Launching ApartmentVille – a Social Game

Dear ApartmentADDA Users,

You have known ApartmentADDA to offer the best in Society Accounting, Association Management and Communication. Soon you will know us for one more thing – Social Gaming.

In association with the popular Gaming Company – Zenga we are launching a very interesting social game – ApartmentVille.

Some salient features :

1. Any ADDA user can create a Virtual Apartment Complex

2. The player starts with a set budget – Rs.100 Crore in Virtual Currency. One can add essential amenities like STP,Generator, luxury amenities like Gym,Swimming Pool, and super luxury amenities like Helipad,Movie Theater,Golf Course

3. Of course – the player cannot have all the amenities with the given budget – however the player can generate revenue and add the super luxury amenities as the game progresses.

4. The Virtual Apartment Complex Owner can set a monthly maintenance fee rate, rent out his apartments etc.

5. The player has to pay for the maintenance of the property and also the sudden Taxes and  ”expenses” from local elements, revenue officials, water tanker mafia etc. which will keep hitting the Virtual Apartment Complex randomly.

6. The player can poach neighboring Apartment Complex tenants, owners to move to his Apartment Complex through offers and advertisements.

and etc.

Take the application for a spin and let us know in the comments section on how we can improve your Social Gaming experience.

Click the link to test drive your new time eater – Launch ApartmentVille

Enjoy!
ApartmentADDA Team



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

Holi Photography Contest for ADDAs!


This year when you play Holi, capture the vibrancy of your Complex and showcase to the world!

Participate in ApartmentADDA Holi Photography Contest!

How to Participate

1. Click an awesome photo of  the Holi Celebration in your Community, preferably with a high resolution.

2. Email the photo, in its highest resolution, to events@apartmentadda.com

3. Photos will be displayed in the sequence of Arrival (i.e., early arrivals show on top). Entry closes 24-March-2011.

All Photos will be marked with your name, your ADDA’s name and put up for voting.

The Winning ADDA

1.  Will receive the Photograph – enlarged & framed with the stamp of  Most Colorful Society – 2011

2. Will become part of the ApartmentADDA Calendar for 2012, circulated to around 1000 High-end Complexes in India! Name of the Society & the photographer will be prominently displayed with the photograph.

Terms

1. Multiple entries from each Complex allowed.

2. To enter the contest the Apartment/Villa Complex must be registered on ApartmentADDA.

Go ahead, shoot your best!





ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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Forum Moderation Released

Dear ADDA Moderators,

Moderation of the Forum is one of the most passionately debated topics during our Demos and other interactions with Management Committees. This is a very sensitive issue and we tried to steer clear of it and keep the Forum completely unModerated.

However, we have now given in to your Pressure.  The Management Committees now have the ability to switch their Forum on Moderation Mode.

Why you may NOT want a Moderated Forum

Before we detail the Moderation Feature, our sincere request: Please use this feature only if an Un-Moderated Forum is unimaginable. Reasons why we stress this:

1. Your ADDA Forum, unlike email-groups, shows the Apartment Number and Owner/Tenant status of the person posting a message. Each User is automatically identifiable with their residential address and typically act more responsibly as a result.

2. In extreme situations where stormy arguments erupt, a natural cooling off with the help of peacemakers creates closure for all. Blocking of certain posts, and letting certain others go through, may create more confusion, and is entirely at the judgment of the Forum Moderator.

3. In case of repeat offenders in the Forum, the User can be deactivated temporarily.

Workings of the ADDA Forum Moderation:

The ADDA Moderator can nominate other Residents as Forum Moderators. Best Practice is to have the Forum Moderator(s) from outside the Management Committee.

The Forum Moderator(s) will get notified whenever a message is posted.  Clicking on the link will take them to Forum > Moderate Forum > Messages and they can either Approve the messages or Reject a particular message if it does not conform to the Forum Guidelines.

How to Activate Forum Moderation

Forums are still completely Open. To switch Moderation on for a Forum, the following steps are to be taken.

1. The ADDA Moderator needs to send a request to support@apartmentadda.com requesting to activate Forum Moderation.

2. Prepare a Forum Guideline document and upload it to the Document Repository, and create a permanent Admin Notice in Notice Board. Also post it as a Forum post informing your users about Forum Moderation.

3. Once we have activated Forum Moderation, the ADDA Moderator can nominate Forum Moderators by going to Forum > Moderate Forum > Forum Moderators and nominate from the Residents’ List.

4. Please create guidelines for the Forum Moderators e.g. messages must be approved within x minutes of receiving the prompt, substantiate while rejecting a forum post etc.

5. In case Moderation starts looking like more of a hassle than a benefit, let us know we’ll switch it back to open Forum (same process as Point 1.)

"With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility" - Ben Parker (Spidey's Uncle)

Cheers to a Happening & Happy Community!

Credits: Anyone who wants to thank for the Moderation feature, must do so to the Purva Fountainsquare Team. :)

Note 1 : Forum Moderation is available only for Premium ADDAs.
Note 2 : Forum Moderation is limited only to the General Forum and is not available for Sub Group Forums and Admin Forum.



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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Happy Holi! – Notice Template

Dear Cultural Committees,

While Residents get ready with their Pichkaris and Colours, you have to get the Notice ready to guide Residents towards a Happy Holi for everyone!

Here is a Short ‘n’ Sweet Notice Template that you can re-use!

=================================================================================

Sharlow Apartments Owners Association wishes our Members a Happy Holi in Advance! This festival of colours falls on 19-March-2010 (Saturday) and we request everyone to follow a few Guidelines for Happy Holi for EVERYONE!

The Theme this Holi is Water Conservation for Sure! World Water day is on 22-March  – just a few days from Holi..

Do’s and Dont’s:

  1. Play only in the designated areas. The Designated Areas are:
  2. Keep common area and walls free of color.
  3. Use only Gulal and other easily removable dry colors.
  4. Don’t use water balloons.
  5. Co-operate with housekeeping staff for cleanliness.

Tips & Suggestions:

  1. Consider wearing dresses that can be disposed and not washed with precious water
  2. Oil your hair & skin , so that color can be removed easily.
  3. Bring some sweets and snacks to be enjoyed by Neighbours!

Holi Hai!!

Best Wishes from

Sharlow Apartment Owners Association

=================================================================================

Note: Sharlow Apartment Owners Association is a hypothetical Association, used by ApartmentADDA for demo purposes.  In case this Association exists, and you belong to it, do let us know! (if not anything else, you can treat us at a place of our choice!)



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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Society Accounting. Complete.

Today we launch a new Application in ApartmentADDA – an Application that gives the last mile solution for ADDA Treasurers – The General Ledger & Trial Balance.

General Ledger

A brief history of ApartmentADDA Accounting applications

Year 2008: It started only with the Income Tracker. As the main financial pain points for Associations were Invoicing and Collecting from Residents who are geographically distributed.

Year 2009: The Expense Tracker and Bank & Cash were released soon after, to capture all the day-to-day transactions.

While double sided accounting was happening all-along, it was kept at the background. So all the User had to key-in was one side of the entry. This kept it extremely simple as well as fool-proof   – a reason why all ADDAs are operated by Estate Managers, and not Accountants.

While the above took care of 364 days of accounting, the 365th day – when the Auditor demand the Trial Balance to generate Accounting Statements, & Journal Entries to substantiate them.

Year 2010: We took inputs from many Treasurers, and Auditors, our challenge was how to provide Accounting that an Auditor desires, without complicating the Applications which will require an Accountant to make all entries. (Aside: For the love of history,  The Payment Gateway integration was also released this year – a first in India)

Year 2011: The solution came in form of a whole new Application, which can be used for Accounts Setup & Audit purposes only – we called it the univerally identifiable “General Ledger”. (Just can’t get too fancy with Accounting terms!)

The Income Tracker, Expense Tracker and Bank& Cash trinity remain the same oblivious of the accounting happening at the background, and continue to be operated by the Estate Manager!

The “General Ledger”

The General Ledger sits as a separate application on Admin Dashboard. It provides the below.

1. Chart of Accounts

Previously you only had the Income & the Expense Accounts. Our hats off to those ADDA Treasurers (credits at the end of this Post) who have created many workarounds to make do only with these Accounts in the past.

Now you can create Assets, Liabilities, Income and Expense GL Accounts, all under this Chart of Accounts tab. What’s more you can ‘deactivate’ accounts temporarily as well as permanently.

2. Journal Entries

Previously you could get all day-to-day transactions in: Receivable Invoices, Collections, Payable Invoices, Payments, Bank Transfers etc.

But you were at a loss for Depreciation posting, Accrued Interest, Loan extended to Staff,  Capitalizing Assets etc.

Now you can do all these on the “Journal Entries” tab.

3.Query

The “Query” tab lets you query for any selected time period, any GL Account.

4. Trial Balance

Every time we Demo’d ApartmentADDA to the Auditors, they said “Fabulous, this makes handling Dues & Payments much easier. Now show me the Trial Balance. ”

To all the Auditors of Residential Complexes, this is for you.  This is also for the Treasurers/Management Committees who like to have the Big Picture all the time, and not just at the end of the Financial Year.  As we area all aware, the Top of the Trial Balance (Assets & Liabilites) goes into the Balance Sheet, and the Bottom (Income & Expense), goes to form the Income & Expense Statement (also called Profit & Loss account in Commercial terms)

This brand new Application comes Free-of-Cost to all existing Premium PRO ADDAs, and is currently available in all of them.

Credits

(not the accounting one, the end-of-movie one :) )

The launch is incomplete without acknowledging the many Treasurers / Auditors whose inputs have gone in this. Below are some.

1. Shobhit Agarwal. Treasurer, Greenwood Regency: A Chartered Accountant, he was the first to say “Hey why don’t you just give me a trial balance, so I don’t have to wait for the accountant to come and make another entry into Tally”? This was way back in 2009.

2. Subramanian. Consultant to Board of Ferns Meadows: Mr. Mani had listed all that he desires to see in ApartmentADDA accounting, always offered to be a Beta tester, and was one of the prompt reviewers of our Trial Balance Beta release.

3. Yadunath. President, Habitat Splendour. Another volunteer for Beta testing, always reminded us to release it soon so the Accounts (as understood in accounting) can be presented for review by the Internal Auditor with aplomb!

4. Guruprasad Pandit. Auditor of almost all Complexes in Whitefield. Mr. Pandit is one Auditor who can simplify accounting and make it easier for Engineers to understand. So just like the Treasurers in most Associations, our team that is 100% Engineers had many theoretical queries which were answered by Mr. Pandit when the Application was conceptualized.



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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Waste Recycling for Apartments – HOW

This is a sequel to our earlier post: Waste Recycling for Apartments – WHAT

In this post you will find 2 success stories from Bangalore, and loads of resources to learn from and re-use.

Success Story 1: Diamond District. Project Green Diamond

Before:

Diamond District – the 917 unit Apartment Complex located on Old Airport Road used to send out 1 Truck load of MIXED WASTE every day (2000KG).

After:


How did they do it?

Resources that you can Reuse

The below link contains Promotional Posters, Stickers etc. RBDD (Rotary Bangalore Diamond District) is happy to share with other RWAs/individuals for appropriate Re-use.

http://www.rbdd.info/service-projects

Success Story 2: Brigade Millennium – MayFlower Block

Before:

Brigade Millenium has an issue: A chute at each floor where Residents can dump their garbage, which collects in the chute room in the basement. Enforcing Waste Segregation is a challenge due to this chute. Brigade Millenium doesn’t just aim to segregate but also compost the wet waste as well.

After:

How did they do it?

Do you too have a Success Story to share?  Please share it with other RWAs; send it to support@apartmentadda.com.

What else can you do as a community, for the environment. Here are a few possibilities.

Credits: We thank Poonam Kasturi & Vinita from Daily Dump, Shalini Charles from Diamond District and Aarti Manay from Brigade Millenium for these resources.



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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Waste Recycling for Apartments – WHAT

8AM. The door-bell rings and you hand out your waste – one bag of around 1 KG to the Housekeeping Staff.

The bag contains kitchen wet waste, bathroom waste, 3 used batteries, a jam bottle, 4 milk packets, a thermocol board – all mixed up.

Case 1: The whole bag is dumped as it is and the municipal waste collectors come and take it. 95% of this goes to the Landfill. The toxins eventually get into the groundwater.

Case 2: The Housekeeping staff, puts her hand into the bag and takes out the jam bottle & milk packets and puts in her collection to be sold to the Kabaadiwalla (recycler) for some petty cash. If the jam bottle was broken the housekeeping staff may end up with a bleeding cut on her hand.

Fact: BBMP & many other Municipal Bodies are not responsible for Solid Waste Disposal of Apartment Complexes. The garbage collectors that arrive to pick up the community’s garbage are private bodies licensed by BBMP.

Many Apartment Complexes have realized that much of the waste generated in the Complex can be RECYCLED/REUSED, only if they can be SEGGREGATED AT THE SOURCE.

What is Seggregation at Source?

Each Household is instructed to segregate their waste into categories. Typically -

1) Kitchen waste – stale food, peels etc.

2) Dry Waste – Paper, Milk Packets, Plastic containers etc.

3) Toxics – Bathroom Waste, Broken Glass, razors etc.

4) E-Waste  – Used Batteries, phone chargers, cables etc.

The door-to-door garbage collector (housekeeping staff) come with 4 large bags to collect these separately.  Dry Waste is further separated by the housekeeping staff and sold together to a recycling vendor. E-waste is sold separately to a recycling vendor. Only the Toxics and Kitchen Waste are taken away by the Garbage Collector.

Some Apartment Complexes even compost the Kitchen Waste if they have adequate land allocated by the Builder.

If your Association plans to initiate a Waste Recycling campaign and you are wondering how to, check out our next post:

Waste Recycling for Apartments – HOW

It has Success Stories from Brigade Millenium, Diamond District along with the resources you can reuse such as stickers, posters and most importantly – experience!



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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5 reasons to log that Complaint!

Software Engineer: Hello Tech Support, my laptop is not switching on. I think I need a new one?

Tech Support: Sir, please try plugging into the power outlet, your laptop battery may have drained.

Software Engineer: Okay… that worked. Thanks! Bye!

Tech Support: Hold on sir, please log this in our Support tracking system, or I can log it on your behalf. Thanks.

The above is the typical scenario in any organization that takes its support function seriously. Support issues, no matter how trivial, need to be logged in the central tracker.

Why should it be any different in Apartment Owners Associations? At the end of the day, what the Associations primarily does is MANAGES work requests, suggestions. And “Anything not measured, is not managed”. Any work request, no matter how trivial, MUST BE LOGGED into your Complaint Tracker*.

Here are 5 reasons why the Estate Manager should make sure the Complaint is logged into the Complaint Tracker (he can also log it on behalf of the Resident):

1. VISIBILITY. To the work he/the Association Office is doing. A quantitative answer for “what do you do all day?” :)

2. RESOURCE PLANNING. The maximum service requests we get are for Plumbing? Do we need to hire one more Plumber?

3. RESOURCE PERFORMANCE.  Feedback received from residents is worst for Security category. Also, complaints in this category have the maximum aging as well as escalation. Should we use this factual data to warn the Vendor? Use this data to negotiate a better deal?

4. ASSET AMC PLANNING. The old Treadmill in the Gym has the maximum breakdown complaints. Should we get a dedicated AMC for it?  Or should we dispose it and get a new one?

5. DEAL WITH MAINTENANCE FEE DEFAULT! Yes. Some of our Customers have clear instructions of de-prioritizing Complaints / Service Requests from Flats that are Maintenance Fee Defaulters. Don’t pay, don’t use!

So encourage your Association Office to proudly claim, we service an average of 60 Work Requests / Complaints a day. And the average feedback we get is 4.5 on 5. We ROCK!

Communities that do a commendable job of tracking their Work Requests/Complaints centrally: Purva Riviera (Bangalore, 800 units), L&T Serene County (Hyderabad, 1100 units), Shriram Spandhana (Bangalore, 504 units).  Is your Association is also doing a good job of Helpdesk monitoring? Do share with us.

* – The ‘Complaint Tracker’ is seen as the ‘Complaint Box’ on the Resident’s view.



ApartmentADDA is India’s #1 web-based Housing Society Accounting Software with complete integration to Online Payment Gateway, Society Communication and Facility Management . We empower Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Apartment Owners Associations etc. with online tools to manage their Apartment or Villa Complex effectively.

Please sign up for a LIVE Online demo to know more about the product here : Register for Demo. Start your ADDA (Complete Communication Package), right now, FREE of cost here: Create my ADDA.

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