Protecting Your Brokerage: How to audit-proof the transaction side of your business
As a real estate brokerage owner, one of your top priorities is to protect your business, including costly and time-consuming audits. Implementing a digital transaction management system can help you effectively "audit-proof" the transaction side of your brokerage by automatically maintaining detailed records and documentation that is easy to access and provide if you face an audit. Streamline documentation One of the biggest time drains associated with audits is gathering all the necessary paperwork around your agents' transactions. When transactions are handled manually with traditional paper files, assembling documentation for auditors takes enormous administrative time and effort. Staff must dig through piles of paper documents to identify forms, contracts, disclosures, and other items needed to substantiate a transaction. Tracking down information for one deal could take hours. Now, how much time could it take if auditors want to review 10, 20, or 100 transactions? A robust transaction management system stores all documents related to real estate deals digitally in one centralized platform. This makes pulling together files associated with a specific transaction quick and simple. And if you need to gather all transactions handled by a particular agent, you can do that quickly, too. When you have a digital transaction management system that is broker-friendly, like Form Simplicity, it only takes a few clicks to allow you to access the required documentation for auditors instantly. Forget the paper shuffle and avoid getting buried under stacks of files. Digital access means transaction records can be collected and organized in just minutes versus days. Maintain meticulous transaction records Auditors want to see a precise paper trail for real estate transactions. It's up to brokers to maintain careful records that accurately reflect essential information and events, including time/date stamps. Without diligent documentation, you risk facing fines, penalties, and other negative consequences if issues arise. Regulators will look for detailed confirmation that you and your team followed policies and regulations correctly, made the necessary disclosures, and completed other essential steps. A quality transaction management system helps brokers more easily ensure compliance by automatically recording the necessary time/date stamps, tracking document actions (uploads, downloads, shares), and providing a precise audit trail showing who accessed or modified records – and when. Having a detailed online log gives you accountability and demonstrates to auditors that your brokerage's transactions are handled meticulously. No more nervously waiting to see if your agents' paper records line up: with a transaction management system, you have complete confidence that everything is transparent and above board. Confirm transaction oversight from any location Brokers are ultimately responsible for supervising their agents and ensuring real estate deals follow policies, laws, and regulations. However, with agents conducting transactions in the field, maintaining strong oversight can be challenging — especially for busy broker-owners balancing a wide range of responsibilities. It's simply not feasible to physically monitor every deal in person when you have 10, 20, or 50+ agents working actively with buyers and sellers in an office or across a region. Online transaction management platforms empower brokers to monitor transactions remotely and in real-time, regardless of location. You can instantly check in on the status of any deal to ensure proper protocols are followed, essential tasks are completed, and nothing is missed. Perhaps most importantly, you gain reliable transaction oversight from wherever you happen to be. There is no need to play phone or email tag with agents to track down document status when it's readily visible on your computer, wherever you are. Knowing you can log in and have complete visibility, even from your smartphone, eliminates geography as an audit hurdle. Boost agent productivity and organization Disorganized agents potentially create bigger risks and more headaches — especially during audits. Sloppy recordkeeping can raise red flags if crucial documents are misplaced or details are incomplete or unclear. Transaction management technology helps organize disorganized agents, creating accountability and productivity throughout each transaction. And when there is an audit, a more organized agent can simplify audits. Intuitive transaction management systems like Form Simplicity feature structured workflows that guide agents through key transaction steps and automated reminders to complete essential documents and deliver analytics that provide instant insight into where deals stand. Transaction management systems boost agent organization, efficiency, and responsibility. Moreover, because records are stored digitally in structured templates within the platform, there's no shuffling through mounds of paper files seeking specific forms. Agents stay on track, and transactions remain appropriately documented. The easier your agents handle compliant transactions, the easier the audit. Transaction management enables transparency across your brokerage so that audits can be routine rather than disrupted. Centralized advantage Between gathering paperwork, answering auditor questions, providing extra documentation, and monitoring the audit, the administrative burden on brokers can be heavy, often requiring complete focus for days or more. Audits can significantly detract from a broker's ability to run their business, support agents, and assist clients. Your existing responsibilities don't stop during an audit, and brokers face bandwidth constraints trying to manage it all. Because a digital transaction management system keeps everything connected and accessible with each transaction in one place, much of the audit prep is already handled in advance. You move your brokerage from managing a manual paper chase to simply electronically gathering the requested information. Because your system tracks where everything stands, you'll have more bandwidth to focus on running your brokerage operations even amidst an audit. Bot-free, human tech support Bots may have a place in answering routine questions, but when troubleshooting the complexities of a transaction management system, you need human assistance. Only the best tech systems offer live support these days, and getting the help you need when you need it is crucial, especially if you are preparing for an audit. One example: agents and brokers using Form Simplicity get free, live tech support from the real estate industry's No. 1 tech support service, Tech Helpline. So, when you run into a technical roadblock or are unsure how to create a transaction checklist, or access certain information from your transaction management system, contact a trained analyst to reduce your time and energy. Transaction management systems: Your audit armor A robust digital transaction software can transform how your brokerage operates — especially when it comes to a frustrating audit. You can assemble documentation in a breeze, meticulously track transactions, and promote organization among even the most disorganized agents. You can "audit-proof" your business with a transaction management system so you can focus on service and growth rather than a stressful audit. A digital transaction management system is your brokerage's audit armor, giving you peace of mind even if that audit never comes. Related reads From the Form Simplicity Blog: Transaction Coordinators: How Real Estate Management Systems Work 4 Ways Brokers Can Build Their Brand with Form Simplicity Broker Benefits: 3 Ways Brokers Can Maximize Their Use of a Transaction Management Solution Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

3 Ways Brokers Can Maximize Their Use of a Transaction Management Solution
The most recent Technology Survey from the National Association of Realtors places transaction management as one of their brokerage's top three most valuable technology tools. Only digital signatures – typically a feature of transaction management software – and lockbox/showing tech topped this vital tool. As transaction management software like Form Simplicity becomes more popular than ever, brokers can benefit by uncovering new ways to use it smarter. Here are three ways brokers can maximize their use to gain more benefits from their transaction management software. 1. Be Intentional Improved paperwork flow and the ability to track progress are two of the most significant benefits that transaction management systems can offer brokers. Being intentional – building the use of the software into your daily routine – will save time and effort. Having the ability to manage all your forms in one safe place streamlines your workflow. In addition, with programs like Form Simplicity, every form is kept current, protecting your agents and clients. Sharing the work to move a transaction forward in real-time is vital. Collaboration has never been easier with transaction management software. From adding missing documents instantly to a platform that allows comments, transaction management software helps eliminate the inefficiencies of back-and-forth emails. Because everything is stored in the cloud, work can go on uninterrupted. Brokers don't have to track down an agent to find a file or to get a status update. By making transaction management part of daily workflow, brokers can see what's going on – and what needs to be done next, improving efficiency. 2. Be Proactive Because transaction management software gives a broker transparency into every transaction 24/7, it eliminates the waiting game. Brokers can act immediately and not have to wait on a report or update from an agent: the status and documentation for each transaction can be reviewed at any time in real-time. The benefit of brokers having greater transparency is reduced risk. Reviewing transactions as they come together can help a broker identify an issue before it becomes a problem. Brokers also benefit from improving their own workflow and task management. For example, Form Simplicity offers unique broker tools to gain faster visibility into their entire book of business. As a result, brokers can see current and archived transactions, unassigned transactions, review transactions, and manage checklists all in a single place. Brokers can create and manage teams, provide online review checklists, and notify agents when something in the transaction changes – all within a customized dashboard, showing the broker what they want to see first. 3. Be More Responsive One of the biggest benefits brokers will notice is the ability to increase agent satisfaction when a transaction management system is in place. Because agents also get transparency into their transactions, they can see their broker's contributions to the review process, including real-time notifications when comments and changes are made. Broker review is as important a process to the broker as it is to the agent, and a digital system makes the process remarkably smooth and streamlined. The broker can respond within the transaction management system if something is missing, or a change is needed — no more wasted time attempting to decipher emails. Because advanced transaction management software, like Form Simplicity, is mobile-ready, work can continue wherever the agent or broker is. When leveraged correctly, a transaction management system enables brokers to respond immediately. That means agents can spend more time working with their clients and prospects and not waiting for an answer on a particular file. For brokers wanting to learn more about the benefits a transaction management system can deliver to their firm and their agents, see formsimplicity.com/brokers. To view the original article, visit the Form Simplicity blog.

Weichert, Realtors Adopts SkySlope Suite for Its 7,000 Corporate Office Associates
SkySlope has partnered with Weichert, Realtors to bring its digital transaction management to Weichert's over 7,000 corporate associates. The partnership expands SkySlope's digital transaction market share, adding several thousand agents to the 650,000 members it currently serves throughout the U.S. and Canada. Since 1969, Weichert, Realtors has evolved from a single office into one of the nation's leading providers of real estate and related services. Their customer-centric approach to real estate has been integral to their success and informs every decision — from what technology to adopt to what agent programs to invest in. SkySlope mirrors Weichert's propensity for exemplary customer service, an attribute that initially drew Weichert to the digital transaction management provider. Equipped with an award-winning customer service team, SkySlope currently serves over half of the top 20 largest brokerages in the U.S. Founded in 2011 with the intention to create technology that makes life easier for real estate professionals, SkySlope is an all-in-one platform designed for brokers and agents to execute, store, organize, and audit real estate documents. In addition to its core transaction platform, SkySlope offers a dynamic set of solutions that are integrated with the platform for added functionality, such as Digisign — a digital signing tool that can be used to send real estate documents out for electronic signature — that bolster the value that SkySlope offers to real estate brokers and agents. Most recently, in 2021, SkySlope launched SkySlope Forms, an efficiency-boosting tool that makes the most recent versions of state and association forms available to agents directly in SkySlope. Forms are pre-filled with property details pulled from the MLS, and dates and contacts are automatically populated in matching data fields. The tool allows agents to side-step redundant data entry and save time during every transaction. Weichert's decision to adopt SkySlope as their universal transaction management platform comes on the heels of a successful trial run of the system, undertaken by a single Weichert office. Weichert, Realtors was immediately impressed by SkySlope's near-24/7 customer support and continued emphasis on agent learning and training sessions. "There are many reasons agents choose to hang their license with Weichert, Realtors," says Jim Weichert, president, chairman and CEO of Weichert Companies, "But paramount among them is Weichert's dedication to partnering with the services that provide our agents with an industry advantage. With its smartly-designed interface and extensive suite of solutions, SkySlope gives our agents the most competitive advantage in the marketplace today." "A rapidly-changing real estate landscape is asking more of agents than ever before," says SkySlope CEO Tyler Smith. "SkySlope aims to make the shifts less impactful by offering agents a streamlined workflow that saves them time for profit-generating activities like landing more listings or holding open houses. We look forward to providing these benefits to the Weichert, Realtors team and being a continued part of their impressive growth trajectory."

3 Surprising Advantages of a Digital Transaction Management Program
Burning out is a genuine concern for many real estate professionals. Feeling overwhelmed at the amount of work or responsibilities, and stressing out about deadlines takes an emotional and physical toll. So savvy brokers are always looking for ways to help their agents (and themselves) find that work-life balance. One way they pursue is to provide their agents with the right tools to facilitate their work, including SaaS products. Today, two-thirds of all Realtors use a digital transaction management program. One in four use it daily or nearly every day. And about one in three use a transaction management program for their business at least a few times a month, according to a recent National Association of Realtors study. As an industry, we have witnessed a remarkable surge over the last two years in the adoption and use of digital technology. For example, a study by the WAV Group shows that brokerages using transaction management solutions saw their value increase and usage soar during the pandemic. Most of the brokerages surveyed – 85% – said their transaction management solution was "very/extremely valuable." For nearly three in four brokerages surveyed, 81% of their transactions use their digital transaction management software. Brokers know their top-producing agents rely on transaction management software to fuel their success. They know the remarkable value that a digital transaction management solution can bring to a brokerage and its agents, including these three surprising advantages: 1. Improved organization Providing a way for agents to be more organized is one of the positive consequences of using transaction management software. It's pretty common for some real estate agents to be organizationally challenged. Transaction management software helps brokers fix that problem permanently. Having everything in one place – digitally – automatically helps organize agents. For example, with Form Simplicity, the digital transaction management software owned and operated by Florida Realtors® available to agents and brokers nationwide, the most current forms are always in one place and easy to find. As a result, transactions are kept up-to-date, protecting everyone from the risk caused by the accidental use of an older form, and saving agents from wasting time having to dig through countless computer folders to find the right form. Everything is stored online, enabling brokers and agents to manage, track, store, and access all the information they need from contract to close. Not just every document but every email and text related to the transaction can be automatically filed away in one place designated for each transaction. For a broker-owner, improved agent organization means having a complete and comprehensive digital trail of every document and correspondence instantly viewable. This capability provided by transaction management software becomes an irreplaceable time-saver for brokers when an audit is required. 2. Better communication At the heart of every great transaction management solution is collaboration. Increased collaboration between all the parties involved in a transaction is crucial for delivering the best customer service experience to buyers and sellers. Collaboration fuels more communication, and having good and timely communication skills is one of the essential traits clients look for when hiring an agent. That's why Form Simplicity is mobile responsive to help agents and clients who are always on the go. Real estate is a mobile industry, and having the ability to manage a transaction from wherever you are – and giving clients the ability to access information or sign documents remotely is no longer a luxury but a competitive "must-have." Through digital transaction management software, brokerages can empower their agents to better engage and communicate with their clients. Happy clients mean more powerful word-of-mouth recommendations that lead to more business, resulting in greater profits for both agents and the brokerage. Transparency is required to achieve exceptional communication. Digital signatures built into the transaction management software delivers clarity to keep apprised of each stage, status, and next step. Giving clients more visibility through better communications is what clients want. 3. Raises the customer experience Brokerages know that good service isn't good enough; today, the client expects exceptional service. Transaction management software can help ensure a next-level client experience. One of the great benefits of significant real estate technology from a broker's point of view is that it can save both their agents and their clients time. Saving agents time makes them more productive, keeping them busy and loyal. From the client's point of view, saving time also means reducing stress. When someone is in the middle of the biggest financial decision of their lives, reducing their stress can often be what makes good agents great. Clients have a higher expectation of service today because of technology. Amazon can deliver what you often need in a couple of hours and almost certainly the next day. Uber removes the worry about where to park as well as the expense. Door Dash delivers our favorite foods, ready to consume, often in minutes. And you can track every step of the process. The challenge for agents is that every other agent, it seems, says a great customer experience is their fundamental value proposition. The difference is how that service is delivered: not just by the agent and brokerage, but the technology underneath every transaction. Going from good to great to an exceptional customer experience is a heady task. But it is hard to imagine how an agent can get there today without a digital transaction management solution with a great tech support team to assist agents and brokers. To view the original article, visit the Form Simplicity blog.

Digital Transformation Helps Commercial Real Estate Firms Offer Flexibility and Convenience
Over the past few years, the business landscape has changed significantly, especially in commercial real estate. From temporarily shuttered buildings to the explosion of digital technologies supporting remote interactions, change has been constant. Change can be uncomfortable, but when it's about providing truly flexible experiences for both businesses and customers, organizations should embrace it. Trending toward transformation The goal of any business is to maximize profits and delight customers with exceptional experiences that keep them coming back. When unexpected circumstances block that progression, organizations must adapt quickly. Sudden office closures presented such a barrier—as well as an opportunity to transform how they do business. Successful companies realized quickly that they needed to shift to a hybrid and remote workforce to survive. Even now, as companies are reopening their physical offices, the trend toward a hybrid workforce and remote and self-service customer interactions is going strong. According to a new poll by Gallup, 53 percent of respondents indicated a clear preference for a hybrid work arrangement now and in the future. The same is true for consumer preference: brands scoring the highest in Forrester's Customer Experience Index all digitally transformed their operations to better serve their customers. For commercial real estate firms, this means providing the flexibility employees and customers desire, including implementing contract management technologies that enable remote interactions. Current challenges For most organizations, agreements between employees, customers, partners and vendors codify how business gets done. This is especially true for commercial real estate firms that manage myriad contracts and leases. When contract management is seamless and simple, it's a massive business driver. But when it's chaotic and confusing, it can quickly sap productivity and jeopardize deals. This contract chaos is typically rooted in manual and paper-based processes, leading to a host of challenges for real estate investment firms, such as: Unnecessary delays during tenant turnover that negatively impact consistent rental income Postponements of critical and emergency maintenance projects that frustrate occupants and service providers Version control issues and legal risks from buyers and sellers changing terms numerous times, right up to contract signing Months-long negotiations and contract redlining delaying closing times due to complex sales processes with multiple stakeholders Delays, legal risks and mounting frustrations can be disastrous. Digital transformation is key to streamlining the contract management process and providing employees, tenants, and business associates the simplicity and flexibility they want. Time to transform While full-scale digital transformation is the end goal, it can be overwhelming to consider and prioritize all the areas ripe for modernization. It truly does change how an organization does business, from improving how employees collaborate to how customers interact. But with any large project, it's a journey. Knowing where to begin is just as important as envisioning where to finish. A great place to start is for an organization to evaluate how it creates, signs and manages all of its contracts and agreements. For commercial real estate firms, there's a laundry list of documents to manage, such as leases, renewals, work orders, NDAs, purchase and sale agreements, addendums and many more. Trying to manage these manually, or even partially digitally, can be a recipe for chaos. Centralized, cloud-based contract lifecycle management software is a must for organizations looking to streamline their processes, boost productivity and—perhaps most importantly—offer employees, clients/tenants and partners the convenience of remote and self-service interactions and transactions. More specifically, end-to-end digital contract management offers the following benefits for commercial real estate firms. 1. Collaborate with virtually anyone, anywhere at any time Digital contract management software delivers the flexibility and speed needed to complete agreements from virtually anywhere. In addition to supporting a more distributed and hybrid workforce, it's critical for business continuity during unexpected disruptions. But even with digital tools, agreement workflows can still be unnecessarily complex. A mostly digital workflow that still includes steps requiring manual interventions and in-person interactions will undermine the purpose of implementing these tools in the first place. When agreements are managed online from end to end, businesses and customers can work together, even when they're not in the same room, country or time zone. 2. Minimize legal risk and extract new intelligence Commercial sales contracts and leases are lengthy documents with extensive back-and-forth redlining, possibly exposing companies to legal risk if a word or clause is missed in all the different versions. Contract lifecycle management gives legal teams broader control, helping them understand exactly what's in an agreement and tracking changes so there's less risk of violating terms, tarnishing reputations and losing income. Going a step further, storing all contracts in a central repository enables firms to review them for the most historically favorable terms and hidden risks. But tasking humans with this analysis can be time-consuming and error-prone. Contract management software with built-in AI tools can quickly find, filter and analyze thousands of agreements, massively reducing manual effort and errors. 3. Realize faster income while reducing costs Commercial leases are often complex and can take weeks or months to complete. And when they're paper-based and require manual interactions, it adds even more time, delaying critical rental income. Digital contract management tools accelerate the entire leasing process by eliminating paper and enabling quick and convenient interactions—cutting costs and helping firms receive valuable income much more quickly. 4. Focus on what's most important Negotiating is an essential part of property acquisitions and dispositions, as well as commercial leases, to ensure a favorable deal for all parties. Businesses should be able to focus on getting the deal finalized without worrying about the hassle and red tape that comes with tracking changes and versions of contracts saved in multiple locations, or worse, on paper documents. A fully digital agreement process lets users access all of a document's previous drafts—and the actions taken on each—back to the day it was created. This removes confusion and disagreements, and frees up valuable time. 5. Create better experiences for lasting success When agreements are onerous, companies risk losing top talent and valued customers. There are simply too many other options in the current market to justify enduring repeated bad experiences. Digital transformation is essential for providing the flexible and fast interactions people now expect. When work gets done more efficiently, and agreements are reached faster, it's a better experience for everyone—helping businesses attract and retain top talent and keep their customers returning. To view the original article, visit the DocuSign blog.

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.

How to Manage an Entire Real Estate Transaction in the Cloud
Cloud-based technology is revolutionizing real estate. In addition to saving brokerages money, transitioning to the cloud has: made brokerages more efficient by streamlining and automating tasks, and helped increase resiliency by letting entire teams work anytime, anywhere. Did you know every step of a typical real estate transaction can be completely managed in the cloud? In this post, we follow an entire cloud-powered real estate transaction, from generating the lead to closing the deal. Listing lead generation A seller in your city sees a Facebook post about a home for sale in their neighborhood that your social publishing tool posted automatically from your MLS. The seller clicks on the post and is brought to your personalized website. At the top of the page, the seller sees they can request a free home valuation, backed by the best MLS data in the industry. To access their report, they fill out a contact form that feeds directly into your customer relationship management (CRM) software, so you can follow up with them directly. The lead also takes down your contact information from your website, and they give you a call (if you haven't already followed up first!). Listing marketing You electronically sign a contract with the seller to represent them in the sale of their home. After entering all their property information into the MLS, your digital marketing suite automatically creates a customized property site and social media marketing campaign that starts getting posted immediately to Facebook. All posts link back to a customized virtual property tour, and potential buyers can create an account on your site to stay up to date about new listings. Buyer lead capture When a potential buyer conducts a saved search on your site, calls your office, sends you an email, or uses one of the myriad other ways to get in touch with you, their contact information is captured by your CRM and turned into a lead. You're notified and can get back to them quickly to help them find a house to buy. Recommended properties You can stay in touch with your buyer leads using recommended properties, which use AI to suggest additional listings tailored to buyers' saved search criteria. Every listing they see has the potential to be their perfect property, based on budget, location, number of rooms, and more. A prospective buyer who recently started receiving recommended properties emails through your website is interested in the listing, which could lead to a double-sided deal for your brokerage. Showing management Your listing has generated a lot of traffic and interest. You can keep track of everyone who sets up a showing using a cloud-based showing scheduler. Schedule push notifications to remind buyers of their appointments automatically and integrate with your TMS or accounting software. The buyer you're representing loves the listing and wants to put in an offer! Great news, you can manage all those steps in the cloud, too. Transaction and document management Instead of manually re-entering all the listing data into your transaction management software, you can import it from your MLS. Your TMS lets you set up customized workflows and checklists, so you never forget a crucial step. Best of all, you can ditch your scanners, copiers, and filing cabinets by going completely to the cloud with digital libraries and templates for every document you could possibly need. Accounting As the transaction moves forward, your team can track your brokerage's finances and manage all your invoicing, tax forms, credit card and ACH payments, and more from a single, web-based accounting platform. Intuitive dashboards help you with your weekly, monthly, and quarterly reporting and provide up-to-the-minute insight into your brokerage's finances. You can even automate your core bookkeeping tasks, freeing up time for your finance team. Electronic signatures Never let distance, business hours, or a lost pen keep you from getting the signatures you need to keep your transaction going smoothly. Electronic signatures are a secure, legal way to gather signatures from all the parties to a real estate transaction (and even your contractors, admins, and suppliers!). Both the buyer and the seller, as well as their agents, can keep the transaction flowing by signing documents from their phones to approve contingencies, inspection reports, deposits, and more. Commissions management Congratulations, you closed your latest deal and represented both buyer and seller! Now it's time to disburse the commission. No matter what split you use at your brokerage, you can set up, calculate, and pay out commissions and fees using the cloud thanks to new web-based commissions solutions. It even integrates with tools like QuickBooks and your TMS. Simply enter the splits, and when it's time to close, the tool does the rest for you. There you have it, an entire transaction flow completely in the cloud. To view the original article, visit the Constellation1 blog.

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.

3 Ways Brokers Benefit from Form Simplicity
The ability to offer clients a digital transaction option has never been more crucial. Thinking back on the last five months, it should be no surprise that the most valuable digital tool was eSignatures, according to a stunning 78 percent of Realtors recently surveyed by the National Association of Realtors. No other technology was ranked more valuable, as eSignatures ranked higher than local MLS apps (54 percent), social media (53 percent), lockboxes (48 percent), and video conferencing (39 percent). For most brokerages, eSignature is a feature available with the leading transaction management solutions. In fact, the Ultimate Edition of Form Simplicity from the Florida Realtors® offers unlimited esigning as a core feature. And while key features like eSigning make it easier for agents who use transaction management software to work remotely with their clients, transaction management software also makes it easier for brokers to manage – and protect – their business. Because Form Simplicity is cloud-based, brokers can access it anytime, anywhere, and from any place you can access the internet. Here are three ways brokers benefit when Form Simplicity is their transaction management solution: 1. It helps you avoid making mistakes. How often do you or one of your agents miss a signature or an initial on a transaction document? Unfortunately, it can happen even to the most detailed-oriented agent. But smart technology enables Form Simplicity to guide everyone through each document to the specific place that they need to sign or initial. That saves you and your agents time, avoiding having to chase down a missing signature. If you don't have the math skills of an MIT graduate, don't worry. Form Simplicity has your back and makes sure your agents won't make mistakes too. Form Simplicity does the math for you – all the calculations are built into the forms; you and your agents just enter the numbers. And brokers can also request that their operational forms be programmed into Form Simplicity for office use, including HR forms, commission disbursement forms with calculations built-in, agent onboarding forms, team reports, and more. 2. It's all about collaboration. Staying on top of your agents' business and helping them improve their workflow is the hallmark of a great broker. Form Simplicity is a tool you can count on for better collaboration with your agents. Form Simplicity empowers you to review and sort your agents' active transactions quickly. In addition, it allows you to reassign, rename, and archive transactions instantly. Best of all, Form Simplicity will deliver all transaction information to you in real-time. Brokers also can implement a digital review of your agents' transactions with Form Simplicity. Because Form Simplicity allows you to go paperless, you and your agents save time, and it electronically tracks the entire process. Digital notifications eliminate back and forth emails and phone calls with your agents. By streamlining your workflow and the workflow of your agents, everyone benefits from improved productivity. Form Simplicity helps you work smarter, not harder. 3. Avoid audit fear as everything is digitally documented! No one enjoys an audit, except perhaps the auditors, but certainly not brokers. Audits are time-consuming, require lots of documentation, and can take you away from focusing on what you do best. How do you spell audit relief? Form Simplicity has you covered. Form Simplicity provides you with a Broker Submittal process. This allows you to create and set up digital checklists to approve and mark transactions as complete—or send change notifications to agents. These checklists help eliminate phone calls, emails and make sure that all back and forth interaction is fully documented. In addition, Form Simplicity automatically attaches all communications for each transaction, digitally filing it in one place. After a broker marks a transaction as "complete," the transaction is automatically stored in the broker's Form Simplicity's online storage. The most important benefit: This digital documentation process makes sure you comply with the legal requirements. If you are audited, everything is in one place, fully documented, and digitally tracked, which will make the process much smoother. Form Simplicity offers simplified transaction management, packed with the features brokers need most, including: Allow you to create teams within your brokerage. Grant your assistant or team members access to your Broker View. Delegate permissions of team members, designate team members to approve other agents' transactions. Generate brokerage-wide template packages of frequently used forms. Create brokerage-wide clauses. View your agents' uploaded files. Review your agents' transaction history information and a lot more. Real estate industry leaders trust Form Simplicity to help them manage their brokerage transactions. To find out how you can too, go to formsimplicity.com/brokers. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Transaction Management Systems Need to 'Talk to One Another' for More Market Efficiency
Brokerages and agents are suffering with technologies that are incompatible, requiring brokerages to support redundant data input and inefficient processes. Listing and transaction data fuels most processes within brokerages from accounting and commission payments to marketing systems. The 2021 WAV Group Transaction Management Interoperability Report revealed brokers have strong interest in the ability for digital transaction management systems to pass data seamlessly for the brokerages representing two sides of a transaction. Today, brokers have to enter data in as many as nine or 10 systems, creating inefficiency, added cost and increased chances of inaccurate data. According to the study, nearly three-quarters of brokers would like to enter data into one system, either at the MLS or brokerage, and then seamlessly pass the information to other systems. With the shrinking profitability of residential transactions, many brokers have turned to ancillary services to strengthen revenues and profitability. There's strong interest in passing transaction data to these entities as well. While there is still a ton of work to be done to allow data to pass as seamlessly as brokers would like, the nearly ubiquitous adoption of digital transaction management solutions has created a foundation of opportunity. According to the 2021 WAV Group Transaction Management Interoperability Report, 81% of transactions are now processed digitally. The interoperability needed to simplify transaction data management across a brokerage or market can be fueled by standardization outlined by data uniformity outlined by the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO). RESO has a Cross Platform Interoperability Work Group in place to address these important broker issues. Any member from a company RESO member is welcome to participate in the Work Group. Download your copy of the 2021 WAV Group Transaction Management Interoperability Report here. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

The Unexpected Benefits of Form Simplicity for Agents
When America locked down, real estate agents already using a digital transaction management program had an immediate advantage. As working remotely became the new normal for months, having every document, every email, and every text associated with each transaction located in one place, online and accessible 24-7, was a priceless timesaver. Overnight, transaction management software became the new "must-have" for every active real estate agent. For Form Simplicity from the Florida Realtors®, product training classes went online and were packed. As a result, a record number of agents attended training provided virtually by Form Simplicity in 2020. By mid-year, attendance exceeded all training provided the entire prior year. These were some of the unexpected consequences of the pandemic. As agents clamored to solutions that helped them work better remotely, real estate technology software saw record adoption rates as more agents went digital and paperless. Form Simplicity's growth accelerated over the last 18 months. From Alabama to Oregon, Georgia to Missouri, Form Simplicity continues to expand its presence nationwide. As one of the real estate industry's most popular and advanced digital transaction management solutions, Form Simplicity recently began providing services to nearly 100,000 Realtor members, including Missouri REALTORS, Georgia REALTORS, and Alabama REALTORS, and subscribers of Oregon Real Estate Forms (owned by the Eugene Association of Realtors and the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors). Unexpected agent benefits Support When real estate agents begin using Form Simplicity, they discover benefits they were unaware of before going digital. At the top of the list is the unparalleled support they receive from Tech Helpline, the No. 1 tech support service in real estate, with the exceptional customer service and rapid response times provided by all departments. Training Since its redesign, Form Simplicity has become one of the most intuitive, easy-to-use transaction management solutions that new agents pick up instantly. That reduces agent workflow disruption as brokers need to provide less training and avoid pulling agents out of their sales cycle. For agents who need extra help, Form Simplicity also offers outstanding training support for association staff and members to help maximize all the features it provides. Specialized Smart Forms Smart forms are at the heart of Form Simplicity – forms that allows agents to enter property data once and then automatically populate that information wherever it appears on other forms. The power of autofill in Form Simplicity is something agents covet as it reduces risk. Forms are programmed to perform calculations, conditional fields, custom mapping and more. In addition, agents no longer have to enter the same information repeatedly, which is a waste of their time and talents. It's why Form Simplicity spends so much time behind the scenes refining its technology to make sure its streamlined form programming process is unmatched in the industry. As a result, we can take custom forms an association has and turn them into Specialized Smart Forms, offering them as part of Form Simplicity – another huge benefit for agents. More than just convenient Security Turning a paper-intensive business into a digitally-driven process creates more than convenience. Having safe and highly secure (bank-grade) access to all your files in a single place online increases the productivity of every agent. Collaboration Collaboration is key to success in real estate. Unique to our business, competing agents must rely on each other to create a successful transaction. Embedded into Form Simplicity are features that enable a highly collaborative process – in real-time. Some agents want a clean document and to make sure everything is in place before sending it out for signatures. Form Simplicity's built-in collaboration feature allows an agent to share a form with another agent involved in the transaction to capture negotiated points accurately before sending out for signing. Customizable Email Signatures Another unexpected benefit Form Simplicity offers agents is offering an email signature that automatically populates. It takes just a few seconds to set up, and the agent's name and contact information are at the end of every email sent from within Form Simplicity. FREE Assistant Accounts Brokers benefit from the ability to create an "Assistant" account to help them manage forms. Also, Form Simplicity allows brokers to set specific permissions, giving them the ability to designate access for an office or a particular agent. Switch User The "switch user" feature that Form Simplicity offers helps keep busy brokers on task. For example, suppose a broker or their designated office assistant needs to take a quick look at an agent's transaction. In that case, the switch user function allows them to access the transaction, assist or provide an answer to the agent, and switch back to their Broker View. This feature is in addition to the more comprehensive Broker Review process, designed solely to allow brokers to respond quickly to urgent questions or agent needs. Is Form Simplicity for you? The final "unexpected benefit" that Form Simplicity offers both agents and brokers is an invisible feature. Form Simplicity is industry-run, operated by the Florida Realtors, the nation's largest state association. Unlike other leading transaction management software offerings, there is no influence from Wall Street or venture capital investors. At Florida Realtors, serving the needs of the real estate community and homeowners comes first, period. Associations/MLSs/brokerages can rest assured that our pricing model is fair and not inflated. Our pricing is also very straight forward unlike other companies on the market, making it easier for clients to get a very clear picture of what the pricing is, without having to account for multiple add-ons. Mobile compatibility, broker tools, and support are examples of this. Some 68 brokers from 16 Florida communities came together in 1916 to mark the beginning of the Florida Realtors. Today, Florida Realtors, now more than 205,000 members strong, continues unaltered in its mission to meet the needs of its members. That's why Form Simplicity and its sister firm Tech Helpline offer agents and brokers additional peace of mind, knowing that agents, brokers, and the Florida Realtor are always working together. 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.

Meet the New Authentisign
Lone Wolf is thrilled to share with you that one of the most exciting things we've been working on the last two years is nearly ready! Our mission is to simplify the work that agents and brokers do every day, and empower them to amaze their clients with modern, digital experiences, and with the launch of a new Authentisign on the horizon, we're doing just that. Why a new Authentisign? In the wake of the pandemic, the slow-rolling digitization of manual and paper-based processes has accelerated. At the heart of this change is eSignatures, and it's about time. eSignatures provide tremendous benefits for real estate professionals and their clients: improved customer experience, faster turnaround times, enhanced security, and more. When we first launched Authentisign, documents were exchanged between agents, clients and lawyers by hand, courier, or fax. This made negotiations particularly challenging before all parties involved in a transaction were satisfied and signed a final, executed agreement. We created Authentisign to significantly boost the efficiency of this process while providing a trackable record of revisions. And in the 12 years since we launched, we've made significant progress. Today, leading real estate teams across North America use Authentisign to get the necessary signatures for purchase agreements, contracts, and other required documents. In fact, in the last year, over 2,570,000 real estate professionals used Authentisign to complete over 28M signings. But technology never stops evolving. And believe it or not, there's more opportunity to make the signing process even easier for you and your clients. So, after countless customer conversations and user experience studies, we launched a Beta version of the new Authentisign. The first adopters loved it, and after 36,000 signings, the app received an amazing user rating of 4.4/5. So, what's new? Authentisign was always built to simplify an agent's workflow, but many users found that the old signing wizard added too many unnecessary steps, leaving a negative impact on their experience. To fix this workflow challenge, the product needed a major redesign. This is why we rebuilt the entire platform from the ground up. A simple, clear interface Now when you access Authentisign, it's incredibly simple—and just as powerful. All the tools you need are in one place, and the new intuitive interface allows you to easily drag, drop, delete and rotate pages. The upgraded signing details page and Participant View allows you to act quickly. Plus, the crisp documents and signatures makes it easier than ever for your clients. Complete signings in four quick steps Signings are now easier than ever and can be completed in just four steps—agree to terms of service, click to sign, set their signature, sign and that's it! Faster than ever The new framework, combined with a more efficient workflow, also brought about dramatic increases in overall performance. Now you can complete signings in less than half the time! We've removed the signing wizard and added templates so you can save default annotation properties and create automatic signature blocks. Plus, with an active sync with Transactions (TransactionDesk Edition) you only have to enter contact information once. New insights and signer feedback Now you can quickly correct rejected signatures and have access into insights, so you know why a signature was not accepted. Plus, signers now have an option to provide feedback after they are completed so you'll always be in-the-know. The new Authentisign, in a nutshell: The new Authentisign is the quickest and easiest way to sign or get signatures. The new Authentisign is simple yet sophisticated. It gives your clients a modern experience and a smile once their contracts are finalized. It gives you a smooth experience from start to finish, so you can get great results. And you can't get it anywhere else. Starting July 6th, we will be rolling out the new Authentisign in a phased approach. Keep an eye out for in-product messages for more information on when it will be available in your market. To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.

5 Problems that Form Simplicity Helps Brokers Resolve
A transaction management solution does more than move brokers and their agents from a paper-based to a more efficient digital transaction. A transaction management program like Form Simplicity, which offers brokers an array of tools at no additional cost, helps brokers resolve some of their most pressing problems. Let's look at the most common problems Form Simplicity helps brokers tackle: 1. Do cumbersome, long, and complicated transactions consume too much of your time? Until you have used a digital transaction management solution, it's hard to imagine how Form Simplicity can simplify paperwork. With Form Simplicity, brokers and office managers can: Set up transaction templates for the office Set up customizable checklists for Broker Review Create assistant accounts and give them permissions and access to features Look into each agent's account to assist them as needed Paperwork becomes a lot less taxing of your time and effort – especially with more complicated transactions – with unmatched ease of access to the information you need to assist quickly and keep the deal moving forward. Discover more details about how brokers benefit here. 2. Some agents need a lot more tech help than others. Do you have agents resisting making a move away from paper? Brokers, agents, and clients all have different levels of technical experience and abilities. Form Simplicity facilitates transaction management by providing a solution that works for all by using a mix of digital and print options to support the agent and client. That's why users compliment Form Simplicity for how easy it easy is to use and to navigate—even for the least tech-savvy user The most significant advantage that Form Simplicity offers over other transaction management programs: it provides the best customer and technical support. Tech Helpline, the No. 1 technology support service, offers an outstanding tech support team to help brokers and their agents every step of the way. This allows brokers to support their agents without having to spend time helping to troubleshoot issues. With Form Simplicity, agents and brokers can have access to: Smart, digital forms that reduce errors and time spent typing Print, Download, and Email options Digital signature feature Friendly tech support by the No. 1 real estate tech service Discover more details about Tech Helpline here. 3. Is your current transaction management platform bloated with all the bells and whistles, making it complicated to use? For brokers who struggle with complicated platforms, Form Simplicity provides a simpler digital solution because it is more intuitive and efficient. Form Simplicity is also easy to use by both staff and agents. Because the work is automatically organized for you, everyone knows exactly what the next step is. No more missed steps or misfiled paperwork to slow down a transaction! Form Simplicity can give both agents and staff peace of mind as: Brokers can set up a review process for transactions to ensure their agents have correctly documented and closed the transactions, mitigating risk. Agents can set up tasks to be reminded of what the next step is for each transaction. Brokers can provide unlimited eSign and document storage to give their agents a digital signature solution. Review all of the broker tools and features here. 4. Are you struggling with agent and staff adoption of your transaction management solution? For brokers who have agents struggling to adapt and adopt, Form Simplicity provides a superior support team to assist everyone in your office. Known for its industry-leading integration capabilities and successful rollout program, Form Simplicity can help your brokerage accelerate quick adoption, eliminating user confusion and the business delays this can cause. With Form Simplicity, every broker gets: A designated and experienced technician to help you set up your firm Access to live webinars Exceptional tech support via Tech Helpline at launch and beyond Learn more about Form Simplicity advantages for brokers here. 5. Does your transaction management program provider help you promote your brand, or do you look like your competitors? For brokers who want to stand out from the competition, Form Simplicity provides options to showcase your brand. Form Simplicity understands the value and power of brand recognition. That's why with Form Simplicity, brokers can: Add brokerage logos on forms (where permitted) Customize signatures on emails sent from the platform Offer their own library of forms Here are more ways Form Simplicity helps brokers. Form Simplicity's broker management tools are packed with features, helping brokers every step of the way. It's no longer as safe, cost-efficient, and effective for brokers to remain paper-based. But Form Simplicity understands that brokers need help making the transition to the right transaction management solution. That's where we excel: helping brokers solve some of their most challenging problems when making the switch. You can learn more about Form Simplicity Broker tools at formsimplicity.com/brokers and watch for Part 2, "5 more problems Form Simplicity helps brokers solve." Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

CMA to Listing Agreement to MLS to Commission Check
Lone Wolf announced their integration today between Cloud CMA and their forms and transactions systems, zipForm and TransactionDesk. I excitedly took a look. Had they cracked the holy grail? The grail itself is something that our industry has discussed for decades--lead to close. If there is a company that can get you there, it may soon be Lone Wolf. One of my favorite sayings, which I picked up form Merle Whitehead of Howard Hanna, is "Sign here, press hard." It is a classic salesperson saying that goes well with something my dad always told me, "A businessman (businessperson) without a pen is like a soldier without a gun." For listing presentations, the CMA is the beginning of a process. It is the assembly of information that is reviewed by agent and seller to determine if the seller wants to choose that agent to list their home. Obviously, if the seller agrees to list at a certain price, the very next step would be to start the listing agreement, followed by "Sign here, press hard," or in DocuSign's case – you don't need to press hard. What I expected in the announcement was a workflow that would take the agent from the CMA presentation directly to the listing agreement. I imagined the agent getting up from the kitchen table and starting to walk around the house to complete the MLS listing input form, taking photos with the camera on their iPad. Lone Wolf is not quite there yet. But I like the direction. Check out the video below. The integration that they have done allows the agent to authorize their Cloud CMA account in Lone Wolf Transactions or vice versa and provides some transfer of information between the two – like the information about the customer and the subject property. It's a start, but not the workflow I have in my dream. Certainly, better than anything on the market today. I am sure that future development in this area will be closer to my imagination. And it does not stop there. Remember, with MLSConnect – in certain MLS market areas, the information curated by the listing agent is enough to start an MLS listing. This saves agents enormous time and removes so many errors. Every MLS should have this feature. But wait, there is more... Brokers with Lone Wolf Back Office have integrations that will literally allow them to go from contract close to commission check. Stone Point – owners of Lone Wolf and, soon, CoreLogic – are on a great path to truly command a strong value proposition to the business side of real estate. On the other hand, CoStar is targeting the front end with their announcement of the Homes.com acquisition. It is profoundly interesting to me that startups are not the ones delivering innovation to our industry – it's the billionaire private equity firms. Click to view integration To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

3 Must-have Hacks to Save Time Using Form Simplicity
One of the most popular transaction management programs, Form Simplicity, is the only transaction management program owned by a Realtor Association -- Florida Realtors. Used by associations and brokerages across Florida and throughout the nation, Form Simplicity is also one of the most intuitive software programs helping brokers and agents manage all their transactions digitally. Whether you are new to Form Simplicity or an experienced user, you'll quickly appreciate both the ease and the power of its robust features, making working from home easier than ever. For agents and brokers who want to save even more time using Form Simplicity, we reached out to our own Kaz Cisowski, Technology Training Manager at Florida Realtors, for his best shortcuts. Since the pandemic, Kaz has been extra busy, holding virtual Form Simplicity training sessions for thousands of agents and brokers. In fact, the number of agents he's been training throughout 2020 has set a new total annual attendance record. Here are three of his best hacks to save time when using Form Simplicity, including step-by-step instructions and screenshots: Hack 1: Email Notifications Put Form Simplicity to do some of your transaction management work for you by having email notifications sent to the email address listed in the Account Information section. You can activate push notifications to your email address when using Form Simplicity's Email Notifications. Push notifications are email reminders that arrive in your inbox for events such as task reminders, collaboration comments with customers or participating third-party vendors, or broker review notifications. The notifications help to keep you on top of the paperwork and routine tasks related to your deals, giving you more time to focus on other vital work. 1. Once you log into Form Simplicity, go to the upper right side of the home page, locate, and click on the "Preferences" link. 2. Select the email notifications that you would like to receive by using the slider next to the various Notification options in the Email Notifications section. Note: Email notifications are sent to your email address that is on file with your association. If you would like to have your notifications sent to a different email address, type it in the Alternate Notification Email Address field and click the "Save Email" button. Hack 2: Create a Forms Package A forms package is comprised of a standard set of forms and files that are grouped together to simplify creating future transactions. Think of it as a template for future transactions of a particular type of deal. Group these forms together so you don't have to spend time searching for them over and over every time you want to create the same type of transaction. For example, you can create a forms package for Residential Listings. And when you have a new client for a residential listing, you can use your package to quickly add into your new transaction all of the forms and files you need. 1. The quickest way to create a forms package is to log in and click on the "Create a Forms Package" icon on the bottom of the Form Simplicity home page. 2. Name the package (i.e., Residential Listing Package), and click "Create Forms Package." Note: At this point, your folder will be empty. Add forms and files to your package next. 3. In the Forms Packages section, you will need to "Add a Form" and "Upload a File." Add and upload the Forms and Files that are customary for you to use in this type of transaction. Add Blank Forms to the Package 4. Click on "Add a Form" located below the Forms section. 5. When the Blank Forms Library window opens, click on the "Select a Library" drop-down arrow to select a library of forms, e.g., Office, State Association or Local Association. Place a checkmark next to the forms to be added, then click the "Add To Package" button. The forms you selected will now be available in your package. Upload Files to the Forms Package 6. After adding your forms to the Forms section of the package, then under the Files section, click "Upload a File." 7. You can access your files from your computer by using the "Click here to browse for files" button, then drag and drop your files in the File Upload window. Finally, give the file a description if you wish and click the "Save Files" button. Click on the "X" to remove a specific file. If you want to remove all the files, then click on the "Clear Files" button. 8. The file you uploaded will now be listed under the "FILES" section of your package. Note: Files you upload are static, i.e., not editable and will not auto-populate data. Now that you have created your Residential Listing Package, you may import this package of forms and files to your future Residential Listing transactions. For step-by-step instructions, visit the Help Center by simply logging into Form Simplicity and clicking the Help link on the navigation menu at the top right of the page. Hack 3: Create a New Clause Creating clauses will save you time by keeping the standard phrases or wording you use for your transactions within Form Simplicity. Once saved, these phrases can be accessed and used in multiple forms. The agents can create clauses for their personal use, or the broker can create clauses for all the agents in the office to use. And it's easy to apply the clauses to forms. 1. The quickest way to create a clause is to click on the "Create a New Clause" icon under the Useful Tools section on the bottom of the Form Simplicity home page. 2. This method will take you directly to the "Add New Clause" screen. Enter the name, the text of the clause, and click "Save New Clause." Note: You may repeat the process and create as many clauses as you need. 3. After creating a clause, agents will find them stored under the Personal section of the Clauses page. Clauses created by the broker will be listed under the Brokerage Wide section. As you can see, there are many ways to save time using Form Simplicity. By doing a little bit of extra work up front, you'll save time across many other transactions in the future. Kaz has even more time-saving tips that we'll share in the future. Email us your favorite at [email protected]. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

WAV Group Broker Transaction Management Adoption Study
WAV Group started the first national MLS Technology research back in 2004. At the time, transaction management solutions were in their infancy. The ESIGN ACT was enacted by congress in June of 2000, and by 2003, DocuSign was a startup. The biggest problem in real estate was coordinating the closing of sales. Two decades later, it remains real estate’s most significant challenge. WAV Group has published five or six transaction management studies over the years. They are available for download on the Research page of our website. We saw the giants of FNIS and First American pour millions into software, and also watched as they faded and leaders like Instanet, Skyslope, Form Simplicity, zipLogix, DocuSign, dotloop, and others emerged in their place. Much has changed in real estate transaction management, and we are curious if it is about to change violently again. The 2020 WAV Group Broker Transaction Management Adoption Study is being fielded to understand how the industry is changed and gain some perspective on where it may be going. Are customers changing as a result of Lone Wolf consolidating the two largest transaction management companies in real estate? Will brokers and agents take a different look at dotloop now that they are owned by a competing brokerage like Zillow? If you are an MLS or an AoR, send this survey link to your brokers. If you are a broker, please take the survey. Thank you for your cooperation in the development of this mission critical research on the marketplace. The survey results will be available for download here this fall. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Dotloop Users Have Until Thursday to Opt-Out of Data Sharing with Zillow and Others
Dotloop is set to change its privacy policy this Friday, and brokerages and agents who don't want their data shared need to opt out by July 16. According to its newly updated privacy policy, the Zillow-owned transaction management platform will begin sharing aggregated transaction data going back as far as January 1, 2016 with third parties beginning July 17. You can read the most relevant portion of this policy below: We may share information provided to us on or after January 1, 2016 with Zillow Group and its subsidiaries (“Affiliate Sharing”). We or these affiliates may use the information we collect for our internal purposes, for example, to understand and gain insight into trends in the real estate market and to improve our home valuation models. These insights are applied at an aggregate level; neither we nor our affiliates will use data from individual transactions or properties to obtain leverage regarding specific transactions or inform decisions about individual properties. If you have registered for a user account (a “Registered User”), you can opt out of Affiliate Sharing by emailing us at [email protected]. As a Registered User, you control the sharing permissions applicable to your view of your loop(s); other participants in the same loop(s) may make different choices regarding whether to share their loop views, which may contain similar or duplicative information. If you opt out of Affiliate Sharing prior to the Effective Date of this policy, none of your information will be shared with our affiliates; if you opt out after the Effective Date, your choice will be effective only for information you provide after you opt out. How to Opt Out If you'd like to opt out of Dotloop's sharing your data, act fast! As stated in the quoted policy above, if you opt out by THIS THURSDAY, July 16, you can prevent Dotloop from sharing data going back to 2016. If you opt out after the deadline, Dotloop will share over four years of your past data and only opt you out of sharing future data. Email [email protected] by July 16 to opt out of data sharing. Be sure your message explicitly states that you'd like to opt out of "Affiliate Sharing" (Dotloop's term) immediately. This will help protect past, current, and future clients' information. Next Steps If you'd like to give Dotloop a hearty "Bye, Felicia" and move on to a transaction management solution that WON'T share your data, check out our Product Directory. There, you can learn about dozens of transaction management platforms that will keep your data safe.

Lone Wolf Introduces New Cloud Solutions for Agents, Brokers, Teams, Franchises, MLSs, and Associations
Lone Wolf Technologies announced the availability of real estate's first integrated suites of technology solutions targeted to the specific and unique needs of residential real estate stakeholders: Agent Cloud, Team Cloud, Broker Cloud, Franchise Cloud, and Organization Cloud. Each cloud solution connects real estate's leading technology in a single package and is available for purchase today through lwolf.com.

Lone Wolf Launches New Technology Marketplace
Lone Wolf Technologies, owned by America's fourth largest software company, Vista Equity Partners, has released a technology marketplace that will be made available through (Instanet) TransactionDesk and (zipLogix) zipForm Plus transaction management solutions today. This bold initiative has been a strategy that has been approached by a variety of companies over the past five years, including Flexmls Spark, RE Technology's Success Store (owned by us), Clareity Marketplace, Realogy's Zap Store, and probably a number of others. The goal of these stores or marketplaces is to provide a suite of integrated services that all fit together into a seamless technology suite for agents and brokers, and also for homebuyers and sellers.

Will Remaining States Abandon Attorney Closings?
A notable portion of real estate industry vets, agents or otherwise, report some form of legal background or experience. This trend appears to hold true across regions despite only some states requiring an attorney's involvement in property transactions. October Research released a report this month endeavoring to provide clarity on which markets operate under such regulations, and what correlation these answers may have to the connection between real estate and the law.

What Makes the Form Simplicity Boarding Process Unique?
Transaction management software has become a "must-have" for successful agents and brokers focused on giving consumers what they want. Using a transaction management system as a cornerstone to a more streamlined and efficient process is crucial for delivering an exceptional client experience. The best-in-class transaction management software, like Form Simplicity from Florida Realtors®, are an agent productivity booster. Agents can create transactions more efficiently, eliminate common entry errors as data is pre-populated automatically, and e-signing helps agents avoid wasting time tracking down clients for their signatures. The best programs ensure forms are always up to date, protecting clients, agents and their brokerages from risk. Keeping everything in one place ensures agents can respond to any client question about their transaction quickly and easily. Best of all, transaction management programs improve transparency. Being able to give clients insight to documents you want them to see, and stored in the cloud for 24/7 access, improves client communication, and ultimately, client satisfaction. But if best-in-class transaction management software is so similar, how do you make the right choice for your brokerage or MLS? Like everything else, it starts with a first impression. You don't get a second chance to make one, so you better get it right. Getting agents to adopt any technology is hard. That's why getting things right from the start is vital. Even the best technology can't recover from a bad launch. Making a great first impression at the beginning when we board a new Form Simplicity client has been our hallmark of excellence among transaction management software. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone that a Realtor-owned and operated company obsesses about providing agents and brokerages great service. When we board a new Form Simplicity customer, whether it be an MLS, brokerage or Realtor association, we take a holistic approach to the process. It all starts with our Onboarding Team who works with their client and strengthens the relationship immediately by providing personal and responsive assistance. Live training, either in-person or live webinar, gives folks the ability to ask questions and get the expert answers they need immediately. During the boarding process for brokerages providing Form Simplicity for their agents, this is supplemented with one-on-one assistance and training with the broker and/or their designated admin to help set up all of the broker features. We pay attention to the little things to make sure we are on the same page with our clients. From our streamlined programming process for forms to our committed delivery schedule that builds in client review before forms go live. We also know most people are visual learners, so we supplement all of this personalized agent and broker training, with video tutorials, recorded webinars and step-by-step instructions, all available 24/7 through our Help Center. Using new technology makes most of us inquisitive, and that means we have questions, and sometimes a lot of questions. This is where Form Simplicity shines brightest. Form Simplicity is supported by Tech Helpline, North America's No. 1 tech support service for real estate, also owned and operated by the Florida Realtors. Tech Helpline's staff is known for their friendliness. Tech Helpline analysts also are highly skilled, possessing over 300 years of combined IT experience. Most importantly, they work with agents every day, in English and Spanish, and excel at making it comfortable for every agent to ask for help, regardless of their technical skill level. And when Form Simplicity boards a new client, we will extend support hours to make sure agents can get the help they need when they need it. We also work closely on the rollout of Form Simplicity software to make the boarding process a proud partnership. From co-branded marketing materials and educational emails to providing a team of easy to reach professionals that are on-call and ready to assist, we work hard to make the boarding process go as smoothly as possible. If you have questions about Form Simplicity and the advantages it can provide for your agents or members, reach out to us at formsimplicity.com and experience for yourself how our customer service obsession makes us different. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Lone Wolf Expands Marketplace of Real Estate Tools for 1.3 Million Agents in the U.S.
Lone Wolf Technologies announced that three new real estate tools are now available as integrations in zipForm Plus, the national transaction management member benefit in the U.S.: Earnnest, eCommission, and Updater. Each of these tools simplifies the transaction experience for agents and brokerages and bolsters the value they can provide their buyers and sellers. Earnnest specializes in safe and secure digital escrow payments, connecting to more than 12,000 financial institutions across the country with banking-level security and encryption, mitigating the growing risks of wire fraud. eCommission provides commission advances to agents on pending sales and active listings through a short and simple online process. Updater is the nation's leading moving app, simplifying the relocation process for millions of home buyers and sellers across the country through a personalized moving concierge.

Agents, Brokers Rave about the Redesigned Form Simplicity and Its Ease of Use
How does a real estate association or brokerage cut through the clutter to choose the right transaction management solution that satisfies both agents and brokers? A great place to start is to listen to what agents and brokers who are using a transaction management solution are saying. The truth is a lot of real estate software that claims to be "easy to use" is hard to use for most agents and brokers. Because Florida Realtors owns and operates both real estate's number one tech support firm (Tech Helpline) and a top transaction management firm (Form Simplicity), we get a first-hand look into how agents use technology. When they struggle, we are often the first place they call for help. It's why Form Simplicity invested deeply in a redesign that makes using our transaction management software truly easier to use. After rolling it out to more than a quarter of a million agents and brokers nationwide who have access to Form Simplicity, the feedback has been remarkable. Little things matter If you have never used a transaction management program before, the thought of moving towards a paperless process can be daunting. Newbies require transaction management software to be highly intuitive. They need to be able to jump in, find their way around quickly, and not get stuck. When it comes to designing an exceptional client experience, every agent and broker knows that it is often the little things that matter. For a great software experience, you have to do more than provide a cool-looking, modern layout. You have to make the ability to navigate simply. You have to make the program work as well on mobile as it does on a desktop or laptop. You have to make the experience as frictionless as possible. You want agents and brokers to use the software every day and never think twice about how to find something. It's the little things, like colorful buttons that are easy to identify at a glance or the ability with a single click to expand your view so you can see everything on one page, instead of having to toggle through a bunch of tabs. Put your best features forward In the redesign of Form Simplicity, we put the things agents and brokers want to access first — such as Recent Transactions — upfront. Your most recent transactions are visible and accessible from the Home page. You can even create a new transaction directly from the Home page. We also added Upcoming Tasks to the Home page, and they are color-coded so you can see your next priority. The main navigation menu was redesigned to get you where you want to go faster: there are now fewer tabs and less clutter, but you can still quickly access all the features you need. We also pushed Useful Tools forward, giving agents and brokers the ability to add a new contact, create a clause – and more – now easier than ever to access from the Home page. Most importantly, Forms Simplicity runs faster. Why? As our tech folks tell us, "It's running on a new and fully up-to-date application architecture, from hardware to software," making it more responsive than ever for agents and brokers. Don't take our word for it Again, one of the best ways to select the right transaction management solutions is by listening to what agents and brokers who use it have to say. Right after we started to launch our redesigned Form Simplicity software, we got feedback – almost instantly. Matthew Lemon, with Lemon Drop Realty and 14 years of experience in the business, told us: "I just tried out the NEW Form Simplicity style now, and I have to say it is AMAZING. Love how convenient the new layout is. EXTREMELY professional. I'll be sticking with you guys for a long time. Keep up the great work." Shermeka McSwain, with Bruckman Realty, commented: "The recently updated changes are extremely GREAT… using the navigation, location of information, and the program structure is VERY user friendly. Thank you for the improvements." And Peggy Hall, with Britton Group, who holds the National Association of REALTORS® Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation, the Professional Management Network (PMN) designation, is a graduate of the Space Coast Association of REALTORS® Leadership Academy in Florida, shares this: "I began using the New and Improved Form Simplicity the afternoon of the webinar. Super easy transition! Thank you." Glossy brochures, crafty emails, and polished sales pitches can help software firms sell their products more successfully. But nothing can sell any product more effectively — or stop a product in its tracks — than testimonials from those who use the software. And when they rave about their experience, you know you got it right. See it for yourself. Go to formsimplicity.com today to discover the only transaction management software solution created by Realtors for agents and brokers and still 100% owned by Realtors. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

DocuSign and Lone Wolf's zipForm Plus Deepen Partnership
In a joint effort to improve real estate transactions, DocuSign and Lone Wolf Technologies on Saturday announced that they will deepen their partnership and enhance the existing integration between DocuSign Rooms for Real Estate and Lone Wolf's zipForm Plus. This will simplify and accelerate the completion of forms, transactions, and e-signatures for users of both products.

How to Select the Right Transaction Management Solution
Changes in the real estate industry appear to be reaching a breakneck speed at the moment. Almost every day, we are reading about a major acquisition of a real estate brokerage, MLS, or tech company. Change can be good or bad, but it always brings opportunity. As a result, many MLSs, associations, and brokerages are having to re-think or re-shop the tech tools and software solutions bought from the company that was acquired. Firms are discovering that what they thought they purchased may not be the service they initially thought it was. It could be a culture change or something more significant: the motives of the acquiring company are incongruent with their own organization's goals and objectives. At Florida Realtors, we get it. Finding the right company to partner with today has never been more crucial in light of these acquisitions. When there are changes in ownership to essential software that helps agents and brokers run their businesses – such as their customer relationship management (CRM) or transaction management solution – it is time to reassess. What do you do? How do you select the right transaction management solution, for example, if you find yourself reconsidering what you have because of change? At Florida Realtors, we own and operate Form Simplicity, used by more than a hundred thousand Realtors in Florida and hundreds of thousands of Realtors nationwide. Form Simplicity is a fantastic solution to help run a real estate business. Most importantly, it is now the only transaction management software solution that was created by Realtors for Realtors and is still owned by Realtors. That provides significant value to an agent's business because of how Form Simplicity is designed: with the Realtor in mind. Looking for the right transaction management solution isn't just about features and benefits. When you compare the top five transaction management solutions side-by-side overall, you will see small differences. How do you choose? It comes down to how your members or agents and brokers adopt, embrace, and use a transaction management solution as a core function of their daily businesses. Gaining their trust is key. Partnering with Form Simplicity, owned by Florida Realtors, checks the trust box. They know that they are working with an organization that will always have their best interests at heart. Trust is essential to winning over and keeping agents and brokers happy today—and tomorrow. Another critical factor in selecting the right transaction management solution is how well it can be integrated into your systems and deployed to your members or team. This is where Form Simplicity excels: talk to our customers about our rollout process and the personalized training we provide. We also have a seasoned team that excels at superior customer service. You will love our people and so will your agents and brokers. Finally, buying any technology solution for the long run comes down to how excellent their tech support is. Fortunately for agents and brokers who use Form Simplicity, they are supported by the No. 1 tech support company in the real estate industry, Tech Helpline. Will they be there when you need them? Tech Helpline, like its sister service Form Simplicity, was created by Realtors for Realtors and remains owned by the Florida Realtors. No other tech support firm in real estate better understands how agents and brokers work. Tech Helpline also knows what they need in terms of kind, considerate, and thoughtful tech support. Form Simplicity users get the best of the best: a US-based (Orlando) crew of top tech analysts offering support in both English and Spanish. Tech Helpline analysts have a combined 300+ years of tech support experience. They work with brokers and agents every day and make sure every question that comes in on a call or online is a positive and memorable experience for those reaching out for help. The bottom line is every brokerage, MLS, and association today has many choices available for a transaction management solution. If you are reconsidering your decision—or making a selection for the first time—we ask that you look at Form Simplicity. It is the only industry provided solution that is owned and operated by Realtors for Realtors. Once you consider all the essential factors that can impact your business today and tomorrow, we are confident you'll select Form Simplicity as your transaction management solution. More information about Form Simplicity is available online at www.formsimplicity.com and Tech Helpline at www.techhelpline.com. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity. You can contact Form Simplicity to arrange at [email protected].

Meet the Partners: An Intro to Every Lone Wolf Strategic Partnership
The Lone Wolf ecosystem is all about bringing together the cream of the crop in real estate technology. And with announcements coming out left and right about new additions, we thought we'd put together a quick look at the bigger picture. So here's who Lone Wolf has partnered with (so far!), what they do, and what it means for you.

When It Comes to Transaction Management, a Free Solution Can Be Costly
It's clear that the digital transformation of the real estate transaction can only be achieved when agents and brokers fully embrace a transaction management system. The latest NAR study showed the top tech tools for agents, excluding email and their smartphones, were MLS websites and apps (64 percent), lockbox/smart key devices (39 percent), and social media platforms (28 percent). Transaction management software (and document storage – arguably two very different things) ranked fifth. However, fewer than one-in-five rank it as a "most valuable tool." It should be no surprise that despite two decades of digital progress, our industry still is trying to make a paperless real estate transaction standard! The good news is that list of the top three tech tools agents want to see includes predictive analytics, CRM tools and transaction management software. So how do you choose a transaction management solution that's not only the right choice for today, but one that keeps your agents' or members' interests first in the future? Why free isn't really free Technology firms have fostered the process of enticing customers with a free offer to build market share. Apps for smartphones have led the way with the "freemium" model. In fact, 90 percent of all apps downloaded from the Apple App Store are free. More than 95 percent of all apps downloaded from Google Play are free. Now think of all the apps that when you first downloaded were free or advertising free, and then later that changed. Either you wanted more features, exceeded the threshold of a limited activity, or simply needed more space. Suddenly, free can become very expensive. Dropbox is a great example. It has more than 500 million registered users. Some 13.2 million Dropbox users pay an average of $121 a year, up from $114 last year, because it's not very hard to exceed its 2GB limit for free storage. Many real estate technology offerings, including transaction management, use what is basically a freemium model (they never call it that) to build market share—and eventually revenue—when users realize they need to upgrade. But when it comes to a vital program such as a full-fledged transaction management software solution, should it ever be free? The old adage "There's no such thing as a free lunch"  should be applied to any major offering that is "free." The truth is that there is almost always a cost – it just may not be apparent at first glance. Key questions to ask When evaluating any offering that is not "costing" you anything, you need to dig a little. Here are some of the questions you need to ask: Why is it free or so low cost? Does the free offering provide the services you really need? If you need more features or to exceed the free limit, what will it cost you? How long has the software provider been around? Has the software provider shown they can endure an economic downcycle? How trustworthy is the software provider: Would they sell their software solution to the highest bidder, regardless of what it means to you? If you look back at the history of firms that have offered software solutions to the real estate industry, you can see how important these questions are to limit the risk to a brokerage and their agents in the future. #1 question to ask When it comes to evaluating your transaction management solution, whether you are securing your first contract or a renewal, the number one question you should ask is: "How well is it supported?" A unique example in the transaction management space is Form Simplicity from the Florida Realtors®. Form Simplicity is unique, as it is the only transaction management software available today that was created by Realtors for Realtors and is still owned by Realtors. At Form Simplicity, we recently updated our software to improve transaction productivity and speed up the agent and broker workflow for hundreds of thousands of Realtors across the U.S. As a result, Form Simplicity has become easier to navigate and works on any device because that's what agents and brokers want. But most importantly, Florida Realtors also owns and operates Tech Helpline, the real estate industry's #1 tech support service, available to more than 600,000 in the U.S. and Canada. Tech Helpline provides tech support for Form Simplicity. Tech Helpline's office and staff of professional tech analysts have 300+ years of combined IT experience. Known for no-nonsense technical advice and warm, friendly, customer service, Tech Helpline analysts are U.S.-based (Orlando, Florida), providing technical support by phone, chat or email. Transaction management is no longer a nice to have, but a must have. Just as we need to offer tech support for all agents, we also need all agents to embrace transaction management. But the smartest path requires asking the right questions and making sure you understand what "free" really means. More information about Form Simplicity is available online at www.formsimplicity.com, and Tech Helpline at www.techhelpline.com. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Form Simplicity Updates to Improve Paperless Transaction Productivity
One of the real estate industry's most popular and advanced paperless transaction management solutions, Form Simplicity, has deployed its newly redesigned application to REALTORS® throughout Florida, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Iowa. The update improves transaction productivity and speeds up agent and broker workflow for hundreds of thousands of Realtors across the U.S., according to Florida Realtors, the nation's second largest Realtor association, which owns and operates Form Simplicity.

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.  

DocuSign Deepens G Suite Integration
DocuSign is unveiling new product innovations at Google Cloud Next '19 this week. Over 5 million businesses rely on G Suite to collaborate easier and faster in real time. As a recommended G Suite partner, DocuSign shares this vision of helping businesses work faster, simpler and more cost efficiently, while delivering a better experience for customers and employees. So naturally, it made sense to expand our integration of DocuSign eSignature and G Suite.

12 Reasons Why Your Brokerage Should Use Transaction Management Software
Transaction management is all the buzz in the real estate world—but how do you know if it's right for you? Here's how successful brokers use transaction management every day, and how it can help you, too.

Crye-Leike Integrates CRM, Transaction Management, and Accounting
Crye-Leike is the sixth largest real estate company in America, and third largest independent behind HomeServices of America and Howard Hanna. The firm processes over 30,000 transactions a year across their 3200 agents in 125 offices spanning nine states. Beyond residential real estate, they operate businesses that provide services in commercial real estate, mortgage, title insurance, property and personal insurance, property management, and relocation. A few years ago, the company embarked on a program to select a transaction management solution and tie it into their accounting system and CRM system. The result is among the most sophisticated and effective solutons deployed anywhere in the nation.

What's the Difference Between Transaction Management and Going Paperless?
Just about any business owner can tell you the benefits of having a paper trail. Most consumers could, too. But having a paper trail doesn't mean having paper. In recent years, there's been a huge shift in the real estate industry from the overflowing file cabinets of the past to digital file storage. It's all about going paperless—leaving out the paper, but still keeping that proverbial paper trail. Here's the thing, though: Going paperless doesn't necessarily translate to a smoother workflow. It's a good foundation, but nowadays, there's so much more we can do thanks to things like transaction management. So what's the big difference between a paperless office, and one that uses transaction management? Let's start by looking at what "paperless" means—and where it came from.

One Brokerage's Key to Success
Starting a real estate brokerage from scratch is no easy task--especially in one of Canada's biggest housing markets. It takes hard work, dedication, and resources. But that didn't stop Michelle Napieralski. As a Realtor in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada's largest metropolitan area, it didn't take long for Michelle's drive to kick in. She wanted more from the brokerage she was working at; she wanted to be able to grow as a team with her partner. So she and her partner started a brand-new brokerage—and before long, Manor Hill Realty was on its way.

7 Things to Look for in Transaction Management Software
The real estate landscape is changing. Home buyers today can pay for their takeout with apps, ask their phones to call their parents for them, and take a leisurely stroll through their favorite neighborhood without leaving their living rooms. So it can be a little surprising when a real estate agent shows up at their door with a sheaf of old-fashioned paperwork. In light of this, it's no surprise that electronic forms and eSignatures are taking over the industry. It's so much easier for home buyers. All they have to do is tap their iPad a few times and their "paperwork" is done. It's also easier for agents, who don't have to lug around all that paperwork, drive it to the office, and spend hours filling out forms. But what about the brokerage?

DocuSign Launches Strikethrough Feature for Real Estate
REALTORS® will often times need to amend an offer letter with a new offer price after negotiation. Or you will need to cross out certain clauses that aren't applicable to your client in a standard form. Now, with DocuSign LINE, you can easily do so.

[VIDEO] Lone Wolf's Virtual Meet and Greet
Lone Wolf Technologies has been one of the fastest growing real estate technology companies for quite some time now. Layered on top of their leading competitive market share in brokerage accounting and back office solutions are a plethora of productivity solutions for brokerage. The latest jewel in their crown was the acquisition of Instanet – among the leaders in forms management and transaction management for MLSs and brokers. I tuned into the recording of their recent virtual Meet & Greet to listen in:

Bitcoin Now Accepted for Real Estate Transactions in NYC and Miami
What real estate news is shocking agents and brokers across the country? How many people have Bitcoin – and are looking to use the cryptocurrency in their next real estate transaction. Offers from Bitcoin buyers are popping up across the map, and agents and sellers are opening up to the concept of the new monetary medium. Pushing the Boundaries of Sales

RE/MAX Northern Illinois takes their network digital: Learn their tricks
Casey Reagan is Chief Technology Officer for RE/MAX Northern Illinois, a franchisor. He supports 75 brokerages with a total of 2,296 agents—currently generating a total volume of $9 billion in sales—so brokers in the Northern Illinois network can focus on recruiting, retention and sales. The RE/MAX credo is, "You're in business for yourself, but not by yourself." And Reagan takes that credo seriously, building out a technology strategy that supports brokerages and enables their success.

Which Transaction Management Tool is Right for Your Brokerage? (Part 2)
Yesterday, we took a look at the first of two transaction management solutions for brokerages. Today, we're highlighting Form Simplicity, a Realtor-owned platform from our 2017-18 Technology Guide. What is Form Simplicity? Form Simplicity is a forms and transaction management solution that is, true to its name, simple for real estate professionals to use. The program is owned by Florida Realtors, who ensures its ongoing development is, in part, shaped by a panel of REALTOR members who ensure that the program stays in step with what agents and brokers need to be successful.

How to Create a Tech-Enhanced Brokerage that Wins
The real estate industry is changing. Handwritten offers, filing cabinets and printers are a thing of the past. Mobile offices, instantaneous responses, and data analytics are here to stay. For a brokerage to survive in this new digital age, their agents need to be equipped with state of the art tools at their fingertips. Now that the days of drowning in paper are over, it seems like a new real estate technology pops up every day and it can be easy to get overwhelmed and lost in all the options. So how do you differentiate the useful from the useless and figure out which tools are right for you and your brokerage?

Friday Freebie: 2 Back Office Tools Go Head-to-Head!
An all-in-one back office solution or a platform that integrates with your existing tools? Different brokerages have different needs, and today we're highlighting two competing back office systems aimed at small- and mid-sized firms. Free trials and special offers from Brokermint and BrokerSumo Brokers in the market for a back office solution that handles commissions and billings have a world of choices available to them. At one end, we have enterprise-level packages that work great for massive firms, but are likely too expensive or too complicated for smaller companies. At the other end, we have leaner solutions like Brokermint and BrokerSumo that are better equipped to serve independent and more modestly sized brokerages. Both solutions are relative newcomers to the real estate technology scene and are targeted at a similar customer base. Both offer commission management, and both can integrate with Quickbooks or other popular accounting tools. So where do they differ? Well, Brokermint aims to be the do-it-all solution for small- and mid-sized brokers, and offers a complete transaction management component, complete with task checklists, integrated eSignatures, as well as tracking of tools like lockboxes and yard signs. BrokerSumo, on the other hand, offers integration opportunities with existing transaction management platforms like Dotloop. Rather than reinvent the wheel with regards to transaction management, BrokerSumo focuses on doing what it does really well—managing your commission plans and internal accounting needs like agent billing, direct deposit, escrow, generating 1099s, and even tracking the ROI of your marketing efforts. Which solution is best for you comes down to what you need. Do you already use a transaction management tool that you're happy with? If you just need a program to handle your commission and accounting needs, BrokerSumo may be the better bet. Are you looking to get all your back office needs—from transaction management to accounting to commissions—met under one roof? Consider Brokermint. If you're not sure which option is best for you, you can try them both for free—no credit card required. Better yet, we've negotiated additional special offers just for RE Technology readers. Check out the details of each opportunity below: Brokermint: Free 30-day trial, plus 10% off your subscription fees for life when you sign up here. BrokerSumo: Free 14-day trial, plus $50 off your first month with promo code RETECHJUNE. Sign-up here!

5 Overlooked Ways to Process Transactions Quicker and Easier
Digital tools have sped up the pace of real estate transactions by removing the time burden imposed by tedious tasks and the shuffling of paperwork. Brokers already know the main ways that real estate software has helped in this area, but are you aware of the often overlooked ways that your transaction management platform helps you close deals faster? Rather than rehashing obvious transaction accelerators, like digital document approval and synced MLS transaction data, today we'll look at subtler features that are speeding up the transaction game. To help us illustrate our points, we're using a few screenshots from back office and transaction management solution Brokermint. Here are five features in your transaction management system that can help you close transactions faster:

Dotloop and NextHome Team Up with Back Office Upstart BrokerSumo
You may start hearing the name "BrokerSumo" a lot more in the months ahead. The upstart back office solution announced two recent agreements that could expand its user base significantly. Last week, the company entered into a partnership with NextHome, Inc. to provide NextHome franchisees a platform for managing office accounting, and the commissions and compensation of the firm's 1,700+ agents. Rather than stuffing its software with a lot of bloated features, BrokerSumo is a lean solution that focuses on doing one thing well: handling the financial side of your back office. NextHome Chief Strategy Officer Keith Robinson cited BrokerSumo's "blend of efficiency, accuracy and ease of use" as a major factor in deciding to offer it to franchisees. "As you manage your brokerage, your back office solution should 'just work' and allow you to be a better leader for your agents," says Robinson.

3 Simple Ways to Find the Time to Grow Your Brokerage While Saving 8 Hours a Week
Every broker and manager that I know suffers from the same problem – there is simply not enough time in the day to effectively coach each agent to be the most successful they can be. We are too busy putting out fires all day, working our way through transaction anomalies and answering questions. What if there was a way to free up 10 to 20 percent of your week? Would that help you and your managers be able to focus on more productive work? We interviewed Sally Liddicoat, a broker from Arizona, and she gave us some great insights about how her transaction management system freed up numerous hours per week of her time for more profitable activities. Liddicoat runs WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Peak Performance, a brokerage in Arizona with 13 agents, including herself. Like most small business owners, she wears many hats, including owning her own real estate school. She is extremely busy. We spoke to her about Reesio, the program she has chosen to manage her transactions—completely online. Free Up About Half a Day Per Week Liddicoat tells us that by bringing her transactions online with a platform that systemizes transactions and creates easy-to-follow workflows, she has freed up time to focus on revenue generating activities. By streamlining her management process with a cloud based system, Liddicoat says that she found the time to start her own real estate licensing school and join the board of her local association—a much more productive uses of her time, in her estimation.

Keep Yourself Trending with the NEW zipForm® Mobile
Monday, March 13, 2017 at 8:00 AM PST Start a Transaction on the Go with the Mobile device of your choice. The new zipForm® Mobile brings many of the zipForm® Plus functions directly to your phone or tablet. Create a New Transaction Add a Template Add Property information Add Parties information Fill in additional information using MLS-Connect (optional) Start a digital signing with both TouchSign® and zipLogix Digital Ink® Register now!

The Power of Automation: Sync your transactions to QuickBooks
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 10:00 AM PST In real estate we know how important it is to keep your business and accounting streamlined, so we have a fantastic solution that we built based on our own customer's needs and feedback for just that purpose! Connect Brokermint transaction management to Quickbooks and pay agents, invoice customers and send all receivables and payables, eliminating double entry and allowing you to keep your books straight, seamlessly. In a few days, on January 18 at 10am PT, our team will be hosting a webinar to share best practices with you: Why QuickBooks is a perfect fit for thousands of businesses How to sync your transaction data to QuickBooksHow to cut checks and pay your agents How to setup recurring/monthly billing How to do direct deposits and much more... All attendees get 25% off the first 3 months of their Brokermint subscription. Register now!

Which Back Office Reports Are Most Valuable to Brokers?
Reporting capabilities are a key component of brokerage back office platforms. Reports give brokers the ability to identify top producers, low performers, potential recruits, and even monitor transactions for signs of trouble. With the end of the year coming up, brokers' thoughts may soon be turning to how their business performed in 2016. However, the typical back office solution contains dozens of different types of reports, and it can be difficult to pin down which ones are most useful. To help us narrow down which reports brokers should focus on, we turned to Andrew Chishchevoy, founder of back office solution Brokermint. He pointed out over a dozen reports that Brokermint clients use to stay on top of their business. You can find analogous reports in the back office system you currently use. Reports for Monitoring Agent Performance "A quality agent report lets brokers see all information about their agents," says Chishchevoy. "You should be able to slice and dice that information to find out what an agent did, when they did it, how much they contributed to the company, and how much they earned. You can basically compare your agents in an apples-to-apples manner to identify top performers and those who may need help." Chishchevoy recommends using the following reports to keep an eye on agent performance: Agent profile report - A list of all agents with full profile information. Use filters to differentiate between active and inactive agents, as well as other criteria. Agent production report - See each agent's individual contribution, their commissions earned and sales volume. This is a multi-level report that allows you to identify top producers and their associated transactions. Reports for Monitoring Transactions A substantial part of monitoring your agents (and the health of your firm) consists of monitoring their transactions. Look for these or similar reports to accomplish this: Brokerage trends report - Get a high level view of what's happening in your business. This report shows the 12-month trend of listings that are new, under contract, closed and cancelled, grouped by month. For larger companies, filters allow you to break down these trends by office. Transaction documents report - This report finds transactions with missing documents so that brokers can identify potential issues. You can drill down by agent. Reports for active listings, pending sales, cancelled sales, and closed sales - Each of these are individual reports by transaction status. Brokermint software allows you to filter each report by agent so you can identify those with, for example, the most cancelled sales in order to identify coaching opportunities. Financial Reports Where's your money going, and what money is owed to you? These reports can help answer these questions, and more: Commission disbursement authorization report - This report shows transactions with generated commission disbursement forms. Brokers can use this report to determine which files are missing processed CDAs. Payments report - A detailed overview of deductions, like transaction fees, desk fees, E&O fees, etc. Brokers can filter by status, timeframe and agent. Earnest money deposit report - Shows earnest money deposits across pending transactions. Companies use this report to reconcile with their escrow account balance. Reports for Tracking Leads, Equipment, and More Hard numbers aren't the only thing that your back office solution can track. It can also track where your leads come from, your inventory of lockboxes and yard signs, and even the vendors you most frequently use. Lead source report - View all and compare your lead sources, and the ROI for each. "Because this is a contract to close product, we've included the ability to track of your marketing sources," says Chishchevoy. "If you have 20-30 different lead sources, you can analyze all that within the system to figure out what's working, down to the dollars spent and your ROI." Lockbox and yard sign - Track your yard sign and lockbox inventory. "We've learned that many, many companies need this," says Chishchevoy. "If they have, for example, 50 active listings, they hypothetically have 50 yard signs and lockboxes installed somewhere. They want to track those so that as soon as they sell, they can go and pick up the sign and lockbox and start using it again." Vendor report - Allows brokers to see the vendors used in live transactions, escrow, title, and beyond. Franchise and Custom Reports If you're a franchisee, you may have additional reporting needs that 'mom and pop' shops do not. Look for reports just for franchises in your back office solution to make communication with your corporate office easier. "Brokermint offers franchise reports within our system so brokers don't have to use a third party solution," says Chishchevoy. "Brokermint generates all needed reports in the needed layout that they can use to submit to their corporate office." And even though most back office platforms offer a wide range of pre-made reports, many brokers may find that they have special needs that necessitate a custom built report. Most solutions providers, including Brokermint, are happy to build these for you for a small fee. Contact your vendor to learn more. If you'd like to try Brokermint's reports for yourself, they offer a 30-day free trial. RE Technology members who want to continue using the program after trial are eligible for a 10% discount when they sign up at the link above.

How Transaction Management Helps Brokers Comply and Track
Millions of real estate agents have already gone paperless by using a transaction management solution; today, brokers also can streamline many of their most essential business management processes digitally as well, if they adopt the right transaction management program. One of the key drivers for deciding on which transaction management program a brokerage or MLS should select for their agents is a deep dive into what that transaction management solution does for brokers, as well as what it costs. That's because there is a significant difference between offerings today in terms of the tools, costs, and benefits for brokers. Built-in Broker Tools Last year, Form Simplicity, one of the real estate industry's most popular and advanced paperless transaction solutions – and the only one created for Realtors by Realtors – added broker transaction management features. From a single place inside Form Simplicity, brokers can manage, review, approve, track and store every agent's transaction activity from beginning to end. While some transaction management solutions charge extra for these broker tools for the peace of mind they deliver, Form Simplicity integrates all these broker features at no extra cost. For a broker, the benefits from these built-in features are big, especially when it comes to compliance. Form Simplicity broker tools helps brokers reduce risk through a customizable, automated, paperless review process to help brokerages remain compliant. Moreover, brokers are operating in a collaborative environment, working digitally with each agent throughout the transaction process to ensure accuracy across the streamlined workflow. At their fingertips, brokers can see email and text correspondence for every transaction; that transparency gives brokers visibility into each agent's transaction activity, and allows brokers to evaluate, comment on and approve all forms digitally submitted by their agents. Let's take a look at a couple of examples of what a broker sees inside Form Simplicity.

Friday Freebie: Try Real Estate's Easiest-to-Use Back Office Solution for 30 Days
In the world of back office software, small and mid-sized brokers may feel challenged to find a program that "fits" their business. A lot of what's on the market today is either made for enterprise level firms, is overly expensive, or is simply too clunky and difficult to use. Today, we're going to look at a solution that upends the traditional world of back office programs--and scales to fit brokerages of any size, from small boutique firms to large, multi-office companies. Read on to learn more! Free 30-day trial of Brokermint, an all-in-one back office solution At RE Technology, we often say the best solutions are the ones that work for you, not the ones you have to work at using. What we mean is that any app or tech tool that you use should make your life simpler, and not be too complicated to use. Brokermint is a back office solution that fits this description beautifully. Not only does the app handle everything from transaction management to commission management, but it does it all in one easy-to-use interface that's clean and logically designed. Brokermint is relatively new to the real estate scene, but it's steadily building buzz and loyal users, thanks to benefits like: Complete contract-to-close management that keeps track of everything--from listings to lockboxes Tasks and transaction checklists to keep agents on track Complete transaction oversight and approval to solve compliance woes Automatically import MLS listing data to save time copying and pasting Automatically calculate and track commissions and disbursements Robust reporting capabilities to help brokers make smarter, data-driven decisions Seamless integration with Quickbooks and other applications to automatically generate invoices, checks, and more And much more! Brokermint is free to try for 30 days, and no credit card is required to sign up. If you like what you see, well, it's your lucky day! We've negotiated a special 10% discount just for RE Technology readers. Click here to start your free trial and claim your exclusive discount today!