Features
Automatic Diary Appointment Confirmations
We've added a new function to the system to give you the ability to confirm booked appointments by SMS or email when using the Guest options in the diary.
When adding a Guest to an appointment, you are given options where you can Auto Confirm Appointment by Email or Auto Confirm Appointment by SMS:
On clicking to Add your guest these confirmations will be automatically sent out to that guest in the selected formats, or you can make sure both are set to No if you didn't want to send a confirmation this time.
A setting has also been added to the Admin section of each branch (under Branch Details), where a default can be set for these options, either Yes or No for each appointment:
When adding an appointment using the Quick Add Appointment option in the diary the confirmation will be automatically sent to any Guests added on saving the appointment to the diary, depending on how these branch settings are configured.
Appointments can also be manually confirmed as needed (such as in the event of a time or date change) by going to the Guests section inside the diary appointment, clicking Actions and Confirm Appointment:
If Sales Properties or Letting Properties have been included in the booking prior to the appointment being confirmed then details will be included as part of the standard wording received, as well as details of the Appointment Type:
If a booking contains more than one property, the first listed in the appointment will be shown in the confirmation wording and the email or SMS wording will include 'and others' to indicate that more than one is booked, as below:
This is to reduce the number of SMS messages sent (and associated costs to you) that would otherwise be used in confirming an appointment where multiple properties will be attended.
On most Android and iOS devices, your client will also see the date and time as a clickable link within an SMS, which will allow them to add the details to their own calendar app:
Please note: The user should consult the user guide or manufacturer of their device if this link option does not show, as this is not controlled from the agentOS side.
Custom SMS Templates
It is now possible to add your own custom SMS templates to the system, in the SMS Templates option in Office, including customisation for the Appointment Confirmation messages mentioned above. This builds upon previous software releases where set templates were available to amend in this section.
Here you will find set wording for the existing templates which you can click into to Edit as required, and an option to Add new templates on the top right-hand side.
The existing tags for Email Templates should also work for the SMS Templates, and in addition we have created these new tags which you can use for Appointment Confirmations and Arrange Access templates, as well as a general tag that you can use to include your Branch Marketing name:
|
Appointment Confirmations |
Arrange Access Branch Marketing Name |
Send SMS Template
We've added a new option to the Actions menu of all people records to Send SMS Template:
Here you can pick from the templates you've created that are valid for that person type, and once selected you have the option to further edit the content before sending:
Payment App, Standing Orders App & Website Payments App
We've added the ability to request both one-off and standing order payments from your clients, using agentOS payment App.
In agentOS, the existing Standing Orders section on person profiles has been merged into a new ladder option, Payment App & Standing Orders. In here you'll still see any previous standing order references that you've linked, but above that section is a new feature for requesting payments.
On the right-hand side of this new menu, you have options to Request a Payment with App, and Setup Standing Order with App. These are also available from the Actions menu of that person:
There are also demo video links to how both the Payment App and Stand Order App are used by your clients.
Video of Payment App
Video of Standing Order App
When you click through, you'll get this pop-up, allowing you to select which bank account the payment will be sent to, and the amounts that you'd like to request. If you are requesting a payment from a tenant then any Outstanding Deposit or Outstanding Rent will be populated in here automatically, although you can change these figures if needed:
This will then load an Email and SMS sending screen, allowing you to amend details if needed and send these requests out.
To change the SMS and Email templates go to SMS Templates and Email Templates in Office area and edit the templates called 'PaymentApp SMS invite' and 'PaymentApp Email invite.
Those receiving a payment request will have the option of selecting the amount to pay and the payment method, either by bank transfer or by card payment:
For Standing Orders, your clients can select an amount, frequency and both the first and final payment date as required, or make recurring payments until further notice:
Back on agentOS, any payments requested will then show in the Payment App & Standing Orders grid, updating as your payee sends their funds to you:
If you need to re-send a request, or you need a copy of the link to send through a different method, you can do this by clicking the buttons in the App Link column here.
Clicking the arrow to the left of the requested payment will give you more information in the Log, including updates of when the payment processes through.
Website Payment App
You also have the ability to have a page on your agent website to send out a generic payment link, where the recipient can specify a one-off payment and enter their own reference.
To access the website payment app, select Apps from the dashboard.
This with provide the website payment app where any mobile banking or card payment is made will be paid into your linked client account.
Pay by mobile banking app:
Pay by debit or credit card:
In addition, you'll find the unique link for each bank account inside your Bank Account details, under Payment App Link:
Lettings Applicants - Accounting Functionality
As part of the overall changes made to the accounting functions on agentOS (including adding the Payment App options), we have added full accounts functionality to Lettings Applicants, including View Accounts, taking payments, applying charges and processing payments out (amongst others). This will allow you to request and receive funds on an applicant profile prior to them becoming a full tenant attached to a tenancy.
You will now see the relevant options in the left-hand ladder and Actions options when on an applicant profile, and these functions will work in essentially the same way as other person profiles in Lettings do currently.
Please note:
- No changes have been made to how rent or deposit arrears become due, and these will still happen on the tenant profile rather than on the applicant.
- Any balance or arrears still held on the applicant account will not automatically transfer when converting them to a full tenant profile. For any credits held you will be able to move any funds using the Transfer to Another Person option from Actions, and for charges these can be refunded on the applicant profile and re-charged to your tenant as required.
- At present the Balances infographic is not shown on applicant profiles, and we hope to add this in a future software release. In the interim applicant balances can be checked from View Accounts.
Payment App Overview on Bank Accounts
A new overview section for Payment App requests and their current statuses has been added to each bank account, and can be found in the left-hand ladder options inside the account:
Auto Reconciliation & Posting of Payment App Payments
One-off payments and Standing Order payments from the Payment App will be automatically linked to the account the request was made from, and automatically posted. If a rent payment is made and the rent is due, then the payment will automatically move from the tenant account to the landlord account.
The unique 12 character bank reference the payment app generates (shown in the STO column) controls which company, bank account and person to automatically link and reconcile the payment to.
Xero Export Paid Sales Report
We've added a new report option in Draw Down Paid Sales where you can download a Xero accounting software compatible CSV file that can be used to upload paid invoice details into Xero:
Follow the normal processes for Draw Down Paid Sales by selecting your desired branch, then prior to completing the draw down select the Export Paid Sales - Xero report. Once downloaded you can complete your draw down in the usual way and then upload this file to your Xero accounting software to reflect what has happened:
Improvements
Access to Property (Arrange Access) SMS Templates
As mentioned in the Custom SMS Templates feature above, the existing Arrange Access SMS templates can now be edited, and we have also added an additional template type for any access you need to arrange with people listed in the Access to Property section of a tenancy (for example, the previous agent's tenants if you are taking that property over from them):
To Add or Edit these templates, go to SMS Templates in Office and look for the Arrange Access template type and select the Access to Property person type:
Please note: These will need to be setup separately from any template you use for other Person Types, but the same wording can be used if needed. Please check the section on Custom SMS Templates in these release notes for the available tags you can use in these templates.
Sales Part Exchange Case Type
We've added a new Case Type option of Shared Ownership Turnkey in sales Part Exchange records.
Payment App Links
Links to request payments through the Payment App have been added to the existing View Accounts and Invoices grids.
Bugs/Defects
Branch Chat
A bug where Branch Chat was not showing new chat entries on the dashboard has been corrected.
Reconcile Statements - Post - Pay Invoices/Deductions
An issue where you were unable to reconcile entries to developers using the Post - Pay Invoices/Deductions has been resolved.
NegApp Login
A bug where some users were unable to log into the NegApp has been resolved.
Security Setting Login Level
An issue where the security settings grid would not update when changing a staff login level has been resolved.
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