Peter Lohmann's Podcast
00:27:52 · Peter Lohmann, Matt Luke
[00:27:52] S0: Yep. [00:27:53] S1: And then... So again, I broke down pretty much all the bookkeeping steps into just clicking buttons and checking off the steps as as the progress goes through AppFolio. And so I'm able to not have a bookkeeper on the team because I'm able to click those steps. One other thing that I haven't brought up is that my daughter is a virtual assistant for me. She... And she spends about an hour a day when she's available, when she needs extra spending money at college. So so some of the steps that I I spend an hour or two a day on actually end up to her Mhmm. If she needs some extra money [00:28:33] S0: Got it. At college. [00:28:34] S1: So I let her handle those steps, or I'll do them if she's not available. [00:28:37] S0: That's great. And is APM help doing your corporate accounting as well? [00:28:42] S1: Not the corporate accounting side. So for the corporate accounting, we do use QuickBooks, and I do have a bookkeeping company that handles that. [00:28:51] S0: Okay. Very good. Alright. That makes sense. How about processing rental applications?
00:28:51 · Peter Lohmann, Matt Luke
[00:28:51] S0: Okay. Very good. Alright. That makes sense. How about processing rental applications? [00:28:57] S1: Mhmm. So when an application is completed, they do that through our website. So after showing, all of the showings get a email with the link to the application that comes in, and then I use an outsourced service to run the application. So we've set up criteria with that service and we get a score on the application based on our criteria. We then get a task in LeadSimple to answer the questions about the scoring and that then provides the answer of either approved or denied to that person that's applying. [00:29:36] S0: Okay. Got it. And what... What's the name of the company that does your screening? [00:29:41] S1: NTN. [00:29:43] S0: NTN. National Tenant Network. Yeah. Think I've heard them. [00:29:45] S1: Yeah. Yep. [00:29:47] S0: Okay. So they're taking the rental application. They are doing the credit criminal eviction history checks Landlord verification. Verification. Yep. And then comes back with a score, and then that kicks off a LeadSimple process for you to approve or to decline the tenant. Yep. And then... [00:30:05] S1: So we enter the score into LeadSimple, and do they have a verifiable income? Do they have positive landlord references? And then that uses some not... I'm not sure what the word is. Conditional logic [00:30:21] S0: Yep. [00:30:21] S1: In LeadSimple to then move them to the approved stage or the denied stage. [00:30:27] S0: Got it. Did you set up all these LeadSimple workflows yourself? Did you use them or or, like, a consultant?
00:30:27 · Peter Lohmann, Matt Luke
[00:30:27] S0: Got it. Did you set up all these LeadSimple workflows yourself? Did you use them or or, like, a consultant? [00:30:34] S1: Yeah. So I used them for the first two Okay. Which was included in our onboarding package, and then I got pretty savvy on it myself, so then I just started building it out from there. One of the things I'm pretty aware of is I try not to create too many processes. I think we only have nine for the entire... [00:30:53] S0: Love that. You listening, Wolfgang? I did look at his list, [00:30:58] S1: and I think there's, like, a 100 there. So... You know? But, yeah, try to keep it very simple. I have them in order on the toolbar. Yep. I numerically ordered them based on kind of of the workflow, and I try not to add more processes. The more I add, the more complex it gets. So for me, I like to figure out how can we make the process as simple as possible first, and then I go and create. [00:31:21] S0: Dude, we're fully aligned on that. Fully aligned. And when I meet people who have, like, 30 processes in LeadSimple like Wolfgang, I'm just... My mind is just like, how do you keep all these up to date? How do you even remember which ones you have? Mhmm. Like, I would I would end up making another process for a process I already had. [00:31:37] S1: Mhmm. One of the things that I wrote down here is that I'm not sure who this quote's from, but it is... The quote goes, possibly the most common error is to optimize something that shouldn't exist at all. [00:31:48] S0: That's an Elon Musk quote, actually.
00:31:48 · Peter Lohmann, Matt Luke
[00:31:48] S0: That's an Elon Musk quote, actually. [00:31:50] S1: Is it? Okay. So when I think through something that comes across my desk that isn't automated, isn't off my plate, that's the first thing I think about. Do I actually need to do this at all? And if I I do, why? And I just take some time to to think through that first. Even if the industry has done it one way, can I do it some way different that's gonna save me time or just take it off my plate entirely? [00:32:20] S0: Totally agree. [00:32:21] S1: If I can't get around that step, then I go to what is the most optimized way to do that? Is there a different way to do it? Is there a better way to do it? Is there a shorter, faster way to do it? So I think through that. And if I... Once I have that need optimized, then I move to automate. Can I fully automate that task? Yep. If I can't automate it, then I go to outsource it. Can I send it to someone other than me that can tackle it for me? And then if I do need to outsource it, then I have to create the standard operating procedure to make it as simple as possible for someone else to tackle. [00:33:02] S0: Yeah. Are you using any automation type tools besides LeadSimple? Like, are you using some of the more advanced things that I don't even know about, like robotic process automation or some kind of AI thing that drives a computer for you or, like, scripts or anything. [00:33:22] S1: Yeah. I know where my skill sets end right before that.
00:33:22 · Matt Luke, Peter Lohmann
[00:33:22] S1: Yeah. I know where my skill sets end right before that. [00:33:26] S0: Yeah. Same. Okay. Yep. So So when you say automation, I mean, this is just... This is basic. Not... Nothing exotic is being applied here. [00:33:35] S1: LeadSimple, AppFolio. Yep. You know, some AI receptionists Got it. And agents, and that's that's pretty much it. Because, again, I think I've dove into a little bit of software that might handle some of the things like you're talking about, and I'm just going, you know what? If I have to get that intense, something's wrong with the process first. Let's make the process simple first and then figure out how to automate Can [00:34:03] S0: you think of any AI tools or software that you tried and didn't work as promised and so you just stopped using it? [00:34:10] S1: I hate to say this one, but probably the RealmX in AppFolio. [00:34:16] S0: Okay. [00:34:16] S1: Still haven't really figured that one out yet. Yeah. Some of the prompts that I put in there aren't really providing the solutions I need, and they come back more with an answer than a tool to make the workflow better. Okay. That's fine. And maybe I don't know how to use it exactly. But [00:34:35] S0: Yeah. And I know they've been working on it quite a bit. I've heard even just from Crane members in the last month or two, people are saying like, oh, yeah. It's working way better now. So how about... I'm just going through my list... My mental list of the most painful and manual parts of property management. How about bill entry? Like, all the vendor bills, utility bills Sure. All that.
00:34:35 · Peter Lohmann, Matt Luke
[00:34:35] S0: Yeah. And I know they've been working on it quite a bit. I've heard even just from Crane members in the last month or two, people are saying like, oh, yeah. It's working way better now. So how about... I'm just going through my list... My mental list of the most painful and manual parts of property management. How about bill entry? Like, all the vendor bills, utility bills Sure. All that. [00:34:55] S1: Yep. So the vendor bills, all the vendors are required to upload them into Property Meld. [00:35:00] S0: Yeah. [00:35:01] S1: Mhmm. Once they get into Property Meld, then they sync with AppFolio. Yep. So there is one pain point in AppFolio. I do have to approve all the bills and create the bills after they come in. But it does give me a a moment to just get an eye on them to make sure they look accurate, or if we need to charge a tenant for a service, then that's that point to do that. I don't know if that process would ever come off somebody's plate. That'd be pretty tough to automate, not getting an eye on every bill quickly. Yeah. But, yeah, the vendor bills are all synced through Property Meld. We don't have a mailbox. We don't have a office. There's no place to mail anything or stop and drop things off. So... And then utility bills are sent to a service that scans them in and puts them into smart bill pay in AppFolio. [00:35:54] S0: Okay. What's that service? [00:35:56] S1: So we just have a local [00:35:57] S0: Okay. [00:35:58] S1: Virtual mailbox service [00:35:59] S0: Oh, got it. Got it.