We’ll be the first to admit that as a business and as individual employees of the company we’re always learning. Certain mistakes – while we’d rather not make them – give us moments of pause and create opportunities for us to continually refine our processes so we are best able to deliver great service for our property owners.
Below we’ll share an example of one such mistake we made, how we remedied the issue, and ultimately made changes to our systems so we can avoid similar issues in the future.
The Case of the Faulty A/C Unit
Here is what unfolded: We received notice from a tenant that their air conditioning unit broke down. We sent a technician over to evaluate it, and it became clear that the very old A/C unit had reached the end of its lifespan.
To move forward with a replacement, we contacted the property owner for approval because it was over the agreed upon maintenance approval limit. The property owner agreed, sent over an owner contribution payment for the new air conditioning unit, and we initiated the work order.
So far, so good. The unit was replaced and things were back to smooth operation.
But, not so fast…
What followed is that the very next day was the 10th of the month. This is when we send out owner disbursements via direct deposit. During this process we distribute all of the money in the property account (minus our management fees and any funds to keep in the maintenance reserve. Whatever is leftover in the account gets sent directly to the property owner.
Typically, this process is straight-forward, and we move through it almost by default. However, because we had just received an owner contribution for the A/C unit and that bill had not yet been paid, the money dedicated for the A/C replacement was still sitting in the owner’s account. Unfortunately, we ended up accidentally disbursing that same amount right back into the owner’s account.
While this was a small mistake and the owner sent money back for the A/C replacement right away, it is still something we never like to happen. To ensure small mistakes like this don’t slip through the cracks again, we implemented a new system for tracking owner contributions. This extra step signals for us to double-check that bills have been paid before we return any leftover owner contributions to the client.
Part of scaling our company means making small mistakes along the way. But with each mistake, we’ve learned new ways to improve our processes so we can avoid them in the future and continue offering the highest level of service to our clients. If you need help managing your rental units in Columbus, please get in touch with us at RL Property Management.
