APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM::White Paper

Concept:

AppraisalMS is a web-based appraisal office management system that includes sophisticated tracking/workflow, storage/source control, purchase/shopping cart application, office management, and bookkeeping functionality. We provide a full web service that integrates with or replaces your company's current web page. We offer a basic customizable appraisal company web page (home, rate sheet, contact info, about) with your domain name that seamlessly integrates with AppraisalMS. Alternatively, we can integrate with your existing web page by providing a frame portal or link into AppraisalMS.

 

There are three views into the same database back end:

• Loan Broker/Client
• Order appraisal, check on status, view all orders, add comments/requests
• View list of completed appraisals, purchase them (credit/paypal/ custom)
• Enter contact information - offer public view/listing

• Appraiser/Appraisal Company
• Accept orders, update status, view all orders, view orders by due date (today, end of the week, etc.), view completed orders, big spreadsheet allows view by due date, client, borrower name, etc.; also allows custom filtering. Upload completed appraisal; view client list/ phone numbers, etc.
• Perhaps separate signer/reviewer from appraiser in training?
• Administrator
• Process initial order.
• Add/delete clients; add/delete appraisers; set payment method; etc.
• (Book keeper): Record payments from clients; calculate and report on late invoices; calculate appraiser fee split and record payments to appraisers. Interface with Quickbooks and other accounting software.

 

Current Functionality:

• Clients:
• Online ordering from any internet-enabled computer with instant notification (email) to the appraisal company's designated administrator.
• Check on status:
• Customizable view of orders (active, delivered ...).
• Update status 24/7 (put on hold, request cancellation, add comments).
• Online purchase/pickup available 24/7 from anywhere.
• Send a link for the downloadable appraisal (PDF) to a third party (borrower/colleague).
• Financial/Business intelligence:
• Current/YTD purchased totals.
  
• Appraisers:
• Managed workflow

 

The system is designed to efficiently and effectively shepherd orders through the 90% case of how appraisals usually flow through the process. For instance, when an apprentice uploads a file, a prompt appears with pre-selected defaults that enable the apprentice to assign the order to the reviewing appraiser, set the status to 'In Review', and send a notification email to the reviewing appraiser to let them know it is ready for review, all with a single click.

 

The main points in the workflow are represented graphically, with progress shown in blue as follows:



Clicking on the details of any appraisal order displays this graphic presentation of where the order is in the workflow. Once roles have been filled in the workflow, the system helps ensure that the order has the right status and is assigned to the right person.

The basic work flow is as follows:

• Client orders appraisal (email notifies administrator of new order).
• Administrator

1.      Sets fees, turn time, signing appraiser, apprentice (optional), poster (optional), and assigns the order to the next person in the workflow which can vary by order.
-Or-

2.      Sends order back to client for revision. (optional email notifies assignee)

• Appraiser inspects property and types appraisal. All parties to the appraisal (client, apprentice, signer, etc) can view the up-to-the-second status of the order throughout the entire process.
• If there's an apprentice, they upload the draft appraisal to the system for review by the signing appraiser who:

1.      Signs the appraisal and uploads a PDF for the client,
-Or-

2.      Sends it back to the apprentice for revision.

• Signing appraiser sets the order status to 'Final'(completed). Client can purchase/pick it up (depending payment terms).
• Financial Management
• View current/YTD/custom statements (how much billed/finalized, paid by clients).
• Manage fee splits (automatically set and compute).
• Record client payments automatically (credit card/paypal) or manually by check.
• Calculate and record appraiser payments automatically.
• PRIVACY! Only bookkeepers and the individual users can see their fee splits and earnings.
• Business Intelligence
• See which clients have outstanding orders (Final but unpaid), how much they owe/how delinquent they are. Email invoicing of clients with the bottom line of what they owe.
• File Management
• Automatically manage files associated with appraisals (ACI/Ala Mode and client files [PDF]).
• By managing your appraisal files through AppraisalMS you also get free source control. If someone else is working on the same file, AppraisalMS automatically warns you and tells you who it is.
• Upload files (pics, Word docs ...) to personal (each user), shared (all group users) storage and access them from anywhere.
• Workflow Auditing
• AppraisalMS keeps a log of all changes made to orders. If you, or your clients, have questions about what happened when, the AppraisalMS log will tell you who did what to an order and when.

 

Other functionality currently in development:

• Auto-update some database fields with data from ACI, Ala Mode (appraisal document software).
• Auto-populate Appraiser client data from master database if Appraiser's client name matches an existing client(s) in the master database (global).
• Auto-generate PDF from ACI files in the appropriate views (clients see PDF, you see ACI/Ala Mode; you should only have to upload ACI/Ala Mode).
• Download files that can read by your local bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks.
• Enable you to export your QuickBooks or ACI/Ala Mode client lists and other data into AppraisalMS. Perhaps offer a data cleaning interface that looks for duplicates, e.g. two countrywide clients?
• Advanced client management - enable self-entry; include sophisticated, settings based on past payment performance.

 

Hardware/Software setup:

We currently have production grade internet hosting with EV1 Servers (UPS, A/C, ultra-broadband managed rack server). We are running Apache 2.0.46, MySQL 3.2.58, and PHP 4.3.3. Since our system is completely web based it will run on almost any computer, even older/slower machines. All of the work is done by our server so it requires no more from your computer than does surfing the internet. If you have an web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, you have full access to all the functionality of our system.