Blockman is a web application for service charge accounting and administration, it is used by agents to manage residential developments on behalf of Freeholders, Management Companies and Leaseholders.

Blockman is used by hundreds of Agents in the UK and Ireland in over 10,000 blocks and hundreds of thousands of leasehold units. Through Myblockman, the leaseholder has access to their account online. Blockman is constantly updated with new and improved features on a regular basis, features to which all clients have access.

Designed for: Managing Agents and Self-Managed

Used for: Block Management / Repairs / Service Charge Accounting

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

Blocks: 10000. Units: 370000

Overview

Blockman is a service charge and ground rent accounting and administration software package for Residential Management Agents who manage apartment blocks, town house developments, Man Co’s, multi-unit developments or “Blocks”.

Key Features & Benefits

Blockman is a general ledger based financial solution for Property Managers, which means Blockman reports a Balance Sheet, Trial Balance and Profit & Loss account for each block. This a key requirement in enabling multiple lease schedules and service charge / reserve fund transactions and reporting.

Blockman is web based and hosted on AWS (London). As a licensed user, you will receive system updates as soon as the features are developed or improved. Blockman also incorporates a Leaseholder Portal ( Myblockman ) for 24 hour / 7 day week secure online access. Blockman updates Myblockman and automatically generates email notifications of service charge demand, receipts, documents etc.

Visibility

What type of client reports are available?

Block Level:

• Trial Balance
• Balance Sheet
• Income & Expenditure Report (Profit & Loss)
• Cash Flow
• Budget Analysis
• Forecast Analysis
• General Ledger Account History (Asset, Liability, Capital / Reserve, In-come, Expenditure)
• General Ledger Transactions
• Creditors / Suppliers (Paid / Part Paid, Outstanding etc)
• Service Charge Ledgers
• Ground Rent Ledgers

Portfolio Level:

• Daily Receipts
• Daily Invoices
• Financial Summary across Blocks
• Portfolio Reports on Reconciliation by Bank Date ( Property Mark / ARMA requirement )
• Lease Schedules
• Secretarial
• Portfolio Debtors
• Portfolio Creditors

What information can leaseholders see?

• Service Charge Ledger
• Ground Rent Ledger
• Any reports or documents the Agent chooses to share
• Meeting Notices and Minutes
• Updated Issues
• Announcements

What information can directors see?

All of the above and a Director Area for any reports or documents the Agent chooses to share with Directors.

Functionality

Accounting & Finance Functions

Block Transactions:

• Service Charge transactions (per lease schedule)
• Single Charges (individual on ad hoc basis)
• Supplier invoice and payment
• General Ledger (Journal) Transaction
• Single receipt (service charge payment) postings
• Batch receipt postings
• CSV receipt file postings
• Direct Debit file collection
• Supplier Payment by BACS (many to one and one to many files)
• Bank Reconciliation
• Agency sale invoicing

Does the software manage service charge demands?

Yes, produces them with reference to Section 47 (1), Section 48 (1) and Section 153.

Insurance & Valuations Functions

Document storage and dashboard reminders.

Maintenance Functions

Yes, there is Issue Manager and Works Order functionality.

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

• Batch Service Charge production
• Automatic Email Notification of Service Charges, Receipt of Payment
• Batch Service Charge payment processing
• Direct Debit compatibility
• Supplier Invoice import
• BACS supplier payments
• Announcements

Can site inspections be completed using the software?

No but an inspection report can be saved.

Integration

What other software can be integrated with yours?

• Glantus
• Adest (OCR invoice import)
• Postbyte (mail service )
• API integration with various Payment Page URLs.

Modular

Are there core and additional modules with add-ons?

Blockman is non modular, all features are included with the exception of the Leaseholder portal (Myblockman).

Is the software RICS / ARMA Compliant?

Yes

Pricing

How does the pricing work?

The cost is per unit involving a flat fee per tier (licence fee) and monthly hosting, support and maintenance fee.

Accessibility

Is there a mobile app or leaseholder portal?

There is a leaseholder portal that is optimised for mobile devices.

Can residents report repairs and faults?

Repairs and faults can be emailed through the leaseholder portal.

Can leaseholders make payments through the portal?

Myblockman will create a special link to the agent website payment form. When a user clicks this special link, it will securely pass on information about the user to the payment form on the agent website. This secure payload of information includes the owner name, owner contact details, property name, payment reference, the amount owed, etc.

New Clients

How is data migrated from an existing provider?

CSV files, financials need to be considered in terms of opening balances and / or year end accounts.

What support and training is available?

Onboarding and migration assistance inclusive of training.

The Blockman product is fantastic. I have to admit I was a bit hesitant at first, only because the subscription costs were almost too good to believe – I thought the product just wouldn’t cover all the necessary areas.

But I’m very glad to say I had nothing to worry about. It’s user-friendly, has great features for PMs and is possibly the best service charge accounting system I’ve come across. I’m yet to find something where the system fails or doesn’t have a solution. It’s spot on what we need and provides a great system for us to scale with.

The Myblockman portal is a brilliant add on and something I would highly recommend. All of our customers love the system and have praised the communication levels of our company as opposed to that of our predecessors. To top it all off Niall and the team are great at being on hand for any issues. The onboarding process is brilliant and the help desk are quick to respond if you encounter a problem. We had a vision of what we wanted our company to be before we started, I’d say that the Blockman system has allowed us to not only become that vision, but surpass it.” Nick Rich, Director – Eight Asset Management

Get in touch with the team at Blockman: