Archive for the ‘Product Updates’ Category

Updates to Income Tracker and Admin Reports

Dear Adda Treasurers,

We have released a few updates which are bound to make you happy!

1. Open Invoices with Line items in Reminder Emails

In the reminder Emails for Dues, only the total Due Amount was displayed. Henceforth, all the Open Invoice/Demand Note line items will be displayed in the email. Also, if any part payment was done, it will be displayed.

2. Bulk printing of Invoices & Receipts

We have released two new Admin Reports for printing all the Open Invoices/Demand Notes and Receipts by Flat. For Receipts, you can choose the Receipt range.

3. Auto Send Invoices & Receipts by Email

Now you have an option so that, whenever an Invoice gets posted ( automatically or manually) an email goes to the Primary Contact of the flat about the new Due. Also, whenever a Receipt is generated for a flat, an email is sent automatically to the Primary Contact. This can be configured individually for Invoices and Receipts in Admin’s Dashboard > Income Tracker > Setup > Other.

4. Filter Defaulters list

Now you can shortlist the defaulters list by the “Age” of the Due,  the Amount and the Category. E.g., if you only want to send reminders to Defaulters who have not paid the last term’s due, or those who have an outstanding Due above a certain amount, , or only the 3BHK apartments etc. you can do that easily now. With a single click you can send Emails and SMS reminders to the list that you have shortlisted.

Enjoy the extra time that just got added back to your Weekends! ApartmentAdda will stay on the lookout to save you more!

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Yours sincerely,
ApartmentAdda Team

Buzzar for Associations

Dear Association / Management Committee members,

Shopping for facility management services was never so easy before! We are happy to announce the launch of marketplace known as Buzzar. You can use Buzzar to shop for facility management related services and products for your apartment community.

Earlier this year, ApartmentAdda conducted a survey for Associations in Bangalore, to find the issues faced by them while shopping for Facility Management vendors.

According to the survey, majority of the Associations felt that enough information is not available on

1)      The existing and reliable vendors who provide service

2)      The Apartments the vendors are serving/have served

3)      The experience of other association owners about the vendor’s quality of service

4)      Availability of Quotes in standard formats, and in a central space where all MC members can review and act upon.

More than 60% of respondents felt that information about existing property management providers and the apartments they are servicing, the feedback provided by association owners will help them in choosing the best possible vendor.

More than 60% of respondents felt that information about existing Facility Management vendors, information on customers they are servicing, and the feedback provided by other Associations will help them in choosing the best possible vendor.

Buzzar addresses the issues mentioned above and aims to reduce the time taken for evaluating facility management vendors by

1)      Sharing exhaustive list of VERIFIED vendors who provide wide range of services related to facility management.

2)      Providing DETAILED information of vendors , the gated communities they have serviced

3)      Sharing of experience of vendor service between Associations

4)      Pre-populating the Apartment Profile (e.g. no. of Units, Address etc.) that is stored in your Adda

5)      Making the Quotes sent by Vendors available in ‘Admin Files’ of your Adda.

Buzzar provides the following features for Associations

1)       Shop for facility management related services/products

2)       Provide/View feedback on existing vendors

3)       Refer a vendor

Buzzar allows you to request for quote for variety of services which are generally used in gated communities. Those are Housekeeping , Security, Pest control, Upgrade/AMC/Repair for Sewage treatment plant , Swimming Pool , Generator , Transformers, Bore well/Pumps , Gym equipments.  Buzzar will be expanding to more categories under facility management and we look forward to your active contribution towards this.

You can even earn reward points for your Association for utilizing the Buzzar services. These reward points can be encashed for premium SMS , Free Add Ons or substantial discount for Premium Adda subscription.

Buzzar Screenshot

Buzzar Screenshot

Get Started!

Yours Sincerely,

Jagannath Balachandran

ApartmentAdda Team

Note:

1. Jagannath Balachandran is an IIMB student and an ex-Thoughtworker. He can also be reached at jagannath@apartmentadda.com

2. Interests to list on the Buzzar or any queries can be sent to buzzar@apartmentadda.com.

Instant Poll Enhanced

Dear ApartmentAdda Users,

Wish you a very happy Onam!

We are happy to announce a major enhancement to your favorite Instant Poll Application.

Here is the gist :

1. You can now create a poll that will be open to everyone, or only to Owners or only to Association Committee members. So Committee members can now have a quick poll among themselves to gather feedback (eg. Select a date for an AGM or the next meeting time ).

2. You can restrict votes to One vote per flat. The second user from the flat, will be able to view the vote that is cast, but will not be able to add or change the vote.

3. You can also make a poll as “Anonymous” – to gather feedback on sensitive issues.

4. Also we have built a workflow while setting up the poll – so you can create the poll, view it, edit it and only when you are satisfied publish it to your Adda.

You can check these out, when you go to create a poll. The following “Poll Settings” section will now appear.

Screenshot-1

Poll Settings Section

Enjoy!

Yours sincerely,
ApartmentAdda Team

Events & Facility Booking Released!

Are you sitting in US, wanting to plan up the Birthday Party for your kid next month? And you wish you could check the availability of your Community Party Hall and book it right away? Now you can!

Announcing the release of a much requested feature – Events & Facility Booking. With this all the hassle of booking your facility like community hall, tennis/badminton court etc. – becomes very easy. These bookings are also integrated with the ApartmentAdda Online Payment Gateway –  now when you book a facility, you can immediately make a payment online, and get the booking confirmed right then and there.

Screenshot of Resident's View

Screenshot of Resident's View

As an Admin, you can set up all your facilities, tie the facility booking to the relevant Income Account ( you will have to create one in Income Tracker Setup, if you have not created already ), set the auto-cancellation term for each facility, set the flat rate or rate per hour for each facility and provide instructions on Facility usage.

We have also provided 2 useful reports : Facility Uitlitzation History and Future Utilization – to see how well your facilities are being utilized and the revenue they are generating for the Association.

Go ahead! Throw a party!

Yours sincerely,
ApartmentAdda Team

Note 1: For all our existing Premium PRO Customers, we are making Events & Facility Booking immediately available – Free of Cost.
Note 2 : As an introductory offer, Events & Facility Booking Add-on will be bundled free of cost with ApartmentAdda Online Payment Gateway.

ApartmentAdda Payment Gateway Integration

ApartmentAdda is thrilled to announce the integration of Payment Gateway with its Income Tracker! This will enable the Associations using ApartmentAdda to collect payments from Residents via Credit Card and NetBanking!

ApartmentAdda is happy to be the only software to bring this tremendous value addition to Associations in India! The ApartmentAdda Payment Gateway will now be an additional payment option for Residents.

Before you read on, we would like to thank YOU, our discerning customer, for pushing us higher!

Advantages of Online Payment Gateway

1) The Resident gets instant confirmation that her/his payment has reached the Association

2) The Treasurer does not have to enter the collection in the system, as in case of Cheque collection

3) The Treasurer does not have to spend long hours & endless communication reconciling Online Transfers, wherein very frequently the Flat information gets missed out in the bank statement

4) Collecting small-ticket items such as festival contributions, facility booking, Move-In/Out charges etc. becomes much easier as the hassle of collection & receipting is avoided!

5) The lead time for collections can reduce drastically as Residents would prefer to pay by credit card (instant gratification, delayed outgo)

6) Collection of electricity/water charges from in-house vendors – such as Grocery shop, Daycare, Parlor etc. – will  now be free of manual intervention

We are sure our enterprising customers will see many more advantages and applications of this gateway. We are excited about working with you on the many possibilities it presents.

How does it work

Here is the workflow of ApartmentAdda Payment Gateway integration:

Payment Gateway Workflow - Click to Enlarge

Payment Gateway Workflow - Click to Enlarge

Behind the Scenes

ApartmentAdda is utilizing one of the most reliable and technologically advanced Payment Gateway in India, and will act as the Collection Agent on behalf of each Association. Participating Associations will authorize ApartmentAdda to collect on their behalf – necessary documentation will be collected and made available to Residents for their verification before they proceed to make payment.

Payments made by the Residents will be collected in the central collection bank of ApartmentAdda, and channeled to each Association’s Bank Account. A detailed Flat-wise/Transaction-wise statement will automatically show up in the Income Tracker for each Transfer to the Association bank Account. The Treasurer can reconcile these as per their convenience.

How to get Started

Interested Associations can Contact Us. We shall work with you to get you started. The estimated setup time is 1 work week.

More Questions? Please view the FAQs on ApartmentAdda Payment Gateway integration.

FAQ on your Adda’s Payment Gateway

Below is a list of FAQs on ApartmentAdda Payment Gateway Integration.

Q1. Which Credit Cards, Debit Cards and Online Banking are supported

A. Below are the list of Instruments supported by the third-party Payment Gateway integrated with Apartment Adda. The Payment Gateway constantly keeps adding to this bouqet. While making the payment, the Resident will be aware of the additional Instruments that he can use.

Credit Cards: Master Card / Visa

Debit Cards: Visa Electron of Axis Bank, Barclays Bank, Canara Bank, Citi Bank, Corporation Bank, Cosmos Bank, Duetsche Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, ING Vysya, Karur Vysya Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank Of India, Union Bank Of India & Yes Bank

NetBanking: Axis Bank / Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait / Bank of Baroda (Retail & Corporate Banking) / Bank Of India / Bank of Maharashtra / Canara Bank / Corporation Bank / Citibank / City Union Bank / Deutsche Bank / Federal Bank Fed Net Banking / HDFC Bank / ICICI Bank / IDBI i Net Banking / IndusInd Bank / ING Vysya Bank Ltd. / Jammu & Kashmir Bank / Karnataka Bank / Karur Vysya Bank Limited / Kotak Mahindra Bank / Lakshmi Vilas Bank / Oriental Bank Of Commerce / Punjab National Bank / Punjab National Bank (Corporate Banking) / The Bank Of Rajasthan / Royal Bank of Scotland / South Indian Bank / State Bank Of India / State Bank of Indore / State Bank of Hyderabad / State Bank of Travancore / Syndicate Bank / Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank Ltd. / Union Bank Of India / Vijaya Bank / Yes Bank

Q2. Does ApartmentAdda have access to or store the Bank/Credit Card details of the Payer

A. No. Once the Payer enters the Payment Gateway, ApartmentAdda does not have any access to the data being provided by him. ApartmentAdda only receives a Success/Failure input from the Payment Gateway, based on which it generates the Receipt.

Q3. Will the money be transferred from the Resident directly to the Association’s bank by the Gateway?

A. No. The gateway transfers money from multiple sources (Residents) to one target (the central bank of ApartmentAdda). ApartmentAdda will then transfer respective Amounts to the Association Banks. The frequency of transfer will be 3 days from the day of ApartmentAdda receiving the Amount.

Q4. What is the charge for utilizing the Payment Gateway

A. The Association pays a one-time fee for the Payment Gateway, along with a yearly maintenance cost. The latter amount is not applicable to our existing Premium customers. There is no transaction cost for the Association.

The resident while utilizing the Payment Gateway pays a nominal convenience charge per transaction.

Q5. Residents need to pay with confidence that the Association has authorized ApartmentAdda to collect on behalf. How do you ensure that.

A. ApartmentAdda will execute an Agreement with the Association, wherein the Association authorizes ApartmentAdda to collect on behalf. This Agreement along with the insignia of the Association will be made available for reference of the Residents on the Online Payment screen.

Q6. After making the payment when will the Resident get the confirmation/Receipt

A. Once the Resident’s online transaction successfully completes, an instant e-receipt will be generated by ApartmentAdda. This will be viewable by the Resident on the last screen, as well as will be sent to him via email. A confirmation will be sent via SMS. The Receipt will be available on his Account Statement on your ApartmentAdda.

Q7. Can this Receipt be reversed?

A. No. The Receipt cannot be reversed.

Q8. Will Treasurer/appropriate Authority get email alert for online payments made?

A. Yes. Admins can choose to receive alerts by email/sms for each online payment made. A complete Transaction report will be sent for every Transfer made from ApartmentAdda’s central bank to the Association’s bank.

Q9. How will the online payment reflect on the Resident’s Bank/Credit Card statement?

A. It will show as CCAVENUE.COM/CHARGE

Q10. How will Disputes be resolved?

A. ApartmentAdda will be responsible for all completed Transactions for which Receipt is created. Disputes if any can be addressed to ApartmentAdda, supported by the Bank Statement of the Payer.

Document Storage got further organized!

Dear ApartmentAdda Users,

We have released a much requested upgrade to both the Resident and Admin Document Repositories. Now you can create new folders, move files between folders and keep your Adda documents organized, neat and tidy. Your existing files have all been moved to the respective folders based on their current category.

Here is a screenshot of the new Document Repository.

Online Document Repository

Online Document Repository

Our thanks to the IT sub-committee of Mantri Paradise for raising the tempo on the need for this upgrade!

Yours sincerely,
ApartmentAdda Team

Enhancements to Income & Expense Tracker

Fine Tuned

Fine Tuned

A bunch of enhancements have been released in the Accounting modules. Please share this update with your Office Staff in case they are responsible for Income/Expense Tracker data entry.

CHANGES IN INCOME TRACKER

1. Collection Screen

Path: Admin Dashboard > Income Tracker > Track Fees > Collection button

2 NEW fields have been introduced : Instrument type ( Cheque, NEFT, Cash, DD ) and Instrument Bank. These are mandatory fields and will help in complete data capture and reconciliation.

2. Online Receipt Changes

The Online Receipt will now show the period of  Auto Invoice (Maintenance Fee), against which the Collection has been applied. You dont have to enter the Period manually any more.

The Receipt generally looks more beautiful!

3. Batch Invoice posting screen & Excel Import of Invoices

Path: Admin Dashboard > Income Tracker > Track Fees > Post Invoice in Batch

Till now, while doing batch posting of Invoices or Excel Import of Invoices, you could provide only one posting Date, applicable to all Invoices in that Batch.

Now each Invoice entry can have its specific date. In case of Excel Import, the template now carries the Square Feet, Flat Category and open Dues for all the flats – this will help you in calculating Penalties based on your forumula ( eg. x% of open dues). This excel can then be uploaded to post the penalties.

4. Batch payment posting and Excel Import of payments

Path: Admin Dashboard > Income Tracker > Track Fees > Post Payment in Batch

Instrument Type, Instrument Bank and Instrument Date are the new fields available for each payment. Also, in the Excel template the open Dues, Flat Category and Square Feet is exposed.

Note : Please make sure the final excel you are uploading is in CSV format.

CHANGES IN EXPENSE TRACKER

1. Payment screen changes

Path: Admin Dashboard > Expense Tracker > Post Expense > Make Payment button

1 NEW field have been introduced : Instrument type ( Cheque, NEFT, Cash, DD ). This is a mandatory field and will help in complete data capture and reconciliation.

CHANGES IN INCOME TRACKER & EXPENSE TRACKER

1. Removing Auto-Reconcile from posting screens

The Auto-Reconcile feature has not lived up to its expectation of usefulness. It has been voted down by our Product Mgmt Team and User Focus group, and is being removed. For regular reconciliation, please go to the Bank & Cash application for easy and quick, albeit manual reconciling of transactions.

That’s it for this Release, watch out for more cool enhancements to your favorite Applications.

Wishing you a great second Quarter!

ApartmentAdda Team

Complaint Tracker Enhanced

Dear ApartmentAdda Users,

We have enhanced one of the most used features in ApartmentAdda – The Complaint Tracker.

Here are the list of enhancements that are live now :

Resident's view of Complaint Tracker.

1. Serviced By

The admin can assign the electrician, plumber working on a complaint. This will enable the admin to generate job report for the technicians and also the resident will know the technician who is to work on the complaint.

2. Assets Involved

The admin can assign the particular asset ( Treadmill, Lift etc..) , the complaint was raised on. This helps in better monitoring of the assets and also helps in planning preventive maintenance for defect prone assets.

3. Feedback Rating

Once the complaint is closed, the resident who raised the complaint now can give a rating on 1 to 5 scale. This helps in monitoring the SLA of the vendors and also to keep the staff motivated.

Screenshot-Sharlow Apartments Adda - Mozilla Firefox

4. More slicing and dicing

On the Admin side, you can now shortlist the complaints by various parameters and assign them to the right authority.

5. Job Report

The estate manager at the beginning of the day can now print a job report and keep it ready for the utility staff to work.

We are confident that these enhancements will be a hit with our users.

Note : We would like to thank the MC Teams of Purva Riviera, L&T Serene County and SJR Verity for their suggestions which have now been released for all our users.

Yours sincerely,
ApartmentAdda Team

Flaunt your Adda!

Public Adda

Snapshot of a few Public pages

Dear Adda Users

Starting today, your Apartment Complex gets one more amenity – a well-maintained website! You can now showcase your blog posts about your community events, post photo links, video links – and tell the world how happening a community yours is! The cross-adda notices were earlier visible only within ApartmentAdda Users – now it is available for the world to see ( and Google of course ) – so you have an increased chance of renting out your flat, or selling your Bajaj Pulsar.

Next time you invite visitors, just send the link of your Public Adda Page! No more writing directions in Invites.

Go-ahead, flaunt your Adda to the world!

Dear Adda Admins

You can choose from any of the 20 themes, and upload upto 6 images. These images will show as a slideshow on the homepage of your Adda. Also write a killer pitch on your home page – which will attract potential tenants and buyers. You can always entrust this work to the creative genius in your community by going to Admin’s Dashboard > Manage Users > Access Control – and giving access to “Setup Adda Profile”.

Go ahead – set up your Adda. The world is waiting to see your Adda!

Themes to choose from

Themes to Choose from

In case none of the 20 themes do justice to your community’s style, or you want an exclusive design to be created, please contact us.

Some Public Adda Pages:

Prestige Shantiniketan: http://apartmentadda.com/adda/prestige-shantiniketan.php

Samhita Square: http://apartmentadda.com/adda/samhita-square.php

Jal Vayu Vihar: http://apartmentadda.com/adda/jal-vayu-vihar.php

Prestige Ozone: http://apartmentadda.com/adda/prestige-ozone.php

Purva Riviera: http://apartmentadda.com/adda/purva-riviera.php

Yours sincerely
ApartmentAdda Team