Developed bespokely for the block management industry in the UK & Ireland to provide an intuitive, cost effective software for managing agents who in turn can offer a transparent and interactive way of managing to their leaseholders giving them a USP over their competitors.

Designed for: Managing Agents / Self-Managed

Used for: Block Management / Inspections Repairs

Areas covered: England / Wales / Scotland / Northern Ireland / Ireland

Blocks: 5000

Units: 100000

Overview

Resident was created by Kate Boyes, a Chartered Surveyor and property manager with a property career spanning 21 years establishing her own property management firm 17 years ago. Through her work, Kate had recognised a need for a more cost-effective solution that modernises block management and makes it more accessible and transparent, and so Resident was born.

“The idea for Resident came in 2014 when I was running my own block management company and became completely frustrated at the lack of systems available to help me with my day to day property management at an affordable price.

My vision was to create one platform that handled everything – Accountancy, Company Secretary, Suppliers, Contractors, Works Orders, Section 20s, Compliance & Risk Assessments, Contact Information, Maps, Photos, Document storage, Insurance, Tasks and Reminders, and how about all the email messages sent every day to leaseholders?

In 2014 emailing leaseholders was not so much the norm as it is today however I wanted a forward-thinking system that saved on postage, stationery and time. But it needed to be straightforward. The specification list for Resident was, and still is, endless and grows every day as we work with our clients to build THE system for managing agents, but five years later we are enjoying the journey of building it for you.

Key Features & Benefits

Built by a team experienced in Block Management – 100% focus on block management software

• Listen to client feedback and implement – transparent roadmap released each year so clients can see what is, and isn’t, being developed
• Heavy investment in development releasing new features and improvements monthly
• Independently owned – small enough to listen, large enough to keep developing
• Fully cloud-based, accessible on any web browser
• Leaseholder portal logins using Google & Facebook

• Open banking
• Easy import of data & bulk upload of supplier invoice info & Creation Centre for new blocks
• Straightforward Bank reconciliation
• Auto generates pre sale forms (LPE1s) & Integrated site inspection forms
• Transparent clear pricing with no hidden extras and support included
• Auto generates end of year accounts pack for accountants
• Repair reporting feature also linked to works orders, S20s and messaging to keep parties updated

Visibility

What type of client reports are available?

Full financial reporting, as well as works orders / tasks.

What information can residents or directors see?

Fully configurable for both directors and leaseholders to access what Agents would like their clients to see.

Functionality

Accounting & Finance Functions

Budgets (multiple schedules), auto-generating Service Charge and Ground Rent demands and issuing by email or print, bank reconciliations, open banking to import transactions automatically, full financial reporting, BACS payments, supplier payments.

Does the software manage service charge demands?

Yes and Ground Rent.

Insurance & Valuations Functions

Storage of documents, reminders of due dates

What time-saving automations are available for Property Managers or RMC Directors?

Open banking saving circa 80% of book-keeping time; automated functions such as end of year packs and LPEs, messaging feature to update parties; leaseholder portal for transparent access of information including reporting.

Maintenance Functions

Repair reporting ticketing, works orders, Section 20s, Assessments centre for Fire Risk Assessments and Health & Safety management, with a messaging feature to update parties.

Can site inspections be completed using the software?

Yes – includes a fully configurable site inspection form which can be configured by block, and downloaded as pdf to send to client.

Integration

What other software can be integrated with yours?

None – one of our original values was to create a product that was a one stop shop for block management without the need to use, learn and pay for multiple products.

Pricing

How does the pricing work?

Tiered pricing based on number of units starting from upto 50 units for a start up licence to 5,000 units plus.

Modular

Are there core and additional modules with add-ons?

A key feature of Resident is that everything, including new features, is included in annual licence including support – only add ons are open banking and repair ticketing.

Is the software RICS / ARMA Compliant?

Regulated by RICS.

Accessibility

Is there a mobile app or leaseholder portal?

Resident is a mobile web application so fully accessible on any device via a web browser. There is a leaseholder portal.

Can residents report repairs and faults?

Yes using a designated repair reporting email address created for the Agent which raises a repair ticket which is assigned by the system automatically to their block and property manager for the property manager to assess and progress into works order if required.

New Clients

How is data migrated from an existing provider?

Resident has a set of import templates to bulk import data.

What support and training is available?

Free structured onboarding training with free annual support. Training is available hourly online, or half daily or daily onsite. We also have a comprehensive library of webinar tutorials for clients to access on all aspects of the system. Complimentary annual reviews with all clients on licence renewals.

After struggling with spreadsheets and mail merges to track and issue our service charge demands, we decided in 2016 to look for a cloud-based block management system we could utilise to make both our lives, and those of our clients, easier. Having looked at all of the well established products on the market we eventually came across Resident and have not looked back since. As one of Resident’s earliest adopters, we have seen the Resident platform grow and develop into a state of the art property management system which puts easy of use and flexibility at the centre of everything it does. Switching to Resident completely changed the way we work as a company and allowed us to achieve our number one goal for our clients: transparency. Utilising the leaseholder portal functionality, leaseholders and management company directors can have a full overview of their service charge account including downloading statements, service charge demands and keeping up to date with any arrears, all through the portal 24 hours a day. This not only halved the amount of enquiries we received at the office, but also gave leaseholders the confidence that their property was being properly managed and allowed them the level of openness and transparency many managing agents are simply unable to provide. As a product, Resident is consistently updated with new features and improvements – the development team is approachable and always willing to discuss client ideas for improvements and new features. All of this is backed up by excellent customer support with tickets being answered very quickly and with comprehensive answers and a real person on the end of the phone who actually knows the product. Resident is an essential part of Plymouth Block Management and we highly recommend it to any managing agent looking to improve their internal workflow whilst at the same time giving their clients unprecedented transparency.

Mark Christie, Managing Director – Plymouth Block Management

Get in touch with the team at Resident