The ability to save a snapshot of your transaction is a vital function driven partly by real estate regulations, and also by a desire to maintain responsible archiving practices. It can seem very simple at first, but often becomes more complicated than you might expect. A well-organized archive of your data guarantees that you can pass any audit necessary to keep your business up and running. After you successfully close a transaction, customers often request a copy of a document, and you need to be ready to give it to them in order to gain their loyalty and future business.

When considering real estate transaction management software, find out how easy it is to get a copy of your data from the software. Here are a few guidelines about what you should be looking for:

1. Instant download: You request it, you receive it. No delays, no empty promises – when you need a file, you need it now.
2. Well-structured archive: Usually transactions consist of multiple steps: listing, sale, post-sale activities, and so on, not to mention that you may have cancelled sales and multiple offers. If you receive an archive with all documents in one folder, it would be nearly impossible to find anything. There should be a structure that mimics your transaction – all documents should be organized and stored in separate folders.
3. Naming convention: You may upload files to a transaction directly from a scanner or image, using a predefined name (e.g., SCAN0083219.pdf). These automated file names don’t really help you to identify the file, and renaming files is time-consuming. The system you select should do it for you automatically, so that later you can identify all your files within seconds.
4. Download security: These days, many systems respond to your download request with an email containing a link to your transaction archive that you click to download the file. The problem is that many of these services fail to make the download file secure or limit your download time. The most secure option is a temporary link that becomes unavailable within a set period of time – so that if someone manages to access your email months later, the link will no longer work. 
5. Finally, Archive filename: It should be your transaction address followed by time stamp – it’s as simple as that!

These are the top five items you should consider when selecting the software that will house your files and provide your transaction file archives.

Andrew Chishchevoy

RE Investor / Software Entrepreneur

w: http://brokermint.com

p: 619-798-6369