Prior to version 8.9 rent reviews are handled by creating notes on the tenant details screens with a reminder date.

From version 8.9 there is now a special facility to handle rent review dates.  On the tenant details screen a new date value can be set for the rent review.

On the options screen there is also an option for automatic rent reviews every certain number of days (defaults to 365 days).  With automatic rent reviews set, each time the rent is changed either manually on the tenant details screen or via a future loaded rent change, the rent review date will also automatically change.  Also when a new tenant is created, the first rent review day will be set to the tenancy start date plus the specified number of days.

The list of tenants whose rent is up for review will appear on the Events screen starting 30 days prior to the rent change date.  From the event screen a tenant requiring review can be selected and one of 3 options can be selected.

1. Review again later.  This will allow you to shift the rent review date ahead to another future date without changing the rent amount e.g. you want to leave the rent as it is but review it again in 3 months time.

2. No rent change required.  You choose this option if you have reviewed the rent, and have decided there is no need to change the rent amount.  If you have got automatic rent review dates set up, the rent review date will be rescheduled again.  If automatic rent review is turned off, the rent change date will be set to none.

3. Change the rent amount.  This allows you to create a future rent change for the new rent amount.  By creating a future rent change the tenant will be removed from the event screen as a tenant which needs reviewing even though the rent amount may not have changed yet.

The landlords login at www.RentRecall.com has been modified to allow work orders created in RentMaster to be made visible.  This allows property managers to keep their landlords informed of the work orders they have logged and their current status.

If work orders are not being used, or if a specific owner does not have any work orders for their properties, the work orders menu option will not be shown.  Also the property manager has the option to disable the menu option completely so that none of their landlords can see the work order details.

To see a sample of the landlords login with work orders go to https://landlord.rentrecall.com  and use the Managers Company name of 'demo' and login name 'demo' and password 'demo'.

Version 8.8 has arrived.

You can download this update by going to the help menu inside RentMaster and choose Download RentMaster Update.  If you have any problems downloading the update automatically, you can also download it manually from www.RentMaster.co.nz/Update.aspx

What new?

• Pictures can be added to property inspections results.
• A spell checker has been added to the Mail Merge program.
• A rent change (manual or automatic) will now also change any automatic income rent entries for the same tenant.
• The property owners name has been added as a field which can be included in a tenant mail merge letter.
• On the property inspection screen, it is now easier to see which results have been entered and which have not.
• The property transactions report now includes the <General> property.
• The system did not work with some international date formats such as Bulgarian. This is fixed.

Other changes

• The option to delete the sample data was not deleting disbursements. It does now.
• The computers MAC address has been added to the license key, which means if you reinstall windows on the same computer, you should have less issue re-registering the same license key again.
• Picture filenames are now converted to UNC names where applicable, meaning they are more easily accessed from multiple computers.
• Usage statistics can now be uploaded to the RentMaster web site to help us create a better product for you. This is optional, and is done during the software update process. Usage statistics is anonymous.
• When adding a new property, it would not automatically appear on the marketing window for upload to a web site. This is fixed.
• The PDA inspections were loading scheduled inspections for tenant who have been closed. This is fixed.

The process of manually recording the property inspection results has been made a bit easier.

Now when you open the inspection schedule screen, another column has been added next to the 'C' and 'L' columns.  The third column is labeled 'R', and like the other 2 columns this will show a tick or a cross. A tick indicates that inspection results have been recorded to this tenant.  A cross indicates the inspection results have not been recorded.  You can also click on this column to go directly to the inspection results screen for this inspection.

The inspection details screen, which contains the 'Result' button, has also been changed.  Once the results have been recorded a message to the right of the Results button will show as (Already Recorded).  This is similar to the 2 buttons above that which show if the inspection checklist and letter have already been printed.

So these changes should make result entry quicker.  Although the PDA is still the fastest option.

There is a special property which exists called <General> and is used to save transactions which are not specific to any property.

The Property Transactions report does not print this property and its transactions which is because it is not a real property.  However the report has been changed to include this property as well.  There is still the option to manually select which properties to include and exclude, so you can exclude the <General> property if you prefer.

The mail merge facility has been extended to include the property owners name on tenant letters.

This could be used to create a receipt which says something like 'This rent has been received on behalf of <<Property Owners Name>>'.  In some countries it is important to display this type of information on the rent receipts.

In order to help make the software better, it is important for us to know which areas of the software are being used and which areas are hardly being touched.

So in version 8.8, when you choose to do an automatic software update, it will also provide you with an option to send anonymous usage statistics to RentMaster.  The screen will also show you exactly what information is going to be sent to us.  You can choose not to send these usage statistics if you prefer.  But I can assure you that the statistics really are anonymous.

The current plan is to publish some of these statistics later once we get more meaningful stats.  Once that is done I will publish another blog entry.