10 Ways a Transaction Coordinator Can Save You Time
Welcome to the world of real estate, where the market can be scarier than a haunted house on Halloween night. For real estate agents, time is precious, and every minute counts. That's where transaction coordinators come in, offering a helping hand to make the lives of real estate professionals less terrifying and more productive. In the spirit of the season, we're going to explore how these unsung heroes can save real estate agents time and banish the ghouls of administrative work! 1. A Hauntingly Busy Schedule A tangle of appointments, showings, and client meetings frequently ensnares real estate agents. It's simple for important administrative tasks to be neglected when there's so much going on. Transaction coordinators pounce on the situation like masked knights. They assist agents in effectively managing their schedules, making sure no appointment is missed and no time is lost on back-and-forth correspondence with clients. 2. Paperwork Phantoms Real estate transactions come with an abundance of paperwork, and let's face it; paperwork can be a real monster. Keeping track of documents, forms, and contracts is crucial, but it's a time-consuming endeavor. Transaction coordinators tackle this monstrous task by organizing, reviewing, and managing paperwork, so agents can focus on what they do best – selling homes. 3. Eerie Email Management Agents frequently struggle to keep up with clients, leads, and colleagues while being submerged in a sea of emails. By sorting, filtering, and responding to emails on behalf of the agent, transaction coordinators can help manage this email overload, giving the agent more time to concentrate on the most important aspects of their business. 4. Apparitions of Deadlines Deadlines in the real estate world are as unforgiving as the Grim Reaper. Missing a deadline can spell disaster for a deal. Transaction coordinators work like ghostbusters, ensuring every important date is met. They track and remind agents of upcoming deadlines, keeping them out of the supernatural realm of lost opportunities. 5. Communication with Specters (Clients) Dealing with clients can sometimes be a tricky endeavor, akin to communicating with restless spirits. Transaction coordinators serve as intermediaries between agents and clients, handling inquiries, updates, and feedback. This not only saves agents time but also ensures clear and timely communication, making for satisfied clients. 6. The Poltergeist of Data Entry Entering property details into multiple systems can be a repetitive, soul-sucking task for agents. Transaction coordinators can exorcise this data entry poltergeist, inputting property information and ensuring consistency across platforms, saving agents from the hauntingly dull chore. 7. Managing the Curse of Compliance The real estate industry is riddled with rules and regulations that can haunt agents' dreams. Transaction coordinators help ensure all transactions are compliant with the law, preventing agents from unknowingly falling prey to legal missteps and spooky complications. 8. A Mysterious Sense of Organization In the chaos of the real estate world, staying organized can be an elusive ghost. Transaction coordinators possess an uncanny ability to keep all transaction details in order, so agents can easily access the information they need without searching through a labyrinth of files. 9. Chasing Away the Appraisal Apparition Dealing with appraisals can be a hair-raising experience. Transaction coordinators can assist with scheduling appraisals, tracking the progress, and ensuring that all necessary information is available when the appraisal specter arrives, making the process smoother and less stressful for agents. 10. The Closing Conundrum Closing deals is the ultimate goal for any real estate agent, but it can be a perplexing puzzle. Transaction coordinators act as Sherlock Holmes, helping agents prepare for closing, ensuring all the pieces of the transaction puzzle fit together seamlessly, and helping to wrap up deals efficiently. To conclude, real estate agents can rest assured that they don't have to face the horrors of administrative tasks alone. Transaction coordinators are here to help, making their lives less spooky and more efficient. These professionals can tackle the paperwork phantoms, exorcise data entry poltergeists, and banish the ghosts of missed deadlines. So, if you're a real estate agent looking to save time and improve your efficiency, consider teaming up with a transaction coordinator. They're the ghostbusters of the real estate world, freeing you from the administrative demons and allowing you to focus on what you do best – selling homes and making your clients' dreams come true. This Halloween, let's celebrate the unsung heroes of the real estate industry – transaction coordinators. With their help, you can turn your real estate business into a well-oiled, efficient machine, leaving behind the ghostly struggles of paperwork, scheduling, and compliance. It's time to embrace the collaboration and ensure that your real estate career is a thrilling success, without all the spooky distractions. To view the original article, visit the Transactly blog.

Transaction Coordinators: How Real Estate Management Systems Work
Whether it's 9 AM on a brisk Monday morning or 10 PM on a rainy Friday night, the wheels of the real estate industry are perpetually spinning. For transaction coordinators, this means being the orchestrators of countless moving parts. In recent years, the real estate industry has witnessed a monumental shift toward digitization. Transaction coordinators, the unsung heroes juggling multiple tasks simultaneously, are at the forefront of this transformation. The cornerstone of this change? Real estate transaction management systems. Let's look at how they work and understand how they can help you, as a transaction coordinator, significantly up your game – and the game of the agents you assist. Understanding a transaction management system At its core, a real estate transaction management system is a digital platform designed to streamline and manage the complex process of real estate transactions. This system encompasses every step, from the initial property listing to the final handshake, ensuring all parties are on the same page. It is a comprehensive hub for contracts, digital signatures, document storage, and task management. How does it work? A transaction management system is a comprehensive platform designed with a singular vision: to streamline the real estate process through a paperless journey. The key components of any transaction management system include: Centralized Document Management: Say goodbye to the paper shuffle. Gone are the days of rifling through folders and drawers. These systems digitally house every document related to a transaction – offers, counteroffers, inspection reports, all associated documentation, and more – in one central location. This can give the agent and the transaction coordinator easy access to everything 24/7/365, minimizing the chances of misplacing crucial paperwork. Efficient Communication: Transaction management systems enable seamless communication between all parties involved. Transaction coordinators, agents, buyers, sellers, and even lenders can interact, share documents, and update everyone in real-time. Task Management: With multiple timelines and milestones to monitor, it's easy to lose track. Transaction management systems come equipped with task management features. This includes customizable checklists, reminders, and timelines, ensuring no step is overlooked. Digital Signatures: The power of digital signatures cannot be overstated. The best transaction management systems integrate this feature, allowing for quick, secure, and legally binding signatures on documents, accelerating the deal process. Audit Trails: For those concerned about compliance and record-keeping, these systems automatically maintain an audit trail. Every change, access, or modification made to a document is recorded, providing a complete and accountable digital record. What are the benefits for coordinators, brokers, and their agents? Enhanced Productivity: With every tool and document at your fingertips, as a transaction coordinator, you can focus on the tasks that truly matter. The best transaction management solutions are intuitive, requiring minimal training, ensuring even less tech-savvy transaction coordinators can leverage the system's full potential. Increasing efficiency translates to faster, smoother closings and happier clients for you and your agents. Reduced Errors and Omissions: Automated workflows and smart forms ensure document consistency. Repetition becomes a thing of the past. Smart forms allow agents to enter property data once, auto-populating all required documents. This feature doesn't just save time; it minimizes errors, as the constant repetition of data entry is eliminated. Moreover, these forms come with functionalities like calculations, conditional fields, and custom mapping. Minimizing manual entry errors ensures accuracy from listing to closing. You'll never miss an initial in a document or signatures on a form again, as the system makes sure everything in the form is completed as required. Improved Collaboration and Organization: Perhaps more than any other profession, real estate is a collaborative endeavor that thrives on organization. Transaction coordinators, brokers and agents can work with a shared platform, ensuring a unified approach to each deal. Because everything is in one place, emails related to each transaction are never lost and are easily retrieved: emails are automatically routed to their respective digital folder. This ensures everything stays organized, making tasks far more streamlined and efficient. The power of collaboration and automatic organization can make a challenging transaction far less complicated. Elevated Client Experience: A smooth, transparent, and efficient process makes the job of transaction coordinators and agents easier and enhances the overall client experience. When clients have insight into the process and see the professionalism and efficiency brought to the table, trust and satisfaction levels rise. Enhanced Security: Switching from paper-driven operations to a digital framework isn't merely about convenience. It's also about improving the safety and security of the transaction. Given the hyper-sensitive nature of real estate documents, security is paramount. The best real estate transaction management systems are designed with bank-level security encryption, ensuring that all data remains confidential and protected. The peace of mind this affords both agents and transaction coordinators is priceless. Going digital Real estate transaction management systems are more than just digital tools: they're game-changers for transaction coordinators and the agents they support. By streamlining processes, enhancing communication, and ensuring accuracy, these systems pave the way for smoother, faster, and more efficient real estate transactions. Transaction coordinators who understand and embrace these systems help their agents stay ahead of their competition and provide their clients with a better real estate experience. Want to learn more about transaction management systems? Check out Form Simplicity, owned and operated by the Florida Realtors, at formsimplicity.com. Other related posts: Improve the Customer Experience – 4 Ways Transaction Management Software Can Help – October 2022 Top 5 Features Agents Want in a Transaction Management Solution: How Does Form Simplicity Stack Up? – September 2022 3 Surprising Advantages of a Digital Transaction Management Program – August 2022 Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors® and manages both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Understanding the Role of a Transaction Coordinator
Real estate transactions can be tedious. In most, if not all instances, a real estate transaction needs multiple people in order for it to be completed. One of the essential players in this process is a transaction coordinator. Here, we'll explore the role of a transaction coordinator and the importance of having one in your team. What are the main responsibilities of a transaction coordinator? A transaction coordinator's main duty is to make sure that all required paperwork and legal documents are completed accurately and on time. They examine contracts, addenda, and other documents to make sure they adhere to all applicable state and federal laws as well as the needs of the parties involved. Timelines and deadlines related to the transaction, such as inspection windows, appraisal contingencies, and loan deadlines, are also managed by transaction coordinators. They make sure that everyone is aware of these deadlines and complies with them. Scheduling and organizing appointments for property inspections is another duty of transaction coordinators. They communicate with appraisers, inspectors, and other experts to make sure they have access to the property and can finish their work on schedule. Additionally, transaction coordinators make sure that all parties are informed of any updates or modifications to the transaction. They coordinate the flow of information between the parties and respond to any queries that crop up along the way. Why might you need a transaction coordinator? Real estate transactions involve a lot of paperwork, timelines, and deadlines that can be overwhelming for those involved. This is where a transaction coordinator comes in. They help streamline the process, reduce the risks of errors and omissions, and ensure that the transaction is completed on time and within budget. Having a transaction coordinator on your team provides many benefits, such as: 1. Reducing the risk of errors and omissions: Transaction coordinators are experts in real estate transactions and have an eye for detail. They make sure that all required paperwork is correctly completed, minimizing the possibility of mistakes or omissions that might cause the transaction to be delayed or derailed. 2. Saving time: To free up the time of other professionals involved in the transaction, transaction coordinators oversee the timelines and deadlines related to the transaction. This enables them to concentrate on their primary duties, which include marketing the property, negotiating the deal, and offering legal counsel. 3. Improving communication: In order to improve communication and lower the possibility of misunderstandings, transaction coordinators serve as a point of contact for all parties involved in the transaction. They make sure that everyone is aware of any updates or changes and keep everyone up to date on the transaction's progress. 4. Ensuring compliance: Real estate transactions are subject to state and federal regulations that must be complied with. Transaction coordinators make sure that all required paperwork and legal documents are in compliance because they are experts in these rules. 5. Providing peace of mind: Having a transaction coordinator on your team provides peace of mind, knowing that the transaction is being managed by an expert. This frees you up to concentrate on other elements of the deal, like selling the property or negotiating the terms. ... and much, much more! A transaction coordinator is an essential player in the real estate industry. Their expertise in managing real estate transactions can help streamline the process, reduce the risks of errors and omissions, and ensure that the transaction is completed on time and within budget. Having a transaction coordinator on your team provides peace of mind, knowing that the transaction is being managed by an expert, and allows you to focus on other aspects of the transaction, such as marketing the property or negotiating the deal. If you are looking to buy or sell a property, it is essential to have a transaction coordinator on your team to ensure a smooth and successful transaction. To view the original article, visit the Transactly blog.

5 Tech Tips for Improving Team Communication
We're approaching the spring selling season—what better time to audit your communication processes with team members and clients to discover where you can improve? After all, building credibility with clients begins with solid communication, and that includes quicker response times and better collaboration between agents and administrators. But things are not always so easy when it comes to communication. In fact, in a recent Workman Success Systems teams survey, 500 real estate team members ranked communication as their biggest pain point. Because tech tips and tricks are our bread and butter here at RE Technology, today we'll show you five simple tech tweaks you can make to improve your communication quality. (Need to build your soft skills, too? Check out these articles for improving communication with clients and your team.) 1. Integrate Your Tools You probably use many different tools in your real estate business—but how well do they work together? Your CRM may record some of your communications with clients, but is it drawing communication from other sources? It can if your CRM is integrated with your other tools. Because the transaction is the heart of your real estate business, we recommend making your transaction management platform the hub of all integrations. Dotloop, for example, integrates with over 75 programs so you can do things like initiate earnest money requests, sync your email contacts, communicate on Slack and more—and never miss a beat. 2. Use Transaction Management In-app Messaging The real estate market moves at a competitive pace. When it comes to submitting offers and signing documents, your clients need to be notified ASAP. Modern transaction management platforms with advanced capabilities offer in-app text messaging that not only lets you send documents for signing via text, but keeps track of all your communications. Texts can be sent to individuals or groups, and messages can even be exported to other apps as needed. Here's what that looks like in dotloop: 3. Leverage Email Templates The average real estate consumer only buys or sells property a handful of times in their life, so make sure they're informed about what happens next every step of the way. One way to do this is via email. Create a library of email templates that you or your transaction coordinator can send to clients that explains whatever step of the process they're in at the moment. The email template below, for example, is sent to sellers when their listing goes live online. It includes links to important marketing collateral, like virtual tours, so that the seller sees the work you are doing on their behalf (and so that they can share the links with their own network). Rather than writing every email from scratch, email templates are an easy way to save time. They keep your clients informed and the transaction on the right path. For more email template ideas, check out this article: 19 Email Templates Transaction Coordinators Can Copy to Work Faster. 4. Task Lists So you use email templates to keep your clients on track, but how do you keep your team on track? Easy answer: Task lists! Task lists help ensure your team never misses an important deadline or document. With a task list, you can assign team members and dates to important items that need to be completed. This gives your entire team transparency into what's happening with a transaction at any given moment. Here's a best practice: Be sure you turn task notifications on so that your team receives reminders in a timely fashion. Most transaction platforms offer task lists, and will allow you to build or import your own. Dotloop users can learn how to set up task lists here. 5. Push Notifications Speaking of notifications, one simple way to improve your communications in the new year is make sure your transaction management platform has push notifications turned ON. This ensures that all relevant parties receive notifications when a document is signed or shared, when a signature is required, when a document is edited, and more. After all, a missed signature or document can derail an entire transaction, and notifications can help push everyone to the finish line on time.

5 Signs You Need to Hire a Transaction Coordinator
When contemplating if you want to spend the extra money to hire a transaction coordinator, consider a few signs that you may desperately need one. Transaction coordinator services can make all the difference in your business, allowing you to be less stressed, have more free time, increase your revenue, and thoroughly enjoy going to work everyday. When you hire a transaction coordinator, they are devoted to handling all the mundane contract to close paperwork that only gives you headaches anyway. So continue reading, and if any of these clear signs sound like you, it may be time to invest in a transaction coordinator today. 1. You Need a Trusted Ally on Your Side In the real estate industry, it is always best to have a partner, or ally, you can rely on—someone you can count on during the times you really need it. Having a person like this as a part of your team will completely change the way you do business for the better. Hiring a transaction coordinator guarantees you have a trusted partner on your side who will always deliver. You will be less stressed, happier doing more of the face-to-face client work you love, and quickly be able to increase the amount of clients you are able to care for at once. 2. You Can't Remember the Last Time You Took a Vacation You work very hard as a real estate agent. Constantly finding new leads, building your marketing plan, staying active on social media, and filling out endless paperwork easily becomes exhausting. That's not even mentioning that you still need time to actually have substantial face-to-face interactions with your clients. All of these responsibilities can quickly become overwhelming and tiring. You deserve a break at least once a year. Doesn't taking a vacation to a nice, sunny, relaxing beach sound pretty close to perfect? A transaction coordinator manages all your paperwork, allowing you to focus on revenue generating tasks. Therefore, you will be able to concentrate on increasing your revenue while also saving time on paperwork tasks. When you use a transaction coordinator, a yearly vacation that may have once sounded like a pipe dream can become a reality. 3. If You Have Ever Forgot the Time of an Inspection Forgetting an appointment, or inspection, is embarrassing and can make you look unprofessional. While it is true that people are forgetful and things are bound to slip your mind here and there, it is best to have as few of those instances as possible when you're working. Securing the trusted help of a transaction coordinator ensures a forgotten inspection will never happen again. They will have your inspection and appointment paperwork, dates, deadlines, and start times perfectly organized. This allows you to be on top of everything, and always present your best foot forward with clients. 4. If Your Commission Check Has Ever Been Delayed After Closing As you already know, it takes about 30 days to close a real estate deal. After 30 days of putting in hard work, the last thing you want is your commission check to be delayed due to compliance issues. Getting signatures from clients and other agents after a deal has closed can easily and quickly become a nightmare. Thankfully, having a transaction coordinator on your team ensures that your file is always compliant before closing. You will never have to wait around, or chase down anyone, for a signature ever again with the virtual assistance of a transaction coordinator. 5. If You Don't Have an Outstanding Closing System As a new real estate agent, or even an experienced one, it can be difficult to create a bulletproof closing system that is easy and efficient for every case. This is where a transaction coordinator can step in and be exponentially helpful. Transaction coordinators are vastly experienced in organizing efficient closing systems. This lets you and your clients have a seamless real estate experience. You'll ensure your closing system is always perfect and completely handled when you enlist the help of a transaction coordinator. Finding the Reliable Help You Need Hiring a transaction coordinator can undoubtedly become the best business decision you ever make. Evaluate if the services of one could positively impact your day-to-day business operation, as well as the long-term goals you've set for yourself. You will find that there is far more than one benefit in using a transaction coordinator. To view the original article, visit the Transactly blog.

3 Tips to Submit a Competitive Offer in Under 120 Seconds
Quick! What does it take to make a competitive offer in a competitive market? The answer? Swift action! Today, we'll show you how to achieve exactly that with three tips to help you write and submit offers in under two minutes using your transaction management solution. Ready, set, GO! 1. Use templates When it comes to saving time, the name of the game is preparation. Once your buyers have decided they want to submit an offer on a property, you'll need to start a digital file for that property. This process can be accomplished in just a few clicks when you use transaction templates. A template is created and customized by your team or brokerage with preset tasks, documents, and more to make starting a new transaction file a breeze. No need to create everything from scratch—simply select a buying template in your transaction management software. To give you an idea of how easy this is, let's see an example of how this works in dotloop, a transaction management platform used by nearly half a million active agents every month. Once you start a new transaction file (called a "loop" in dotloop), simply name the loop and select a template from the dropdown menu. 2. Add people ahead of time Once you've created a new transaction and selected a template, it's time to add your buyers' information. You can make this process a snap by adding their information to your transaction solution's contact database ahead of time. That way, all you have to do is tap their name to autofill their information into your offer documents. Dotloop users can pre-add client information in the Global People section. In other platforms, this section may be called "People" or "Contacts." If you've connected your transaction solution to your CRM, you can simply import your buyers' contact data, making this process even simpler. 3. Stay mobile-ready If you need to write an offer ASAP, the last thing you want to do is travel to your office to access your computer. Instead, be sure you've downloaded your transaction management platform's app to your phone so you can write and submit offers from anywhere. And, bonus, you'll be able to do so much more from the mobile app than just submit offers. You can scan documents, communicate with clients, manage tasks, submit documents for review, and so much more—all on the go. Learn more about how dotloop can help you stay competitive at dotloop.com.

How to Answer the Top 3 Questions Clients Have About eSigning
The last few years have been a boon for the popularity of esignatures. With remote transactions skyrocketing and the need for more digital tools to keep the real estate industry vibrant, the adoption rates for esigning soared. In addition, many municipalities -- the last bastion of handwritten or "wet" signatures -- got on board the esignature train during the pandemic. Researchers say this is only the beginning. The digital signature market is projected to grow from $4 billion this year to over $35 billion by 2029. Over the last five years, the number of real agents who rarely or never use esignatures dropped in half. According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2016, 15% of agents mostly avoided esigning. Last year, that number dropped to just 7%. Today, more than three out of four agents use esignatures frequently: from daily or nearly every day to a few times a month. It has become the No. 3 most-used business software by real estate agents, topped only by the MLS and electronic contracts and forms. The question to ask now is: Are all your clients comfortable with esigning? During the height of the COVID outbreak, agents realized the indispensable value of esignatures. However, while most buyers and sellers are probably comfortable with an esignature, not all of them are. Also, keep in mind that brokers and agents should research the esignature solution they offer because only the most reputable firms offer bank-grade security features that protect everyone. Here are three questions often asked by those who are resistant to signing on the dotted line – without a pen in hand – and how to answer these questions: 1. Are esignatures signatures really safe and secure? Did you know it is easier to forge a paper document or falsify a wet signature than to alter a digital version? Unlike wet signatures, documents with esignatures come with an electronic record that provides proof of the transaction and an audit trail. This digital record includes everything that happened with the digitally signed file: when it was opened, viewed, and signed. In addition, many esignature systems record the geocodes to provide a location of where the document was signed too. Many esignatures go beyond providing a digital record and include a certificate of completion. For Form Simplicity users, it's known as the Certificate of Authenticity. This digital certificate offers additional information, including details about each signer of the document, confirmation that the person signed a disclosure agreeing to provide a digital signature, a signature image, key event timestamps, the computer's IP address, and other identifying information. Finally, the documents that use esignatures are sealed using a Public Key Infrastructure or PKI. The key indicates the validity of the esignature and offers confirmation that it has not been tampered with or altered. A traditional "wet" signature offers zero authentication and has no built-in protections, making it far less secure than an esignature. 2. Are esignatures legal? The U.S. federal government passed the ESIGN or Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act over 20 years ago in 2000. Along with the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, which most U.S. states have adopted, an esignature is legally binding in every U.S. state. They have the same legal status as a handwritten signature. The ESIGN Act stipulates: Any legal document that requires a signature may be satisfied by an electronic signature. Executed agreements that are esigned can be presented as evidence in court. An esigned document cannot be denied or invalidated solely because it is in electronic form. However, some states have adopted their own laws related to esignatures. New York, for example, is one of the few states that exempt certain documents from esigning, including records related to the disposition of an individual, or their property, upon death. This exemption includes wills, trusts, and orders not to resuscitate. It has taken time – during the first 10 years after the ESIGN Act, FHA did not allow esigning – but for real estate transactions, esignatures are legal nationwide. 3. How are esignatures verified? The verification process for esignatures is essentially the same as what is required to verify a handwritten signature. With a digital signature, the intended signee must prove their identity, as the signer can be the only person who owns their signature. The verification procedure ensures that the right person used the eSignature. Esigned documents record the location, time, and date when the esignature was made. This information helps determine who signed using the eSignature and if the right person did it. Technology also assists with esignature authentication, offering measures to authenticate the person signing digitally. Two-factor verification is the most common to verify one's identity. Bottom line Agents must be as comfortable with esigning as their clients. Advanced transaction management programs such as Form Simplicity helps, with built-in, unlimited esigning as a core feature of its best offering. If you are like most busy agents and use digital transaction management software for all your deals, you know it's valuable to educate clients about how safe, secure, reliable, and legal esignatures are. And when they discover the added convenience, speed, and accuracy that digital signing provides, they will also become fans of digital signing. If you want to learn more about esigning for you and your clients, check out these related articles: Which of These 3 Reasons Convinced You to Use THE Software Tool Brokers Encourage Most? 3 Easy Ways to Help Your Clients Get Comfortable with eSigning Understanding the Advantages of Digital Signatures Top 5 Things You May Not Know about Form Simplicity's eSign Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors® and manages both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

The Top 3 Back-end Integrations for Teams and Brokers
We recently highlighted software integrations that can save real estate agents time and money. While there is some overlap, brokerages and real estate teams have different needs, especially when it comes to handling back-end issues like commission structures and accounting. Which integrations are most useful for brokerages and teams, and how can they help streamline your business operations? Let's explore. What Can Back-end Integrations Do for You? As we stated previously, the transaction is the core of any real estate business, so using your transaction management platform as the hub of your integration efforts is an efficient strategy. Before we dive into specific apps, let's look at what integrating your transaction management and back-end solutions can do for your business: Automate commission disbursement upon close of transactions Simplify year-end accounting, including generation of 1099s Allow agents to "subscribe" to a personal data feed that simplifies their own accounting Keep agents aware of issues like missing items, payouts, or deposits Simplify compliance and the document review process Track profit and loss per transaction Give agents access to their performance and payment history And more! The Top 3 Back-end Integrations for Brokers and Teams Now, let's explore specific back office apps and what they're capable of when integrated with your transaction management system. To help us illustrate these examples, we'll use dotloop as our sample transaction management platform, because it offers over 75 integration partners and is one of the best-integrated technologies in the industry. According to dotloop, the most popular back-end integrations for brokerages and teams are the following: MoxiWorks MoxiWorks offers a suite of tools for real estate professionals to do everything from managing clients to handling accounting. MoxiWorks' client engagement platform, MoxiEngage, integrates with dotloop to automatically include the transaction within the lead-to-close sales flow. Agents can create a dotloop transaction (known as a "loop") within MoxiEngage, submit documents for review, and see task checklists from the transaction embedded within MoxiWorks' broader sales flow checklist. MoxiBalance is the app that resulted from MoxiWorks' acquisition of accounting solution Reeazily in 2021. This integration automates commission payments upon a transaction's close and lets users manage escrow deposits. Transaction data can also sync to MoxiBalance to give brokers insight into agent performance. Loft47 Loft47 is a commission management app that can import all parties, financial information and documents from a dotloop transaction. This allows commissions and splits to be automatically paid out upon close, and at year end, enables 1099s to be generated with ease. In the midst of a transaction, the Loft47 integration keeps agents and brokers aware of issues like overdue items or transactions with lingering deposits requiring payouts, thanks to synced documentation and checklists. QuickBooks QuickBooks is a heavyweight accounting app leveraged across industries of all kinds. Within real estate, the QuickBooks-dotloop integration allows for standard automations like commission disbursements, earnest money management and 1099 creation. The integration also lets brokers track expenses that aren't typically included in a transaction management app, giving brokers insight into their profit and loss per transaction and per agent. See what other back-end integrations are available to brokerages and teams here. To learn more about dotloop, visit dotloop.com.

Lone Wolf Provides Agent Business Bundle for $199 Per Year
One of the outstanding opportunities created by the large scale of a company is the ability to bundle services that deliver outstanding value to customers. Lone Wolf is the largest software provider in the real estate industry with a wide variety of software services to suit MLSs, associations, brokers, teams, agents and transaction coordinators. At the National Association of REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., Lone Wolf announced that associations representing over 665,000 agents in the U.S. have renewed Transactions (zipForm Edition) as a member benefit. As a sweetener, some of those associations also opted to receive full transaction capabilities, along with eSignature from zipLogix Digital Ink (powered by Authentisign), LionDesk CRM, and the zipForm Mobile app. If you will recall, before NAR sold zipLogix to Lone Wolf, Transactions (zipForm Edition) was a member benefit of NAR known as zipForm Plus. Now agents/associations need to pay for the service again. The Bundle For those agents who are not in a market where their state association, local association or MLS has renewed with Lone Wolf, two bundles are being made available for agents—the base member benefit for $179 per year, and the premium bundle for $199 per year. This bundle contains the LionDesk CRM—another company acquired by Lone Wolf—as well as the built-in eSignature solution, zipLogix Digital Ink (powered by Authentisign). It is a lot of software for a pretty low price: Transaction Management Forms Management Unlimited Document Storage eSignatures CRM In addition to the low price, agents and their clients will have access to the Lone Wolf Marketplace, making it easy to order title service, home warranty, insurance quotes, and integrated applications like Earnnest (safe earnest money solution), Updater (moving concierge), RentSpree (rental marketplace), and Seller Shield (disclosures). To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

The 1 Thing You Must Do After Every Transaction
The most experienced real estate agents will tell you that they get more business from their sphere of influence than any other marketing channel. According to the National Association of Realtors, agents with 16+ years in the business say that nearly 40 percent of their business comes solely from referrals. Although research also says 90 percent of sellers and buyers say they would recommend their agents, fewer than one in five do. The challenge for agents is staying top of mind, and one of the best ways to do that is to build into your closing process this one task: provide your clients with a complete set of documents related to their transaction. Leveraging the power of transaction management It has never been easier for agents to provide their clients with a complete set of documents related to their home sale or purchase, especially when agents use a transaction management system like Form Simplicity. Agents who have gone fully digital by using Form Simplicity, or a comparable transaction management solution, find three huge benefits when it comes to this seemingly simple task: Every document is in one place: No paper search or shuffling is needed, and no chasing down missing documents is ever necessary. Every transaction step and document is tracked: No more providing duplicative documents or determining if what you are including is the "final" version or an earlier draft. It's easy to export it all at once: Because everything is together, all you need to do is export your electronic version of everything or print it out all at the same time. One thing – so far – that hasn't changed is the amount of documentation connected to a purchase and sale. It feels like we have created more, not less, documentation: more disclosures, more addendums, and more forms. That makes it doubly difficult if you are a broker or agent still living in a paper-based world. The chances of losing or misplacing a document are a genuine business hazard. Using Form Simplicity or any other leading transaction management systems removes this potential pitfall. Digital or paper? Ironically, many agents who use a transaction management solution like Form Simplicity still will provide their clients a paper version of everything. But is that a bad thing? It depends. Agents get to know their clients well during a transaction. Communications to clients will vary by what works best for each client. Some clients only want to converse through text. Others are highly active on Facebook and prefer Messenger. Many clients expect everything via email, while others like an old-fashioned phone call. Agents know they need to be chameleons and adapt to each client's communications needs. The same is true when an agent needs to decide how to give their clients a complete set of documents from their closed transaction. Today, the fallback is digital – and a physical flash (thumb) drive is cheap and easy. If the client expects a paper file, one should be provided, but be careful. It's a stereotype, but most Millennials would cringe if you gave them a folder with paper documents. If in doubt, ask your client, and confirm the format they want. Or just provide them with both automatically. Keep it secure Finally, it's essential to remember that there is often personal and confidential information on closing documents. Therefore, you will want to make sure they are secure. Fortunately, you can encrypt the entire flash drive or individual PDF files securely with a password. Then, all you need to do is provide the password to the client that is unique to them, such as the first four letters of their first or last name and their mobile number or the last five digits of their social security number. If you can, make sure you have a cover sheet with all your branding and contact info on the digital or paper version. Better yet, if you are giving clients a flash drive, add a small label with your name and number to that. A lasting impression When tax time rolls around, this will be their go-to document. Your client may find dozens of other reasons to retrieve information from this vital documentation as a homeowner. It's a small step in the scheme of every transaction, but one that can benefit an agent for many years to come. If you need a transaction management solution and would like more information about Form Simplicity, go online to formsimplicity.com. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

5 Tech Tricks for Better Real Estate Customer Service
Real estate agents should always be focused on how to better serve their clients and prospects--but I'm sure we don't have to tell you that! What we can share with you, however, are the tech-based tips and tricks that will ensure you offer your customers the best service in your market. Here are five ways to do just that: 1. Collaborate during the home search If you're working with buyers, it's likely they started browsing homes online before contacting you. Fortunately, many property search platforms and mobile apps now offer collaborative search options where the buyer can share listings, messages and favorite properties with a partner or spouse, and their agent. By joining your client on the property search app, you can streamline communication and quickly share listings that may interest them all in one place. Want to move your buyers' search to your property app of choice or your website? Consider demonstrating the benefits of searching on your app or website during the buyer presentation. Pull up the app on your device and show--don't just tell--the capabilities that app offers, be it collaboration, accurate housing data, or the ability to snap a photo of a home and instantly pull up its information. Bonus tip: If you have access to the analytics of the property app or website your buyers search on, use the details of their search history to suggest better properties to them. For example, if you notice they're primarily searching in one neighborhood or looking at homes with a specific feature like an in-ground pool, send them listings that match that criteria. 2. Introduce technology early, but gently Speaking of client presentations, use the buyer's or listing presentation to introduce them to the technology you use during the sales process. This lets them know what to expect and lets them get comfortable from the start. However, rather than focusing on the tech, concentrate on building a rapport with that potential client and explaining the transaction process. During that conversation, you can talk about the tools you use to make everything run smoothly. Once you've wowed the consumer with your presentation, get them to sign the listing or buyer's agreement on the transaction management platform of your choice. This is a gentle introduction to the technology, and on platforms like dotloop, they'll then be prompted to create a free account so they easily keep track of future documents. It's a quick and painless way to onboard them. Bonus tip: If your clients are particularly hesitant to sign documents digitally, consider letting them sign their name using their finger or a stylus. Being able to draw their own signature may feel more natural and comfortable to some people than signing with the generic fonts that platforms default to. To do this, look for an option that says, "Draw Signature" or something similar. In dotloop, this option is available in the bottom left of the "Adopt your signature" window that pops up during the first instance of signing. 3. Expedite offers We don't have to tell you that this is a crazy market, and it's not unusual to see homes sold within days of that listing going live. That means buyers and their agents have to be extra proactive in order to secure a home. Technology to the rescue! Gone are the days of thoughtfully considering a home, a prolonged back-and-forth between the listing and buyer's agents, and printing out and signing offer forms. Today, agents need to put in an offer ASAP. With digital transaction technology like dotloop, agents can write an offer, have their clients sign it, and submit it to the listing agent—all within 10 minutes. 4. Streamline all steps of the transaction You may be an old pro when it comes to handling real estate transactions, but for most consumers, a property transaction happens only a few times during their lives. Keep it simple for them by requiring them to log in to as few apps as possible. The best way to do this is to centralize the transaction experience in one place, preferably your transaction management system. From there, your clients can log in, see all the documents they've signed, get notified of which documents they still need to sign, and more. Depending on the platform you use, you can also centralize all communications in one place. Dotloop, for example, features text messaging capabilities in their mobile app. Agents can use it to send documents for signing via text, and clients can then sign right from their phone, and all parties can get important notifications sent right to their mobile device to expedite the transaction. If your transaction platform integrates with other apps, you'll also be able to initiate and manage things like escrow and the notarization of documents from one place. Dotloop, for example, integrates with Earnnest and Notarize to streamline these processes. 5. Keep the relationship going after the sale Staying in touch with clients after the transaction is the best way to encourage referrals and repeat business. Use your CRM or lead management tool to periodically reach out to past clients and stay top of mind. You can set your CRM to remind you to reach out periodically with a phone call or text, or you can automate outreach with drip email campaigns or happy birthday messages. One of our favorite outreach methods is the "house-aversary" message, sent annually on the anniversary of the home sale. If your CRM integrates with your transaction platform, you can set up the date of sale to automatically be imported from the transaction platform and trigger a message on that date in the CRM. Dotloop users can even trigger a video message to be sent via dotloop's BombBomb integration. We particularly like the idea of sending your clients a snapshot of their home's current market value in this message. It's an opportunity to remind your former clients of the value of the home they've invested in—and of the value of your services. To learn about more ways dotloop can improve the client experience, visit dotloop.com.

How to Find the Best Transaction Management Solution
A transaction management platform is one of the most popular tech tools that real estate brokers and agents use daily. The adoption of transaction management solutions, like Form Simplicity, owned and operated by the Florida Realtors®, has surged over the last 18 months as real estate pros embraced going digital. (Note: You can visit Form Simplicity/Tech Helpline at NAR San Diego – Booth 2113) Transaction management helps real estate professionals connect remotely and allows both professionals and consumers to ditch a paper-intensive process. For example, going digital with a transaction management platform enables brokers and agents to manage, track, store and access all the information they need from contract to close. For consumers, digital transaction management means less paper – a lot less paper. If you or your brokerage have not fully embraced a transaction management platform, or you are thinking about switching, here's how to choose the best transaction management solution. 1. Is what you see what you get? Not all transaction management platforms offer the same features and benefits. Some valuable features like unlimited storage and unlimited eSigning are not always included. Often there is a hidden cost for these services. You need to know what the actual costs will be, so ask upfront. For example, with the highly affordable Ultimate Edition of Form Simplicity, brokers and agents get unlimited eSigning and unlimited document storage at no extra cost. And Form Simplicity uses bank-grade security to protect you and your client's documents and all their confidential information. This feature is built-in to give everyone peace of mind. It's simply safer than paper documents. 2. How is the boarding and training process? If you are migrating from one transaction management solution to another, your tech migration can become a tech migraine if you don't choose the right one. A great place to start is to talk with the staff at other brokerages or associations currently using the transaction management platform you are considering. Find out how the boarding process went as they launched their transaction management solution. Ask about agents and their reactions – did they embrace it right away, or did adoption take time? How much heavy lifting did the transaction management provider do at launch versus how much you had to do? Was training in person, remote, or both? Were informational on-demand videos provided? Did they provide an available hands-on team to coordinate the launch and remain accessible afterward? Were there any additional outreach and training opportunities offered after the launch? Introducing a vital new technology to brokers and agents can be tricky. If you don't roll out a new tech solution properly, adoption can suffer, reducing the effectiveness of your investment. How a product is introduced is paramount as you only have one chance to make a first impression. The rollout must be received positively, which is one reason why Form Simplicity has often become the product of choice for so many. Form Simplicity is known for fielding a proven team that excels in the launch and follow-up to create long-term success with higher adoption rates. 3. How is their tech support? For many brokers and agents, particularly ones who are not tech-savvy, tech support can be the deal maker or breaker when selecting a transaction management platform. So again, a great place to start is to talk to the current users: when something goes wrong, is it easy to make it right? Many transaction management solutions tout that they are so easy to use, you don't need a lot of training or support. That sounds great. However, some brokers and agents won't find it as intuitive and easy to navigate as others. If there isn't the infrastructure in place to provide accessible and professional training and tech support when your agents need it, the best tech tools in the world can become worthless for those who need help. Form Simplicity excels in tech support as the industry leader. Its sister company, Tech Helpline, is the No. 1 real estate tech support service. Every Form Simplicity user has access directly to Tech Helpline – by phone, email, and live chat. Tech support is available in both English and Spanish, and its U.S.-based team of analysts in Orlando, Florida, has over 300 years of combined IT experience. The bottom line When choosing a transaction management platform, you don't want any surprises. That's why it's vital to deliver an experience that gives the best first impression, as it can be crucial for short-term adoption and long-term success. Finding a technology partner that understands your business and the needs of brokers and agents is the first step. Then you need to make sure that the transaction management provider can answer these questions to your satisfaction or keep on shopping. To learn more about Form Simplicity, go to formsimplicity.com. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Desktop vs. Mobile: Can You REALLY Complete a Whole Transaction from Your Phone?
Here's a statistic that's truly a sign of the times: More Realtors use their smartphone daily than their laptop or desktop computer, according to NAR. That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise—smartphones are far more convenient for real estate agents who are constantly on the go, and today's mobile devices pack the power of a computer in the palm of your hand. On top of that, agents can use smartphones in ways they can't use a computer, like opening lockboxes with Bluetooth, getting directions while on the road, creating and sharing property reports during a showing, and even using their phone as a safety device. But as convenient as a phone is for all those activities, the transaction remains the most crucial part of your real estate business. That means the million-dollar question is, Can you complete an entire transaction from contract to close solely from your mobile device? To find out, we took a deep dive into the mobile app of one of the top-rated transaction platforms in the industry, dotloop. With an advanced set of features, dotloop's mobile app is at the leading edge of what a transaction app can do, and here we'll use it as an example through which to explore this question. (If you use a different transaction platform, that app may have similar features, but check with your provider to be sure.) Below, you'll find the features that are exclusive to a transaction management mobile app, which features can be found on both desktop and mobile, and which tasks can only be accomplished from your computer. Mobile Exclusive Features Your phone's built-in camera and texting capabilities means your transaction management's mobile app can do things that the desktop version can't, such as: Scan Documents Using Your Device's Camera Once upon a time, scanning a document meant using a large piece of hardware hooked up to your computer. Thanks to ever-advancing mobile camera technology, now you can just snap a photo of a document and add it to a transaction. In dotloop, this is as simple as tapping Scan document within the Docs section of a transaction and snapping a photo. (You can also simply import a document photo from your camera's photo roll.) From there, you can add more pages, edit the photo as needed, and convert it into a signable PDF. Keep the Transaction Moving via Text Messaging Today's real estate market moves quickly. Keep your clients on top of everything by leaning on your smartphone's text messaging capabilities. Dotloop allows agents to send documents for signing via text, and clients can sign directly from their own phones to keep the transaction moving at a competitive pace. Texts can be sent to individuals or groups, and all communications can be tracked or exported. Here's what that looks like in dotloop: Manage Tasks and Signings with Push Notifications Need to stay on top of important tasks? Does your client need help staying on top of crucial document signings? Your mobile phone's push notifications will instantly alert you, your team members, and your clients to tasks, document updates and more to keep the transaction on track. Overlap: What Both Desktop and Mobile Can Accomplish Your transaction management's mobile and desktop versions have plenty of capabilities in common, including: Creating a transaction Adding documents to a transaction eSigning documents Submitting documents for review Modifying document permissions Adding or completing transaction tasks Admin acting on behalf of an agent Features That Are Desktop Only While the vast majority of transaction tasks can be completed on mobile alone, there are a couple things that you'll need your regular computer for. For example, if you have duplicate transactions, you'll need to log in to dotloop's desktop platform to merge them. Likewise, you'll need your computer to submit to Greensheet/TRACS/Homebase. Other times you may need your desktop boils down to whether you have an iOS or Android phone. For example, you can remove a person from a transaction on iOS, but not on Android. In that case, Android users will have to use their computer to remove a person. On the flip side, both Android and iPhone users can submit documents for review, but only brokers using Android will be able to approve and return documents on mobile. iPhone-using brokers will have to use their laptop or desktop computer to complete this task. Learn more about the differences between dotloop's desktop and mobile versions here: iOS, Android. In Conclusion So what did we learn? Can you complete a transaction entirely on mobile? For the majority of agents, the answer is Yes. When you use a mobile app like dotloop, you can execute everything from your phone or tablet all the way from texting a new client a buyer's or seller's agreement to sending the final documents for eSigning and approval. How much of the transaction you want to accomplish on mobile is, of course, up to you. To learn more about dotloop's mobile app or to read reviews, visit the App Store or Google Play.

Up Close with the Only Transaction Management Platform Made for Teams
Real estate teams are growing in popularity, with 30% of Realtors now working on a team (NAR's 2020 Member Profile), up from 26% in NAR's 2018 Team Survey. The real estate technology sphere has responded to this growth, and team versions of many products are now available. In fact, we took a look at this development in our 2021 Success Guide to Team Software. While we highlighted solutions that help real estate teams stay productive and earn more business, what was missing from our Success Guide was the type of platform that's crucial to any team's business: the transaction management system. Today, we seek to remedy that with an up-close look at dotloop. Why dotloop? To our knowledge, rather than simply having team features added onto an existing platform, dotloop is the only transaction management platform built specifically for teams. Dotloop also integrates with a multitude of other team platforms, including the majority of those featured in our Success Guide. That's reason enough for us to use it to explore the world of transaction management for real estate teams. You can use this overview to understand what a team transaction management platform should offer, and as a point of comparison when researching which platform is right for you. Let's dive into an exploration of dotloop's major features for real estate teams: Team Branding Real estate teams operate as a kind of "brokerage within a brokerage," and rather than their branding being superseded by or subordinate to the brokerage's branding, teams want their own branding front and center. Dotloop's team dashboards are branded to your team, not your brokerage's. This branding is visible not only to your team, but to clients as well. Your dotloop Success Manager will take care of this for you during your orientation call (more on that in a bit). Team Member Profiles and Admin Control Each member of a team has their own profile, and administrator-level users have access to all team members' profiles. Everytime a transaction (or "loop" in dotloop parlance) is created, admins are automatically added to that transaction for complete transparency. This total access lets admins do something dotloop calls "Act on Behalf," where the admin can log into any agent's profile and accomplish tasks on their behalf. That way, if an agent is, say, on vacation or otherwise unavailable, tasks and documents can still be taken care of. These "Act on Behalf" actions are recorded in the Activity Log to inform who did what and in case the transaction is ever audited. Custom Templates and Workflows Within many solutions, templates are typically created at the brokerage level. But within dotloop's team platform, teams have the ability to create their own custom transaction templates. Administrators create these from their own profile, and the templates filter down to every single agent. Admins can even mark which documents are required to fill out in order to submit the transaction for review. You can also add customized clauses and tasks, including pre-loaded checklists for buyers, sellers, agents and administrators that auto-populate into the transaction. These checklists can be customized according to your workflows, and the tasks within can be assigned to any person added to the transaction. Dotloop will automatically email a reminder to the person assigned to the task as the due date approaches. To keep your workflow streamlined, documents within a transaction are listed in order of how the agent needs to work on them. See the grayed out items in the screenshot below? These optional items are placeholders added by the admin. Agents can drag and drop PDFs onto these placeholders to make them active documents. One feature we thought was neat was "Local Service Providers." This is available within every transaction, and users can simply click on the button of, for example, mortgage to add a loan officer to the transaction. If desired, dotloop will introduce the local vendor and client to each other for you by sending an email to the vendor letting them know that your client has requested additional information. Reporting Few things have gained as much importance in the modern era as performance analytics. To that end, dotloop offers a reporting dashboard at both the agent and administrative levels. Individual agents can see how many loops they created in the last 30, 60 or 90 days. The graph will show what's completed, what's under contract, what fell through and what's new. The graphs are interactive; if you click on any colored segment on the graph, it will show you which transactions are included in that calculation. Administrators can look at any individual's stats or bundle them together to look at the team's numbers as a whole. They also have access to dotloop's Report Builder. Here, reports can be built off custom criteria like transaction status, review stage, and by date. All reports can be named and saved within dotloop, and downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet. Success Manager for Teams We mentioned dotloop's many customization options. Fortunately, team leaders don't have to undertake this customization themselves. Each team is assigned a dotloop account manager, or "Success Manager." During a 30-minute orientation call, the team leader will share their roster, team email addresses, the roles of team members, a high-res logo, and any custom forms with their Success Manager. Your Success Manager will take all of that information and customize your dashboard, including branding, template creation and more. Once created and customized, your team is ready to start using dotloop and selling more homes! To learn more about how dotloop can work for your team, visit dotloop.com/teams.

9 Automation Tricks that Will Rock Your Real Estate Business
Time is money, and the more time you can free up, the more money you can put in your pocket. Maximum efficiency is the name of the time-reclaiming game, and the first step toward that goal is to examine what's costing you valuable productivity. Where can your processes improve? Which redundant activities are holding you back? Surprisingly, the answer could lie in the very thing that's supposed to make you more efficient—the technology you use. The average brokerage provides its agents 12 different pieces of technology, according to consulting firm T3 Sixty. If those applications aren't talking to each other, you're looking at not only having to input the same client contact information into multiple systems, but you also risk leads falling through the cracks or missing out on automated post-transaction outreach that drives a customer-for-life strategy. Fortunately, many real estate platforms today can integrate with one another directly, or through third-party services like Zapier or API Nation. These integrations can help you automate tasks that you may be doing manually—or skipping altogether. To help you understand the many time-saving automations that can take your business to the next level, here we're highlighting nine handy examples of real estate integrations. Because the transaction is at the heart of any real estate business, the smartest move is to use your transaction management platform as the hub of your integration efforts. To help us illustrate this point, we're using transaction management platform dotloop in these examples. With over 75 integration partners, dotloop is one of the best-integrated technologies in the industry, and they offer two-way integrations, which means data can flow both in and out of their platform to your other applications. Learn more here. Ready to dive in? Here are nine automations that will rock your real estate business: 1. Start a new transaction right from your CRM or lead management tool. Did that lead you've been nurturing finally convert to a client? Save time by starting a new transaction right from your CRM. Dotloop integrates with both BoomTown and Zurple (and many more), enabling you to not only start a transaction from a contact's profile, but also view the status of a transaction and which tasks still need to be completed, all without leaving your CRM. 2. Streamline the earnest money process. Digital management of earnest money is one the best real estate innovations of recent times. Not only is it more secure, but it makes things far easier. The good news is, it can get easier still. Dotloop's integration with Earnnest lets you request earnest money right from the transaction platform itself. In turn, the customer can pay money directly to the escrow holder digitally via Earnnest, which processes the funds using a bank-level encrypted digital transfer. No more worrying about identity theft that could accompany mailing checks or wire-fraud. 3. Sync your email contacts with your transaction management platform. Transactions require a lot of back and forth between you and your client. Make sure you don't miss a step thanks to incorrect or hard-to-find contact information by syncing your email app with your transaction app. Dotloop integrates with both Outlook and Gmail. For a deeper Gmail integration that lets you start a transaction from your email, check out this Google Chrome plug-in. 4. Never miss a task or appointment with calendar integration. Speaking of Google, if you use Google Calendar to stay on top of your to-dos, integrating your transaction management solution with your calendar will automatically add important transaction dates to Google so you never miss a beat. 5. Digitally notarize documents with synced data. Skip the double data entry by syncing your transaction data to your digital notary platform. Notarize and dotloop work together so you can import transaction data from dotloop into Notarize for a streamlined process—and your clients can review, sign and notarize real estate documents faster. 6. Automatically send an anniversary message one year after a sale. The best way to keep a client for life is to stay in frequent contact. Celebrate your client's one-year home purchase anniversary by sending an automated message. BombBomb's integration with dotloop syncs close dates so that BombBomb automatically knows when to send the message. See what else this integration can do here. 7. Back up your transaction data to Google Drive or Dropbox. You know what never hurts? Backing up your data. Sync your transaction data to third-party services like Dropbox or Google Drive to give yourself a little peace of mind. 8. Keep your clients up-to-date on the transaction in Slack. Slack, a communications app, is all the rage in Silicon Valley. Many tech-forward Realtors have also taken to using it to keep internal communications about a transaction in one convenient place. If you're among them, connecting Slack to your transaction management platform means that you can automatically send or post Slack messages when, for example, a new document has been uploaded. See what the full integration with dotloop does here. 9. Stay in the loop on transactions from your franchise software platform. Last but not least, dotloop integrates with many of the major brokerage franchise's software platforms. That means you can start and access transactions right from your brokerage platform. Here's a list of franchises that integrate with dotloop. For more information or support, talk to your broker. EXIT Realty Realty Executives Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Century 21 Coldwell Banker ERA Real Estate Keller Williams To learn about more ways dotloop can streamline your business, visit dotloop.com.

5 Reasons Top Agents Love Using Transaction Management Software and Why You Should, Too
If there's a silver lining during the pandemic for all real estate agents, it's the accelerated adoption of digital tech tools. As an industry, real estate agents rapidly embraced more technology to help them work remotely in the last seven months than they have in the past seven years. Top agents often are at the forefront of using digital tools such as transaction management software. At Form Simplicity, one of the most popular transaction management software systems, we work with top agents every day. After all, Form Simplicity is owned and operated by Florida Realtors®. Successful agents recognize that superior customer service is core to their business. Without leveraging digital tools, customer service would have suffered, and real estate sales would have stalled during the pandemic instead of setting new sales volume records. That's why we built Form Simplicity in the cloud so that agents can manage all of their business online, from start to finish. Here are five reasons top agents love using a transaction management software such as Form Simplicity: 1. Faster for everyone Think about all of the steps you have to take to create a new transaction. The old way is just plain slow: filling in forms by hand and having to input the same information, again and again, creating file folders and labels, printing out every document from all third parties, including email – then filling it all and afterwards, doing it all again as new information is added and emails are received. It can be a massive drain of your time and energy. The new way, with a transaction management program like Form Simplicity, you can create transactions with lighting speed. It's a godsend, especially for busy real estate pros, like you. In seconds, you can create templates, groups of frequently used forms with pre-populated information. These smart forms mean you only enter data just once – such as the property address or client's names – as the rest of the same fields automatically fill in for you. How fast is fast? Imagine that all the basic information you need imports from many MLSs automatically: enter the property's MLS number and click. That means less typing for you and more opportunities to do what you do best. Using a transaction management system means less time pushing paper and more time helping people buy and sell homes. Plus, working digitally with vital third parties such as title and closing agents means getting documentation faster. That can speed up every one of your transactions and keeps everything in one place for each transaction. 2. Safer way to protect personal information You have a couple of choices. You can fill your file cabinet with transaction folders stuff to the brim, or you can go digital. Do you always remember to lock your file drawers? Are they fireproof too? Agents using transaction management software never have to worry about how safe and secure all of their information is. Your Library of Forms, a feature in Form Simplicity, is always up-to-date, protecting you from using an outdated form. This reduces the risk for you and your clients. Bank-level online security, including redundant data centers for data protection and two-factor authentication access for security, gives you peace of mind knowing all of your information – and your client's personal information – is both safe and highly secure. 3. Easier than working with paper Have you ever had to drive to the office at 11:00 pm to retrieve a key document? Or run around town hunting down signatures? You'll never do those things again with a transaction management program like Form Simplicity. Having everything in the cloud gives you access any time and any place you have internet access, including on your favorite mobile device. With options like unlimited storage, you may run out of space in your file cabinet, but you'll never run out of document storage room with Form Simplicity. So, if you are tired of using rubber bands to keep documents from falling out of a bulging transaction folder, it's time to use a transaction management program to organize your business better. 4. Better for the environment We're not talking about cleaning up a messy office desk, but Form Simplicity will do that too. We're talking about saving trees, making going paperless a good feeling for you and good for our planet. One ream of paper – 500 sheets – uses about 5% of an average tree's trunk. But how many reams of paper does your office use? Now think about all the paper documents from others – title firms, appraisals, inspectors, closing agents. When you consider how vital trees are to our ecosystem – they improve soil quality, fight climate change, prevent erosion, provide shade, and create oxygen – going digital is a big deal. Reducing your paper footprint is simply the right thing to do for you and your business. 5. Smoother transactions If you know the frustration of searching through emails trying to track down an elusive negotiation detail, you need to know that experience can become part of your past – forever. Using a transaction management program such as Form Simplicity, everything related to each transaction is in one folder, including all emails. Most importantly, it's searchable. Going digital overcomes many of the glitches caused by a paper-based transaction. You also can put away your calculator. In Form Simplicity, the forms are programmed to do the math for you. That means no more math mistakes and the time you'll waste fixing them. With features that allow real-time collaboration with your clients and third parties, a digital transaction is smoother than a paper-based one. And if something does go wrong, you have access to the No. 1 tech support team in real estate with Tech Helpline ready to step in and assist. With over 300+ years of combined IT experience, the friendly analysts at Tech Helpline understand your business as they work with agents like you every day. Going digital, before the pandemic, was often thought of as being optional. Today, agents know that digital technology is now essential to their business. Agents have discovered that their productivity goes up once they go paperless with a transaction management program, and their business gets better. Learn more about Form Simplicity at formsimplicity.com or check out all of our videos here. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Why Agents Love Form Simplicity: Transaction Management Any Time, Any Place, Any Device
Over the last year, few digital real estate tech tools have gained as much new attention from agents and brokers as transaction management software. Transaction management programs have become an essential "must-have" to work from home successfully. As an agent or broker, you can't go fully digital without a transaction management solution. Form Simplicity stands out from among the best solutions available for a couple of reasons. First, many transaction management companies have been gobbled up by tech giants. But not Form Simplicity. Owned and operated by Florida Realtors, it remains wholly owned by Realtors. Second, Form Simplicity offers the best tech support available industry-wide through its sister company Tech Helpline. The No. 1-rated tech support firm for real estate professionals, Form Simplicity users have access to a friendly staff of tech analysts who understand the needs of agents and brokers because they work with them every day. Now more than ever, agents and brokers working remotely depend on a transaction management solution that offers exceptional customer support. Here are what Form Simplicity agents and brokers shared when surveyed about seeking help: Shanmugam Parthiban is a fan of Form Simplicity because it provides "Five-star tech help." Kenneth Smith Jr. notes, "This benefit of FAR is awesome! It has saved me a lot of money." S. Bret Testerman says, "Every time I've called, the service has been excellent!" Santiago Wood gives props to a tech analyst, saying, "Alex was very patient, courteous, professional, and helpful." Eileen Spears also shares kudos, pointing out, "Eric was great, assisted me with my problem, and his knowledge was important to me and saved me so much time." Eleanor Sorino praises another tech analyst, sharing, "Kevin is absolutely fantastic. He had patience and made my experience great. Thank God for he was there to help! Many thanks to Kevin and to you for having a wonderful staff." Carole Gordon also complimented Form Simplicity on its tech support, adding, "Great service. Much appreciated!" Jerrell Williams is especially appreciative of the hands-on help, noting, "I have recently reached out twice for assistance, both times the agents were incredible in the manner that they handled my request. Yvette was eager to walk me through, step-by-step, the process of setting up and initiating an eSign contract, making it a very pleasant experience. The second call was very brief, but the young man that assisted me was very knowledgeable and willing to assist in any way he could." Sandy Brown is appreciative of the quick response, saying, "I can't believe I got through to HELP call on the first attempt, with little or no waiting. Thank you." Laurie Somers notes, "My issues always seem to get resolved when I call…and that's a great thing! Thank you." Sue Robb also is a fan, saying, "You are great, very much appreciated!!!" Sue Ford likes how she was treated when she asked for help, noting, "Appreciate their patience with those of us who aren't very tech-savvy. Thanks." Tami Phillips also is a fan of the support she received, adding, "It was nice to speak to a person and receive immediate attention to my issue. Thank you for your customer service team." Jen Babacan praises a tech analyst who helped her with Form Simplicity, noting, "Robert was so patient, understanding and helped me tremendously getting a difficult task done. He did not rush me off of the phone and answered my questions to sheer delight. He is the best, and I will never forget how valuable his major help was when I needed it most." Kevin Cloutier puts it succinctly, saying, "It's the benchmark of customer service standards." For many real estate agents, the transition of going from a paper-based transaction to a digital one can be daunting, especially when you consider some agents have honed their paper-based transaction management skills over a couple of decades – or more. That's why customer support is so essential when it comes to selecting a digital transaction management solution. It's also why Form Simplicity is emerging today as the transaction management program of choice for agents and brokers nationwide. If your MLS or association doesn't offer Form Simplicity as a member benefit or forms partner, ask them to check out formsimplicity.com or call (888) 784-5404. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

How to Find a Transaction Coordinator
As a real estate agent, you're incredibly busy. Outsourcing your transaction coordination work not only makes your business more efficient, but it provides you more time to focus on growth, and saves you money. It's a win-win situation, and agents across the country are realizing it. The decision to hire a transaction coordinator (TC) may be easy to make, but finding a transaction coordinator that is perfect for your business can be difficult if you don't know where to start. Keep reading to learn about the easiest and most convenient ways to hire a transaction coordinator today.

What Does a Real Estate Transaction Coordinator Do?
What do a Realtor and a homeowner attempting FSBO have in common? They are both drowning in a massive heap of head-spinning paperwork, smothered with contract compliance dipped in deadlines. Not exactly the cherry-on-top sundae you were hoping for? Real estate transactions don't have to be a recipe for disaster. Instead, try hiring a transaction coordinator. Here's what you should know.

How Much Time Can You Save with a Transaction Management Solution?
Ben Franklin said it best: "Time is money." Ben's sage advice in his essay to young tradesmen rings true 272 years later. Nearly all real estate software tools available tout that if you use it, it will save you time. But perhaps no other software program can deliver more quantifiable savings of time during your daily workflow than a transaction management program. Do you use a transaction management program every day? If so, you are maximizing the time savings that this tech tool can deliver. And you are not alone. According to the National Association of Realtors, one in four Realtors use a transaction management program, like Form Simplicity, every day or nearly every day. Another 21 percent of Realtors use a transaction management program a few times a week. However, this means that fewer than half of all Realtors are benefiting from the enormous time savings that a transaction management solution offers—especially since current circumstances limit face-to-face interactions today. Exactly how much time can a transaction management save you? You could easily save 400 to 1,000 hours a year or more. How? If you are like most agents, your daily workflow includes a lot of tasks that if you could streamline or create a digital alternative for routine or mundane tasks, you would reap more minutes every day. The time you would save would allow you to concentrate on the things that make your business more profitable. One of the biggest workflow tasks that can consume time one could label as "wasted" is the time you spend managing a transaction from beginning to close. To measure how much time you can save if you used a digital process to manage your transactions, think about all the tasks you do today related to each sale. Tasks typically include: Completing a Purchase and Sales Agreement: how many times are you entering the same address or inputting standard language? Coordination for inspections and appraisals Assisting with repair, pest control issues and other corrections Scheduling and meeting with clients to sign documents Tracking down clients to sign documents with a missed signature or initial Picking up or delivering documents from the title firm or closing agent Obtaining mortgage lender information and documenting it Confirming and documenting a buyer is approved by the mortgage lender Following up with lenders regularly to make sure everything is on track Preparing and mailing information related to a transaction Providing documentation to lenders or to your clients to provide to their lender Creating and monitoring a list of tasks in your calendar or scheduler Making sure every document has been updated Keeping everybody is up-to-date on the status of the transaction Traveling and waiting to pick up or deliver documentation Finding a particular printed document Finding language inside a printed document Tracking down homeowners association documents Making hard copies of everything for your transaction file Using a transaction management program like Form Simplicity can save you time with each of these tasks. The total time savings per transaction will depend on the actual transaction. Some deals take more time than others. On average, you should be able to realize at least 40 hours of time savings when you use a transaction management program versus when you don't. If you average 10 transactions a year, that's a savings of some 400 hours annually. Going paperless pays Everything that you did in person changed with the pandemic. And everyone adjusted. Agents already using transaction management software shined. They no longer had to physical meet with clients to obtain a "wet" signature. eSign tools, built into programs like Form Simplicity, solve the in-person contact issues. eSigning also saved agents with a transaction management program a considerable amount of time. It takes time to schedule a client meeting, travel to the destination, time to meet for the signatures and time to travel back, copy and file everything. If you accidentally missed an initial or a signature, you may as well double the time you have wasted. And when doing things the old-fashioned way without a digital process, a lot of time you lose may not always be under your control. Without a digital process, you are dependent on the responsiveness of your broker, other agents, title and closing representatives, attorneys, inspectors, lenders, appraisers and more. However, when you have a transaction management program, you can streamline all of your interactions with everyone in your brokerage as well as third parties, from first contact to follow-up and monitoring. Everything is stored in one place and you have more control to reduce the time you spend on these tasks. It's safer too Finally, one more time savings that a transaction management program provides is when something goes wrong. Having an audit on a transaction can be a time consuming and painful process, but it doesn't have to be. Using a transaction management program can be a lifesaver when you have to show detailed documentation. All correspondence—every email and text—and every document related to the transaction is stored in one place, digitally. Best of all, everything is time stamped, easy to find and provide. If you still are not using a transaction management program, isn't it time you did? To learn more about Form Simplicity, one of the leading time management programs available nationwide, go to formsimplicity.com. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Redesigned Form Simplicity Makes Working Remotely Easier than Ever
Form Simplicity, the only transaction management software owned 100% by a Realtor association, makes working remotely easier than ever. Across the country, agents and brokers are switching to the redesigned version of Form Simplicity as they rapidly adapt to all things digital. Many are attending webinars hosted by Technology Training Manager Kaz Cisowski. Kaz reports he has had more people attend Form Simplicity training in the last four months than all of last year. "People are hungry to learn right now," Kaz says, who has already trained about 7,500 professionals. As agents and brokers nationwide hone their digital skills in record numbers, most are telling Kaz that the latest version of Form Simplicity is much easier to use. "They tell me that Form Simplicity has become a lot less 'click-ish,'" pans Kaz, noting that its improved user interface means fewer clicks for agents to create forms or navigate the program. Kaz, a former real estate agent, can personally relate to changes made in Form Simplicity to help optimize an agent's workflow, and he explains that during his two-hour Form Simplicity class. He walks agents through the steps to set up transaction forms and configure them once to save them time on every future transaction. He notes that when agents learn how to automatically import essential property data from the MLS to across all their transaction forms, they are hooked. "Every agent wants to know what's in it for them – to switch to the new Form Simplicity," Kaz explains. As being able to work remotely took on a whole new meaning starting in March, Kaz is delighted to see how agents react when they see that From Simplicity is remarkably mobile friendly. He demonstrates this during his webinar on an iPad. When agents learn that they also can use their phones to create transactions or to monitor the transaction status, they are surprised – and delighted. "Some agents had no idea you could use Form Simplicity on your phone," he said. Change is hard for everyone, so Kaz spends time during his training going through the things that some agents have become accustomed to with an earlier version of Form Simplicity. But once he walks them through the logic in why the changes were made, agents embrace the redesign as they can see first-hand how the improvements have made Form Simplicity more intuitive. And sometimes, Kaz notes, little changes can make a big difference for some agents and brokers. One example, he says, is when he demonstrates "how to sort transactions by the last time it was updated, so they appear in descending order, most recent to oldest, something you couldn't do before." Giving agents these filters makes it more powerful and practical, he explains. But perhaps the most crucial element Kaz brings to his online training is fun: he lightens the load by interjecting humor, where appropriate, to make the classes not only educational but a little more entertaining. "What I really want to do in my class is help people master the paperless real estate transaction," Kaz says. "By teaching them how to set up their preferences, making sure they understand how to use esign and going over their esign templates. We go over all the things they can do in advance, so they don't have to do extra work when they do each signing," he says, adding, "It's all about creating that optimal workflow for each agent." For his broker training, Kaz focuses on two things that are important to those who run brokerages: How to use Form Simplicity to reduce risk and remain compliant. Since Form Simplicity is often a member benefit provided by their MLS or association, Kaz notes that with the increased appetite for training, "A lot of members are starting to understand the value of going digital and say, 'Hey, I can do this, and it does not cost me an extra penny.'" Kaz says that with so many agents discovering what they need to work remotely, they appreciate now more than ever software solutions that are easy to use. "Form Simplicity helps agents stay organized, and they can always see what they didn't do yet," he says. Understanding the practical benefits of a digital transaction management solution for agents comes down to seeing it in action. Kaz has given thousands of Realtors nationwide a front-row seat to see the advantages offered by the redesign and is gearing up to host webinars for thousands more. Check with your association or MLS to see if they offer Form Simplicity as a member benefit and when the next webinar is if you haven't been trained on the newest version. Your opportunity to better manage your transactions remotely may be at your fingertips. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Digitally Complete Your Transactions End-to-end with Form Simplicity
Technology that helps us work remotely is more important today than ever as clients shelter in place, and the majority of real estate brokers and agents work solely out of their homes. If you are a broker and don't provide all of your agents a transaction management program like Form Simplicity to help them complete transactions end-to-end, you need to provide one now. You can no longer afford to wait. Even after real estate pros are allowed to return to their brokerage offices, many clients still will want to do as much of the real estate transaction online as possible. Think about it. Tens of millions of families – members from every generation – have adapted and adopted digital technology over the last couple of months. They have held Zoom meetings, switched to doing banking on their phones, made their most significant purchases online, and spent hundreds of extra hours in front of a computer screen. Today's unprecedented events have accelerated America's collective technology learning curve, and we are about to see a new normal as digital transactions move to the status quo. Why now is the perfect time to jump all-in One of the greatest impediments for agents and brokers to adopt transaction management solutions, like most new technologies, is fear of the learning curve. You are too busy with transactions to change over to an entirely new system midstream. Even the name "transaction management" sounds overwhelming. But it is not. And now is the time that brokers and agents are sharpening their saws. It's time to sharpen yours. We redesigned Form Simplicity to make your transition from a manual, paper-intensive process to an end-to-end digital one that connects everyone. Your clients only have access to the documents they need. Others you are working with have online access 24/7 to what they need. Using a solution like Form Simplicity gives you control of every step of the transaction from anywhere you have access to the internet. And broker-owners can monitor it all with built-in compliance features that help keep everyone out of hot water. Benefits to you and your clients With smart forms, you just input the property's MLS number, and it imports the property data and populates to all the transaction forms at once. You won't need a calculator as the forms also do all the math for you. No more searching for that missing client email or text, and you won't have to download documents as everything automatically goes into one place with Form Simplicity. You can even collaborate online in real-time, allowing clients and others involved to send you their comments of the contracts without the need for long email trails. At no additional cost, Form Simplicity gives you access to all your forms from your smartphone or tablet. A transaction management solution gives you a place for everything and everything in one place for every transaction, online, all the time. With an end-to-end digital transaction, you will save time and money, but more importantly, it is what your clients are going to expect. Digital signing + the best tech support Perhaps the biggest game-changer for clients who have never benefited from an agent who uses a transaction management solution is giving clients the ability to sign documents securely and digitally. Once your clients esign, they will wonder why they can't do it for everything. With the Ultimate edition of Form Simplicity, you can go 100% paperless with unlimited digital signatures and unlimited document storage. Clients can sign from anywhere they can connect to the internet with any device. And unlike many "free" digital signature services, esigning with Form Simplicity is safe and secure, with multiple authentication options, audit logs, and a tamper-proof seal for independent verification. Form Simplicity digital signatures exceed all security thresholds published by the banking industry and federal regulations. The game-changer for many agents is the unmatched tech support that comes with Form Simplicity. It's provided by real estate's No. 1 tech support service, Tech Helpline, known for its friendly team of U.S.-based agents. Support comes from a team with almost 300 years of combined IT experience. You will never go back, and neither will your clients Digital transaction solutions have been around for many years. The difference today is an unexpected acceleration of the need for this technology for both professionals and their clients. Making the most of the opportunity today provides for you and your business to adopt and adapt to digital transactions for your business. Once you experience an end-to-end digital transaction, you will never go back, and neither will your clients. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

3 Rules for Smoother Transactions and More Referrals
What is real estate transaction management? The most common way to look at it is a process to smoothly move a client through the transaction and closing. The better way to look at real estate transaction management is as a valuable future business referral generator. Before digging into the subject, rest assured that you can make this work with a transaction coordinator under your control as well as doing it all yourself.

Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity are on the road again!
Each year, thousands of real estate agents and brokers who use Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity have the opportunity to meet some of the folks who make the magic happen for these two Florida Realtors owned products at local conventions and conferences. This year's schedule includes visits as far north and east as Nova Scotia, Canada, as far south as Hollywood, Florida, and as far west as Los Angeles, California. As real estate's number one tech support firm, Tech Helpline serves more than 600,000 real estate professionals in North America. Available through MLSs or local associations, as well as real estate brokerages, connecting with Tech Helpline is typically accomplished via a phone call, online chat or email inquiry. Our annual direct outreach gives agents and brokers, as well as MLS and association executives and staff members, an additional opportunity with face-to-face communications. Opportunities to connect This year, we kicked off our spring and summer schedule for Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity with an appearance at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in mid-May. Tech Helpline was just represented at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) Association Executives Seminar in early June, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Next up, Form Simplicity will be at "Rock the Market" at the Hard Rock Event Center in Hollywood, FL on June 25. The next two days on June 26 and 27, both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity will be heading to the Florida Realtors Association Executives Education Workshops in Cocoa Beach, FL. August marks two major conventions for Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity. Association leadership from all business disciplines will convene at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Expo in Columbus, OH on August 10-13, followed by our own Florida Realtors Convention & Trade Expo (August 21 and 22) and Governance Meetings (August 23-25) in Orlando, FL. Tech Helpline will head to another big convention as the Colorado Association of REALTORS® hosts its "REfresh Expo" in Denver, CO on September 5. The summer tour schedule ends with two back-to-back events. The first one is in North Carolina, the NC REALTORS® 2019 Convention & Expo "Xchange'19" at the Pinehurst Resort during the Expo dates of September 14-16. That's followed by the Arkansas REALTOR® Annual Convention & Tradeshow being held in Memphis, TN at the Guesthouse at Graceland, during the Expo dates of September 16 and 17. More to come As the fall begins, Form Simplicity and Tech Helpline will be back at it, with appearances by Tech Helpline at the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Expo "REImagine!" held in Los Angeles on September 24-26, followed by opportunities to ask your questions about Form Simplicity and Tech Helpline at CMLS2019 in Salt Lake City on October 16-18. The last two conventions for Form Simplicity and Tech Helpline currently are scheduled for both the 2019 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Francisco this year (booth #1234), November 6-11, and finally December 9-12 at the 2019 Triple Play REALTOR® Convention & Trade Expo in Atlantic City, NJ, which brings together members from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania Realtor associations. If you happen to be attending one of these events, please stop by and bring your questions about Form Simplicity and Tech Helpline. We hope to meet you face-to-face! Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.  

[Best of 2017] Friday Freebie: Stay Organized with Listing and Closing Checklists
We're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published in February and is #2 in our countdown. See #3 here. Want a way to go from listing contract to cashed commission check faster? As we say in the RE Technology offices, the key is to "plan your work, and work your plan." For agents, this means having a set game plan in place for completing the routine tasks that every listings requires—ordering photos, creating marketing materials, uploading to the MLS, etc.—and deadlines to follow. Many CRMS and transaction management programs offer activity checklists that agents can use to help set up and close a listing successfully. If your preferred solution doesn't offer checklists—or if the checklists leave something to be desired—today's Friday Freebie is for you! Free Listing and Closing Checklists for Agents Missing documents or incomplete tasks are the biggest factors in missed deadlines or slow-to-close deals. Checklists offer a detailed 'plan of attack' that tells agents exactly what to do and when. Brokermint, a back office and transaction management solution, is offering agent and brokers free listing and closing checklists they can use to close transactions faster. They cover crucial activities like: Listing checklist: Obtain signed disclosures, obtain lockbox authorization, submit market analysis and feedback to the seller, submit price reduction/MLS change form, etc. Closing checklist: Order preliminary title report, send contract to escrow, home inspection clearance, appraisal contingency removal, and more. After you download these FREE listing and closing checklists from Brokermint, you can customize them and use them with the solution of your choice. Download these checklists to get on the path to faster commissions today!

4 Ways to Supercharge Your Closing Activity Plans
It's the home stretch of the home-buying process. All the back and forth and hard work in the trenches has paid off and just a few John Hancocks stand in the way of all parties walking away happy. However, now isn't the time to take your eyes off the ball and start celebrating an early victory. Think of it as a marathon and you're in the last 100-meter sprint – and instead of mailing in the last little bit, it's important to stay focused right through to the finish line to make sure nothing catches up to you. You never want to let any details fall through the cracks – so supercharge your closing activity plan to cover all of your bases.

Reesio Training
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

Friday Freebie: Stay Organized with Listing and Closing Checklists
Want a way to go from listing contract to cashed commission check faster? As we say in the RE Technology offices, the key is to "plan your work, and work your plan." For agents, this means having a set game plan in place for completing the routine tasks that every listings requires—ordering photos, creating marketing materials, uploading to the MLS, etc.—and deadlines to follow. Many CRMS and transaction management programs offer activity checklists that agents can use to help set up and close a listing successfully. If your preferred solution doesn't offer checklists—or if the checklists leave something to be desired—today's Friday Freebie is for you! Free Listing and Closing Checklists for Agents Missing documents or incomplete tasks are the biggest factors in missed deadlines or slow-to-close deals. Checklists offer a detailed 'plan of attack' that tells agents exactly what to do and when. Brokermint, a back office and transaction management solution, is offering agent and brokers free listing and closing checklists they can use to close transactions faster. They cover crucial activities like: Listing checklist: Obtain signed disclosures, obtain lockbox authorization, submit market analysis and feedback to the seller, submit price reduction/MLS change form, etc. Closing checklist: Order preliminary title report, send contract to escrow, home inspection clearance, appraisal contingency removal, and more. After you download these FREE listing and closing checklists from Brokermint, you can customize them and use them with the solution of your choice. Download these checklists to get on the path to faster commissions today!

DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate: Broker Edition
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 at 1:00 PM PST This webinar will cover the basics of how to use DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate so you can get started and accelerate your business! Register now!

Selecting the Right Document and Transaction Management Solution
Realtors no longer have to spend precious time making sure nobody missed a signature or driving across town to send an expensive FedEx package. Instead, significant productivity gains and expense reductions can be achieved by the use of electronic signatures for most transactions. While the benefits of going digital for document and transaction management are indisputable, Realtors need to be selective by asking some of the important questions listed in our Technology Guide before choosing a service provider. For instance, what security features does the document and transaction management provider offer? E-signature technology allows clients to easily complete purchase, sales, and financial documents from their computer or mobile device, but some companies are vague about exactly who can see or share the documents. Clients share highly sensitive personal and financial information and it is the Realtor's duty to ensure document security. The best electronic document and transaction services employ an encryption technology such as Secure Socket Layers (SSL) to prevent any unauthorized individuals or malicious third party services from accessing the information. In addition, the document and transaction management service provider should ensure that documents are tamper-proof through signature validation. For real estate transactions, it is important that documents are marked with time-stamped audit trails showing identity of individuals who accessed the documents and which device they used. Some companies also offer two-factor authentication that either probes the client to answer a secret question or texts a code to their mobile phone, which can further safeguard document access. Should an agent ever face a legal question, the proof of access timelines can protect the validity of the signatures.

Digital Transformation: Learn how leading brokers are going fully digital from lead to close. (10/25)
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT The real estate world is changing, and the future will feature transactions that are 100% digital from lead to close. Real estate leaders will discuss the importance of embracing the future by going fully digital with key integrations such as qualified lead generation, transaction management, closing the deal, and everything in between. Register now!

Reesio Training (9/14)
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate: Broker Edition (9/7)
Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 at 1:00 PM PDT This webinar will cover the basics of how to use DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate so you can get started and accelerate your business! Register now!

Tired of manually managing transactions? (8/31)
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at 11:00 AM PDT Our weekly 15-minute webinar covers all the basic functions of the Brokermint system, starting with document upload, task management to more advanced functions like e-signature, pdf split-merge and Google Calendar. How to use Checklists that provide consistency for all users. Create Custom Fields – it's your business – make it personal. Set automatic Reminders for the items that matter most. Tasks – allow the system to prompt you for the necessary items needed to complete a file. No thinking, just doing! Register now!

Go behind the scenes with Reesio! (8/25)
Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT As the market remains hot and agent production numbers continue to skyrocket, staying in bounds with each and every transaction can get tricky. That's where digital transaction management becomes paramount. As Reesio's co-founder, Mark Thomas has spent years perfecting the closing platform, including creating seamless integrations for Top Producer®, zipForm® and even your MLS. In this webinar, Mark will cover Reesio's: Responsive, compliant templates and workflows Deal room collaboration tools Best-in- class e-signature integrations Integrations with Top Producer, zipForm® and your MLS Register now!

TransactionDesk Essentials (8/15)
Monday, August 15, 2016 at 11:00 AM PDT Join us for an essentials overview: MLS Integrations (how to access) Creating a Transaction File Using integrated Authentisign for e-signatures Receiving signed documents back into the transaction file Manage client files online with our web-based services. Register now!

Reesio Training (8/16)
Wednesday, August 16, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate: Broker Edition (8/3)
Wednesday, August 3 2016 at 1:00 PM PDT This webinar will cover the basics of how to use DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate so you can get started and accelerate your business! Register now!

Reesio Training (7/20)
Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate: Broker Edition (7/6)
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 1:00 PM PDT This webinar will cover the basics of how to use DocuSign Transaction Rooms for Real Estate so you can get started and accelerate your business! Register now!

Advanced Authentisign for e-Signing and a Paperless Transaction File (6/30)
Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT Learn more about Instanet's 'Advanced Features' such as in depth coverage of Mark-Up Tools, Checkboxes / Radio Buttons and Step 4, the design step. Signing Participants: In-Person, In-line signers and 'Private Email.' Also, bring your questions! We will want user feedback and interest as well.We will highlight the signing participants steps to access and accept the prepared contract packet. Authentisign is e-Sign and UETA compliant as well as FHA Approved! We look forward to 'seeing' you there! Register now!

TransactionDesk Essentials (6/16)
Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 11:30 AM PDT Join us for an essentials overview: MLS Integrations (how to access) Creating a Transaction File Using integrated Authentisign for e-signatures Receiving signed documents back into the transaction file Manage client files online with our web-based services. Register now!

Reesio Training (6/15)
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

Reesio Training (6/8)
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

2016 NAR & zipLogix® New Member Benefit: zipTMS™ (5/31)
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT In 2016, National Association of REALTORS® and zipLogix™ offer REALTORS zipTMS™ as a nationwide benefit. Each member will have access to technology that has been shaped from over 20 years of industry expertise and feedback from REALTORS® across the nation. See how zipTMS™ Transaction Management System allows you to optimize workflow offering a comprehensive set of tools that provide the essential online workplace for real estate professionals. Features of zipTMS™ include: Managing transactions with task checklists; Create checklist templates; Adjust the task view with calendar or list mode; zipForm® Plus notifications for tasks; Transaction history records all tasks and more! Register now!

Reesio Training (5/18)
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT This webinar is a full-length demo of our entire product. You will walk away from the demo feeling trained and knowledgeable on all of our great features. Webinars are 1 hour long, and we'll be able to answer all of your questions during it. During the webinar, you will learn how to: Create transactions in Reesio Create and add compliance and workflow templates including creating and assigning tasks Manage your documents including uploading, sharing, editing, and eSignatures and more! Register now!

Behind a REALTORS® Digital Life: Musings from my Mobile
What REALTOR® wouldn't want to do away with paper? The beauty of being a real estate professional is engaging with clients. It's personal: you're making their dreams into a reality. Part of that reality is making sure the process leading up to home ownership is as streamlined as possible. That's where digital platforms come into play. Just as caffeine unleashes energy, digital platforms, like DocuSign's Digital Transaction Management (DTM), unleashes pure simplicity. It's only natural: when you dump paper in favor of digitized contracts, you gain speed, efficiency and peace of mind. I remember when I was an active REALTOR®. Our team of twelve relied on digital platforms, like DocuSign, to help us crack smiles on our clients' faces. If anyone has gone through the traditional process of buying a home, they'll delight in knowing they can DocuSign their way to a dream home within moments, and even on their mobile device if they so choose. Tap, tap, tap...the keys to the house are yours. Sure, the thought of digitally managing the process might raise a few eyebrows with the older generations, but note to all electronic signature providers: Keep It Simple! I cannot stress this enough in order to welcome all generations to enjoying the digital advantage.

Document and Transaction Management 101
Document management and transaction management represent two distinctly different product categories. However, some companies have chosen to offer solutions that combine the two categories into a single solution. Thus, we are discussing them together here. Borrowing from our previous article on this very subject, here's a quick review of these product categories. Document management technology is intended to help real estate professionals manage documents with functions that support: digitally storing documents, sharing documents with other interested parties, organizing documents, tracking the status of documents, and (in some instances) electronically signing documents. Transaction management products are intended to help real estate professionals manage a transaction through functions such as: contact management, a calendar tool, some degree of document management, and a wide variety of other features. It provides a collaborative space for working with all the parties to a transaction through tasks (for instance ordering home inspection, coordinating mortgage, etc.). Forms management is also often a component of products that fall into this category. Choosing the Right Tool If you're in the market for a document or transaction management platform, there are questions you can ask to evaluate which option is right for you, like: What is offered by my broker, MLS or Association? Your broker may work with a Transaction Coordinator and you'll want to be using the same solution they're using – it will make things easier for you and for them. The more people that use the same solution, the more effective it can be.

The Biggest Marketing Mistakes (and how to avoid them!)
Spotted on MarketingCharts.com: The biggest mistakes companies make with their consumers. Scanning the article and the chart, I couldn't help wondering how many real estate agents were making these mistakes. And then I had an epiphany – most of these mistakes could be avoided quite simply, by leveraging the right technology. The Problems You should definitely read the Marketing Charts article. But here are the mistakes that really stood out to me: Responding to enquiries too slowly Receiving information that is inaccurately targeted Treating you with a one-size-fits-all approach Receiving little to no communication Inaccurately tailored communication

When Systems Integrate, Agents Win
When we talk about the benefits of our transaction management solution, EZ Coordinator, we often give integrations top billing. Why? Because we can't overemphasize the benefits to agents and brokers. Benefits of Integration When we talk about the benefits of integrating technology solutions, there are two factors that are strongest in my mind: Data Entry. Who actually enjoys data entry? Not me and probably not you. When an agent is working on several different technology platforms with the same information and those platforms don't "talk" to one another, it requires the agent to enter the same information separately into each platform. This leaves room for errors or inconsistencies and wastes a considerable amount of time. Jumping Around. When an agent is constantly jumping between a variety of technology tools, problems abound. First, it's just annoying. Am I right? I mean, you're on a Web-based tool but then you have to open a desktop application or maybe a mobile app – pretty soon, you feel like you're juggling with about seven balls in the air. But beyond the irritation factor, there's the time lost. It takes time to open a new desktop application or cloud-based tool. It takes time to enter your username and password. It takes time to look back-and-forth between all the platforms you have open at once.