How do I get started with Harmony when I manage units as an agent for others?
Quick start path A is best for property managers who mostly manage individual units, like houses, as an agent for other people. This certainly doesn't cover everything, but gives you an overview. Let's get into it!
What's an Agent Account?
When you assign the management of units, properties, or people and agreements to an individual or team, you need an agent account for each one. This sets up the correct responsibilities and contacts for management. You start with one agent account, and can add as many as you like. It's a good idea to set up your agents first so you can properly assign the units and people as you add them.
- Go to Settings and select Users & Agents
- Select Options and Add Agent
- Enter the Agent's info
1. Add a Unit
Select Places, then select the Add icon for the type of unit you want to add.
If the Basic or All Fields Form Definitions aren't what you want, set up your own form definitions in Settings > Places.
2. Add the Owner
a) Owner Profile
Select Management, then select the Add icon for Owners. Once the owner has been entered, you'll be prompted to add their management agreement.
b) Management Agreement
Enter the parameters for this management agreement. Once you've entered the management agreement parameters, you can create the management agreement form and send to the owner for their e-signature.
If you typically have common parameters, you can set up a default values template. You can adjust this later from Settings > Agreements. This is also where you'll set up your agreement form templates, addendum templates, and notice templates.
3. Add the Occupant
a) Tenant or Guest Profile
Select Management, then select the Add icon for Tenants or Guests. Once the occupant has been entered, you'll be prompted to add their lease or reservation agreement. The type/class of the occupant will determine their default occupancy agreement type.
b) Occupant Agreement
Enter the parameters for this occupant agreement (lease or reservation). Once you've entered the agreement parameters, you can create the agreement form and send to the occupant for their e-signature.
Concerned?
After you've added people and agreements, you may want to check in to see if you missed anything. Select Management > Company/Office > Reports > Concerns to get a list of everyone with anything that might be a concern.
I Want it that Way!
There are a ton of options when it comes to how you handle and process money in Harmony. Before you start processing transactions, take a moment to visit Settings > Money > Preferences to familiarize yourself with the options. Each one has a help tip explaining what it does.
4. Set Up Bank Accounts
Before you can write a check, process an ACH, or make a deposit, your bank accounts must be set up. Do this from Settings > Money > Chart of Accounts.
You can have a million bank accounts, but everyone starts with three. Click or tap the bank icon beside an account for a brief explanation of the three accounts.
5. Collect Money
Owners typically start by funding their set up costs and reserve. Occupants start by paying their deposits and initial charges. Whenever you get money, select the person it's from, choose Money, then choose Receive a Payment. Deposit the money into the bank from Management > Money > Bank Deposits.
Most managers automate rent collection by setting up a merchant account and accepting payments online. This is all built in to Harmony and easy to set up. People can pay you through their portal, and can set up preapproved or preauthorized payments.
6. Pay Yourself
Depending on how you set up your agreements, you may earn money from a percentage of what you collect, fees billed to owners for services, or a combination of both. When it's time to collect, choose Management > Money > Management Bills.
Fix It Up!
Maintenance in Harmony is wildly powerful, covering everything from routine maintenance (like filter changes or fire suppression inspections), warranty service, competitive quotes, property inspections, permits, key management, occupant work requests, after-hours routing, job logs, work acceptance, appointment confirmations, and vendor work orders. It's worth taking a moment to explore this, and at a minimum understand how work orders can connect directly to owner withholds and vendor invoices
7. Pay Your Vendors and Sources
Vendors are people or companies who do work on your units. Sources are people or companies who bring you business. Add them the same way you added your owners. Vendors and sources are paid on invoices. Add an invoice by selecting the person who is responsible for paying the bill (an owner or the management company).
Your sources may not invoice you, but expect you to pay them based on a commission agreement. Harmony has all the tools to configure and report on source commissions. Vendors can see their work orders, invoices, and payments in their portal if enabled.
8. Pay Your Owners
The rest of your collected money goes to the owners. Select Management > Money > Owner Distributions to review their accounts and pay them. Harmony will warn you if they have unpaid bills or other issues to deal with, and will automatically process their distributions to the method selected in each owner's profile, then send a statement as selected. Select the Details icon or Detail View to see all this and adjust as needed.
Owner statements are emailed or texted to them if that's set up in their profile. They're also permanently recorded in their document library and in their statement history. They can see past statements in their portal if enabled, and run their own statements for any time period if you want them to.