Category Archives: Support Team

Tips on Making RentalWIZ Pay Off Big Time

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.

 

The RentalWIZ service is free for Tenant File users

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!

RentalWIZ home listingThe 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!

Online backups can cause a lot of pain and suffering

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.

Great DOMAIN NAMES for your Property Management business!

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!

 

One week special ONLY! Through August 31st

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

 

 

 

Tip of the day! The User Defined Report

In talking with customers, I find that they often do not realize the capabilities and versatility of the User Defined Report. It is accessed by clicking on ‘Reports’ (ABOVE the buttons). Here are some things you should know about this report:

1. It can sort by the first three items you pick. So, if you want a report first sorted by the Rental Unit Address, the Tenant’s Last Name, then the tenant’s balance due, then click those items in that order. But if you click the ‘balance due’  (Tenant Information) first, then you’ll get a report showing the tenant’s owing the most to the least. That can be very helpful if you want to create a report that includes the balance due, the tenant, and their phone numbers.

2. Also,  you can choose to include the ‘notes’ for each Owner, Property, Unit, or Tenant, which might give you information about notes you need when talking to your tenant.

3. Under ‘Show Transaction Options’ you can even have the report scan the ledgers for any postings between any two dates. A helpful report would include the following: Unit Address, Tenant Name, Phone Numbers, Rent Payment, Current Balance PLUS any payment received during the current month.  Use the ‘Transaction Date Range’ to limit the transactions to a certain time period.

These are a few tips, but the User Defined Report has many other capabilities. Feel free to experiment with any settings – there is a ‘reset’ button to clear your entries and start over. You can print the report to your screen, or export it to a file so it can be emailed.

Tip of the day! Using the FEATURES section

Many Tenant File users do not know of the capabilities of the ‘Features’ section. In fact, this is a very powerful and useful part of the program. With Features, you can keep detailed information about your rental property, such as bedrooms, bathrooms and other important information. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

You have 4 ‘major’ categories, that you can edit toTenant File Features your preferences. Those are typically interior, exterior, appliances and general. Each of these 4 main categories can have 15 subcategories. This is where is gets interesting. For example, under ‘appliances’ you could list every major appliance in the rental unit, such as the stove, refrigerator, microwave, wash, dryer, etc. You can simply type information in the field next to the item, whatever you want to keep track of. For example, you could enter the serial number or the last repair date. Or, you can create up to 5 ‘default’ choices for the sake of consistency.  For a dryer, you might set up 2 choices: electric or gas.

Under the ‘general’ category, you could include nearby schools, shopping centers, businesses, parks, playgrounds or more. You can include insurance policy information or anything you want to keep track of.

In the end, you’ll have a detailed description of the property with up to 45 pieces of detailed information about the interior, exterior, appliances or general information.

So, other than having a ‘filing cabinet’ of information, how can this be used? For starters, the Tenant File has the ability (under Miscellaneous > Feature Search) to look for this information by combining up to 5  ‘features’. So if you need to see all of the 3 bedroom homes, with 2 baths, near a certain school, with an electric stove, and a fenced yard – no problem.

Or if you have the optional RentalWIZ service, you can have the Tenant File automatically upload all of this information plus photos when it becomes vacant! No need to fill out forms, just click a few buttons and your vacancies are broadcasted all over the Internet! Plus, you can automatically create a Craigslist ad with this information.

This ‘Features’ information can be printed out from the report section and used in many ways. Don’t forget to use one of the most helpful and useful time saving ‘Features’ already included in your program!

Support Questions

GuyArmsCrossed

 

Welcome to the Tenant File Support Forum. Here our experienced users can interact with other users to find the best ways to use the Tenant File. Our Tenant File Support Staff will also monitor this forum and provide solutions, tips, and suggestions to make the Tenant File experience productive and enjoyable.

The Tenant File takes pride in being able to provide the best customer support in the industry. In addition to this resource, we provide a complete Tenant File User’s Guide with every purchase, 2 months of phone support, free web-based support, a Quick Start Guide, and Training Videos.

Thank you for using the Tenant File!