Table of Contents. Welcome... 3 Licence Information... 4 How to Order... 5 Licence Key... 6

Transcription

1 Version 9.04

2 Table of Contents Welcome... 3 Licence Information... 4 How to Order... 5 Licence Key... 6 Overview The Overview screen... 7 Preferences... 8 Backup and Restore Tax year and transaction share Property Centre Property Centre Creating a new property Managment Property Inventory Availability view Property List Property Accounts snapshot Tenant Centre... 3 Tenant Centre Overview Add a new tenant record Tenant Check In Tenant Check Out Renew an agreement Rent Centre view List and Card view Accounts view Ageing view Alert Centre Alert Centre Overview Creating a diary event Exporting to Outlook List view Day view Week view Month view Critical alerts view Performance Category views Occupancy Charts Forecasting Financials Financials overview Tax Centre Sage Export VAT Agent Statements All Transactions Banking

3 Banking Overview Account List Account Overview Adding a new account Update account balance Recording other income and expenses Receiving rent Loan Payments Landlord Payments Recurring Transactions Reconciliation Contacts Contact Overview Adding a new contact Importing/Exporting to Outlook Contact list/card view Projects and Work Orders The project overview Adding a new project Adding a new work order The Gantt Chart view List View LetITnow website addon LetITnow overview Validation Common Features Attaching documents Mail Merge Template Send a letter... 80

4 Licence Information PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SOFTWARE. THIS LICENSE PROVIDES IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING THE SOFTWARE PROVIDES YOU WITH A LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE AND CONTAINS WARRANTY AND LIABILITY INFORMATION. BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE ACCEPTING THE SOFTWARE AS IS AND AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO DO SO, DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE. 1. Terms of License This license allows you to: (a) Use the Software on a single computer; and (b) Make one (1) copy of the Software for back up purposes. If you wish to use the Software on more than three computers, you must license another copy of the Software. 2. Restrictions on Use Unless Visionbase Software Ltd has authorized you to distribute the Software, you shall not make or distribute copies of the Software or transfer the Software from one computer to another. You shall not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, include in other software, or translate the Software, or use the Software for any commercial purposes. You shall not modify, alter, change or otherwise make any modification to the Software or create derivative works based upon the Software. You shall not rent, lease, resell, sublicense, assign, distribute or otherwise transfer the Software or this license. Any attempt to do so shall be void and of no effect. 3. Ownership This license provides you with limited rights to use the Software. Visionbase Software Ltd retains all ownership, right, title and interest in, to and of the Software and all copies of it. All rights not specifically granted in this license, including domestic and international copyrights, are reserved by Visionbase Software Ltd. 4. Proprietary Markings Visionbase Software Ltd logos, product names, manuals, documentation, and other support materials are either patented, copyrighted, trademarked, constitute valuable trade secrets (whether or not any portion of them may be copyrighted or patented) or are otherwise proprietary to Visionbase Software Ltd. You shall not remove or obscure Visionbase Software Ltd copyright, trade mark or other proprietary notices from any of the materials contained in this package or downloaded together with the Software. 5. Disclaimer of Warranties and Technical Support The Software is provided to you on an as is basis, without warranty of any kind including, without limitation, any warranty or condition of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non infringement. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER LEGAL RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM JURISDICTION TO JURISDICTION. Technical support is available by only. Under no circumstances will support be provided by any other means. All support queries are to be addressed to support@visionbasesoftware.co.uk where we will endeavor to reply to you as soon as possible. 6. Limitation of Liability Visionbase Software Ltd SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF PROFITS, OR THE LIKE, WHETHER BASED ON BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF Visionbase Software Ltd OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. The limited warranty, exclusive remedies and limited liability set forth above are fundamental elements of the basis of the agreement between Visionbase Software Ltd and you. You agree that would not be able to provide the limitations. 7. Term and Termination This license agreement is effective until terminated. You may terminate this license agreement at any other time by destroying all complete and partial copies of the Software in your possession. This license and your rights hereunder shall automatically terminate if you fail to comply with any provision of this license. Upon such termination, you shall cease all use of the Software and delete the Software and destroy all copies of the Software and other materials related to the Software in your possession or under your control. 8. General Provisions (a) This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the United Kingdom (b) This Agreement contains the complete agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or understandings, whether oral or written. (c) All questions, comments or concerns with respect to this Agreement shall be directed to: Visionbase Software Ltd, 127 Graham Road, Ranmoor, Sheffield,S10 3GP

5 How to Order Landlord Manager can be purchased directly from our website at Payments are made via PayPal though you don't require a PayPal account to purchase

6 Licence Key You will receive a 30 day temporary key after you purchase Landlord Manager. After this period you must register the software for the computer you wish to use it on. You may use Landlord Manager on up to 3 computers (please note Landlord Manager Pro and Premium are not network products whilst Enterprise is). Before you register your PC you will have to make a note of your hardware fingerprint. This is the code each PC has and will be different for every PC so you will have to follow this process for every computer you wish to install it on. To find your hardware fingerprint click on the windows start button then select programs/landlord Manager/Enter registration details To register your computer please click on the link below

7 Landlord Manager Overview Open a new or existing portfolio Click on this icon to open an existing or new portfolio. Portfolios are in effect separate companies. For example you may own a few properties that are accounted for on a self assesment form and a few that are owned under a limited company Open a demonstration portfolio Landlord Manager includes demonstration data for all types of accounting from self assesment to limited company. Click on this icon to view demonstration data Follow a guide Follow a printed guide demonstrating different scenarios in Landlord Manager Backup your Data Backup your data to a removable or local device Restore your data Restore your data from a removable or local device Message Centre View the latest news from Visionbase software along with the latest property related news brought to you by Landlord Zone Preferences Setup your company details Check for upgrade Check the internet for the latest version of Landlord Manager LetITnow - Website add-on Upload your particulars and tenant accounts to your internet site. * This is an optional add-on

8 Preferences When you open a new portfolio you must enter details relative to your business Once you have entered your contact details click on the next page button to setup your financial details Landlord Manager has 4 different accounting categories. SA105, SA801 for self assesment Schedule E for US customers and general business accounting categories. You can add new categories as required and set the default category codes. Once you have configured your categories click on the next page button to complete the process

9 Enterprise and Letting Opportunity versions of Landlord Manager can be used to manage properties for other landlords as well as managing your own. Click on the Preferences button to set this option on. We recommend using the default settings but change the next statement no to match your own

10 Backup and Restore Landlord Manager has a built in backup and restore function. Please note each portfolio must be backed up individually. If you are taking your data off site to use on your laptop for example anyone who then opens this portfolio will be warned that the data is being updated elsewhere

11 Tax year and transaction share Landlord Manager allows you view view transactions by Tax year optionally showing your share of a transaction, a second persons split or 100% of the transaction

12 Property Overview New Property Add a new property to the database Edit Property Edit the details of the current selected property Delete Property Delete the current selected property Add a Tenant to a property Create a tenant record for a property Property Select View groups of properties and archived properties. Groups are configured in the property screen. You can create a group for an owner or a block of properties for example Other Income Use other income to record income other than income you receive from a tenant Property Expense Use property expense to record a one off expense against a property Recurring Transactions Use recurring transactions to record expenses you pay on a regular basis such as your mortgage and insurance Edit Transaction Edit the selected transaction Delete Transaction Delete the selected transaction Availability Report Print the availability report to a PDF document. Export to Excel Export the current list view to excel Print List/Report Print the current list view

13 Create a Professional let property To add a new property to your portfolio, click on the "New Property" button on the toolbar where you will be presented with the following screen. Ownership Pro and Premium versions of Landlord Manager allow only one type of ownership and that is owned. Enterprise users also have the option to manage properties on behalf of other landlords as a letting agent. Here the ownership can be set to owned, managed or let only.

14 Owned. The property is owned by you the user Managed. The property is owned by another landlord and managed by you the user for the term of the agreement Let Only. You the user are acting as a tenant finder and will only collect the first months rent and deposit. This is passed on to the landlord with your fee deducted Commission. Where a property is managed as a whole or a let only you can set the commission you charge the landlord. % commission. Usually charged for a managed property. Commission will be charged on a receipted rent from the tenant. set fee. Usually charged for a let only agreement and raised once a tenant record has been created Deposits can be set to transfer to the landlord where the landlord wishes to handle deposits. If this is not set you will deal with the deposit through a deposit scheme Let Type You can create two types of property. A professional let or a multi tenant let. Professional lets are used for properties that are let as a whole to a family for example. Multi tenant properties are used where you let rooms on a room by room basis for example. When a property has been setup as multi-let, you will have the option to generate agreements on an individual basis or as a Joint and Several where all tenants will be printed on the tenancy agreement When you save a multi let property Landlord Manager will automatically split the rent equally between the rented areas as shown below. At this point you can manually adjust the rent for each area

15

16 Management Use additional contacts to store further information about the property for example Safety and Insurance details. Insurance, Safety and Contracts will automatically appear in the critical alert centre when they become due Example Insurance Screen

17 When you create an additional contact you can mark it to show in the critical alert centre where you will be warned that an action has to be taken.

18 Property Inventory Landlord Manager can record your properties inventory and print inventory reports to give to your tenants Printing inventory reports for your tenants is available from the tenant check in form

19 Property Availability View The availability view shows displays your current available properties. Ideal if you have a prospect at the side of you, giving a quick simple view. A property will only show in the availability view if the advertising flag is set under advertising on the property form

20 Property List View The property list view will display a list of all your properties whether they are available or not. You can optional view your archived properties as well by clicking on the "Include Archived" check box on the tool bar

21 Property Accounts View The property accounts view displays a quick snapshot of transactions for the selected property for the selected tax year

22 Version 9.04

23 Tenant Centre Overview New Tenant Add a new tenant to the current selected property Edit Tenant Edit details of the current selected tenant Delete Tenant Delete the selected tenant. You have the option to delete all trace of the tenant including transactions or move the tenant into an archive file Show Display a selection of tenants eg Tenants with balances Receive Rent Enter a rent receipt for the current selected tenant Other Income Enter non tenant related income Property Expense Enter a property expense Letter Send the selected tenant or a group of tenants a letter Send the selected tenant an SMS Send the selected tenant a SMS message. (Please note this feature requires an SMS account) Export to Excel Export the current view to excel Print List

24 Adding a new tenant record To add a new tenant record to a property either click on the "New Tenant" button or double click on the "Add Tenant" link in the Rent Centre Enter the information as laid out on the screen and click on the save button. You will then be presented with an opening balance screen This screen will create a schedule of charges for the tenant from a particular date. You may not want to enter transactions for long standing tenants so you have the option to start raising charges from a

25 particular date with an opening balance. If you decide to start charging rent from the start of the current tax year for example you enter the balance the tenant owed at this point and the actual tenant balance as of today. Landlord Manager will then generate a charging schedule and a payment history and will assume tenants have paid on time. If you don't want to create an opening balance click on the "I don't want to enter an opening balance" check box and Landlord Manager will create a charging schedule only leaving you to enter payments manually

26 Tenant Check In Once you have created your tenant record you will then need to check the tenant in. If you create an agreement that has yet to commence, Landlord Manager will set the agreement status as "Pending". If you create an agreement that has already commenced then you don't need to do this.

27 Tenant Check Out Once an agreement has expired use the Check out form to move the tenant out and to archive the agreement. Enter the relevant details and change the status to either "Terminated" or "Completed". If the tenant has no outstanding areas click the archive flag otherwise edit the tenant record again once the arrears have been paid and tick the archive flag from the tenant record form

28 Renewing an agreement Once an agreement has expired, you can have the options to renew or complete the agreement. To renew an agreement click on the "Renew" link on the tenant menu bar You will then be presented with the Renew Agreement form. Enter the required details and click on the renew button. Landlord Manager will then create an extended charging schedule for the agreement

29 Rent Centre view The Rent Centre view displays a list of current tenants with balances and an overview of monthly payments

30 List and Card view The list and card view can display all past, future and present tenants. Use the "Show" drop down box to select what tenants you wish to view

31 Accounts view The accounts view displays a snapshot of all tenants in arrears. Use this view for credit control and chasing up your tenant arrears

32 Ageing View The Ageing View will list all tenants in arrears show how old the debt is

33 Alert Centre Overview New Event Credit a new diary event Edit Event Edit the selected diary event Delete Event Delete the selected diary event Show Include diary events that are so many days in advance, Include archived events and show notes in the diary list Send to Outlook Send diary events that have been flagged to Outlook Export to Excel Export the current list view to Excel Print Diary Print the selected diary view

34 Creating a diary event You can create a new diary event from either the alert centre or from a property,tenant or contact record

35 Exporting to Outlook Landlord Manager has the ability to send your diary events to Outlook. Only diary events that have been flagged will be exported into Outlook

36 List view The list view will display all current diary events and alerts Using the options on the toolbar you can also view upcoming diary events and archived events. The Show Notes check box will display any additional notes you enter in the list

37 Day view The day view will display your diary events in an dairy day view

38 Week View The week view will display your diary events in an dairy week view

39 Month view The month view will display your diary events in an dairy month view

40 Critical Alerts Critical alerts are used to warn you of important reminders such as Safety Inspections, Insurance and Mortgage renewals Critical alerts are created from Property, Tenant or Contact records from the contacts tab Click on the Add button to add new new contact link.

41

42 Performance views Landlord Manager has a number of performance views that will quickly give you a snapshot on how your portfolio is performing Category by Property Category by Month Property by Month

43 Property by Year

44 Occupancy Premium versions and above will calculate your property occupancy for the selected tax year. Occupancy is calculated on the number of days a property is rented in the current tax year. The overview page will show a current occupancy rate based on the tenanted properties as of today. Void periods can be added for refurbishment projects for example

45 Charts A number of performance charts are available presenting you with a graphical performance view of your portfolio

46 Forecasting Landlord Manager can forecast up to 12 months (1 month Pro, 12 months Premium/Enterprise). Figures are taken from tenant schedules and recurring transactions that are in the system.

47 Financial Overview Other Income Enter non tenant related income Property Expense Enter a property expense Recurring Transactions Setup transactions that occur on a regular basis such as mortgage Edit Transaction Edit the selected transaction Delete Transaction Delete selected transaction Tax Form Calculate your Self Assesment tax return Unreconciled Only Selected transactions that have or have not been exported to a sage file Export to Excel Export the current list view to Excel Print List Print the current list view New Statement Create a new agent statement to mirror a statement you would get from a letting agent

48 Tax Centre Visionbase Software have teamed up with Forbes to help complete your self assesment tax return. Forbes designed the original version of the xml message on which the current HMRC FBI on is based. It developed the first software ever to be approved for Internet filing and is regularly the first to be approved each year, often months ahead of others. For further information please visit Landlord Manager will help you fill out your SA105 tax return and will optionally export the data to Forbes tax return software for internet filing. Click on the Calculate button and Landlord Manager will calculate the blue values. Manually enter the black values to complete the form. Tip Always take advice from a tax advisor before filing your tax return

49 Sage Export Premium versions and above has the facility to export your transactions to a Sage compatible file. Click on the Export to Excel button to create a spreadsheet compatible with Sage

50 VAT Premium versions or above can track VAT on a cash basis.

51 Agent Statements If you use a letting agent to manage some or all of your properties you can use the statement module to enter statements as they appear from your agent

52 Transaction View The transaction view will display all your transactions for the selected tax year in a number of useful views.

53 Banking Overview New Account Create a new bank account Edit Account Edit the selected bank account Delete Account Delete the selected bank account Select Select the bank account you wish to view transactions for including or excluding reconciled transactions Other Income Enter non tenant related income Property Expense Enter a property expense Receive Rent Enter a tenant receipt Transfer Transfer funds from one account to another Reconcile Reconcile the selected bank account Recurring Transactions Setup recurring transactions such as a mortgage

54 The Account List The Account list is available to Premium and Enterprise users. This will show a list of all the bank accounts, credit cards and loans/mortgages in the system

55 The Account Overview The Account list is available to Premium and Enterprise users. This will present you with a snapshot on how the account has been performing over the last 12 months

56 Adding a new account You can enter an unlimited no of bank accounts. Enter information about you account and click on the save button Users of Premium and Enterprise can also create loan and credit card accounts. Loans can be created as mortgages and linked to a property as shown below

57 Update Account Balance Use the update balance feature to enter an opening balance for an account or if you need to make an adjustment

58 Recording Other Income and Expenses Entering income and expense transactions are very straight forward as you can see form the image below. Once you have selected the property the expense relates to and the supplier your are paying you need to select an account category. Landlord Manager has a number of predefined categories included but you can easily create new ones by clicking on the edit button. If you are unsure to which category to use, you can click on the link "Click here if you are unsure which category to use". Landlord Manager will then assign this to a temporary category which can then be changed once you have spoken to your tax advisor. Depending on the accounting categories you are using (SA105,SA801) you will be presented with a couple of additional fields. Furnishing. You can claim for renewals of furnishing but not new items. You will also not be able to deduct furnishings if you are claiming a 10% wear and tear allowance Included in Rent/Service to Tenant. If you are claiming 10% wear and tear and have included items such as council tax in the rent, tick this box for the expense you pay to the council. This will then be taken into account when 10% wear and tear is calculated When you enter property expenses you can also link it to a project. This will help monitor the progress of your projects against the project budget

59 Recording Rent Click on the Receive Rent button on the toolbar to enter rent receipts for due rent. When you create a new tenant record, Landlord Manager will create a charging schedule for the term of the agreement Once you have selected the tenant, Landlord Manager will auto fill the defaults based on the oldest outstanding schedule item. You can optionally amend any of these details if required. If you are receiving rent for a managed property Landlord Manager will automatically create an office income transaction for your management fees and a property expense for the managed property

60 Loan Payments The loan payment feature is used to record transactions relating to a loan or mortgage. Simply select the loan account and the account the loan is to be paid from and enter the capital and interest for the payment. If you are unsure how much is capital and how much is interest then you can come back and adjust figures once you have received your loan statement

61 Landlord Payments This feature is only available to Enterprise and Letting Opportunity versions of the software and will allow you to make payments to landlords you manage properties for. When you click on the Pay Landlords button you will be presented with a list of landlords to whom you owe money to. Clicking on a landlord in the list will display a list of transactions that will be paid on the right. Select the landlords you wish to pay by clicking on the check box in the list and then click on the Pay button. Once you have paid your landlords you will be presented with a list of statements that you can either print and send or directly to the landlord

62 Recurring Transactions To save time from having to enter transactions on a regular basis, Landlord Manager has a Recurring Transaction facility that will automatically create transactions on a regular basis. This is ideal for mortgage payments for example. Tip Leave the Until date blank if you want to create transactions indefinitely Tick the use for forecasting only flag if you want to enter a transaction that may occur and want to include in the monthly forecasting on the Overview page Recurring Loan

63

64 Account reconciliation Landlord Manager can reconcile your bank account with your bank statement. Enter a reference such as a statement number, the statement date and the end balance on your bank statement then simply highlight and click the match selected button to reconcile the item. When you have finished, click on the Finish button to complete the reconciliation

65 Contacts Overview New Contact Create a new contact Edit Contact Edit the selected contact Delete Contact Delete the selected contact Show Select a group of contacts to view Send to Outlook Send your contacts to Outlook Import from Outlook Import your contacts from Outlook Letter Send a letter to the selected contact Send an to the selected contact SMS Send a SMS text message to the selected contact Export to Excel Export the selected list to Excel Print List Print the selected list view

66 Adding a new contact Create contacts for suppliers, tenants, applicants, references etc by clicking on the add button

67 Importing / Exporting Contacts Landlord Manager can import and export your contacts from/to Outlook. Where a contact already exists in Outlook the record will be amended rather than duplicated

68 Contact List/Card view You can view your contacts in either a List or Card format Use the Show drop down box to filter your contacts

69 Project Overview New Project Create a new project New Work Order Create a new Work Order Edit Edit the selected project / work order Delete Delete the selected project / work order Show Select a group of records you wish to view. Export to Excel Export the selected list to Excel Print List Print the selected list

70 Adding a new project Premium and Enterprise versions of Landlord Manager include a project and Work Order module. Use Projects to monitor property refurbishment for example Budgets can be tracked for projects by clicking on the Budget tab. Simply add items to the budget list then when you record an expense you can log it against the project to help maintain the budget

71 Adding a new Work Order You can record work orders for when a tenant rings up to log a repair for example

72 The Gantt Chart View The Gantt chart view will display your projects with a timeline making it easier to schedule your projects. You can also attach work orders to projects which in turn can be viewed on the chart

73 Project / Work Order List View The list view will display your projects and work orders in a simple list format

74 LetITnow Overview Landlord Manager has an optional website add-on. If you are looking to give yourself a web presence then this is a very cheap option. Once you have purchased the add-on you will be given a user name and key. This must be entered into the setup before you can upload any details. If you have a PayPal account you can optionally take payments from your tenants for their arrears. You can also charge the tenant a surcharge to cover PayPal costs Your available properties can also be uploaded to the popular web portal Surf4aProperty.com. Simply create click on the create account button to create an account with Surf4aProperty Once you have entered the setup details you can then design your website. Select the pages you wish to use on your site, then select a theme from 1 of the 10 predefined themes included. Once you have selected the theme, simply use the page editor to enter the content for your site

75

76 LetITnow Validation Once you have configured your site, simply select the properties and tenant accounts you wish to upload and click on the Upload button

77 Attaching Documents You can scan and attach documents for quick reference. They can be attached to the main modules including property, tenants, transactions and inventory

78 Mail Merge Landlord Manager has a built in mail merge facility allowing you to create and print tenancy agreements, section notices and general letters. From the "Other" page in the Preferences form select documents to setup your templates Click on New template to create a new template. The type of template you are creating will determine where you can merge and print this document. In this example an agreement will only be available to print from the Tenant Check In form. Click on the Edit/Create button to make amendments to your template inserting mail merge fields where required.

79

80 Send a Letter Once you have created your mail merge templates you can then use them to send letters to your tenants and contacts. Highlight the required letter then select the tenant/contact(s) you wish to send it to then click on the merge letter button. Landlord Manager will then create a mail merge letter in MS Word. During this process you may be presented with a screen like the one below. Click on OK then you will be presented with the letter in Word. A diary event will also be created against the the tenants/contacts you sent the letter to

81

82 Index D diary, 34 J jobs, 71 M mmtemp, 78 P projects, 70 property, 13 R receipt, 59 reconcile, 64 recurring, 62 renew, 28 S sa105, 48 setup, 8 statements, 51 T tenant, 24 transaction, 58