We would like your suggestions to improve

December 30, 2012 TF Webmaster

At Tenant File we are busy working on the next major release. As always, we first ask our current users what they would like to see in the next release of the program. So now is the time to let us know the features you want in the Tenant File software. We’ll be adding new reports to help with audits, adding the ability to save settings on various screens, increasing the number of available checking accounts, adding new automated features and much more.

Our programmers have already starting make the changes that we think will improve the ease of use for our customers, and we’ve already received a large number of ideas and suggestions from you already. If there is anything that you think will serve everyone better, we are anxious to hear from you!

Don’t forget to take advantage of your free listing in the Real Estate Available website, and to sign up for the RentalWIZ program, which gives you a free web page for vacancy listings and syndicates your vacant rental property throughout the Internet! Get more information by CLICKING HERE.

We hope that all of you have a happy and prosperous New Year 2013! Let us know what we can do to make it better!

New User Questions, Sales Team, Support Team

Tips on Making RentalWIZ Pay Off Big Time

December 11, 2012 TF Webmaster

Your RentalWIZ listing is just like anything else in the realm of Google Land – it takes work to get noticed. Your listings need to have the right format to move up to the top of the other zillions of property rental listings. This is done through a process know as SEO (search engine optimization) , which just means that you have a legitimate web page that provides a valuable service to someone searching on the Internet. Here are some tips on how to make that happen.

Make sure they can reach you several ways. Under ‘Preferences > Account Information‘, you’ll enter all of you own information. This information will be the public info that is on your RentalWIZ listing. Make sure you have included your property management contact phone and email.

The main part of the entry is the ‘Descriptive Location’. The will be the large font heading that is shown at the apex of your listings. This should be the broad description including the location of your particular area. An example would be ‘Rental Homes in Richmond Virginia’.

Just as critical is the ‘Default Ad Title’, which not only repeats once, but for each of your listings. You should vary the wording but still include the location. Maybe something like ‘Furnished Rentals now available in Richmond VA’. Notice we used the ‘abbreviation’ this time instead of the state spelled out?

Of course, we are all impressed by graphics, so be sure to include high quality photos of the exterior and interior of your rental.

Lastly, enter a ‘Description’ that is as detailed as possible. This is your ‘selling’ ad, so don’t make it ‘stuffy’ with short phrases. Be interesting and conversational. You should again mention the address, city, state, and zip again for good measure (remember SEO), and use words that a renter wants to hear, such as accenting the size of the kitchen, trees in the yard, and schools or shopping centers nearby.

Follow these simple guidelines and you’ll have a great RentalWIZ listing that draws in potential tenants, ranks high on Google, and stands out from the crowd.

New Feature Suggestions, New User Questions, Sales Team, Support Team

The RentalWIZ service is free for Tenant File users

November 15, 2012 TF Webmaster

Now, the Tenant File RentalWIZ service is free! For those of you new to the Tenant File, the RentalWIZ program will pull data from the Features area of the Tenant File (such as bedrooms, bathrooms, other amenities and photos) then upload them to the Internet. You will get a free web page on our sister site (http://www.RentalHomesAvailable.com) and free syndication throughout the Internet to sites such as Google Base, Zillow, Padlister, and much more!

The RentalWIZ program also includes a Craigslist ad creation tool and more. Here are the different levels:

Level 1 free subscription: up to 3 listings at a time, one photo per listing, free syndication, free Craigslist tool

Level 2 $9.95 per month: up to 10 listings at a time, 3 images per listing, free syndication, free Craigslist tool, flyer creation tool

Level 2 $14.95 per month: unlimited listings at a time, 10 images per listing, free syndication, free Craigslist tool, flyer creation tool

Give us a call at 1-800-398-3904 to get started!

New User Questions, Support Team

Online backups can cause a lot of pain and suffering

November 6, 2012 TF Webmaster

It’s sad to hear from our customers that they ‘thought’ they had a backup, but didn’t. We are finding this to be all too common among purchasers of online backup software, like Carbonite, Mozy, SOS, and other popular services. The problem isn’t the backup software, but a misconception about what they do.

Typically, these online programs are set to only backup the ‘most common’ folders on your computer. These include your ‘Documents’ folder, ‘Pictures’, ‘Videos’ and possibly your system files. There is no common default backup among all vendors, but the point is they usually don’t backup up ‘everything’, only the most common folders on your computer. If you have specific folders you need to include in your online backup (like the Tenant File), you MUST select that folder in the settings your your backup program. That includes other programs that install in private folders on your system. So, it is up to you to tell the online software which folders to back up.

Now, the Tenant File has it’s own easy to use backup, which only takes a couple of clicks to back up your precious Tenant File data to a CD, DVD, Flash Drive, USB, Memory Stick or other media. You should use it on a regular basis. However, it only backs up the ‘data’ not the entire folder. You should backup the entire folder as well, whether you use an online software or simply copy the Tenant File folder using Windows utilities. (To find the path to your folder, right-click the Tenant File shortcut, then choose ‘Properties’, and look at the ‘Start in’ path – that is the path to your Tenant File information).

So, if you have an online backup, that is great! Just don’t forget to include the Tenant File in that backup, which might save a lot of heartache in the future if you computer crashes or becomes inaccessible.

New User Questions

New Tenant Screening partnership

October 31, 2012 TF Webmaster

We have great news for Tenant File customers. We have entered into an agreement to provide low cost, high quality tenant screening for our users. Now you can run credit checks and tenant screening right from within the Tenant File menu. Just go to File > Tenant Screening.

In addition, we are offering online tenant applications and credit card processing. So, when you have a prospective tenant, just give them your branded web address and they can fill out the application online, then pay the fee online. All information will be forwarded to you when completed.

But that isn’t all…very soon we’ll be able to pull the tenant applicant information into the Tenant File program, to save you the trouble of setting up the information.

All of this at the best tenant screening rates available. We are very happy to provide this service for our customers!

Administrator, New Feature Suggestions, New User Questions, Sales Team, Support Team

Great DOMAIN NAMES for your Property Management business!

October 1, 2012 TF Webmaster

As you know, a great domain name is critical for your business. Your domain name is your identity on the web, and should be something that is memorable for your customers. A great domain name tells the Internet searcher that your business is real and established.

Secondly, a domain name is valuable as a tool to get your website found. If you domain name is ‘www.EfficientPMCompany.com’ you can’t expect for anyone to type that into the browser bar, and it will be hard to get a good Google Placement. It is important to Google that you have some of the ‘keywords’ in your domain name that match what the end user will be typing. Those keywords might be ‘rentals’, ‘property management’, ‘tenants’, or similar names. Since all of the great names are taken and cost tens of thousands of dollars (or more), many companies are using an ‘i’ (for Internet) in front of the name, similar to the iPhone, iPad, iHome, and other products.

The Tenant File owns over 300 domain names relating to property management software for that very reason. However, we have collected some great domains that don’t relate to ‘software’ but are fantastic for property managers. Here are some:

iTenantManager.com
iRentalManager.com
iPropertyManagers.com
iManageTenants.com
TenantManagement.info
TenantManagement.biz
RentalManagement.info
CommercialManagement.info
RentHomes.us

Just give us a call at 1-800-398-3904 if you are interested in purchasing any of these domains. They won’t be very expensive except for RentHomes.us, which is a very valuable domain name. Thanks!

Administrator, Sales Team

Introducing our new site Real Estate Available (http://www.RealEstateAvailable.com)

September 6, 2012 TF Webmaster

The Tenant File is proud to announce our new sister site: Real Estate Available (http://www.RealEstateAvailable.com). This new site is to help prospective buyers find their dream home anywhere in the United States. Through a partnership with Zillow, the worlds leading home search engine, we have created a site to quickly produce the most up to the minute homes for sale which are available right now.

And we have not forgotten our substantial Tenant File customer base. Every Tenant File customer will be given a free listing under their state on the Real Estate Available site. While this will be a paid listing for others, our customers will get a free listing simply by ‘liking’ the Tenant File on Facebook. We will set up each Tenant File company with their name in bold, the company logo, a short description, the website URL and their email address. This listing is for a full year!

We appreciate our customers and hope that you will share in our enthusiasm for this new site for home search. At the Tenant File we are looking forward to sharing our success with you.

Administrator, New Feature Suggestions, New User Questions, Sales Team, Support Team

One week special ONLY! Through August 31st

August 27, 2012 TF Webmaster

Every once and a while we have a crazy idea and here is my latest. And all you have to do is ‘like’ us on Facebook!

Until August 31, if you ‘like’ us on ‘Facebook’ (bottom of the Tenant File home page), we’ll give you a free setup and TWO free months of the RentalWIZ service. With no obligation to continue after the free period. The RentalWIZ service will consolidate your Tenant File information, such as bedrooms, bathrooms, etc and upload it to the Internet free of charge. Plus, we’ll create your very own web page for your vacancy listings for you to link to from your own website or emails.

Hurry, before I get in trouble with my bosses!

Paul

Tenant File Blog