The Global Leader in Web-Based Real Estate Software

No listing should be published without photos, because nothing better than photos will showcase the features you want to highlight. If your description emphasizes a great view, it pays to have a photo of the view.

To help you upload more photos, the image-uploader is now capable of uploading multiple images at once and labeling them. We’ve tested it and it’s true, you’ll be making updates to units faster than an agent posting party photos on facebook. Follow this guide on How to: Upload Multiple Images.

The idea to upload, organize and label multiple images started in the Masterkey feedback forum where 26 members of the community voted to have this implemented. If you have an idea to improve Masterkey or just make your job easier, share it with us in the Masterkey feedback forum. It’s a good feeling to contribute.

This month shows that Masterkey works for you, whether you are a developer, property manager or a broker. We are pleased to have Manara Developments, Sloanes Real Estate, Universal OAM and Al Wesal Real Estate join our community!

	Manara Developemnt	Developer	Bahrain
	Sloanes Real Estate	Brokarage	United Arab Emirates
	Universal OAM	Property Management	United Arab Emirates
	Al Wesal Real Estate	Brokarage	United Arab Emirates

Today we were asked to provide our user manuals in a PDF or Word document. You may think that this is a reasonable enough request but after nine years of building software we've figured out a thing or two about user manuals: No one reads them. Ever.

 

When we look back over the years we've made several attempts to create comprehensive training materials or user guides. We've had everything. Simple how-to guides, extensive word/pdf documentation, training videos, entirely hand built custom websites... everything. At one point we even tried assigning a dedicated person to only this task.

 

The problem is, in all of that time I can probably count a handful of people that have actually used these materials. This works out to very little benefit to our customers compared to the hours spent compiling and updating Word documents that in the end become quickly outdated.

 

Little Benefit + Hours of Work = Bad Idea

 

The fact is when people need to know how to do something they always follow the same pattern.

1. They ask someone. It's always easier to ask your co-worked rather than search for it. Sometimes this works, sometimes it leads to the wrong answer, but we're human and we like to ask someone human. This is the same reason I've pinned 'Search Google' above my father's computer and the same reason why he ignores it. It's just easier to call.
2. They search for it. This usually involves Google or perhaps the in-built training system but is exactly where we want people to find the right answer. If rewarded enough times with the right answer, this will become the first place people will look.

So at Masterkey we now invest our time in making sure the right answers are found in when you search. We do provide great in-person training, but after that it comes down to search. A tremendous amount of time and effort was spent finding the right help tool and writing the articles themselves so that's where people should look. 

 

If you are ever looking for help with Masterkey use the Masterkey Helpdesk. That's where we are and have everything you need to know about Masterkey. If you're writing your own user manuals, stop now before it's too late and try out uservoice, getsatisfaction or zendesk!

The Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has recently put in place conditions for the advertisement of real estate services and properties in mainstream media. As a real estate agency in the UAE this means that you must publish your RERA registration number on all published advertisements across all media channels.

 

As our customers regularly use Masterkey to publish their listings to portals on a daily basis we’ll be incorporating your agency’s registration number automatically into every listing you publish. We’ve started working on the changes and we'll let you know when they have been implemented.

 

At Masterkey we’re always following news that affects regulation closely and are prepared to help our customers comply with any regulatory framework.

People from all over the world are getting in touch with us because they have heard about Masterkey from someone like you. Thank you for spreading the word!

 

For that reason many companies from Qatar, Kuwait, Australia and North America joined our community over the last year. This will translate into more business for those who understand how to use the network of companies using Masterkey to close deals. Let it be your new year’s resolution to start extending your reach beyond the driving distance of your car!

Your connections are managed in the Connections Zone. Follow this guide about how to get started with setting up connections in Masterkey.

We organized another Connect Event bringing together 140+ real estate professionals. With so many attending, Barasti was again buzzing with energy and the love for our profession. The card-matching game sent people looking for their matching card among the crowd making for some amusing moments. Not everyone managed to find their matching card but everyone enjoyed the challenge.

 

The Connect Event was everything we could have hoped for. Joined by everyone from long-time Masterkey users to non-Masterkey agents just looking to connect, it showed that a pleasant atmosphere and attractive giveaways gives people the perfect reason to attend. We’ll have another community get together again in the near future, so let us know if you have any ideas!

 

Thank you for making it such an entertaining evening and thanks to Halcon Real Estate and SPF Realty for making the event possible.

 

 

The winners:

• Vladimir, Stones Real Estate Brokers (dinner voucher)
• Saahil, The Business Real Estate (dinner voucher)
• Mehdi, SNS Properties (iPhone 4S)
• Apex Properties (Most Connected Award)

 

Participating in Connect Groups

 

 

Available Connect Groups

Working with leads have never been easier. Masterkey now automatically matches your leads with all available property so that you don't have to. Did you just get a request from someone looking for a 4 bedroom apartment in Dubai Marina? Masterkey will match those requirements with all available listings and show you the matching units. Just select the units to send or simply send them all at once. Your clients will be amazed of how quickly you responded. Just keep your leads accurate and you’ll be zooming along with well serviced clients.

Matching listings are displayed right where you need them next to the Contact or Lead making it easy to access. It even tracks which listings you have sent and which you have discarded, keeping you informed at all times.

In addition, you will expand the reach of your leads because Matches not only searches your internal agency’s listings but also checks all shared listings through Masterkey Connect. You can easily take advantage of your network to find the right match. It’s a new way to use Masterkey!

Matches is available for all Premium users and If you would like to know more see our knowledge base article How do Matches work?

Simply put, Zavanti is an ERP built for the Real Estate industry. It’s extensive, covers in-depth project-based accounting for Property Developers, Builders, Contractors and Property Owners and it is, frankly, hard to grasp at first. It’s the sort of thing that if you dream about what an ERP could do for you as Property Developer, you might end up with Zavanti after 10 years of work. If you’re lucky.

Zavanti was built in Australia, has been used for 20 years and has been continually revised and updated. It’s tried and tested, and Developers around the world swear by it. If we only focus on the Property Developer part of Zavanti, it will pleasantly fit in this simple flowchart.

Feasibility

If you don’t know what feasibility is, then you probably don’t need it! It’s what happens before the start of a project. You work out what the project will cost, what loans you will need to finance and how your cashflow will look like. Intuitive and well designed, Feasibility lets you play with several scenarios to explore your options.

Budgeting, Funding and Forecasting

Aptly named, this module can import from Zavanti Feasibility (or Excel) giving you a budget to work with. Variations from the budget require approval, so you’re protected from unknown cost overruns and can track the project down to the smallest expense.

Tendering, Task & Contract Management

Once you have the budget, you move forward to assigning contractors and consultants to manage your project. This can be done directly with the sub-contractors or you can set it up as a head contract - you can even set limits on who can approve what expenses.

Construction

This is where it all starts... at least visually! Zavanti dives into the minute details for managing the construction phase: Invoices from suppliers, variations management, progress claims, vouchers, budget to completion and much more. It’s all the essentials that you wish weren’t needed, but unfortunately are.

Completion and Reporting

Big spreadsheets with informative graphs, Zavanti has all of those reports. It will sum up the project for you and give you an understanding of how you can do it better next time.

How it works with Masterkey

For a Developer, Masterkey handles everything that Zavanti does not: Marketing, CRM, Leads and most importantly, working with external agencies. The only overlap between the two systems is at the point where data flows from Masterkey into Zavanti. Integration is done simply through the Masterkey API and feeds into the appropriate databases in Zavanti. Most companies love the fact that Zavanti, with all the financial data, can be stored on a local server, while Masterkey is hosted online, easily accessible and connected to other online resources.

Masterkey is Zavanti’s Middle East partner, and Zavanti is Masterkey’s Australian partner. The bilateral partnership allows both companies to provide exceptional on-the-ground support for both applications, satisfying local requirements.

Collaboration is key in generating more business, and the Masterkey Connect feature provides real estate professionals with the ability to do just that – cultivate a community and generate more business. Let me show you how to get started.

1. Select Connections Zone

Under the System Admin module, you will see the Connections Zone. Managing connections in Masterkey is all done inside the Connections Zone.

2. Search for companies using Masterkey

When you click search, you will see a list of companies using Masterkey. You can also filter the search with keywords or sort the list by company name. When you find a company that you are interested in, you can invite them right away to start sharing listings.

 

3. Send the invitation

Once you send an invitation, the other party can either accept or decline your invitation. Make sure to write a personal message about how working together can benefit both companies.

You need to decide whether you are sharing Leasing listings, Sales listings or both, and whether the listings already in Masterkey should be shared as well. Click confirm to send the invitation.

Your invitation will now be sent to the other party's inbox and show in their Connections Zone. It's easy to start sharing listings with other companies in Masterkey.