Top property management company digitally manages tenant information

• Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

• Business Operation

• Software Design & Engineering Services

Maryland Management, a leading property management firm in the greater Baltimore area, was struggling with an inefficient method for storing and transferring tenant applications and leases for processing by the corporate office. The company, which manages around 9,000 units, was facing difficulties in finding a copy of a lease due to the industry's average apartment turnover rate of 41%. Prior to implementing DocuWare, each apartment community was responsible for submitting their credit and leasing applications to the corporate office for review. Once applications were received via courier, it took over a week to process, file and notify the apartment community of the decision. This resulted in new and existing tenants having to wait a long time for notification of their application status.

The Maryland Management Company is a prominent property management firm operating in the greater Baltimore area. The company has a significant presence in the real estate market, owning approximately 65% of its units and managing the remainder on a fee schedule. With a portfolio of 9,000 units, the company faces the industry's average apartment turnover rate of 41%, making the management of tenant applications and leases a challenging task. The company's operations are spread across multiple apartment communities, each responsible for submitting their credit and leasing applications to the corporate office for review.

To address the challenge, Maryland Management implemented DocuWare, a solution chosen by IT Manager, Bill Szczytko for its use of XML and integration with the company's accounting software. With DocuWare, the property manager prints an application and adds a barcode. The completed application is scanned into DocuWare where it is electronically routed through a workflow process to ensure a credit and criminal background check along with manager approval have all been completed. If approved, the property manager prints a lease agreement which is also barcoded. Once the lease is signed, it is electronically routed to the Bookkeeping department for further review and processing. Indexing is automated with the barcoded application number used as a match code. Any email correspondence relating to a tenant is also archived in DocuWare, streamlining issue resolution.

• The implementation of DocuWare has significantly improved the efficiency of Maryland Management's operations. The ability to search the database has eliminated at least 100 hours a month in the Bookkeeping and Credit departments alone. The time taken to retrieve and send documents has been reduced from hours or days to just a few seconds. The company has also seen dramatic improvements in self-serve access to any document after the lease has been signed. Even outside auditors are given temporary access rights to DocuWare, making audit preparation quick and painless.

• Eliminated at least 100 hours a month in Bookkeeping and Credit departments
• Reduced document retrieval and sending time from hours or days to just a few seconds