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Is Post-Completion work taking up too much of your team’s time? Here Hand Morgan & Owen Solicitors, McDonald’s Restaurants Limited, and Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP share how tmconvey’s integrated SDLT & AP1 submission has made their lives easier…

> “If a colleague is off sick or on holiday, I can continue to progress their SDLT and AP1 submissions”

“We like the tmconvey platform and find it very easy to use. It is colourful and easy to find your way around. I also find it very useful to be able to see everyone’s cases, so if a colleague is off sick or on holiday, I can continue to progress their SDLT and AP1 submissions and meet our tight deadlines. 

Before using tmconvey’s Post-Completion services, we were visiting different websites and logging into HMRC and Land Registry separately. We were also printing off the paper AP1 form, before filling it out, scanning it and uploading it. It was all very time consuming, but now it’s so much easier. 

The support from the tmgroup team is also fantastic and I can’t commend them highly enough. The Helpdesk is great and our Account Manager is superb. Everyone is just so willing to help.”

Comments from : 

Victoria Follows, Partner, Property Department, Hand Morgan & Owen Solicitors

> “Information is pulled through from my case and automatically pre-filled in my SDLT and AP1 forms”

“I’ve been using tmgroup’s new Post-Completion service – with SDLT and AP1 submission – for about a month. It’s really user friendly especially as it has all of the features of existing services, and more. I also find it helpful that information is pulled through from my case and automatically pre-filled in my SDLT and AP1 forms, as this definitely saves time. 

I’ve also been very impressed with how quickly the tm team have acted on any suggestions I’ve made for further enhancing their Post-Completion services – with some being implemented within just a few hours! It’s great to feel I’m being listened to.”

Comments from : 

Samuel Hammond, Paralegal at McDonald's Restaurants Limited

> “I like the layout of the SDLT form, as it is easier for our clients to understand and approve the information” 

“Submitting SDLT forms is much easier on tmconvey, as it pulls through information from the case such as the property address, which is good. I like the layout of the SDLT form too, which makes it easier for our fee earners and our clients to understand, so they can approve the information easily. 

It’s also great that the SDLT form is half the size, which is a bonus when we’re working towards becoming paper light, but still need to print SDLT forms off for our records for the time being. 

It’s also good that by the time you get to the AP1 form, and have already completed your searches and your SDLT, it copies across the agent details, property address, and copies across the SDLT5 too – so you don’t have to scan and save.”

Comments from : 

Anna Connett, Legal Secretary (Residential Conveyancing) at Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP

Post-Completion services AVAILABLE NOW on tmconvey 

Complementing the existing SDLT submission service, our new AP1 submission is now available on tmconvey. 

Visit our dedicated webpage to find out more and see a video demo. 

To be switched on today, speak to your Account Manager, or get in touch!

The team from mio, offering Estate Agents a smarter way to manage the home buying process, proudly joined suppliers from across the property industry to support Agents Giving’s ‘Donate a Food Parcel Day’ on 21st June 2018 – and marked the first of many good deeds for charity. 

Coinciding with Relocation Agent’s ‘One Thousand Items of Food’ campaign, people from across the property industry were invited to prepare food parcels for The Trussell Trust foodbanks – and help to support those living in crisis across the UK. 

Supported by their colleagues across tmgroup, the mio team embraced the opportunity and collected a total of 163 items, including cereals, tins of soup, tea bags, biscuits and dried pasta, for their nearest foodbank in Cirencester.

Jon Horton, Product Director – mio comments:

“As a new supplier to Estate Agents, the mio team were excited to get involved in this annual charity event. I’m pleased to say everyone put their best foot forward to collect food to help support the good work that The Trussell Trust do to help people in need.”

Since entering the market with a successful pilot programme back in 2017, mio has been helping to increase transparency and efficiency across the home buying and selling process with their new collaborative sales progression and communication platform. With time-saving features, including centralised communication and secure in-app messaging, mio offers Estate Agents a smarter way to manage the home buying process.

About mio

mio is a chain building and sales progression tool created by property experts for property experts. It speeds transactions forward, reduces fall-through rates, and helps estate agents win more business.

For more information, visit www.mio.co.uk 

Conveyancing teams we talk to often relay their frustrations at having to log in and out of different websites to complete various tasks as the property transaction progresses. They're acutely aware that this not only results in rekeying information and wasting valuable time, but it also creates opportunity for error.

It doesn’t have to be this way. At tmgroup, we make it quick and easy to complete conveyancing tasks all in one place by continuing to add new services to our tmconvey platform. The best part? Case information can be prepopulated across different forms; cutting the time spent rekeying, reducing the likelihood of mistakes, and making even more time for you. 

Submit SDLT & AP1 forms in the same place as you order your searches 

The launch of Post-Completion services on tmconvey marks the latest evolution of our platform, as we continue to expand our services to help customers complete more of their tasks in the same place – and save even more time.

Anna Connett, Legal Secretary at Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP comments:

“Submitting SDLT forms is much easier on tmconvey, as it pulls through information from the case, such as the property address. It’s then good that when you get to the AP1 form, and have already completed your searches and your SDLT, it copies across the agent details, property address, and copies across the SDLT5 too – so you don’t have to scan and save.”

With everyone across the firm completing their SDLT & AP1 forms within the same platform, the status of every submission and requisition can also be easily tracked; so you can say goodbye to important messages sitting in personal inboxes.

Time-saving benefits designed by conveyancers for conveyancers 

At tmgroup, we’re committed to saving time for conveyancers. We achieve this time and time again by putting our customers at the heart of our processes; from actively inviting feedback and liaising with our Development team to implement new ideas, to running customer focus groups, and involving customers in Beta testing.

With everything from searches and insurance, to AML and mapping, and even SDLT & AP1 submission taken care of, the core services you need most have been integrated into our tmconvey platform to help you get the job done quickly and easily, all in one place.

…And it does exactly that, as our customers are more than happy to testify!

• “It's great to have everything all in one place, especially the addition of AML and Lawyer Checker.” – Nicole Roberts, Paralegal at Maitland Walker LLP

• “Everything is more streamlined in the tmconvey platform. It is simple and quick, and we can now order searches in under 5 minutes.” – Molly Cook, Conveyancing Secretary at Wadsworths Solicitors.

Find out more

To find out more about how tmgroup can make even more time for you and your team, take a look at www.tmgroup.co.uk/ 

Post-Completion services have launched on tmconvey. Designed to diminish the chance of manual error, this latest addition to tmgroup’s growing services helps conveyancers rise to the increasing pressure to submit their SDLT and AP1 forms more efficiently. 

Watch a quick demo of our Post-Completion services below:

Prepopulated fields make it quick and easy to submit SDLT and AP1 forms

By being fully integrated with tmconvey, users can process their SDLT and AP1 submissions without wasting timing logging in and out of multiple websites. Users also benefit from shared information and prepopulated fields across their SDLT and AP1 submission forms, as well as their cases – reducing the chore of double entry and saving time.

Anna Connett, Legal Secretary at Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP comments:

“Submitting SDLT forms is much easier on tmconvey, as it pulls through information from the case such as the property address. I like the layout of the SDLT form too, which makes it easier for our fee earners and our clients to understand, so they can approve the information easily. 

It’s then good that by the time you get to the AP1 form, and have already completed your searches and your SDLT, it copies across the agent details, property address, and copies across the SDLT5 too – so you don’t have to scan and save.”

Validation and error checking helps users get it right first time

Easy to navigate, electronic SDLT and AP1 submission forms enable every user to progress quickly by only showing the questions that need to be answered. Whilst the online SDLT calculator makes it easy for even the newest members of a team to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax fees with confidence.

To reduce the chance of mistakes, the SDLT and AP1 submission forms come with built in validation and error checking. Accompanied by clear summary pages, users can also jump to any section that requires their attention.

tmgroup are also a compliant software vendor for HMRC and Land Registry, so the SDLT and AP1 forms are always up to date, and submitted directly to them – without incurring any delays or additional costs.

Audit trails provide improved visibility and proof of compliance 

With clear time stamps and status updates within tmconvey, automated audit trails enable Heads of Department to track every SDLT and AP1 submission status across their team – and even multiple offices – for improved visibility and proof of compliance. 

Users can also login and reply to requisitions – without having to check their emails. Whilst ‘impending cancellation date’ reminders prompt to close an unanswered requisition and complete AP1 submissions, so they don’t waste time resubmitting. 

Jane Towner, Customer Experience Director at tmgroup comments: 

“The addition of Post-Completion services to our tmconvey platform will help our customers save even more time in their conveyancing work. Not only this, but as we’re an approved software partner of HMRC and Land Registry, our customers will have peace of mind that our SDLT and AP1 forms will always be up to date with the latest legislation changes. Overall, this is an exciting development for our new tmconvey platform, marking another step forward in further streamlining the property transaction for the benefit of our customers – as well as their clients.” 

Post-Completion services AVAILABLE NOW on tmconvey 

Complementing the existing SDLT submission service, our new AP1 submission is now available on tmconvey. 

To be switched on today, or request a demo. Get in touch!

A reported shortage of estate agency staff is putting new pressure on branches, forcing many to explore innovative ways to save time and harness the benefits of the latest PropTech solutions. 

According to a recent article on Property Industry Eye, a long-established specialist recruiter has reported the worst shortage of estate agency staff in a generation. As Anthony Hesse, founder of Property Personnel, states; “The agency sector is experiencing the worst staff shortages at a point when the property market is going through a very challenging time.”

This is increasingly making PropTech solutions a necessity – rather than a luxury – as branches struggle to find ways to bridge the staffing gap and successfully progress their sales. 

PropTech can help teams feel like they’ve got an extra person in the office 

Embracing the latest technology, such as tmgroup’s mio solution, can help estate agents adopt a smarter approach to managing the home buying process – and increase overall efficiency. 

Designed to help estate agents speed up transactions, reduce fall-through rates, and win more business, mio is a sales progression and communication tool created by property experts for property experts. Referred to recently by an early adopter estate agent as: “Like having another person in the office.”

This is exactly what estate agents need right now; to be embracing the latest PropTech solutions to make sure their teams thrive in a challenging market place – even if their employee numbers aren’t at full strength. 

Jon Horton, Product Director – mio, comments:

“The days of having dedicated members of the team taking care of sales progression is over. In such a challenging market, there is an inevitable squeeze on resources. 

With this being compounded by the lack of estate agents available to hire, it’s down to the individual employees across the branches to pull together and deliver business as normal. Effective sales progression that puts the customer at the heart of the process is vital to quickly convert the hard work invested in winning the listing and finding a buyer into real income. Harnessing the benefits of PropTech solutions, such as mio, can help branches work more efficiently and stay ahead of the game.”

To find out more about mio, connect with Jon Horton on LinkedIn.  

Jon Horton

Jon is pleased to take a lead role in the next chapter of the journey for tm as we launch mio – a sales progression and communication tool designed to help Estate Agents.

 

Want to improve the reputation of your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how language choices can help to create customer confidence (or doubt!) during a telephone conversation. 

Never forget that customers are coming to your team because they can’t find a way to do it themselves. This puts customers in a very vulnerable position, and they can quickly become angry if they feel helpless, dissatisfied or patronised.

This is why it is so important that your team use words and phrases that help to instil confidence – instead of saying, “I’m not sure…”, “I’ll try to find someone to help you” and “I’ll have a go at sorting that for you…”. 

Here are some positive words and phrases that can make all the difference:

• “Yes, you are through to the right person to help you…”

• “I can definitely help with that…”

• “I’m sure I can do that for you…

• “Certainly…”

• “Let me assure you…”

• “I’m handling this for you today, and my name is….” 

• “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to my colleague and find the answer for you…”

Take a step back…

If all of your team members started using these positive words and phrases in every telephone call, would they have easier telephone conversations with customers? Would they be able to wrap up calls faster – rather than answer the same question 3 times to try to reassure the customer? What could this do for your efficiency, overall customer experience and reputation of your firm?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Conveyancers will soon be able to reduce the number of requisitions their firm receives with the arrival of Post-Completion services on tmconvey - from 30th April 2018.

Designed to diminish the chance of manual error, this newest addition to the tmconvey platform will help conveyancers rise to the increasing pressure from Land Registry and HMRC to submit their SDLT and AP1 forms more efficiently. 

Validation and error checking helps users get it right first time

Easy to navigate, electronic SDLT and AP1 submission forms enable every user to progress quickly by only showing the questions that need to be answered. Whilst the online SDLT calculator makes it easy for even the newest members of a team to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax fees with confidence.

To reduce the chance of mistakes, the SDLT and AP1 submission forms come with built in validation and error checking. Accompanied by clear summary pages, users can also jump to any section that requires their attention.

Prepopulated fields make it quick and easy to submit SDLT and AP1 forms

As tmgroup are a compliant software vendor for HMRC and Land Registry, the SDLT and AP1 forms are always up to date, and submitted directly to them – without incurring any delays or additional costs.

By being fully integrated with tmconvey, users can process their SDLT and AP1 submissions without wasting timing logging in and out of multiple websites. Users also benefit from shared information and prepopulated fields across their SDLT and AP1 submission forms, as well as their cases – reducing the chore of double entry and saving time.

Automated audit trails provide improved visibility and proof of compliance 

With clear time stamps and status updates within tmconvey, automated audit trails enable Heads of Department to track every SDLT and AP1 submission status across their team – and even multiple offices – for improved visibility and proof of compliance. 

Users can also login and reply to requisitions – without having to check their emails. Whilst ‘impending cancellation date’ reminders prompt to close an unanswered requisition and complete AP1 submissions, so they don’t waste time resubmitting. 

Jane Towner, Customer Experience Director at tmgroup comments: 

“With lenders reviewing AP1 submission times, and the SDLT filing and payment window set to reduce to 14 days later this year, the latest evolution for tmconvey will make it easier for firms to maintain a good reputation in the market. We’re looking forward to launching AP1 submission and offering full post-completion services to our customers.”

Post-Completion services COMING SOON to tmconvey 

Complementing the existing SDLT submission service, new AP1 submission will be available on tmconvey from April 2018.

If you would like to request a demo, please get in touch.

Want to improve your staff’s morale and ability to deliver a great customer experience? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how your team may unknowingly be upsetting customers and each other – and compromising the customer experience. 

I previously spoke about how your customers can bring their own experiences, mood and emotions to the telephone conversation. The same can apply to your team. 

What happens to everyone’s mood if there are roadworks in the local area that delay your team’s journey to work? Or if a storm or a power cut limits access to hot water and a morning shower? 

If your team are in a low mood due their recent personal experiences, it is important that they don’t let this have an impact on their colleagues and any customers they speak to.  

Take a step back…

Can you think of an occasion where a member of your team has acted out of character and been noticeably grumpy with you or a customer? How did you handle the situation? Did your team member even notice their behaviour had changed?

If you took 5 minutes to speak to your team about how their mood and personal situation can affect their working relationships, would they be more likely to step outside or make a cup of tea before they let their mood affect others – and possibly impact on business relationships and paying customers?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Want to improve your customer service? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your customer interactions. 

Here, she explains how asking every customer if now is a good time to talk – and genuinely responding to their answer – can make for happier conversations:

Any number of factors can affect your customers’ mood and emotions, and make them less tolerant of updates your team might need to share. 

This is why your team should never assume the customer is going to be calm and accepting – and always ask “Is now a good time to talk?” at the start of every call. 

If your team feel that a conversation isn’t going well, or if the customer would prefer not to talk, listening and responding to this is key. A simple response of “that’s fine, we don’t have to do this now, we can talk later” can help to leave the conversation on a positive note.  

Your team should also be able to recognise when they need to call a “time out” – instead of either parties losing their temper. They can introduce this by saying, “I appreciate your frustration. I’ll go and find some more information and call you back in 15 minutes.” 

Take a step back…

Does your team always ask “Is now a good time to talk?” Are they able to quickly recognise the signs of an unhappy customer – and do they feel confident enough to suggest they call back later? Would a 15-minute chat with your team help to create a better customer experience, positive word of mouth and maybe even a testimonial?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn. 

Want to improve your firm? Talk to Clare Yates! She has over 25 years’ experience in the property industry and is more than happy to share what she knows to help you get the best out of your business. 

Here, she explains how sending regular reassuring emails (even if there is nothing new to report) can help to keep customers happy:

To a customer, no news IS news – and a simple email to say “there’s been no change since last week, but I will continue to chase” can help to reassure them that they haven’t been forgotten. This can help to manage general expectations, as well as avoid unnecessary phone calls to your team and local estate agent. 

Your team can also reassure customers by giving them positive glimpses into the future with informative statements such as:  “By next week, I expect to find out… I’ll be in touch with you by… to give you an update.”

Take a step back…

Why is this so important? According to Home Moving Trends research, 76% of customers value good communication skills when choosing their conveyancer, while 65% also seek out those with a proactive approach. 

Could you be doing more to deliver against your customers’ expectations?

With thanks to Clare Yates, Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup. 

Got a question? Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.