you possibly can produce a cash-based revenue and loss report straight from the Stories part with out having to adapt the accruals-based P&L or cobble it collectively from three different reviews. One click on does all of it.
Editable Rental Earnings Invoices
With the abolition of the cost schedule, you now have extra versatility together with your rental invoices. Cost for utilities in addition to the lease? Now you possibly can set all of that up on one bill and reconcile it rather more simply.
Mild / Darkish Mode
Mild mode too vibrant? Swap to darkish mode.
What’s Nonetheless to Come for Landlord Imaginative and prescient
We haven’t completed but. The software program is now at a degree the place we are able to launch it and since we’re so enthusiastic about how a lot you will prefer it, we determined to get it on the market, however there may be nonetheless extra to return. All the options you understand and love from the present model will make their means into the software program over the following few weeks, together with the Money Movement report, tenant journals, and the Tenant Module. There may even be some shiny new options, principally taken from our Function Request space. We haven’t forgotten about it, and we’re working our means via the record.
And don’t overlook, you possibly can nonetheless add customers, arrange 2FA authentication, arrange portfolios, landlord possession percentages and lots of extra options that you’re already used to.
Excited? I do know I’m. Head to the sign up page to get started.
