Frequently Asked Questions

Your Most Burning Software Questions Software Payment Methods and Ordering Multi User and Networking Managing Your Data Property Management Tenant Management Finance Management Tracking Costs and Expenditure Legal Documents Updates and Support Training Technical Details General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance
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Your Most Burning Software Questions

Is the Software Compatible with the Windows 10 Operating System?

Absolutely! Our customers are successfully running Landlords Property Manager on the Windows 8, 9 and 10 operating systems. Go to our property management software technical requirements page to get a full list of the minimum PC and software requirements.

Is the software compatible with a MAC OS?

Although our software is windows based, we have an increasing number of customers successfully running our solutions on Apple Mac systems. This can be achieved by using either of the following solutions: 

One is to use a Windows Emulator, which is a software application that enables the Windows operating system to run on a computer installed with a Mac OS.

We have Mac users who successfully run our software on virtual machines via 'Parallels Desktop for Mac' or 'VMWare Fusion'

Another is to create a partition on the hard drive and install a Windows operating system on the other side of the partition.  To use the software, you would boot the computer using the other partition.

Also, we have now launched our new cloud based landlord software solution called Landlord Vision, which works on any device connected to the internet. You can learn more about this increasingly popular solution here: www.landlordvision.co.uk.


How Many Computers Can the Software Be Installed On?

By default we allow the software to be installed on up to FIVE computers. This means that you will be able to use the software on any one of the five computers, at any one time. You can also purchase additional user licenses if you want to have multiple users using the software simultaneously.

Can Your Landlord Software Solutions Be Used By Letting Agents?

Our current Landlords Rent Manager and Landlords Property Manager solutions are designed for landlords to manage their own property portfolios.

If you want software to carry out the functions of letting agents, then please register your interest for our ‘Letting Agent Manager’ solution. We will keep you updated with the progress and development of this solution.


Can I Manage Rents and is There a Reminder System to Help Me Chase Them?

Absolutely! Managing the rents should be at the heart of any landlord software solution. With our comprehensive tools you can track full or partial rents for any kind of property e.g. houses & flats, HMO & multi-lets, student accommodation, housing associations and holiday lets.

Our configurable ‘Early Warning System’ alerts you to when rents are overdue, and our actual rent reports and letters allow you to print off rental/arrears statements for your tenants.


What Do Existing Customers Say About Your Property Management Software Solutions?

Good question and we’re glad you asked!

Naturally, we think our software is great but we are bound to say that, aren't we? So why not listen to what our customers, the people who use our software day in, day out, have to say, and what well respected industry experts think about our software solutions.

Look at our customer success stories and what leading industry experts say about our property management software tools.


What is the Difference Between ‘Rental’ and ‘One Off Payment’ Versions?

We offer two ways for landlords to use our software.

You can either ‘rent’ any of our software solutions for a monthly fee. This means that you will never own the software outright, as you will be paying on pay-as-you-go monthly basis. However, the biggest benefit of this is that you will never have to pay for a software upgrade again, and you will always remain on the very latest version of the software.

Alternatively, you can choose to purchase the software outright using ‘one off payment’. With this option you will own the software outright and can purchase additional major functional upgrades as and when they are released.


What are your development plans for the software and how regularly is it updated?

Our software undergoes continuous development and continues to evolve from the input by our users.

You can see a list of how often our software is updated, by going to our release notes section.

We like to interact with our users and this is why in January 2010 we set-up a landlord software focus group.

The purpose of this group is to primarily review and discuss the software's existing and planned functionality. Every suggestion that comes in from our customers is recorded and reviewed by our in-house team. Some are implemented by us quickly and others are reviewed by our Focus Group where we want to get wider input.
 
That is why we say, our software is designed by landlords for landlords and continues to evolve in this way.



Software Payment Methods and Ordering

One-Off Payment Option

For a single one-off payment you can own any one of our landlord software solutions.

This payment option is for customers who want to purchase and own the software outright.

When ordering using this method, you also get free functional and technical support for the first 30 days. This free support starts on the day you first register the software.

If you require support after this period you will be able to purchase it at an extra cost (see our support section).

We also offer a 90 day money back guarantee when the software is purchase using this method.


Rental Payment Option

For customers who do not want to pay for the software out-right then we also have rental payment options for our software.

You can rent the software for a low, monthly payment.  The first month is free so you can test the program to be sure it meets your needs.

From then on, you will pay a monthly rental fee. As part of this monthly fee you will receive:

  • free access to our technical and functional support team
  • free ongoing upgrades for all new releases of the software.

In other words, you won't have to pay any additional costs for support or upgrades ever!

There are no long term "tie-ins".  You can cancel your subscription whenever you want.


How Quickly Do I Get the software?

As soon as your order is successfully placed on-line, you will be taken to the software download page.

You will also be sent an instant email providing you with the link to download the software. The file size is between 25 - 35MB.

A CD version of the software is also sent out if you have paid for this option.


Can I take the rental option, where I get a free month and then purchase the product outright before the end of the free month?

No, this is not allowed and you need to choose with payment method you want from the outset. If you prefer the rental payment and the benefits of this model, then you should choose this from the outset.

If you prefer to own the software outright with a 90 day money back guarantee then you should chose this option from the outset.


Multi User and Networking

Can the Software Run Over a Network?

Yes – All of our property management software solutions are fully networkable.

What this means is that you will be able to network your software so that it can run:

- Over a Local Area Network (LAN) or personal/office network

- Over the Wide Area Network (WAN) i.e. internet, you can have it installed on your home PC and then access your information remotely from a laptop or another desktop.


Can multiple users access the software at the same time?

Yes - this is known as having concurrent/simultaneous users i.e. people who can access the software at the same time.

When purchasing the software you can decide how many concurrent users there will be and our pricing is based on this.

So for example, if you purchase our single user version, this means that there will only ever be one person who can work on the software at any given time. However, you will still be able to network the software and have the software installed on up to five computers so that any one computer can access the software at any one time.

Alternatively, if you have a business partner and you both need to work on the software at the same time, then you should consider our two user version. This version will allow you to network the software on up to five machines and will allow any two users to access the software at any one time.

We also have solutions available for small and large offices where more concurrent user access is required.

Please contact us for more information about this.



Managing Your Data

Can I back up my data?

Yes, you can create backups of all your data and store these backups anywhere you like, whether that is on your computer, on a CD/DVD or on a memory stick.

You can also control how and when backups are created and automate the process by setting personal backup preferences.

Can I protect my data with a password?

You can add password protection to individual portfolios in your database. 

Each time that portfolio is accessed, the user will be prompted to enter a password before they can view and manipulate the data.

This feature is optional and is one of the many features that can be controlled by the user in the preferences section.



Property Management

How many portfolios and properties can I setup in the software?

There is no restriction to the number of portfolios and properties you can create in the software.

It is quite normal for users to have different portfolios for properties based on location (e.g. country), type (i.e. residential, HMO, commercial) etc.

You decide how you want to set-up your property business.


Can the software manage both private/residential and commercial property?

Yes, the software can be used to manage commercial property (i.e. shops and other commercial premises) and properties held within a company as well as personally owned residential property.

Typically this is done by creating a portfolio for your residential properties and a separate portfolio for your commercial properties.

The software does not calculate VAT.

See also the FAQ answer on running multiple portfolios.


Can I manage short term and/or long term holiday lets?

Yes – there is no distinction between short-term lets and long-term lets as you are still capturing all your income and expenditures against the properties.  The only difference between managing residential or commercial property and holiday lets is the shorter time frame, which will result in more tenancy agreements and rent schedules over the course of a year.


Will the software alert me about safety certificates that are about to expire?

Yes - We have an 'Early Warning System' built into the software. This will not only remind you about safety certificates that are due to expire, but it will also remind you about:

  • Insurance policies that are due for renewal
  • Mortgages that are coming to the end of any tie-in periods
  • Tenancies that are about to end
  • Rents that are overdue

Please see our 'Early Warning System' audio/video tutorial to learn more about this exciting feature.


Can I manage my overseas properties?

Yes, you can create a separate portfolio for each country where you own property and select the appropriate currency for each portfolio. This ensures that all the reporting values for the property will be displayed in the correct currency.

The software can cater for over 100 currencies.

Does the software have the option to use different currencies?

Yes – when you create a portfolio you can choose the currency that you want all the figures to be displayed in. 

For example, if you hold property in the USA, you can choose the $ currency and all numerical values and reports will be displayed in this currency.



Tenant Management

What type of tenants can be set-up in the software?

Our software solutions are suitable for residential and commercial property tenants including those living in: houses & flats, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) & multi-lets, student accommodation, housing associations and holiday lets.

Can the software handle Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

Yes, you can set up properties to be HMOs with a single click of the mouse! 

You can track the income for each HMO separately as the software treats the HMO as an individual Let for reporting purposes.

Can the software handle DSS tenants?

Yes - Absolutely.

This is a key requirement for many of our existing users, and time has been taken to develop the solution so that it is flexible enough to take payments from both the tenant and local housing association.

In fact, we have a dedicated audio/video tutorial that shows exactly you set-up and track such a tenant.


Can I send rent overdue/due reports to tenants?

Yes – the Tenant Payment History report can be generated and sent on to the tenant.

Also, all the reports that are generated from within the software can be downloaded into Microsoft Word or Excel so you can edit them as you require.


Can I see outstanding rents at any given time?

Yes - You can see the amount of outstanding rent that is due for:

- a particular tenant
- several tenants within a property
- a period of time across your entire portfolio


Finance Management

Am I able to record my buy-to-let or other property-related loans in the software?

Yes, you can record and manage any type of loan or mortgage for any of your properties using the Finance Manager module.

Will I be notified if my loans (which are on competitive rates) are about to expire?

Yes.  The Early Warning System includes an option to notify you in advance of the expiry date.

Can I see how much is outstanding on my entire property portfolio at any given time?

Yes.  You can run the Mortgage Broker Summary Report for a complete financial overview of your entire portfolio.

For a demonstration and guide to running the report, click here.


Tracking Costs and Expenditure

Is it easy to allocate expenditure to a property?

Yes - this is very simple and straightforward.

The software comes with pre-determined cost categories. However, if you can't find a place to allocate a particular cost then you can simply create your own category in the 'Other Costs' section.


Would the software be tax-deductable on my annual expenses?

Yes, absolutely! If you have a property business then because you are buying our property management software to better manage your property business, you can offset the cost against the rental income you receive. This, of course, means that you will be lowering your taxes!

Can I see a detailed list of my property expenditures?

There are a number of different reports that are available in the software that will give you this information.

These include: profit and loss, cost history and the balance sheet report.



Legal Documents

Who provides legal documents for your software?

We are proud to announce that our official legal document partner is Lawpack (lawpack.co.uk).

Lawpack is one of the UK's leading legal publishers and they have provided us with a number of legal property and tenant documents for exclusive use in our Landlords Property Manager software.

The legal documents range from UK and Scottish tenancy agreements to eviction, possession, rent arrears and rent increase notices.


How often are the legal documents reviewed?

Our legal documents are reviewed by a tenancy lawyer every three months. Yes, that’s right, by a tenancy lawyer every three months!

Because Lawpack specialise in publishing legal documents, their documents are constantly under review and are updated to reflect any changes.

Any changes that are made to the legal documents that are integrated in our software will be made available through our automatic updates section.



Updates and Support

What help and support do I get?

Full details of the support that you receive are given in our support page.

What happens if my support contract is out of date?

If your 'priority' support contract has expired then you go onto our 'standard' support contract. However you can upgrade to our 'priority' support contract at anytime.
You can find more information about the benefits of renewing your 'priority' support by going to our support page.

Do you offer support for older versions of your software?

We offer support and regular updates with bug fixes and new features only for the latest major version of the software.

At the time of this writing, the latest major version of the software is v.10. Older versions - v.9 and below - are officially discontinued and we do not offer support or updates for them.



Training

What training services do you provide?

One of the biggest compliments we receive about our software is that it is easy to use.

However, we appreciate that offering a flexible and comprehensive training package is an essential ingredient for any successful software solution.

Please access our training centre to learn more about the solutions we provide.



Technical Details

What are the system requirements for your software?

These are as follows:

Operating system:
  • Windows 7, 8,9 and 10
Hardware requirements:
  • CPU: Pentium III 1 GHz or faster
  • RAM: Minimum 512 MB
  • Disk Space: 600 MB
  • Display: 1024x768 or higher
The software works on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions.


General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance

Is PPS GDPR Compliant?

We are working on updating our website, services and policies and will be compliant by the 25th May 2018.

How Can I, a Landlord, Become GDPR Compliant?

Below is a useful resource for landlords to help them prepare for the new data protection standards:

 

https://www.rla.org.uk/landlord/guides/data-protection-legislation-for-landlords.shtml