DocuSign Deepens G Suite Integration
DocuSign is unveiling new product innovations at Google Cloud Next '19 this week. Over 5 million businesses rely on G Suite to collaborate easier and faster in real time. As a recommended G Suite partner, DocuSign shares this vision of helping businesses work faster, simpler and more cost efficiently, while delivering a better experience for customers and employees. So naturally, it made sense to expand our integration of DocuSign eSignature and G Suite.

DocuSign Introduces Mobile Document Scanning for iOS
DocuSign has announced scanning as a new feature for mobile users. Scan a physical document with your mobile device camera, then easily use it as an electronic document to sign and send.

How to Implement Naming and Folder Architectures at Your Brokerage
If you handle marketing or create content for your brokerage, have we got a treat for you. Incorporating a folder architecture and file naming convention for your brokerage's data management system can do wonders for boosting brokerage efficiency and agent productivity. Setting up a standardized way of naming and finding all brokerage assets and collateral can make your brokerage look – and act – like a well-oiled machine. Plus, there's an added benefit: tears of joy and applause from all your colleagues. This simple act can have far reaching effects top-down and back again.

DocuSign + Box Integration Launches Single Sign-On
DocuSign and Box customers have always enjoyed the ability to take documents stored in a Box folder and send them for eSignature using DocuSign. We're excited to announce that Box and DocuSign integration now supports Single Sign-On, or SSO! Existing users of the integration will simply need to re-authenticate into the application once with their SSO credentials (or regular DocuSign credentials if they do not have SSO) when sending a document from Box and they will then be directed to their existing DocuSign instance. Here's how it works.

Which Transaction Management Tool is Right for Your Brokerage? (Part 1)
Document and transaction management solutions have become ubiquitous tools for real estate brokers over the past decade. It's no wonder—these platforms save brokerages time and money, thanks to reductions in paper use, physical storage, and compliance issues. So which transaction management solution is right for you? That depends on your needs. To help you evaluate your options, this week we'll be examining two transaction management tools highlighted in our 2017-18 Technology Guide.

Paperless Files like a Pro: Fast, Efficient Document Management
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 10:00 AM PST This session will cover how to set up transaction templates and start a new transaction file while automatically associating forms and features to have more efficient and consistent files. We will also cover document management, how to link a document to an MLS listing, slice / merge and mark-up documents, as well as how to add sub-folders. Register now!

Strategic rollout fuels RE/MAX Ability Plus DocuSign success
Jennie Franklin knew her brokerage needed a way to help agents improve transaction speed, increase efficiency in day-to-day operations, and decrease the cost and problems associated with paper processes. "We already had a paperless solution in place that wasn't working very well for us," said Franklin, Director of Operations for RE/MAX Ability Plus in Indianapolis. "We were constantly being backlogged because there was still a lot of paperwork being turned in by the agent. We needed something much more functional." DocuSign's eSignature and Transaction Room capabilities were precisely what the brokerage was looking for. At the time RE/MAX Ability Plus made the switch, Franklin had already been using DocuSign for five years. She knew that once the brokerage's 150 agents saw everything DocuSign could help them do, they'd quickly understand the benefits. "I have a goal of 100 percent adoption of DocuSign in the office because I feel so strongly about it being such a great tool," Franklin said. "As agents start to see it, they say, 'I need to get on board with this.'" As with any new program, and a sales force the size of RE/MAX Ability Plus, the key to success was a carefully planned rollout strategy. That meant talking to agents and finding out precisely what they needed the platform to do – and then delivering a system that met those needs.

The Death of Fax Has a Long Tail
Once considered the most ubiquitous piece of office equipment next to the copier, the fax machine has been relegated to the technology junk pile in dark office closets behind the bathroom tissue and holiday decorations. Yet in 2011 and 2012, over 700,000 fax machines (single function) were sold worldwide and Japan continues to be a heavy fax consumer, purchasing almost 1.2 million basic fax machines in 2014. How can such an obsolete technology continue to exist in pockets, keeping eFax vendors in business as well as remaining a part of the technology suite in multi-functional devices such as "All-in-One" printers? To start, the fax machine will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2016. When it was introduced, the effects of Moore's Law was not at the pace of change as it is today. Therefore, there's a segment of people who are comfortable with fax and have no desire to change their ways. The evolution of fax has also helped keep fax around longer. Baud rates over twisted pair gave way to internet speeds and digital lines. The advent of services like eFax only served to extend fax life. Faxes could be delivered in PDF format, reduce the amount of paper used, and contribute to electronic filing. However, it still couldn't eliminate the paper waste of the old sign on paper. Nonetheless, fax remains on its technology deathbed waiting for terminal status. Pundits of fax machines may forget that faxing was not always the easiest. With technological advances present today, long held beliefs about faxing are poised to shatter. Belief 1: Faxing is reliable How many can remember having to redial several times due to busy signals or keying in the wrong number? Redials account for lost productivity. Even with the development of the auto-redial feature, productivity was lost answering calls looking for confirmation the fax was sent, triaging where the transmission problem occurred, and then standing by the fax to be assured the fax was sent. All of this can happen again if the recipient doesn't receive all the pages due to transmission interruptions.

Knowledge Market: Document Retention and Purging
One of our favorite things about doing business in the digital age is the flexibility and control users have over the documents they send. Sure, you can do business anytime, anywhere, from any device — but did you know you also determine what happens to the document once it's sent through DocuSign's document retention and purging features? While retention allows you to determine the amount of time a document is available to the sender within DocuSign storage, purging is the process by which documents are permanently deleted. If you're new to DocuSign or simply want to take advantage of these features, take a look at our complimentary "Document Retention and Purging" white paper, which answers questions like: What are the limits (in days) for the Retention period? When are documents moved into the Purge Queue? What happens when I change the Retention Date? Can reports still be run on documents that are in the Purge Queue or have been purged?

Tips for Real Estate: DocuSign Tasks Just Got Easier
As DocuSign continues to study the way customers utilize our product, we learn how it can be improved. Since DocuSign Transaction Rooms: Broker Edition was launched, the Needs My Attention section has been highly utilized by our customers. Fast-forward to our September 2015 release, Tasks. We saw this trend increase and found an opportunity to break out the Needs My Attention section into a more digestible piece termed Tasks Dashboard (shown below). This new Tasks Dashboard tab combines all relevant information for not only tasks, but also task lists and Transaction Rooms needing final review.

A High-Volume Brokerage on the Solution that Enriches Their Bottom Line
One of the principles of running a lean business is eliminating redundant processes, like duplicate data entry, and automating others in order to free your team from the grip of time-wasting tasks. Because brokers rely on dozens of elements--websites, accounting solutions, document and transaction management, and beyond--it can be difficult to untangle the knot of over-complicated data in order to streamline a business. That's why many enterprise-level brokers are increasingly turning to all-in-one solutions to handle the lion's share of their back office needs. Using one solution rather than several unrelated solutions means that data flows freely between components, eliminating mistakes and wasted time. Currently, there are only a few companies that offer all-in-one solutions. Today, we're evaluating one company that offers a full suite of solutions that encompasses accounting, a "front office" intranet, document and transaction management, brokerage and agent websites and more. We spoke with Teresa Powers, a long-time Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies' Complete Enterprise Solution user, to hear about her brokerage's experience with the software. Teresa Powers is the Director of Operations for RE/MAX Professionals in Lakewood, Colorado. Her firm adopted Lone Wolf's accounting solution, brokerWOLF, in 2006 and added the company's front office platform, WOLFconnect, and document and transaction management solution, loadingDOCS, in 2012 and 2014, respectively. One reason Powers' brokerage repeatedly turned to Lone Wolf's solutions is because even though they're feature-dense, they're easily adaptable to her business's unique needs. "Any canned software program thinks that they know how you should run your business, but that isn't always true," Powers says. "We have our systems in place, and we're able to take Lone Wolf's software and make it work with how we like to run our businesses and how we like to function. That has always been very easy to do." For RE/MAX Professionals, that means handling the needs of a multi-office, high volume production company that serves 400 agents. "I've got files being processed at eight locations and so to have everything go into one system, pretty much 99 percent error-free, is huge for me," she says. "We close over 6,000 files a year and it just saves me so much time."

Free Electronic Fax Number for Document Management
There are a lot of things to consider in choosing an online document management solution. Because of the copyright laws, you should always begin your decision making by contacting your local association of REALTORS® or MLS. In the case of agents and brokers who use zipForm®, only a few companies like DocuSign have a license agreement to integrate zipForm into their transaction management and document management solution. There was a major lawsuit between the California Association of Realtors® and DotLoop because agents were loading CAR forms into DotLoop without a license agreement. That sort of thing violates the CAR copyright. Transaction Rooms is the transaction management and document management software that is provided as an enhanced service to the renowned DocuSign electronic signature solution. When bundled, the services suite that includes everything is called DocuSign for Realtors® Plus. It is available in both an agent product and an enterprise version for brokers. There is seamless integration between zipForm® and DocuSign and Transactions Rooms when you purchase DocuSign Plus. You simply authorize the connection with your zipForm account and the solutions are integrated and begin working together. Helpful Tip: It is a good idea to use the same email address and password for all three solutions. Although everything is integrated, sometimes you want to just log into one of the three and remembering all of those passwords can be a drag.

Don't Get Thrown by Doc Overhaul
Timely closings will require advance planning under new compliance rules. August 1 will be a big day for real estate professionals because that's when two new closing forms—a Loan Estimate and a Closing Disclosure—will replace the three forms you're used to working with: the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, the Good Faith Estimate, and the Truth-in-Lending disclosure form. The purpose of the new forms, which were created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with input from consumers and industry groups, including the National Association of REALTORS®, is to consolidate information and make it simpler for consumers to compare how close their costs are to what was originally estimated by the lender. The first page of the new Loan Estimate and the new Closing Disclosure are formatted in exactly the same way, so you and your clients can easily compare costs and note any changes. Expect refinements to the forms after they are released as the CFPB sees how well they work in the real world. Although the information required isn't much different, some of the compliance requirements are new. NAR analysts say the new procedures could prove challenging for two reasons. First, the CFPB is requiring the closing disclosure to be given to the buyer three days before closing. That is to allow consumers time to look carefully at any deviations from the original estimates rather than make them consider the changes while the closing is underway. That is a positive change for consumers, but it means if you're used to getting everything done at the last minute, you'll have to do a better job of planning ahead to accommodate the new rules.

How to Build a Great Brokerage with Technology
A real estate brokerage has many of the management and marketing challenges common to most other businesses. Our inventory is our listings, and we market, advertise and sell to generate commission revenue. However, the real estate brokerage is more complex in some ways, particularly when it comes to risk and legal issues. If we take a close look at how we actually make our money, we are expending time, using our expertise and special skills, and coordinating complex transactions. We market our services, spend a lot of advertising money, and we manage a diverse group of independent contractor agents. There's a lot going on in a busy brokerage, and all of this activity can be a lot more efficient through the use of technology resources. Technology is of even more value in our marketing efforts. CRM, Customer Relationship Management, is much more effective when we use the right tech tools. Getting prospect leads, then moving them from prospect status to a successful closing can grow our business much faster if we understand and properly use technology and the various online and software resources available. Open your mind to new ideas and examine every area of your business, from document management and filing through all of your marketing and advertising. Consider how you communicate with your agents, especially in today's more mobile business world. Some brokerages are even operating without a desk for every agent, as they are able to conduct business with their mobile phones, tablets and notebook computers.

Throw Away the Filing Cabinets and Embrace the Cloud
Real estate brokers and agents still storing important documents in giant office filing cabinets are drastically falling behind the times. As technology improves, so is the way agents and brokers keep documents organized. Realtors worldwide are throwing away their bulky filing cabinets and embracing the cloud. Cloud? Cloud storage is the most efficient way to store and access your important documents and files. Instead of saving that important lead report on your PC or tucking it away in a cumbersome filing cabinet, files are saved digitally and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection and a web browser. Cloud storage is changing the real estate game. The National Association of Realtors just invested $3 million to improve their cloud storage capabilities and 80 percent of businesses reported seeing improvement after just six months of changing over operations to cloud-storage. But small operations enjoy benefits, as well. A poll of over 1,200 small businesses conducted by technology giant CDW discovered: "...cloud users cite cost savings, increased efficiency and greater innovation as key benefits" and that "...across all industries, storage and conferencing and collaboration are the top cloud services and applications." Almost every area of business is adapting this technology.

Document and Transaction Management 101
Document management and transaction management represent two distinctly different product categories. However, many companies have chosen to offer solutions that combine the two categories into a single solution. That's why we are discussing them together here today. Borrowing from our previous article on this very subject, here's a quick review of these product categories. Document management technology is intended to help real estate professionals manage documents with functions that support: digitally storing documents, sharing documents with other interested parties, organizing documents, tracking the status of documents, and (in some instances) electronically signing documents. Transaction management products are intended to help real estate professionals manage a transaction through functions such as: contact management, a calendar tool, some degree of document management, and a wide variety of other features. It provides a collaborative space for working with all the parties to a transaction through tasks (for instance ordering home inspection, coordinating mortgage, etc.). Forms management is a component of products that often falls into this category, as well.

Lone Wolf Launches New Solution for Brokerage Customer for Life Programs
Business is changing quickly in real estate. There is no doubt that consumers are more comfortable with web services and that they expect highly professional web services from their real estate agency. The fully electronic transaction has been visible on the horizon for a long time. Today, it is on our shores. Technology has never been the barrier. Companies have long been able to support the professional with software to perform these services, but real estate brokers and consumers were laggards in adoption. All of that is changing, requiring brokers to retool their enterprise solutions to provide a 360-degree support of the brokerage, the agent, the consumer, and home services offerings. The leader in real estate enterprise management software, Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies, issued a press release announcing a new addition to the loadingDOCS transaction management platform for brokerages: YourHomePulse.com. The real estate industry has long offered consumers a way to log into systems to manage different aspects of their business relationship with the real estate agent or firm. The most common of these consumer portals are for transactions that are used during the buying and selling process.

Product Review: loadingDOCS
Over the past few months, we've been publishing reviews of each component of Lone Wolf's Complete Enterprise Solution. So far, we've covered their back office solution, virtual front office system, a new automated drip marketing program, and even a website and marketing platform for agents. Every piece of the Complete Enterprise Solution fits together, with data from each program flowing seamlessly into the others. For our final product review of the year, we're focusing on a new piece of the puzzle that enables brokers, agents and administrators, based on permissions, to manage transaction documents, workflow and checklists from start to finish from within Lone Wolf's software suite. loadingDOCS is a document management and storage solution that integrates seamlessly with the Complete Enterprise Solution. Here's a brief look at what it offers: Ability to split a package of PDFs into the appropriate documents Automatic tracking of all required documentation for each transaction and listing Integration with brokerWOLF transaction data Compliance with regulatory standards in the U.S. and Canada Automated document status change notifications Document checklist for easy management of deal documentation Individual loadingDOCS clipboard for every agent and administrator Ability to share clipboards with other users Preview of uploaded documents Client portal for buyers and sellers to access necessary documents

How to Reduce Your Paper Consumption
Do you print a lot of electronic content or documents in your busy day? Ever thought about the effect your decision to print has on the environment? As you read this and other electronic documents throughout your day, consider the environment before you click 'Print'! Now that you're thinking green, keep reading to learn how you can change our daily actions to help save the environment. Now is your chance to make a change. Go green! Going green isn't just a fad; it's a lifestyle. It's being aware of the impact that your actions have on the environment and the effect they may have on future generations. Did you know a typical business office will produce about 1.5 pounds of paper waste per employee each day? If your office eliminated office paper form your waste stream, you could potentially cut your waste bill by 50% or more. Everyone wants to save money, now you can save the environment too!

What are the Different Types of Real Estate Software?
This post comes to us from the Wise Agent blog: The right software can make a huge difference in a real estate agent's life! The programs available today can take all aspects of your business and organize them, store them, and in some cases, will even do them for you! So, what are the different types of software you can use to manage your real estate business? Contact management programs are some of the most popular types of software used by real estate agents and there are many to choose from. They can range from a simple address book to more detailed programs that allow you to categorize and retain a history of your communication. A good contact management program should also offer the ability to sync your database with your phone, as an agent's life is an increasingly mobile one. Real estate marketing programs are another very popular type of software. These programs usually come fully loaded with various templates you can use and they'll keep track of different marketing campaigns that are being sent. Make sure that the program you choose allows you to customize the content. It's also a good idea to have a program that can incorporate different marketing strategies – email, print, phone calls, etc.

Be Thankful for the Good Things in Life
The real estate industry is as competitive as it’s ever been. For many REALTORS, success requires working smarter, a tough skin, courage, and innovation. The difficulties and frustrations of a highly competitive atmosphere make it all too easy for work to dominate our lives. Other aspects of life can get easily pushed aside when you need to head back out the door to meet with a client or stay up late to work on marketing strategies or through an outdated transaction process from the stone age. The high stress load, deadlines, choke points in your business process and use of technology can block out many of the good things in life.  

Friday Freebie: DotLoop
DotLoop’s Friday Freebie is a little bit different. Instead of offering a free trial to everyone, they’re giving away an exclusive 90 days of their full DotLoop solution, for up to 10 agents, to one broker. To enter, email your name and contact information to [email protected]. The winner will be announced next week at the National Association of REALTORS® conference on November 11th. You will be informed by email if you’ve been chosen as the winner.   90-Day Free Trial of DotLoop Reward your 10 top agents with the full functionality of the DotLoop system.  DotLoop is a transaction hub that connects people  with documents in real time.   Benefits of DotLoop include:   Paperless Transactions – Saving time, storing documents, and improving user experience. Virtual Access – Controlling cost and freeing up more time in your schedule. Collaborative Transactions – for faster deals and improved accuracy. Integrated E-Signatures- improve productivity and security.   Clients will also appreciate the benefits of DotLoop.

Product Review: Wise Agent
We recently published a Friday Freebie article about Wise Agent. Now, I have to admit, I wasn’t very familiar with their product. So, ever curious, I asked Brandon Wise to give me a brief demo. Wise Agent is a feature-rich technology, so what you’ll see here is just a quick overview.   The BasicsWise Agent is a contact management, time management, transaction management, and marketing solution for real estate professionals and other small business owners.

Real Estate Sales – Being Prepared for Tomorrow’s Opportunity
At some point every Broker or Agent—especially those heavily involved in Short Sale transactions—will be contacted by a past client with a specific request. They need a copy of an important document from their transaction and have misplaced copy the file that was provided to them at closing. This phone call or email could come only months after closing their Real Estate transaction or even years later. While many Real Estate clients will automatically be handed off to the Transaction Coordinator or Escrow Officer with this request, smart Brokerages and Agents understand that there is great opportunity here—provided they are able to quickly and efficiently produce the information that the client is looking for. Agents with the right real estate technology have a real advantage here.

How Realistic is the Idea of a Paperless Office?
Guest contributor, GoPaperless Solutions, says: For some, the paperless office is all about conservation and environmental protection. For many reasons conservation and protection are good ideas; therefore, so are paperless offices and paperless document management. For those not-so-tree-huggerish folks out there, for whom the paperless office has had no draw at all, it's definitely time to take a fresh look at this idea. A paperless office can benefit the bottom line as much as it does lakes and streams. Sometimes a good idea is just, well, a good idea.

Eco-Friendly Practices for Your Business
      Most businesses today want the positive press of operating “green”.  Some think that it’s expensive to do, however most simple steps you can take can actually save money, not to mention protect the environment.  Green marketing is a great start; try paperless marketing practices.  Instead of reams of posters, flyers and mailers, try blogging and e-newsletters to point out your new listings.  Also, the greatest resource that is paperless is your social network.  Keep in mind with social networking, it’s not your friends, but their friends that you really want to reach, so a little common sense is in order.  Don’t post listings every day, and instead use your network to post short articles or links to interesting stories.   

DocBox Review
While this review is on DocBox you really can’t review the Instanet product line without noting the entire family of Instanet products.   The reason is the fact that customers can start virtually anywhere in the product line and then add features that incorporate virtually the same user interface.  Many users, for example, may start with the Internet Fax product or the Document Management product “DocBox” and later on add the full Transaction Manager “TransactionDesk” functionality.  Or they might start with Instanet forms and later add the Document Manager.  This full suite of products from Internet Fax through Digital Signature is a significant strength of the Instanet Solutions product line. DocBox has always been a solid product but with the recent changes made to the user interface the product, along with the entire Instanet suite of products, is even more attractive.

Track My File
Track My File is currently marketed directly to real estate companies and they emphasize that what you get with Track My File is more than the product. They stress the importance of learning how to integrate transaction management processes into the business culture and their ability to help companies do this. The Document Management and Transaction Manager Product are combined. They pride themselves on offering a user-friendly system that all agents can use. Track My File is easy to navigate though the interface appears a bit dated. The Track My File team schedules a one-time consultation with new clients to get to know them, the processes they currently have in place and the way they work. Then they create custom software tailored to both the currently office requirements and workflow. This tailored, consultative approach sets Track My File apart from the competition in this regard where most vendors expect the client to adapt to their system.