Staying Organized and Making Money with Computers in Your Office By J.J. Panzer, CCRM Real...
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Transcript of Staying Organized and Making Money with Computers in Your Office By J.J. Panzer, CCRM Real...
Staying Organized and Making Money with Computers in Your Office
By J.J. Panzer, CCRM
Real Management Company
Staying Organized and Making Money Taming the Email Beast Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make
Money! Bill clients effectively Save yourself from costly legal expenses Stay on top of projects
Hiring and working with an IT consultant
Taming the Email Beast Creating an Email Filing System Dealing with “snags” Navigating through files quickly
Taming the Email Beast The key to keeping your email organized is
filing messages so you’ll always know where they are and don’t have to search Searching is slow and inexact
Filing your email keeps your documentation organized and accessible; it lets you cover yourself
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System A filing system is a series of nested folders in
a hierarchy that allows you to keep specific, related emails close to each other
The only good filing system is one that works for you and that you are able to use
Email Filing System:First Level Folders First level folders should be the largest,
most frequently used topics and may have second and third level folders below
Include folders for large categories that you access frequently such as: Rental Inquiries Building Correspondence Business Correspondence Professional/Volunteer groups New business inquiries
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System Building Correspondence
Inside are folders numbered 1 through 9
Properties are grouped by the first digit in their address
All correspondence relating to a particular building goes in that property’s folder including: Correspondence with tenants
and owners Correspondence with
contractors Leasing information
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System Business Correspondence
Inside are folders specifically pertaining to my business, not property management
Categories include: Accounting Business Development Business Leads Education Human Resources Insurance (for my business
only!) Policies and Procedures
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System Tip: Your computer will only sort files
alphabetically It is more convenient to have the most
frequently-used folders up at the top of the list so you can get to them first when you do your filing
Adding a symbol or a number to the front of a folder name will allow you to sort folders how YOU want them to appear
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System
Adding *1 – to “Rental Inquiries” puts that folder at the top of the list
Adding *2 – to “Building Correspondence” puts that folder second highest
Adding *3 – to “Business Correspondence” puts that folder third highest
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System Dealing with “snags”
What about when one person writes you an email about several properties? To copy the email to both folders:
File in the first folder Display the second folder in the folder list to the left of your
Inbox contents While viewing the email in the first folder, right click and
drag the email on to the second folder When you release your click select “Copy” on the pop up
menu You have the same email filed in two places!
Taming the Email Beast:Creating an Email Filing System Dealing with “snags”
How about one client for whom you manage several buildings? Pick one building (usually the one with the lowest
number address) and designate it as the place where you keep “general correspondence” about the client’s portfolio. When a specific message doesn’t pertain to an individual building you’ll know it’s kept in that folder
Taming the Email Beast Even though searching is slower than
knowing where messages are by finding them within your filing system, searching should be fast when you have to use it
Taming the Email Beast Google Desktop will even allow you to search
all your files on your computer just by clicking “Ctrl” twice
Taming the Email Beast:Navigating Through Files Quickly Opening and closing all
those second-, third-, and even fourth-level folders can be slow
Use Ctrl-Shift-V to open up the “Move Items” window:
Taming the Email Beast:Navigating Through Files Quickly Then use your arrow
keys on the keyboard to navigate through the window
The right arrow opens subfolders to show you what’s inside:
Taming the Email Beast:Navigating Through Files Quickly The left arrow closes subfolders so you can
move faster between folders Tip: if you have a lot of subfolders open and
you’re spending time scrolling up and down in your filing system, close the highest folder in the hierarchy; when you reopen it all the subfolders will be closed again
Taming the Email Beast:Filing Quickly If you have a large number of emails in your
inbox you can file lots of messages quickly by sorting them by “From” and then filing whole groups at once
Taming the Email Beast:Use CAUTION When Filing People frequently send you emails to ask
questions or tell you something If you file too quickly you might:
Forget to respond Miss what the person wanted to tell you!
Make sure you respond before you file Make sure you create a Task before you file
Creating and Using Tasks Use Ctrl-Alt-K within any screen in Outlook
to create a new Task
Creating and Using Tasks Give the Task a due
date and make sure you click the Reminder button!
Give the Task a name, such as: Call Plumber Joe to
schedule sewer line replacement for 123 Any St.
Send 6.14 notice to 123 Any St. tenants
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money!
Tasks can help you bill your clients effectively for the
extraordinary work you do!
When used correctly
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money!
Tasks can help you defend against allegations of bad
faith or negligence!
When used correctly
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! You get detailed bills from your attorney,
your CPA, even your plumber You are a professional, too! You deserve
to get PAID for the work you do!
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money!
Here’s how it’s done: Create a Task and give it an appropriate
name that describes the project you’re doing Give the Task a reasonable due date for
when you think it will be done Set a reminder in advance of the due date
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Now keep a running diary of every step you
make to complete this project inside the notes section in your Task
TIP: Every time the Task pops up you don’t have to work on that Task! Feel free to reset the reminder for another time or day
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Tips for using Tasks as a journal
1. Write the journal in reverse chronological order, so the most recent entry is at the top
2. Begin each entry with the date
3. Do your best to include the time in the entry: it makes the entire journal more effective
4. As soon as you pick up the phone to call someone begin typing your journal entry
5. Write how much time you’re going to bill at the end of each entry
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Tips for setting up Tasks quickly
1. Date fields accept “common English” instructions like:
“Monday” “Next Monday” “Two weeks from Thursday” “45 days from tomorrow”
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Tips for setting up Tasks quickly
2. Time fields typically assume the time you want You can typically use a single digit for an hour, such
as 9 for 9:00AM Time fields also accept 24 hour clock time like 1530
for 3:30PM
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Tips for setting up Tasks quickly
3. Use Categories so you can see your Tasks grouped accordingly
Sample Categories include: Maintenance Phone Calls PPMA RMC Owners RMC Tenants RMC Vendors
Note that Owners, Tenants, and Vendors start with “RMC” so they’re always grouped together
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Tips for setting up Tasks quickly
4. Contacts can be entered in the bottom of a Task for quick reference
If you have the individuals that you’re working with entered into your Outlook Contacts you can type their names and access their contact info from within the Task!
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! When your Reminder pops up it will show in
the “Reminder” window
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! DO NOT USE “Dismiss”
or “Dismiss All” buttons! It’s much better to open
the Task and reschedule the Reminder day and/or time so it’s more convenient
If you “Dismiss” a Task it will no longer remind you and you could lose track of it
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! Clicking “Snooze” is
okay but, just like with your alarm clock, don’t do it too often!
It’s better to reschedule the Reminder to a time when you will actually be able to pay attention to it
Using Tasks to Stay Organized and Make Money! It’s difficult to remember to enter your
progress in your Task Don’t be too hard on yourself Don’t be afraid to push your Due Date back if
you’re not done…nobody else will know!
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant Computers are a big investment Just like any system in a rental property, your
computers need regular maintenance to keep them from breaking down
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant Functioning computers save time, energy, and
money Malfunctioning computers are wasteful The right IT consultant will keep your
systems working well, making money and keep you from becoming this guy
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant Try to find a company that will perform regular
maintenance instead of just “being there” when your computers fail
Larger companies are more likely to have a wider array of support services at a better price than smaller companies or individuals, such as: On-demand telephone technical support included Remote screen-sharing assistance 24/7 server monitoring services Access to volume purchasing and discounted third-party
services
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant Benefits of regular maintenance include:
Cost Security – You don’t have to worry about what it costs when you call your consultant. He or she will be there regularly to answer your questions
Budget-friendliness – Having a set cost you can budget for is highly preferable to dealing with erratic costs when you have trouble
Familiarity – Your consultant will know your system well and be able to provide solutions faster
Reliability – Your system will run better if your consultant can make small adjustments on a regular basis instead of waiting for something major to happen and the whole system to break down
Planning – Your IT consultant should know when your equipment is getting old and be able to warn you that a replacement will soon be necessary
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant Your consultant should have the 3 A’s:
Accessibility Accountability Affordability
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant
Accessibility You should have a contract with your
consultant specifying how long it will take to arrive at your office to begin working in the event of an emergency
Your consultant should welcome your questions and participation
Your consultant should be willing to teach you and encourage you to learn about your systems
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant
Accountability A good consultant is highly
organized and keeps records of what work is done on each visit
A good consultant will assemble and keep his or her own guidebook with important information about your computers, including passwords (so he or she doesn’t have to ask you all the time!)
Hiring and Working with an IT Consultant
Affordability Your consultant should be able
to fit into your budget You should be able to negotiate
a contract that includes all the services you can afford
You shouldn’t feel like you can’t call your consultant because it’ll be too expensive to ask questions
Taming the Email Beast:“Rules” Create filters to automatically file specific
messages Rules and Alerts button on “Advanced”
toolbar lets you create new “Rules”
Taming the Email Beast:Working with “Rules” Create a Rule to file all emails from each of
your Resident Managers into the appropriate property’s file
Create a Rule to file all emails sent to your Craig’s List job posting address ([email protected]) in a Human Resources folder
Taming the Email Beast:Working with “Rules” Keep track of your
“unread” messages to make sure you don’t miss messages that arrive and immediately get filed by your “Rules!”
Taming the Email Beast:Working with “Rules” Keep track of your
“unread” messages to make sure you don’t miss messages that arrive and immediately get filed by your “Rules!”
Taming the Email Beast:Working with “Rules”
When you click “Unread Mail” in the Favorite Folders area you can see all unread messages, where they’re filed, and you can review them
Taming the Email Beast:Working with “Rules” Do not leave messages marked unread for too
long Decide what you want to do about a message
as soon as possible Create Tasks so you can follow up on
important items
Taming the Email Beast:Flagging Messages for Follow Up Flagging messages
allows you to file messages and still refer back to them in one easy window
Click the “For Follow Up” search folder to see all of the flagged messages
Taming the Email Beast:Flagging Messages for Follow Up
Taming the Email Beast:Flagging Messages for Follow Up To set up a flag for follow
up right click a message and click “Follow Up”
Select a flag to just give the message a flag that will file it in your “For Follow Up” window
Click “Add Reminder” to configure deeper settings for your Reminder
Taming the Email Beast:Flagging Messages for Follow Up The settings here are
pretty straight-forward but you should remember to mark your flags “Completed” instead of “Clearing” them so you can see that the message was once flagged