Case Study Eldon L Auker Associates
0% to 78% Online Payments in 3 Months
UNITS MANAGED
1000
ONLINE PAYMENTS
YEAR ESTABLISHED
78%
1972
Company
Portfolio Type
Previous Solution
The Eldon L. Auker Associates
Multifamily Residential
Yardi Genesis
A Bit of Backstory The Eldon L. Auker Associates went live with AppFolio on December 1, 2016. Previously using Yardi Genesis, The Eldon L. Auker Associates recognized areas where they could run more efficiently and implementing online payments was a top priority for their team. They began working on a strategic plan for payments prior to launching with AppFolio; with the company’s controller, Nikole Hartzell, taking the lead on preparing their employees and their tenants for the transition.
1 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
How did you encourage your tenants to pay online? “We rolled out an aggressive marketing campaign to activate tenant portals and ACH payments,” says Nikole. “Two nights before our launch, we hosted ‘signup nights’ at each property, where our staff members were on site with laptops to assist residents in setting up their portals, activating auto-pay, and even creating email accounts for those that didn’t have one. Tenants who brought checks were encouraged to input their banking information right then and there.
Each property had a drawing for Amazon gift cards for residents that activated within the first 24 hours of launch, and we had big screen TVs with live portal demonstrations to help make tenants comfortable with the program.”
“The success we’ve had with online payments is immeasurable! Every aspect of the business has been impacted by this change.” NIKOLE HARTZELL Controller, Eldon L Auker Associates
Thirty days after launch, the company implemented a policy requiring mandatory ACH payments for all current tenants and added the requirement to their lease agreement for new renters. All tenants are required to use their tenant portal to make payments, unless they agree to pay a $10 processing fee, or qualify for a Payment Accommodation. Tenants can apply for a Payment Accommodation based on specific criteria and are approved on a case-by-case basis.
2 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
“The primary reason we made the change so quickly was because it’s just too easy to put off signing up,” adds Nikole. “We’re such a ‘right now’ society; we knew that we would lose a great deal of interest and participation just because people would procrastinate. By making online payments mandatory, we were better able to control the situation and handle roadblocks en masse, rather than risk having mass signups during summertime, our busiest time of year.”
How did you communicate this change to your community? “There were a great deal of missing email addresses, so prior to launching with AppFolio, several staff members were tasked to collect them. We also made sure that during every communication with a tenant we asked if we had their updated contact information. To grab the attention of our tenants about the upcoming payments change, flyers were posted in the buildings, emails were sent out, text messages were sent out, and after our mandatory policy change, phone calls were made as needed. Today our most common form of communication with tenants is through text message and email.”
What roadblocks did you encounter and how did you overcome them? A change this big is bound to encounter roadblocks. It was a big decision by ownership to mandate portal payments, and was not received favorably from all sides. However, Eldon L. Auker is a large company with 1,000 units; it used to take a full-time staff member well over one full week just to enter payments and make bank deposits. The leasing agents and managers spent over 50% of their time in the first week of each month recording payments. They knew a change needed to be made.
3 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
“We educated our staff members and prepared to explain to our tenants that by streamlining this process, we could reallocate our resources to celebrating our tenants and communicating with them proactively instead of retroactively,” says Nikole. “This wasn’t a move to cut jobs or save money; this transition was implemented to best serve our residents. The addition of a Payment Accommodation helped ease the concerns of the small percentage that pushed back on the online payments platform.”
“By making the online payments mandatory, we were better able to control the situation and handle roadblocks en masse, rather than risk having mass signups during summertime, our busiest time of year.” NIKOLE HARTZELL Controller, Eldon L Auker Associates
The company also faced roadblocks in the adoption of the tenant portal. Not all residents are tech-savvy. About 5% of their tenants input their banking information incorrectly when setting up their payments. Another 2% double paid their rent the first month or two. “We reached out to tenants to resolve these mistakes and waived all NSF and late fees that resulted from accounts that were input erroneously and issued refund checks to tenants with overpayments.”
Communication was paramount when facing all obstacles of implementation. Keeping a positive outlook on the end result and being as educated as possible to help their tenants made a big difference, according to Nikole. “Companies whose tenants already have access to the tenant portal will have an even easier time than we did!”
4 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
How is the success of online payments impacting their business? “The success we’ve had with online payments is immeasurable!” says Nikole. “Every aspect of the business has been impacted by this change.” §§Leasing Agents and Property Managers have more time to dedicate to resident retention and positive communications. §§The delinquency list has been reduced by over 60%. §§Prepayments have increased by 70%. §§There is no delay between rent received and cash available. §§NSF turnaround time has decreased by 50%.
“We are absolutely reinvesting the newfound resources back into the business. Our summer improvement projects are on pace to start three months early, we were able to roll out additional AppFolio features ahead of schedule, we have reduced the outstanding tenant credit balances by over half, and we have reduced the turnaround time for lease renewals by over 30 days. We are confident that we’ll continue to receive positive feedback and growth in other departments in the coming year.”
AppFolio Contact Customer Success 805.617.2117 [email protected]
AppFolio, Inc. 50 Castilian Dr. Goleta, CA 93117 866.648.1536
5 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
UNITS MANAGED
1000
ONLINE PAYMENTS
YEAR ESTABLISHED
78%
1972
Company
Portfolio Type
Previous Solution
The Eldon L. Auker Associates
Multifamily Residential
Yardi Genesis
A Bit of Backstory The Eldon L. Auker Associates went live with AppFolio on December 1, 2016. Previously using Yardi Genesis, The Eldon L. Auker Associates recognized areas where they could run more efficiently and implementing online payments was a top priority for their team. They began working on a strategic plan for payments prior to launching with AppFolio; with the company’s controller, Nikole Hartzell, taking the lead on preparing their employees and their tenants for the transition.
1 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
How did you encourage your tenants to pay online? “We rolled out an aggressive marketing campaign to activate tenant portals and ACH payments,” says Nikole. “Two nights before our launch, we hosted ‘signup nights’ at each property, where our staff members were on site with laptops to assist residents in setting up their portals, activating auto-pay, and even creating email accounts for those that didn’t have one. Tenants who brought checks were encouraged to input their banking information right then and there.
Each property had a drawing for Amazon gift cards for residents that activated within the first 24 hours of launch, and we had big screen TVs with live portal demonstrations to help make tenants comfortable with the program.”
“The success we’ve had with online payments is immeasurable! Every aspect of the business has been impacted by this change.” NIKOLE HARTZELL Controller, Eldon L Auker Associates
Thirty days after launch, the company implemented a policy requiring mandatory ACH payments for all current tenants and added the requirement to their lease agreement for new renters. All tenants are required to use their tenant portal to make payments, unless they agree to pay a $10 processing fee, or qualify for a Payment Accommodation. Tenants can apply for a Payment Accommodation based on specific criteria and are approved on a case-by-case basis.
2 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
“The primary reason we made the change so quickly was because it’s just too easy to put off signing up,” adds Nikole. “We’re such a ‘right now’ society; we knew that we would lose a great deal of interest and participation just because people would procrastinate. By making online payments mandatory, we were better able to control the situation and handle roadblocks en masse, rather than risk having mass signups during summertime, our busiest time of year.”
How did you communicate this change to your community? “There were a great deal of missing email addresses, so prior to launching with AppFolio, several staff members were tasked to collect them. We also made sure that during every communication with a tenant we asked if we had their updated contact information. To grab the attention of our tenants about the upcoming payments change, flyers were posted in the buildings, emails were sent out, text messages were sent out, and after our mandatory policy change, phone calls were made as needed. Today our most common form of communication with tenants is through text message and email.”
What roadblocks did you encounter and how did you overcome them? A change this big is bound to encounter roadblocks. It was a big decision by ownership to mandate portal payments, and was not received favorably from all sides. However, Eldon L. Auker is a large company with 1,000 units; it used to take a full-time staff member well over one full week just to enter payments and make bank deposits. The leasing agents and managers spent over 50% of their time in the first week of each month recording payments. They knew a change needed to be made.
3 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
“We educated our staff members and prepared to explain to our tenants that by streamlining this process, we could reallocate our resources to celebrating our tenants and communicating with them proactively instead of retroactively,” says Nikole. “This wasn’t a move to cut jobs or save money; this transition was implemented to best serve our residents. The addition of a Payment Accommodation helped ease the concerns of the small percentage that pushed back on the online payments platform.”
“By making the online payments mandatory, we were better able to control the situation and handle roadblocks en masse, rather than risk having mass signups during summertime, our busiest time of year.” NIKOLE HARTZELL Controller, Eldon L Auker Associates
The company also faced roadblocks in the adoption of the tenant portal. Not all residents are tech-savvy. About 5% of their tenants input their banking information incorrectly when setting up their payments. Another 2% double paid their rent the first month or two. “We reached out to tenants to resolve these mistakes and waived all NSF and late fees that resulted from accounts that were input erroneously and issued refund checks to tenants with overpayments.”
Communication was paramount when facing all obstacles of implementation. Keeping a positive outlook on the end result and being as educated as possible to help their tenants made a big difference, according to Nikole. “Companies whose tenants already have access to the tenant portal will have an even easier time than we did!”
4 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
How is the success of online payments impacting their business? “The success we’ve had with online payments is immeasurable!” says Nikole. “Every aspect of the business has been impacted by this change.” §§Leasing Agents and Property Managers have more time to dedicate to resident retention and positive communications. §§The delinquency list has been reduced by over 60%. §§Prepayments have increased by 70%. §§There is no delay between rent received and cash available. §§NSF turnaround time has decreased by 50%.
“We are absolutely reinvesting the newfound resources back into the business. Our summer improvement projects are on pace to start three months early, we were able to roll out additional AppFolio features ahead of schedule, we have reduced the outstanding tenant credit balances by over half, and we have reduced the turnaround time for lease renewals by over 30 days. We are confident that we’ll continue to receive positive feedback and growth in other departments in the coming year.”
AppFolio Contact Customer Success 805.617.2117 [email protected]
AppFolio, Inc. 50 Castilian Dr. Goleta, CA 93117 866.648.1536
5 | © 2017 AppFolio, Inc. - AppFolio Proper t y Manager: The Eldon L. Auker A ssociates Case Study
