PHOTO: Jo-Anne Black
“This is not as crazy as it seems according to Black Book Solutions owner – Jo-Anne Black.
Business owners wear so many hats these days ensuring they are up to date with legislation, running their property management department, a sales team, while out their listing and selling. With the turnover of staff and miss allocation of funds, it’s no wonder business owners have money sitting in accounts they are unaware of.
Recently I worked with an office who had a total of 50k sitting in the trust account which should have been moved to the business account at different times over the previous 5 years . The owner was so busy listing and selling property he didn’t even realise these funds hadn’t been paid to him/the business.
The issue is that it can be made up of $3,000 here, $2000 there, it doesn’t take long to add up Ms Black explains. This isn’t the only example. I’ve found over $150,000 for one client Ms Black said which has accumulated over the past 5 years. With COVID-19 hitting business owners are paying closer attention to their expenses like never before. I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years and I’ve never seen such a shift and focus with the day to day runnings of a business from business owners Ms Black said.
Black Book Solutions was launched during Covid – 19 as a result of more people working from home and not fully equipped to run a business remotely. Many businesses are implementing new systems which will minimise any future disruption, should something like this happen again. Systems which will allow the Principal to continue to monitor an agent’s performance without having to physically be around them at all times, as well as processes for the support staff who could continue to have more flexibility with regards to their location while working. Property management staff can also work remotely with the right systems, software and IT providers in place.
To be able to do this, it is essential that there is a streamlining of all back-office systems with a minimisation and integration of the programs being used, particularly in property management. If you have a main system which provides easy remote access with maximum results, it enables agents and property managers to be more efficient and time productive than having to always access the office to obtain forms and information that they require to do business.
If you are finding that your team wants to still work from home on occasion, it is still possible to allow this with the right systems in place. As long as productivity doesn’t drop and they have some accountability in place to monitor progress and KPI’s etc, it can sometimes give them the space and allow better focus without the general distractions which arise working within a busy team environment. Virtual meetings can be a good way to keep up with face to face contact. Giving your staff the trust to work remotely can be a powerful thing for the right people and sometimes they can be a lot more productive in their own space.
Black book solutions offer a one stop shop to streamline your businesses functionality by systemising your back of house, which includes a compliance check in all areas including employment contracts, job descriptions, property management and sales documentation, ensuring that procedures and policies are implemented correctly and your guidelines are being followed. Black book solutions give you the confidence to get out and do what you do best, list and sell, knowing your back of house is being looked after by industry professionals”.
ENDS
