All posts by Praveen G P

Ask anyone in the managing committee of an apartment complex or a residential layout, and most of them will confess that it’s the most thankless job one can think of. What makes the job a challenge is the brickbats that follow even after having worked in the best interest of all. “You can never please everyone” is a truism that every apartment managing committee member learns early enough in their tenure!

But all’s not lost! If you’re a managing committee member, we are glad to reveal that there is a way you can actually reduce your work and even win some praise for the efforts you put in.

To begin, we’ll have to first understand where most managing committees stumble in getting along with the members/residents of the apartment complex or layout. Broadly, the issues that residents have with their managing committees can be classified under the following heads:

1. Communication
2. Complaint Resolution
3. Transparency in Expenses

We are sure you’ll agree that almost 90% of the criticism that members of owners association have against their managing committees fall under these three heads. When it comes to communication, the most common grouse is that the managing committee didn’t communicate early enough or clearly enough. When it comes to the complaint resolution, there are always comments saying that no complaint gets attended in time. The same issues keep recurring. As for expenses, the lesser said the better. Members will always claim that they do not know where the money is being spent or that the expenses are too high.  

Now, if an association can “manage” to get these three aspects of their functioning in control then you could have a satisfied society.

So how do we go about doing it?

The answer is simple: use tools that help your association become efficient and thus more effective! At ApnaComplex we offer online technology solutions that help Managing Committees streamline their workflow and create better synergies with residents of the apartment. The Single Directory View of Members allows managing committee to view details of each owner and tenant in the apartment complex or layout. The powerful Notification features that we have ensures that you can use the power of SMS and emails to communicate with every member of your society – or broadcast to only specific segments of your members – like residents and tenants.

The online Complaint Box feature of ApnaComplex registers, tracks, and closes complaints from all apartment members in a central place. Complaints shall be filed under various categories and tracked till closure. Residents can know the status of a complaint anytime and also how many complaints are attended to by the maintenance staff. Sure, that makes the residents happier.

Apart from these, ApnaComplex offers rich features to support your billing and expenses. The Maintenance Charge Tracking feature allows the Treasurer to raise invoices for various charges and tracks payments made against them. To make the life of a Treasurer even simpler, the Income Tracking feature captures the details of income from maintenance collection and other revenue heads. The Instant Receipts Issuance feature not only enables the speedy creation of receipts but also enables members to view/download the receipts at any time. In addition, the Expense Tracking feature tracks expenses incurred under various heads and the Publish Accounts Statement publishes statements at the push of a button to all members and on to the notice board. Now, that’s total transparency.

Finally, the Metered Billing feature ensures that invoices are generated for various metered utilities such as a piped gas or water meter against each house and their respective payments are tracked within ApnaComplex!

If that covers 90% of all issues, we are glad to inform you that we haven’t missed out on the remaining 10% either. ApnaComplex has an Online Notice Board that ensures everyone can post their needs to all members. Online Notice Board can be used by the Managing Committee to ensure meetings and other events are known to everyone. To ensure that only authorized personnel can access the Management Committee features, ApnaComplex has an effective Role-Based access control system. So while ApnaComplex can be used by all, the right to information and features is rigidly controlled.

Waste management always comes with a golden rule: reduce, reuse, recycle. At first, this feels like a daunting prospect, like an excessive amount of effort. But in reality, this can be achieved if the issue is targeted at the root: the household.

Living in an apartment complex means living in close proximity to other. So naturally, we need to stay mindful of maintaining clean surroundings to keep it from being an inconvenience.  

Waste management in the household

Enforce a segregation rule in all the units of your apartment complex. Have every household maintain one dustbin for wet waste and one for dry waste. Make sure that the waste is also collected separately. This makes the waste easier to dispose of. Emphasize the need to drain the waste of liquids before throwing it in the bins. The liquid in the waste creates a breeding ground for pests and allows rot to settle in faster.

Waste management in the society

Once the household is taken care of, cleanliness has to be maintained in the common areas of the society. The most effective technique is to hire cleaning crews to sweep and clear the litter. It is also imperative to reduce little. install clearly marked dustbins all over your complex. Place them in all the convenient locations and spread the news urging your residents to use them. Also, urge your residents to clean up after their pets. Pet excreta should be picked up by the owners and disposed of responsibly. Disposables used for any community event should also be biodegradable. Hold regular cleaning drives and educational sessions to ensure that both children and adults are regularly reminded of the importance of clean surroundings.

Waste Management in the long run

While immediate steps ensure waste management, you need to install mechanisms that make the job easier in the long run. Educate your residents of the importance of recycling paper and plastic waste. If possible hire a service to come to the complex to collect the recyclables. Plant plenty of trees in your society. Not only does this help clean the air of pollutants, but it also helps slowly replenish the soil while making your society look aesthetically pleasing. Also, ensure that the drainage system of your society is in good working condition. Waterlogging causes problems with mosquitos, flies and other pests. Lastly, consider installing a compost pit in your society. This can help you dispose of the biodegradables right within your society. The compost can be used as manure for your trees and gardens. Any surplus can be sold to bring a good revenue for your society.

There are plenty of other techniques and real-life examples of good waste management. You can use the ApnaComplex noticeboard feature to educate and notify all your residents. Sharing them with others can only help generate awareness and possibly action towards a cleaner India.

ApnaComplex is one among several available Apartment Management Apps. Our customers have many other options that provide similar services. But what makes ApnaComplex the most preferred apartment management service in India? Allow us to tell you:

Thought Leaders:

We believe in setting the benchmark for our field. Our innovation is nearly two years ahead of any other portal in Society Accounting and Social Management. We are the first to bring Society Management to the Smart Phone Generation. We introduced India’s first and only Collection Gateway for housing societies to solve the problem of NEFT reconciliations for every Housing Society. Using Collection Gateway residents can add the unique account number allocated to them as beneficiary and automate the monthly transfer of dues.

Super High Configurability:

Life in each apartment complex is different. The requirements and expectations from each one are unique to that complex. We understand this perfectly. As a consequence, our portal is super customizable. You can configure the plan to your requirements at prices that are pocket-friendly.

Data Security:

At ApnaComplex, we understand that cybersecurity is extremely important. Your personal information is kept extremely secure and access to it is limited. No information is divulged without your express permission. Beyond this, ApnaComplex is the first portal that offers secure browsing using SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Data Security is one of our primary aims.

Data Privacy:

ApnaComplex offers the most private portal in the industry. We do not bombard you to buy from various service providers to earn commissions. There are no ADs on either our portal or our App. We dislike ADs as much as you do.

Support for Federations:

ApnaComplex is the first portal that offers support for Federation of RWAs. Federation of RWAs can add member associations and easily communicate across all. Notices posted in Federation can reach all members of its member associations providing a unified platform for the entire neighborhood. This means that it is not just about your complex who can benefit- but about the entire neighborhood!

SMS to DND Numbers:

While we understand that residents don’t wish to receive constant notifications from the app, we also understand that certain messages are extremely important. So if a committee member decides that a certain message is too important to be missed, they have the option to send it even to those numbers registered under DND.

Easy to use:

ApnaComplex offers a “Complete Accounting Package” that can be used by Chartered Accountants and Treasurers with no accounting background with equal ease. In addition, ApnaComplex supports multiple roles like Accounting Admin, Accounting Assistant, Data Entry Operator, and Auditor to delegate accounting work. ApnaComplex Accounting is designed and developed by a team with real-life experience in social accounting as committee members and treasurers so we understand what you need.

Continuous Upgrades:

Despite having the most comprehensive set of features already, we are continuously working to enhance and update our services. Quite a few enhancements are the result of customer requests for new features. So, all our customers benefit from the collective wisdom of hundreds of societies. Also, this allows you to streamline the experience to your needs.

Excellent Support:

We strive to delight our customers, period. You have live chat, email-based support, phone-based support, online help, and manuals to take care of your needs.

ApnaComplex is dedicated to making the management of your apartment complex a well-oiled machine. For that, we believe that convenience is key. To bring this convenience to your apartment complex click here to create a free portal.

Managing Committees take note!

In our aim to serve you better, we have released new enhancements on ApnaComplex Accounting Module.

Penalty Calculation Engine:

The Apnacomplex Penalty Calculation Engine is a powerful tool that calculates penalties in case of late payments. It can be configured to support the rules against late payments in any society. However, the interplay of factors can often make it difficult to explain the final amount to the members. With our new enhancement, you can now view the detailed calculations by the engine. The user can simply click the link that is next to the penalty charge to receive a full statement. Admins can also access this during the process. The icon is available against each penalty calculation. When clicked, it opens a new window to show you the full break-up.

A new way of penalty calculation:

ApnaComplex has always supported factors like a fixed penalty or penalties based on outstanding dues. With the new enhancement, you can now charge penalties based on area (plot area, super built-up area or terrace area). This allows you more flexibility. Once you save the penalty scheme this option is also available for recurring invoices.

To experience this new option:

1. Please go to Income ->Member Income -> Penalty link
2. Here you can create a new penalty scheme. Identify the charge heads to which penalty becomes applicable.
3. In Penalty Type field – select “Per sqft” – update the penalty amount for defaulters / late paying units.
4. Update rest of the fields and save.
5. Run the same manually (or configure recurring invoice) to calculate penalty amounts that can be directly invoiced.

These enhancements are available at no additional cost with the new update. If you have any queries on the above, please contact us at support@apnacomplex.com

It’s that time of the year again. The whole country reverberates to the joy of celebrations over a five-day period. There’s music, food, light and an air of prosperity all around! Yes, we’ll soon be celebrating Diwali, the festival of light that marks the victory of good over evil.

Celebrated with great joy and festivities in most parts of India, it is marked by the lighting of lamps, crackers, exchange of greetings and gifts, buying gold, decorating of home and sharing sweets with family and friends.

Along with all the above, the festival of Diwali has also become associated with firecrackers that cause injuries and leave people with burns, loss of eyesight, damage to the ears and to property if adequate care is not taken. Every year, there is a significant number of burns and other injuries that are reported during the festival.

Dos and Don’ts:

It is therefore important that each one of us who is celebrating with firecrackers follow a few Dos and Don’ts to ensure that Diwali ends as a happy festival for one and all. If you are a member of the Managing Committee in your residential complex, make sure you list down your Dos and Don’ts so that every resident is aware of what they should and should not do to make it a festival that everyone enjoys.

We provide a list of Dos and Don’ts that you can use as it as is or as a guideline for your apartment complex. You can download the Diwali Do’s and Dont’s poster, print it and post it in your society notice board as is or under your official letterhead.

Designate areas to light firecrackers:

Another important thing that is mandatory in a gated community is to light firecrackers only in designated areas. Some people love to light crackers in their balconies or just outside their flat. This is a breach of fire safety and can lead to serious accidents. It is imperative that the designated spots for lighting firecrackers are clearly marked and the entire community adheres to it.

Firecrackers should not be lit in closed rooms or balconies of the buildings. They also shouldn’t be lit in an area covered with foliage. It is also important to make to make sure that a strict time limit is maintained. Nobody should be allowed to burst crackers beyond a predetermined hour. According to a recent order by the supreme court, this limit is until 10 pm.

Beyond crackers, make sure the open flames of the diyas are not a fire hazard. Make sure they are far away from curtains, open wires, electronics, plastic or paper decoration or any other flammable materials. Teach your children basic fire safety too. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

We offer here a template that your association can customize updating the designated timings, designated areas to light crackers and also update emergency contact numbers. You can share the notice with your residents, print the same on your society’s letterhead and put it up in all notice boards. Download the Diwali Notice template to customize it for your complex.

With a little bit of care and caution, Diwali can be enjoyed by one and all. Take that few additional steps to make sure that the festival leaves only pleasant memories for all involved. We wish you a very happy and safe Diwali!

Renovating a house can be quite demanding in terms of money, time, and effort. There are a few common mistakes that most renovators make, that can prove very costly at the end of the day. Here is how you can avoid these mistakes.

1. Prepare Well

Plan well before you begin the project. Do a lot of research, read plenty of books, and talk to people who have already renovated their houses. You might end up spending hours chalking out the last detail of the plan, but it’ll be worth the time and effort. If you do not have the time or interest to get things done yourself, hiring a professional would be a smart choice.

2. Take accurate Measurements

One of the most basic home renovation tips is to make sure that you take accurate measurements. You spend a lot of money, time, and effort on a home renovation project. Invest in quality measuring tools in order to avoid mistakes that will make you hate your renovated house. Also, be serious about taking accurate measurements, as even small discrepancies can result in drastic changes in the final outcome.

3. Obtain Prerequisite Permissions

While interiors are free from legal scrutiny, huge external projects often require legal permission.  Be on the safe side and avoid unnecessary fines and legal fees by getting all the necessary permissions for the renovation plan. Do keep in mind that your house insurance will not cover damages or injury if you go ahead without required permissions.

4. Invest in Quality

Although it might be very tempting, cutting corners to save money may put your home and yourself at serious risk. High-quality materials are more durable, and hence more expensive. Save yourself the trouble and future expense of frequent repairs by going for good quality products.  The same applies to the labour, interior designer, or engineer you’ll be hiring. Go for the best that you can afford at the moment. If not, wait until you have enough funds.

5. Biting More Than You Can Chew

A common mistake that most renovators make is to plan big and go over the top in their home renovation efforts. Be realistic and factor in your finances, abilities, and resources. It might be a better idea to work on smaller sections than to renovate the entire house at once. Running out of cash, time or interest midway will only leave you with a poorly renovated house.

Make sure you follow these basic home renovation tips to avoid costly mistakes. The golden rule is to plan well and know what you are getting into before you pick up that hammer or paint brush.

The security guard is an extended member of the apartment community.  Finding the right apartment security agency for your community is very important. There are many facets involved in filtering out the best apartment security agency, and these are quite easy to follow and implement. Once you properly list out and analyze your expectations from an apartment security agency, you will be well on your way to finding the right one.

1. Background Checks

A comprehensive background check is extremely important while selecting a security candidate. Candidates need to be well trained with all the necessary certification. Look for those with prior experience, especially in night shifts, patrolling and log maintenance. Retired policemen also make excellent security candidates. Also, remember to look out for past performance records and any possible criminal history. The safest way to hire good security personnel is through a security agency. Ask them to provide the records of your preferred candidates and remember to follow-up regularly.

2. Effective Equipment

An apartment security agency will provide all guards with a pager, but this will hardly be effective in helping the guard take immediate action. Your contract needs to include a section demanding that all guards from the agency should be properly equipped with radios, cell phones, flashlights, notebooks, pens and vehicles. Providing the security guard with a list of emergency contacts and a phone line will also prove useful. Dress code and attire/uniform are also extremely important.

3. Contractual Issues

It is important that the contract is drawn out carefully. The contract should make it clear that the guard and the agency will be held responsible for any damage due to negligence. Often security agencies include an indemnity clause in the contract that works in their favour. Read the contract carefully and keep an eye out for such hidden costs.

4. Log Maintenance

Log maintenance is an effective way to track the productivity of your security personnel. It should be included in your contract. The entries should be detailed and thorough. Instruct them to record everything; their patrol routes, the entry and exit of visitors or delivery agents, movement of items through the gate, etc. Not only is this helpful in case of an incident, but it also helps locate problems that may arise in the future and help avoid them.

Good security guards are a necessity for an apartment complex that touts of being a safe haven for its residents. Get the insights of every person from your apartment association while framing certain clauses of your contract, and once an agency has been selected, open all channels of communication between the residents and the guards in order to make things smoother and easier for both parties. You can search through the ApnaComplex database of security agencies and find the one that meets your requirements.

Maintenance collection is a task that recurs every month. Committee members need to ensure that each unit in the apartment complex pays what is due and is done so in a timely manner. This is a long undertaking in itself. However, in many cases, these transactions are made in cash. While this is convenient in many cases and helps clear any immediate payments that need to be made, cash transactions come with a few pitfalls that are not easy to ignore.

Inefficiency
The time of maintenance payment sees a lot of activity within an apartment complex. Often, the committee members have to knock on individual doors to collect the dues. In other cases, the residents flock to the committee office to make the payments. Payments also need to be eventually collected and recorded from the defaulters. This takes up a lot of time from the committee member’s schedule.

Safety concerns
One of the main concerns with cash transactions is safety. When there are multiple units within an apartment complex, the amount of cash that is exchanged is a considerable sum. This opens up the possibility of misplacing or miscounting the amount. It also makes it open to theft. Further, the cash collected needs to be physically deposited in a bank. Driving around the streets with a large amount of cash can even put you at risk.

Inaccuracy
With an influx of cash payments, it falls on the committee members to ensure that the amount is recorded and reconciled. In an absence of an automated system, it has to be done manually. This leaves room for human error. The issue further extends even to cheque payments. In case of a bounced cheque, bookkeeping becomes long and tedious and prone to errors.

With tools like ApnaComplex, maintenance collections can be made almost effortless. It also sends out reminders for payments and draws out a defaulters list. ApnaComplex also offers a one of a kind and convenient Collection Gateway where members can do a NEFT/IMPS transfer of their maintenance dues to a unique “Account Number” issued by ApnaComplex. With Collection Gateway, ledgers are updated automatically with details of the amount transferred by the member and payment receipts are issued automatically. This eliminates the need for cash transactions and manual effort by the treasurer or accounts office. Going cashless has never been easier!

At the end of a working week, all everybody wants to do is relax and spend some time with family. However, every month there is one event that can get in the way of doing that: maintenance collection. A few years back, the vicious cycle of payment dues billing, reminders and door-to-door maintenance collections kept most of the apartment management associations on their toes. Add the issues of defaulters and manual bookkeeping, and the weekends could easily get as busy as the rest of the week.

Thanks to technology, the days when apartment management associations were reaching out to residents on a one-to-one basis to collect maintenance are long gone. Management associations now use sophisticated apartment management software, like ApnaComplex, to simplify their maintenance collection process to an extent of a single mouse click!

How has ApnaComplex helped the management associations in timely collections?

1. A timely reminder for payments:
Instead of sending reminders to each and every resident one by one,  the apartment management software empowers the management association to now send automatic reminders to all residents at one go via email/SMS. Residents don’t mean to default on maintenance payments, it’s their hectic schedules and absence of a timely reminder mechanism that makes them miss out on submitting the maintenance charges on time. A reminder system reduces the default rate up to a great extent.

2. Ease of paying maintenance charges:
TheApnaComplex App comes with a collection gateway that automates monthly maintenance payments. This eases the residents from the whole ordeal of coming to the society office just to drop a cheque or pay in cash.

3. Saves Reconciliation Efforts:
Manually recording the amount received from the residents and reconciling all the payments can be quite a long process. With the advent of powerful tools like ApnaComplex, the entire reconciliation is taken care by the App.  

4. Filter the list of defaulters:
The apartment management software enables the management association to filter the list of defaulters. The entire process gets automated and a list of residents whose maintenance payments are due can be easily drawn out along with the penalty to be charged from them. Emails/SMS to be sent out to defaulters is also automated through the software reducing the manual work up to a great extent.

One of the misconceptions was that apartment management solutions are very costly. In many cases, this misconception was cleared, when a lot of apartments started using ApnaComplex, a cost-effective subscription-based leading apartment management software with zero hardware costs and an ongoing support. The cost of the software is directly proportional to the number of units an apartment has, making it more economical than ever for the apartment management associations.

It’s that time of the year! For the next nine nights, most Apartment Complexes will be full of lights, colourful outfits and catchy beats that nobody can resist: it’s Navratri! Most people come out of their houses to participate in the Garba and Dandiya that’s held within the complex. Naturally, there are visitors from outside your immediate community who come to enjoy the festivities. So, during the Navratri festival, security measures need to be tightened in every housing society for internal safety.

Security Measures To Be Taken Before Navratri

Some common security measures need to be enforced during Navratri as a general resident movement with the housing society will be at an all-time high during this nine-day festival. A few security measures that can be taken up are:

• Prior to the commencement of the Navratri festival, a complete identity check of all guards should be conducted.
• A photograph of those working within the housing society should be recorded and kept handy.
• Record the entry of every visitor along with the name of the people they are visiting.
• Allow any visitor only after verifying with residents.
• Cars allowed inside the gate should be given a parking sticker to be displayed the whole time it is within the complex.
• Install CCTV cameras to monitor the entire complex thoroughly.
• The names of all the caterers, technicians and entertainers hired for the event should be recorded and their identity, verified.

This dance event commences in the night and continues till the wee hours of the morning, so it is all the more necessary to provide proper security during this festival. ApnaComplex can help you ease your security concerns. With products like Gatekeeper and Vehicle Sentry at your disposal, you can make security during this Navratri easy and efficient.