Rent Roll Pro - Frequently Asked Questions |
How do I get support for Rent Roll Pro? (Is there additional cost?)
We provide two hours of support with the purchase of Rent Roll Pro, three with the purchase of the Rent Roll Pro NetPack, without additional costs to the user, except for the cost of the telephone call. The support is available during the first six months after purchase. Upgrade subscriptions no longer include continued free telephone support; to purchase telephone support packages click HERE.
No free telephone support is provided for purchasers of Rent Roll Pro LE.
Additional support plans may be purchased for users with current update subscriptions.
For support call (803) 764-3637, Monday-Friday, 9:30AM-6PM Eastern US, excluding national holidays. After hours and on weekends please email us: support@softgreencorp.com
See the support policies page for exact restrictions and details.
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Is QuickBooks© required?
- Yes, for complete property management: Rent Roll Professional, LE , Rent Roll Pro NetPack and Rent Roll Pro's Rental Contact Manager make typical transactions directly into QuickBooks. Knowledge of QuickBooks is helpful, but not needed. Full accounting within QuickBooks is NOT required; the file may be used only for customer balances, security deposits, etc. by Rent Roll Pro.
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What version and year of QuickBooks do I need?
- QuickBooks Pro, Premier, the specialized accounting / industry versions (Contractors, Non-Profit, and Accounting versions, etc.), or QuickBooks Enterprise, years 2004 or later. QuickBooks Simple Start and QuickBooks Online are NOT supported and do NOT allow the level of integration Rent Roll Pro requires.
- Now available for QuickBooks Canada Pro or Premier, year 2010 and later.
- Premier allows more concurrent users than Pro (five vs. three) and its enhanced Class reporting options may make it more desireable for users with multiple entities or ownwers. Enterprise includes multi-file reporting and is recommended for multiple concurrent remote users.
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Is entry in both Rent Roll Pro and QuickBooks required?
- No. Entries should be made into Rent Roll Pro, which will transfer the information, add accounts, classes, items, names, etc. then create transactions in QuickBooks. QuickBooks transactions can be added, deleted or edited directly in QuickBooks (user priveledges must allow it); Rent Roll Pro will query QuickBooks for the current info. When incorporating Rent Roll Pro into existing QuickBooks files the names of accounts, customers, items, etc. needed for integration must be copied from QuickBooks into the setup screens of Rent Roll Pro. Changes to items or names are done in Rent Roll Pro, which changes the QuickBooks name to match Rent Roll Pro.
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Does Soft Green Corporation support QuickBooks?
- We support the use of the listed QuickBooks products for property management, when integrated with Rent Roll Pro products, for registered customers of Rent Roll Pro products during the update/upgrade period. We are NOT QuickBooks Pro Advisors but can assist and train users in the use of QuickBooks for typical property management.
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Can I use Rent Roll Pro online?
- The NetPack Client can be used via remote desktop and any other fully Windows-compatible remote use systems; multiple concurrent (simultaneous) users require individual installs into individual directories. QuickBooks must be installed into the Common Desktop, and into each remote user's desktop. QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise may provide better reliability and performance than Pro when used remotely.
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Is remote use superior to online software?
- Yes. The software is used by one user concurrently, as is the desktop in most cases, and the software is a true executable program, not a browser-activated database.
- The data is hosted on a computer owned and controlled by you, and the software licenses are perpetual (both QuickBooks and Rent Roll Pro NetPack); no legal or economic issues can interrupt your access to the data and software.
- Security - with proper protection, no one else can access your financial data.
- There are no browser compatibility problems, and substantially less performance and operational issues when internet traffic is heavy.
- Remote use software, QuickBooks, and Rent Roll Pro NetPack can be installed by typical IT consultants so no extravagant up front costs are required - Windows Professional can host remote desktop sessions, so costs are low and ease of use is high.
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How can our personnel be trained in the use of Rent Roll Pro?
- We offer demonstration videos, extensive on screen help (via the F1 key), sample files, and professionally trained people to help via phone during normal business hours (9:30AM-6PM Eastern US, M-F excluding national holidays) and via e-mail (support@softgreencorp.com) from 7AM-9PM Eastern US.
- Exclusive training sessions via remote connection are now offered for additional cost. Contact us for details.
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Can existing data in other software be converted for use with Rent Roll Pro?
- We offer data conversion solutions based on the size of the property and other factors. Call our office for more details and an exact quote.
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Does Soft Green offer property setup services?
- Setup of properties requires the most and broadest range of knowledge of Rent Roll Pro's features and techniques; as a result we offer property setup solutions based on the size of the property and other factors. Call our office for more details and an exact quote.
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How is Rent Roll Pro different from other property management software?
- Rent Roll Pro integrates fully with QuickBooks Desktop versions. All accounting transactions are created in QuickBooks - there is no inequality between balances; if (when) mistakes are made, one correction is needed; if full featured accounting is needed QuickBooks is more than capable, and Pro Advisors are available.
- Most other add-on systems and services available for QuickBooks are compatible with Rent Roll Pro; credit card processing, smart-phone payment processing, payroll, check scanners, check writers, tax preparation software, etc. that integrate natively with QuickBooks Desktop versions can be used with Rent Roll Pro.
- Rent Roll Pro calculates and reports important financial statistics in addition to simply managing the property, without requiring double data entry. For instance, the difference between contract rent and market rent is determined, providing the manager the economic vacancy percentage. The Economic Vacancy can determine if rents should be adjusted. Other critical economic information provided by the property and sales management reports allows management to make informed decisions, without guesswork or the extra effort of double entry.
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If I use QuickBooks, why do I need Rent Roll Pro?
- Powerful multiple-property lease management is available through Rent Roll Pro and especially in the NetPack. The Rent Roll Pro LE is designed for one collection of up to 96 individual units of a single owning entity.
- Rent Roll Pro eliminates the need to lookup property and unit information for customer names.
- Vacancy and availability lists are instantly available; in the NetPack vacancy reports are available to any user, for all properties, at any time.
- Maintenance request and job status are instantly available.
- (NetPack only) Invoices for both subsidies and rent of a property file are created with one click; payments on subsidy invoices can be taken for an entire property at once.
- Lessee information is independent of the unit - allowing transfers to be recorded, unit history to be reviewed, evicted or previous lessees with balances to be kept active and discrete from current or other lessees.
- Contract rents are independent of unit type or income item; rents and amounts of recurring additional charges can be changed, additional charges can be added or removed, and invoices can be pro-rated for both move ins and move outs.
- Billing Detail reports can itemize charges before invoicing, eliminating potential errors.
- Multiple income items can be included on monthly billing, and each recurring additional charge may have contractual or floating amounts.
- Rent Roll Pro keeps detailed maintenance records of requests, jobs and completed jobs, with simple and powerful reporting. Work Orders and Stop Work Orders can be printed.
- Sales and contact information is much more powerful and flexible, with property and unit links.
- Vacancy and lease losses of potential rent per unit and property are instantly calculated, and losses of potential rent for unit types are reported.
- Typical accounting transactions are simplified and the potential for mistakes is reduced.
- With the NetPack version of Rent Roll Pro direct access to QuickBooks can be eliminated for some users, allowing much greater security. (This feature is currently limited to Windows XP / 2003 networks.)
- Rent Roll Pro's NetPack can access QuickBooks over a network without additional user licenses for QuickBooks.
- Potential Rent losses by unit, unit type, property per month, and property per year are calculated.
- Adjusting the market rents of unit types changes the rent of the entire property, reducing the effort dramatically. (Contract Rents are not adjusted this way.)
- Payment and other transaction screens in Rent Roll Pro are much more user-friendly than QuickBooks; for multiple-entity entry the correct accounts are used for invoicing, payments, etc. automatically.
- Late Fee invoicing and recordkeeping are automated in version 2.4.
- The Property Status Summary screen informs you of all leasing, maintenance (not in LE), and billing issues in one screen.
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I've already been using QuickBooks for accounting - do I have to start with a new file?
- If lessee names are customers, the accounting should be compatible. Multiple property files may be required for multiple owners, entities, properties, or for special accounting needs. Optionally, recurring transactions continue to be used within QuickBooks, but if you do so Rent Roll Pro will not be able to calculate pro-rated invoices.
- If the customer name in QuickBooks includes the unit ident as entered in Rent Roll Pro that name can be imported into Rent Roll Pro (versions 2.3.15 and later).
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Does Rent Roll Pro print leases and other legal documents?
- Rent Roll Pro does not include location-specific legal documents. The powerful, simple, and industry-standard export files and links can transfer the information from Rent Roll Pro into a template in virtually any word processor.
- Work Orders, Stop Work Orders, payment & deposit receipts, statements and Settlement Agreements are printed from within Rent Roll Pro; Work Orders and Settlement Agreements can include custom clauses entered by the user.
- Late, Demand Payment, Eviction, Lease Renewal and one user-defined Notice or letter can be printed in batches from the Balance report or the Lease Renewal Audit.
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How many users can use Rent Roll Pro?
- The standalone version of Rent Roll Pro allows one user to make entries or edit. Other users can view the data via the Rent Roll Pro Reader. The Rent Roll Pro LE does not include the Rent Roll Pro Reader.
- The NetPack version of Rent Roll Pro includes one license for the Property Management program, which allows one user to make entries or edit the Rent Roll Pro property file (rent roll info, unit mix, maintenance, billing setup, etc.) and integrate with QuickBooks, while another user (or the same user) concurrently makes Rental Contact Manager entries and edits (sales and contact management, lease applications and security deposits) and integrate with QuickBooks. One additional read only Rental Contact Manager user is available per host. The Reader, and Vacancy and Multi-File Reporters can be used by any network user at any time.
- Up to nine additional concurrent users of each installation of Rent Roll Pro can be added to the NetPack and Rental Contact Manager with the purchase of additional licenses. Each user license of the NetPack can open a property file for entry in Rent Roll Pro; one entry user is allowed for each property file. Each entry user must have an individual QuickBooks license to integrate with Rent Roll Pro.
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Which version of Rent Roll Professional suits my needs?
- A complete comparison of the different versions of Rent Roll Pro is found on the versions comparison page on this web site.
- If you need to use Rent Roll Pro on one computer which has QuickBooks installed and the data will be locally stored (on the same computer), do not bill on multiple days of the month, do not have subsidies, do not need multiple scheduled leasing terms, enhanced reporting (particularly accross multiple properties), and do not remotely access the softwarel, the standalone version may be right for you.
- In addition to the restrictions in the immediately preceeding paragraph, if you have less than 96 individual (not apartment or commercial) units, one accounting file, and do not need maintenance processing and telephone support, you could consider the Rent Roll Pro LE.
- If you need to use Rent Roll Pro from multiple computers on a network the NetPack version will allow integration with QuickBooks over a network. The NetPack also allows a sales or leasing agent to use the Rental Contact Manager to process Lease Applications take payments and other typical front office tasks, another user to read Rental Contact Manager information, and the property manager can use Rent Roll Pro NetPack for all tasks except Lease Applications, sales and contact management.
- The NetPack version can create parallel invoices for subsidies, take subsidy payments for all (or selected) outstanding subsidy invoices, can have different billing days for units, has a Unit Mix expanded to 288 Unit Types per file, includes Client installers for additional computers and remote users, schedules multiple lease terms and renewals, has enhanced reporting (especially for commercial users), and multiple file reporters.
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What are the total costs for Rent Roll Pro, Rent Roll Pro LE, and Rent Roll Pro NetPack?
- A permanent single-user license for Rent Roll Professional currently is $595.
- A permanent single-user license for Rent Roll Pro LE currently is $195.
- A permanent license package for Rent Roll Pro NetPack includes one single-user entry license for the network-capable enhanced Property Management modules of Rent Roll Pro; a single-user entry license for the Rental Contact Manager, one read only user license of the Rental Contact Manager; and multiple read only user licenses of the Property File Readers, Multi-File and Vacancy Reporters,
is $895. All new licenses include a six month upgrade subscription via download.
- After the free upgrade subscription expires, additional upgrade subscriptions (six months in length) can be purchased: $99.95 for Rent Roll Pro LE, $129.95 for Rent Roll Pro, $189.95 for NetPack.
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How is the software delivered to me?
- A CD-R containing the programs and necessary installers is sent via USPS first-class mail. Remote access delivery can allow installation of the software as early as the next business day (call to request after purchase).
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How much does shipping and handling cost?
- USPS first class mail to the US is free. If express shipping is required the cost will be additionally billed and overnight may not be available to all locations; shipping costs to Canada will be additionally billed - prices and delivery times vary. Call us at (803) 764-3637 during normal business hours (9:30AM-6PM Eastern US Monday through Friday excluding national holidays).
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What methods of payment are acceptable?
- Credit cards; checks and purchase orders with prior approval. AMEX, MasterCard and Visa cards are accepted online or via telephone; checks and purchase orders via telephone only. Our sales line (803 764-3637) is open during normal business hours- (9:30AM-6PM Eastern US) Monday-Friday excluding national holidays.
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