Features and Issues in Transaction Management

Written for CRB by Jonathan Cutler, President, SettlementRoom

Background

Transaction management as we know it started more than 10 years ago when technology savvy brokers started using desktop software to keep track of their listings and closings and assist them with their reporting and compliance requirements. In this context, a transaction is really any property address which a broker needs to track.

When transaction management became "web-based" about 7 years ago, the ability to securely centralize, store, share, distribute, and communicate all aspects of the transaction led to so many new features and benefits that a whole new category of software evolved that we know today as Transaction Management.

Dozens of venture capital-fueled software companies instantly sprung up to offer web-based transaction management, not only to brokers, but to the title industry, mortgage industry, and building industries as well. Unfortunately, there were almost as many different ideas about what transaction management "was" and who should control or "host" the process as there were companies. Brokers were justifiably confused, Internet connections were slow, and as a result, adoption was limited to only the most tech savvy players.

Where We Are Today - Adoption Takes Off

Now fast forward about 5 years to broadband Internet, dramatic convergence of features between vendors, reduction in prices, and the emergence of a few obvious market leaders - and it is clear why adoption is taking off. Brokers don't need to be convinced that increased productivity, reduced overhead, reduced liability, paperless secure document storage, and significant recruiting and marketing benefits are a bargain at prices that generally range from $5 to $10 per property address.

Overview of Today's Core Features

Today a handful of vendors serve the great majority of users, and while they all have a different look and feel, most provide at least the following capabilities:

• Paperless document management: storage, and distribution, with faxing and e-mailing them into and out of the transaction management software, and making them securely accessible online by authorized parties.
• Task management: by agent and by property, standardized action plans (templates) for the entire office or company, e-mail reminders, reports of pending or past due tasks, and a variety of e-mail notification options.
• Correspondence management: e-mail or fax into and out of the software, organize all communications by transaction, archive/record all communications.
• Calendar management: automatically putting all action plan tasks, key dates, and ‘to do’ list items on a centralized calendar viewable by property or across all transactions.
• Archiving of transactions: storing data, communications, documents, and tasks, and giving the user the option to download all data to their local computer if they wish.
• Contact management: tracking of who the participants and vendors are in every listing or transaction, and storing their contact information within the transaction for ease of communication and quick access within the software.

Business Issues

While the primary vendors have most of the above features in common, some less obvious differences remain their conceptual approach to implementation, usually based on the business orientation (forms, title, independent, etc.) of the vendor itself:

• Who actually owns the data that you put in your vendor’s data center (on the Internet)? What right does the vendor or the board have to access or mine your data? Most vendors are highly reputable, but they have surprisingly different ideas about what these issues. Read their Terms of Use to be sure you are comfortable with the answers.
• Who does the vendor put at the center of the transaction? The broker? The title company? The lender? The board?
• Is the Transaction Management software an "add on" to another product, such as forms, title software, MLS software, or independent? Look at each to decide which suits you best.

Trends

The trend today is definitely toward integration with other types of software, allowing you to pass data and documents back and forth between forms, back office, MLS, and contact management applications, among others. When reviewing vendor claims of integration, make sure you actually see a demonstration of how it works if it is important to you - there is a huge difference in how vendors define "integration."

Conclusion

The shakeout is over, the software is now mature and robust, and you definitely want to implement Transaction Management in your office before your agents do so on their own - because at that point you may lose the opportunity to standardize which software is used within your office or company.

SettlementRoom is an independent software company providing transaction management software to the real estate industry nationwide. SettlementRoom is a CRB Product Partner. For more information about SettlementRoom, visit the CRB e-Marketplace, or to schedule a demo, please call 888-661-6600 or feel free to visit http://www.settlementroom.com.

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