The first ever Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) to be held in beautiful San Diego, Calif. kicked off on Wednesday, welcoming 1,800 clients and 400 employees to the Hilton San Diego Bayfront resort for three days of product demonstrations, user classes, networking and fun. After being held in Santa Barbara and Anaheim for previous events, the fall user conference moves to San Diego for the next several years. Clients and employees alike expressed approval of the new venue, adjacent to the city’s waterfront, conference center and Gaslamp District. Yardi president and founder Anant Yardi welcomed clients to the largest ever YASC event with a 40 minute talk about the company’s development plans for the future. But he opened and closed his remarks with a focus on the recent hurricanes that hit the U.S. As many as 200 clients are attending the event from the states of Texas and Florida. “Thank you for being here. And thank you for what you have done to help your neighbors,” Mr. Yardi said. His remarks closed with a moving video about the company’s efforts to help clients and residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas on Aug. 25. The poignant imagery brought many in the audience to tears. “The thing that really stood out for me (during the hurricane) was people helping people,” Mr. Yardi said. The company developed a housing registry website to assist those who need to relocate, and donated $1 million to the rebuilding effort. Turning his focus to the Yardi software suite, Mr. Yardi touched on cloud security, role based applications, product development and more. “There has been tremendous investment in the Yardi Cloud and making sure that it is always secure,” he said, describing some of the innovative firewalls, specialized...

Local students are back in class, and that means back to awesome after school activities for the young ladies who participate in Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara’s afternoon programming. Yardi is a longtime philanthropic supporter of Girls Inc.’s efforts in the community. For the second year, this fall a partnership with UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education will expose several dozen fourth to sixth grade girls to career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program is called the Curie-osity Project (after trailblazing female scientist Marie Curie), and it was a runaway success when it started in Winter 2017. “The girls are exposed to women who are in the STEM profession. They are experiencing hands on STEM projects and having the opportunity to really dive in and and learn about those areas,” said Kristina Webster, director of programs for Girls Inc. The success of the program highlights two of the things the non-profit organization excels at: creating meaningful community partnerships, and enlisting the support of dedicated volunteers. 12 female UCSB scientists donated their time to welcome the Girls Inc. students to their laboratories and offices last year – a similar number will do the same this fall and winter. “We wanted to create a program that combined literacy and science for girls,” said Danielle Harlow, an associate professor of education, in a UCSB press release. Harlow and colleague Diana Arya were the leaders on the UCSB side of the project. “We specifically wanted the girls to come to UCSB’s campus because research tells us that children who spend time on university campuses see college campuses as places they belong and are more likely to pursue higher education,” Harlow said. Last year, the girls in the program learned about how computer programs...

Submitting an application for affordable housing is a daunting challenge. Tax returns, paycheck stubs and bank statements are just the beginning of what applicants must provide to qualify for a unit. Proof of eligibility for housing assistance is a must since public funds often support rents below market rate. Federal, state and local housing agencies have policies and procedures in place that ensure affordable housing resources only serve qualified residents. In the past, affordable housing providers kept files with thick stacks of paper as proof of each resident’s eligibility status. Providers also keep similar files for denied applicants to document why a household was determined ineligible for housing assistance. Affordable housing providers are taking a modern approach to minimize paperwork and staff hours necessary to qualify residents. With online applications, providers are not saving administrative costs, but also better documenting their resident files and boosting compliance with fair housing regulations. Rather than handing applicants a stack of forms to fill out, housing specialists can now direct applicants to an online portal to submit everything needed to qualify for a unit. RentCafe Affordable Housing from Yardi makes this possible, and it’s becoming more and more common throughout the industry. Just how big is the RentCafe Affordable Housing trend? More than 100,000 housing applications have been created online since the product launched in 2016. That’s more than 6,000 per month, and the numbers are growing every day. “Affordable housing applications have evolved from cumbersome, paper-based hassles into easy, online workflows. Applicants can submit documentation from their home computer or mobile device. That freedom saves applicants from taking time off work to come into the office for a lengthy in-person interview,” said Dave Kessler, vice president of affordable housing and PHA at Yardi. “If you consider it...

The Home Depot employees are known for their “orange blood” but they will now be known for their green hearts. Yardi Marketplace partner The Home Depot will receive a green facelift at several of its locations across the United States. The updates will help the world’s largest home improvement retailer reach its sustainability goals. Atlanta-based The Home Depot committed to a goal of 135 megawatts of clean power by 2020. As part of this pursuit, The Home Depot has teamed up with General Electric Current and Tesla Inc. The energy duo will install solar systems at 50 Home Depot stores. In turn, The Home Depot will buy the power output generated. The stores receiving solar systems are located in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Connecticut and California. Each solar rooftop will reduce the stores’ utility demand by one third. The precise terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. So far, only six locations will receive Tesla storage batteries along with GE solar panels. The Tesla Powerpack batteries will permit The Home Depot to store excess power generated during peak hours for future use. In addition to solar systems and batteries, The Home Depot has installed a 30,000-acre wind farm in southern Texas. The wind farm hosts 125 turbines and generates enough power to fuel 100 Home Depot stores. The project has provided $150,000 in community benefits while decreasing the company’s carbon emissions. More than 170 Home Depot sites have received Bloom Energy fuel cells that generate 85 percent of the energy that each store needs. Powered by natural gas, the fuel cells efficiently generate electricity with less carbon emissions than other techniques. There are more than 2,200 Home Depot stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Since 2010, Home Depot’s American stores have...

A case study reveals the rewarding results of a Yardi-led search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) campaign for Westdale, a national real estate investment and property management company. Using RentCafe Reach, Yardi tested, analyzed and optimized mobile ad campaigns for Westdale to produce fast results. These included a 160% increase in leads, 81% of which came from mobile devices like tablets and phones! About Westdale Westdale is headquartered in Dallas with six regional offices through the country. It focuses on acquiring, managing and developing investment opportunities and oversees approximately 200 properties in more than 30 cities. Westdale’s goal during the campaign was to work with Yardi to differentiate its communities from the competition and reach more potential renters. Process The case study focused on a RentCafe Reach campaign targeting rental leads. For Westdale’s campaign in a competitive Class A apartment rental market, Yardi researched, planned and executed SEO and SEM strategies to improve lead generation from organic and paid search results. Yardi is a certified Google AdWords partner, and RentCafe Reach campaign management is executed by Google AdWords Certified Specialists. This campaign used expanded text ads and other Google AdWords products. Conversion tracking throughout the campaign was used to support data driven marketing decisions. Results & Metrics The combination of SEO and SEM tactics created a large footprint in search results for Westdale, driving more qualified lead candidates. As a result, Westdale saw a significant improvement in the quality of both online and offline conversions at a lower cost. 160% increase in leads 66% increase in conversion rate 56% reduction in cost per lead Westdale’s Takeaways “When properties experience issues with low occupancy, combining SEO and AdWords brings immediate results,” said Jaymz Yates, director of technology at Westdale. “Yardi has fined...

What do you remember most about your summers as a child? Many of us enjoyed camps and retreats during our breaks from school. For others, those activities were not an option. United Way Santa Barbara (UWSB) is working to level the playing field for a new generation of local students by providing summer enrichment for ask-risk youth. Members of the local Yardi Voyager Client Success Residential SB 2 Team recently volunteered at the UWSB Fun in the Sun (FITS) Lunch Bunch event. Volunteers included Evan Hamilton, Brandon Paul, Luke Smith, Sonia Acuna, Ryan Daley, Baron Wei, Richard Ngoy, Dan Maliniak and Jomel Esleta, Team Leader, CSD. FITS is a six-week learning program geared towards children who are academically and financially at-risk. Esleta explains, “FITS is an important program for the community because these students’ parents spend much of their time working. The children are often unsupervised during the summer and are exposed to behavioral risks. FITS provides students and their families with unique and engaging experiences to reduce and reverse ‘summer learning loss’ and narrow the achievement gap between lower-income students and their middle or upper class peers.” Summer learning loss is a condition examined and analyzed through a 20-year study at Johns Hopkins University. When students lack access to enrichment activities over the summer, they lose academic skills gained during the previous year. They are also less prepared for the upcoming school year. The affects of summer learning loss accumulate year after year, pushing the students farther behind their peers who are able to continue learning during the summer. “By ninth grade, summer learning loss can be blamed for roughly two-thirds of the achievement gap separating income groups,” says TIME Magazine. To prevent summer learning loss, volunteers help students with hands-on assignments, arts and...

Have you heard the buzz? Yardi is hosting a new series of free thought leadership events for small to mid-size property managers across the US. These Property Management Buzz Sessions bring together industry experts and local professionals for networking, educational sessions and conversation about local market conditions. The most recent Property Management Buzz Session just popped up earlier this month! Twenty-eight representatives from sixteen companies met with the Yardi team at the InterContinental Los Angeles in Century City. The event lasted from 9 a.m. until just after noon, starting with a networking breakfast to energize the group for the full agenda ahead. 5 Keys to Property Management Success The first presentation of the Buzz Session took attendees through a high-level overview of changing trends in today’s marketplace. It included discussions about mobility, Millennials and modern renter expectations. Did you know that 85% of renters prefer to apply online? What does that mean for businesses that want to stay competitive? Heather Burleson talked through winning strategies for busy multifamily and commercial property managers. Metro LA Market Trends & Report Next David Dent from the Yardi Matrix team took the floor to share a closer look at local market trends in LA. Data shows that apartment rents are still rising steadily in the area and new units projected for completion will add the most growth to downtown, Westlake and Koreatown. Commercial real estate conditions indicate that LA office inventory is also growing, and the group reviewed vacancies, rental prices and new supply. Attendees each received a complimentary market report to take back with them to share with their offices. David remained available after the session, and guests took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions one on one. Ensuring Software Success In addition to Yardi staff...

Shortly after the passing of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Congress expanded the Civil Rights Act to protect equal access to housing resources. Fair housing protection is a crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. Fair housing legislation makes it illegal to impede access to housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as later amended), handicap and family status. Nearly every state has expanded protection for residents beyond the national Civil Rights Act. State housing agencies and advocacy groups often test property managers and real estate agents for fair housing compliance. It’s unlawful for an agent steer a prospect to or away from a unit based on perception or opinion of prospective residents. Advertisements can’t target only one segment of the community or purposefully omit another community. Yardi eLearning streamlines access to role-based training resources for more than 44,000 active users. It replaces traditional classroom instruction with web-based, interactive courses and live webinar events. Users can access Yardi eLearning from any device with Internet access, including tablets and smartphones. Patty Evans, manager of the Yardi eLearning team, announced the addition of new fair housing curriculum to Yardi’s library of property management training courses. “Proper training makes leasing agents aware of fair housing concerns they may not even be conscious of – it’s not always easy for an agent to know when they may be treading into fair housing territory. That’s why fair housing training is so important for every real estate management company,” says Evans. Yardi eLearning fair housing courses and learning materials cover topics applicable to every state and residential real estate market, including the affordable housing and PHA industries. Yardi eLearning can also specialize content for states or cities. For example, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs...

Jeff Bischoff and Michael Grimaud were classmates and friends at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. But that’s not all they have in common. After graduation, both built rewarding careers on the Yardi sales team. Sales at Yardi, an industry-leading real estate technology company with offices around the world, offers many exciting opportunities for professionals of wide-ranging skill and experience. Bischoff and Grimaud entered the company out of college and quickly ascended. Other positions are suitable for experienced sales executives and customer care professionals. Both Bischoff and Grimaud began their careers in Yardi’s client services division and then moved to sales. You can learn more about available Yardi sales roles on yardi.com/careers. We recently caught up with Bischoff and Grimaud to learn more about their experience. Both have been with Yardi for about five years. Bischoff currently works as Regional Manager for Public and Affordable Housing sales, while Grimaud is a Senior Account Executive focusing on the multifamily sector. Both employees say that Yardi’s prestigious position in the real estate industry, as well as the chance to truly make an impact for the clients they work with, are among the most rewarding parts of the job. “I truly enjoy visiting clients face to face on a regular basis. To build strong relationships, it is important the client trusts you and there is no better way to do so than by sitting down and interacting, whether it be through a meeting, a presentation, or a meal.  I also enjoy providing clients with a real solution to solve their business issues. When you show a new product to a client for the first time and you can see their eyes light up – that is a great moment,” said Grimaud, who works out of the Yardi Santa...

Global real estate technology provider Yardi has been named for the second time to the Forbes Cloud 100, the definitive list of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world. Yardi was a member of the inaugural Cloud 100 in 2016, moving up to the #26 spot on the list in 2017. Published by Forbes in collaboration with Bessemer Venture Partners, the list will appear in the July 27, 2017 issue of Forbes magazine and is available at forbes.com/cloud100. “We’re honored that Forbes chose to recognize our efforts to provide industry-leading cloud solutions for our clients for the second straight year,” said Anant Yardi, founder and president of Yardi. “Our cloud-based software serves real estate and investment companies of all sizes around the globe.” The Forbes 2017 Cloud 100 was selected by a panel of judges representing leading public cloud companies, using qualitative and quantitative data submitted by nominees, along with third-party data sources. The evaluation process involved four factors: estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), people & culture (15%) and market leadership (35%), which the judge panel then weighed to select, score and rank the winners. With that data, the Forbes Cloud 100 judge panel, made up of a majority of public cloud company CEOs, was then responsible for selecting and ranking the top 100 companies from all over the world. “Our inaugural Cloud 100 list showed the tech and venture capital community just how many standout private cloud companies there are to watch, and this year’s list is no exception,” said Forbes editor of the Cloud 100 list Alex Konrad. “Forbes has a keen eye for businesses, and combining that with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures’ deep knowledge of the cloud industry, any company’s inclusion on the Forbes 2017 Cloud...

Yesterday, we laid the foundations of a strong online presence. We now continue with how to gather insights from analytics to inform marketing and retention decisions. Micro-Adjustments Lead to Success When vacancy rates inch upward, resist the urge to slash prices. “Price should be the last negotiable item, not the first,” advises Sawh. Examine your SEM data, which will show leads generated and which keywords drive conversions.  Use that information to adjust pay-per-click ads, the easiest marketing factor to manipulate. In a case study, Bell needed to fill several 2-bedroom units. Data revealed that people who visited the website’s Pets page were most likely to reach goal completion. The team marketed 2-bedroom units to pet lovers to successfully fill the units. You can also make adjustments based on prospects’ objections to visits and objections to leasing. Leverage Soft Data “Business intelligence tools can give you a purview in but it doesn’t tell you the story. Customer insight is the soft data, the human touch,” says Weaver. SEO and SEM generate traffic but once traffic is translated into website and site visits, ORM and customer relationship management (CRM) capture data about visitors. Both give insights into why visitors chose to lease (or not) with your property. Use data gleaned from ORM to tweak the resident and prospect experience. If several reviews indicate that the marketing doesn’t match the product, for example, it’s time to update your gallery and re-examine your marketing message. With prospects, poor follow-through lets many conversions slip away. “It will take eight times of someone telling you no before they say yes,” explains Norbury. “Three points of contact aren’t enough.” “What we tend to forget is that we paid, maybe $20, for the phone to ring. If we don’t answer or don’t...

The National Apartment Association (NAA) recently hosted the 2017 Education Conference in Atlanta. Marketing Maneuvers: Data in the Driver’s Seat explores how data can inform marketing decision and maximize revenue. Panelists included Candace Weaver, Director of Marketing, Bell Partners; Diana Norbury, Vice President, Multifamily Operations, Pillar Properties; and moderator Dharmendra Sawh, Industry Principal, Revenue Management and Business Intelligence Sales at Yardi. The trio reinforces the importance of operations, revenue management, and marketing working together to reach goals. Below are three takeaways from the session: Understand the “Magic Mix” Before you can gather data, four key components must be in place to generate web-based data sets: SEO– search engine optimization is how your site is written to interact well with search engines. If you don’t have this solid foundation, you’ll have to work harder and spend more on SEM. Quality SEO contributes to higher organic rankings. SEM– search engine marketing includes paid search features. It is second best to organic rankings. “In one of our properties, there were an average 497 organic views but an average 690 views with paid search. Paid search will boost you but you can’t do SEM well without SEO,” explains Weaver. SEM comes with unique benefits as well. In one Bell case study, only 23 percent of leads came from SEM yet those leads made up 43 percent of total conversions. ORM -online reputation management entails how your brand is perceived online. This includes but is not limited to reviews and comments on your site and third party sites. Both Norbury and Weaver recommend having designated reputation management teams. “Of the 2 percent of people that click ‘Reviews’ on our property website, they have a 46 percent chance of converting,” says Weaver. SMO- social media optimization may overlap with ORM...

Team Yardi Toronto recently spent time at The Scott Mission in Toronto, giving back by preparing food for those in need. The Scott Mission has been serving homeless and impoverished Toronto residents since 1941, and has played a major role in helping thousands of people return to safety and stability after living on the street. In addition to meal services, the mission provides nightly shelter for up to 50 homeless men, groceries and clothing for the impoverished, summer camps and childcare, and worship services. The mission’s 100 staff members are joined by 2,500 Toronto community members each year to make these good works possible. On June 20, that included a group of employees from Yardi Canada. “This was a team building experience as well as a very humbling way to give back to the community,” said Lee Anne Lippa, an application solutions consultant from the Toronto office. “It left us with added appreciation for our surroundings of health, family, friends, colleagues, our place to work, home to live in and the food on our table.” The Yardi team, led by senior account executive Shirleen Vieira, participated in food and dessert preparation, setting tables for two lunch servings, and a final clean up. “They serve balanced meals,” Lippa noted. “We had chicken wings, baked potato, hard-boiled egg and salad.  Others that were vegetarian with baked potato, salad, hard-boiled egg, salad and grilled eggplant and zucchini.” They served lunch to the shelter guests – which included people of all ages – with courtesy and respect for those coming to eat, which is a focus of the organization’s Christian values. Drawing from the Yardi corporate values, which include giving back to the community, the Toronto offices encourages other Yardi colleagues globally to give back in similar fashion....

Yardi Canada’s Peter Altobelli and Sam Jaishankar had the honor of speaking about key technology innovations impacting the real estate industry at the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations (CFAA) Rental Housing Conference, June 6-9 in Toronto. The conference brings together leaders from the rental housing industry from across the country to discuss topics such as building and development, marketing, leasing, staffing and technology. Yardi participated in three sessions this year. Yardi is proud to sponsor industry events including the CFAA conference and participates in a variety of educational opportunities that help move the real estate industry forward. Property and Operations Management Apps Improving rental operations and solving problems using technology were the focus of this session. Pain points included processing payments, tracking maintenance, completing inspections and managing vendors. Panelists included Peter Altobelli, Vice President and General Manager, Yardi Canada; David Janowski, CEO, Pay Quad; Leonard Drimmer, CEO, Property Vista; and Andy Larson, VP of Business Development, HappyCo. Altobelli spoke about using mobile apps for more efficient property operations and how these tools help companies advance and take their services to the next level. Not only are mobile apps key to optimizing real estate business processes, but they are also critical to engage the next generation of employees who expect tech-forward workplaces. “We are starting to see a transition here in Canada with deploying new technologies to operations staff — be it maintenance or leasing or financial accounting. Consumers demand a quick turnaround in everything they do. They want to go online or use their mobile device to make a request or complete a transaction at their convenience, they expect quick responses and they want instant confirmation when things are done. For real estate, these customer demands require operational changes,” Altobelli said. Automating the Marketing Process...

The modern workplace must accommodate different learning types and different generations of learners. Heidi Fuller, Training Consultant at Bigos Management, explains how she uses Yardi® eLearning to educate employees of all ages and learning styles. Cross-Generational Technology Millennials compose more than half of the current workforce. To these young adults, technology isn’t a luxury; they expect technology to play an integral role in job training. According to a recent article in Forbes, Millennials see technology as a necessary tool to work efficiently and intelligently. Fuller builds training courses with tech-savvy new hires in mind. “Millennials have a greater need for technology and learning. I create a lot of webinars, videos and ways that they can use mobile technology. In terms of industry training, that is where we’re going.” While preparing for the future is important, Bigos also strives to support its current staff. Bigos employs learners with less exposure to virtual and mobile technologies, many from Generation X and the Boomer populations. Learners who are accustomed to traditional, instructor-led courses face a learning curve when it comes to virtual learning formats. “Integrating technology is easy with the younger new hires,” observes Fuller. “They don’t know any different. The challenge is with the people who aren’t quite ready, getting everyone on the same page and getting them used to using new technologies.” Bigos turned to Yardi eLearning to develop a cross-generational learning management system. “We use more of a blended approach,” Fuller explains. “eLearning courses are paired up with instructor-led courses as well as on the job training with their managers.” Multi-format training is necessary to reach a cross-generational staff base. But more importantly, blended training is necessary to reach different styles of learners, as described by the Kolb LSI. One study reveals that a...

Rob Teel, senior vice president of global solutions for Yardi, offered perspective on new tools that help commercial real estate companies gather, analyze and use data in new ways in an interview at the Realcomm conference in San Diego. Guided by collaboration with clients and industry trends, Yardi is directing its product development beyond traditional accounting and back office systems.  “Most transactions, such as purchase orders by employees and work orders by tenants, start in the field and usually on a mobile platform. We want to continue pushing ERP upstream to the source of transactions, and capture data that goes to the general ledger from the first transaction,” Teel explained. He cited COMMERCIALCafé Tenant, a downloadable app that extends online services to mobile devices, as an example of this effort. VENDORCafé, which automates manual processing involved in validating and onboarding vendors, also offers secure, mobile access to the ERP. Teel also mentioned the investments Yardi has made, through acquisitions and development, to develop a comprehensive energy offering that includes intelligent HVAC optimization, submeter-level usage analysis and fault detection.  With these capabilities in hand, Yardi now focuses on putting them together as “a holistic offering that helps clients reduce their energy spend and promote sustainability,” he said. He also discussed Yardi Matrix in terms of the artificial intelligence and guided analytics trends that were popular topics of discussion at Realcomm.  For years Yardi Matrix has been gathering information on commercial, multifamily and self storage facilities across the U.S. The challenge now, Teel said, is to “use that repository of information about leases, rental rates and other characteristics to help clients make smart decisions about pricing properties, forecasting budgets and reporting to analysts and stakeholders,” Teel said.  Extending Yardi Matrix beyond data capture and leveraging the...

Today’s renters expect to be able to find and interact with your company everywhere, all the time. But does that mean you’re suddenly able to hire more staff for around the clock support? Of course not. Marketing automation is your secret weapon in an increasingly busy digital marketplace. Marketing automation streamlines repetitive tasks, follows user behavior and delivers targeted content to get customers into your leasing pipeline and help you keep them as loyal residents once they’ve moved in. It drives efficiency for the marketer and leasing manager while creating a more personalized experience for the customer. Watch a quick video about marketing automation. We talked with Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing here at Yardi, for her perspective on the evolution of property marketing technology. “Property marketers have to constantly innovate to keep pace with consumer trends and demands,” said Bonardi. “Marketing automation is one way even smaller marketing teams can do that and have a big impact without breaking the bank.” 3 Ways Marketing Automation Is Changing Property Marketing Larger Reach Marketing automation tools like ILS data syndication and social media bulk posting help property marketers reach a larger audience with less effort. Instead of manually entering details like vacancy information, pricing, policies and contact information repeatedly – increasing the likelihood of human error each time – internet listings can be automatically and accurately updated across multiple sites with information from your property management software. Social media posts can be created just once and then scheduled and shared across popular platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Reach thousands of viewers each week without sucking time out of every work day. Better Service Bonardi points out that marketing automation isn’t just a way to work faster, it’s a way to market more effectively. “Marketing...

Yardi Construction Management is adding features to address project management tasks. A new, customizable dashboard permits users to access subsets of the core data available in Yardi Voyager. Penny Bailey, Project Manager, Construction at Yardi explains several new functionalities that further improve the efficiencies and interface of the software. Document Organization Whether it’s an essential contract or a quick side note, the planned enhancements to Construction Management make it easier for project managers to stay organized and in control. When project managers need to access documents created in Yardi Document Management, they can now click a link on the Construction Management dashboard. “With jobs, there are thousands of documents and drawings and contracts. It’s a pain to get docs in an accessible, central repository. The link to Orion permits multiple users see documents related to that specific job without bouncing between programs,” says Bailey. Construction Management capitalizes on Yardi Document Management’s advanced search capabilities. Users can search document texts in entirety rather than titles or identification numbers alone. Sometimes, it’s the small things that have a major impact. “We’ve added a quick note icon that floats on the right side of the screen,” says Bailey. “Project managers can make notes and then quickly slide the note aside.” With this feature, users can effortlessly add, edit, and delete notes without using a separate application or uploading multiple documents. Budget On the dashboard, users can now see a real-time budget summary for multiple jobs at once. “Quick access to the current budget and actual cost numbers at a glance is invaluable in determining the status of a project,” says Bailey. The integration for Construction Management and Yardi PAYscan is now more seamless than ever. Project managers can issue approvals for contracts, address change orders, revisions and...

The power of online learning for real estate companies is highlighted in a new video featuring Yardi client Roscoe Properties. A multifamily firm in Austin, Texas, Roscoe has drastically reduced staff training time using Yardi’s customizable online learning platform. Mariana Estrada, Vice President of Operations at Roscoe Properties, shares in the video how the multifamily organization has been able to grow with help from Yardi eLearning. Critical trainings at Roscoe Properties would previously take up to four weeks. After implementing Yardi eLearning, staff was able to reduce critical training duration to three days. “eLearning has allowed us to take our training to the next level,” says Estrada. “It has provided us with a scalable training strategy that will take us to the next 10,000 units.” Yardi eLearning facilitates customizable online training that appeals to different learning styles. Students can access courses anywhere there is an Internet connection and review content as needed. Assessment tools empower course moderators to identify students who may need additional support. The results are flexible, effective trainings that save time and resources. “Just in travel alone, we’ve been able to save tens of thousands of dollars,” Estrada says. Roscoe Properties learns on Yardi....

Each May, the good people of Santa Barbara, Calif. are encouraged to put pedals to the pavement and ride their bikes to work. Yardi’s home office in Goleta is a longtime participant in CycleMAYnia, the regional cycling challenge that encourages people of all ages to get back on their bikes. The event has been ongoing since 2005. “The community benefits through fewer cars on the road and reduced emissions, as well as elevated levels of joy and friendliness amongst neighbors, strangers, and coworkers,” said Lori LaRiva, Traffic Solutions/TDM Program Coordinator for Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. “Employees arrive at work refreshed, they let go of stress at the end of the day, they get a free workout, and they experience the camaraderie of a friendly workplace challenge,” LaRiva said. That’s certainly been the experience at Yardi, which captured the win for the 500 – 999 employee category. Companies are stacked up against each other based on size. Second place category finisher, Mindbody of San Luis Obispo, rode just 25 percent of the miles Yardi team members did. Yardi employees racked up 3,598 miles on bikes during the month of May to earn the win, and 439.5 miles during the week of May 15-19 when the competition tallies were recorded. “Not only did CycleMAYnia encourage employees to bike together, but it also encouraged carpooling for those who live too far to bike the entire way.  We had a new cyclist ride from downtown Santa Barbara every day,” said Kelly Johnson, Yardi event coordinator.  “The farthest biker came from Carpinteria.” LaRiva described some of the widespread benefits of the competition. “Every year, participants say that the Bike Challenge gets them back on their bikes again. For some, it creates a casual routine that will last...

We could all use just a little more time to get everything checked off our to-do lists. If you’re a property manager at any size property, you and your team have a seemingly endless list of daily tasks, from interacting with new prospects to taking resident payments. Fortunately, modern technology is evolving to help speed things up at work. Advances in online services mean many processes that once had to be done by hand can now be automated. Recently, a few clients have shared quantifiable time savings they’re seeing at their businesses as a result of implementing better property management software. Take a look to see where you could be saving hours every month. Online Applications: 15+ minutes per application How much time do onsite teams spend entering application data? Mallory Monsma, marketing leader at NALS, estimates that online applications save its leasing agents 15 minutes each. In August of 2016, the team processed 347 applications, resulting in a time savings of 87 hours. If you’re using esignatures and completing the leasing process entirely online, your time savings will be even greater. Not to mention all the savings you’ll accrue surrounding printing, mailing, paper costs and physical storage. Online Payments: 4+ minutes per payment Monsma says that automated payment processing saves at least two minutes per check and a 20-minute roundtrip to the bank for every 10 checks. These numbers might seem small, but they quickly add up across a portfolio. In a month with 11,000 online payments, the NALS team saved 44,000 minutes (733 hours). Getting onboard with online payments also adds convenience for renters and speeds up cash flow. Roscoe Properties collects 95% of its rent electronically, quickly and on time. Mariana Estrada, vice president of operations, enthused, “That’s massive! That’s money...

Join the social media photo scavenger hunt at YASC 2017 in Washington, D.C. This is a great way to network with fellow attendees, explore the conference offerings, and learn about Yardi’s history, products, and values. We invite you to jump in on the fun! It’s easy to participate: Snap and post photos of scavenger hunt items on Twitter and Instagram Tag posts with the event hashtag, #YASC2017 Winners will be announced on social media Thursday, May 25, starting at 9am EST Rules: Snap and post on Twitter or Instagram using #YASC2017. Accounts must be public for posts to be visible during contest. There are lots of fun prizes, so don’t miss out!  YASC photo scavenger hunt list: At the YASC Registration Desk A General Session photo Networking at lunch or a break A Washington, D.C. landmark (outside the hotel) With a Yardi staff member (look for the Yardi shirts) Visit Knowledge Central In a course or panel session Selfie with your team or YASC attendee At one of the YASC receptions A favorite moment at YASC Questions?  Visit the Networking Lounge in Columbia Hall of the Washington Hilton, message Yardi on social media, or email us at...