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River Lake specialises in the production of software applications for the UK property profession. Our detailed knowledge of the commercial property sector and collaboration with major UK property agents ensure that River Lake products are ideally suited to your needs.
Our systems are developed in Microsoft Access. As such they are fully integrated with other Office software and do not require any sophisticated network or expensive computer equipment on which to run.
Our philosophy is to provide quality software solutions continually updated to meet your changing requirements.
OUR PRODUCTS
AGENCY
Agency manages the sale or letting of commercial property, including applicant matching, tracking of enquiries and recording details of deals made.
The Agency system provides a comprehensive database of client, occupier, property and applicant information.
Properties being marketed by other agents and other agents' client's requirements can be held. Requirements can be specified in terms of tenure, size, multiple locations and property types. Matching is automatic providing you with a pick list of properties, details of which can either be sent or emailed.
Detailed property particulars can be printed by the system including floor areas, features and digital photographs.
All interest shown in the property can be tracked from viewings and offers made through to the final deal.
Comprehensive details relating to commercial property are maintained including the type of property, description, location, floor areas, tenure, rates information, planning details and digital photographs.
Standard phrases on the terms under which the property is being offered, legal costs etc. can be incorporated directly into your sales particulars.
Details of other agent's properties can be recorded and the terms under which they can be offered (e.g. half commission or for retained clients only).
Board instruction details can be held including the wording and ordering details for the board and slips.
Particulars and general property listings can be printed. Different formats of the particulars and listings are provided to match your requirements. These reports can incorporate digital photographs.
A comparables database is
also held. This is automatically updated with the results of your deals and
can hold reported deals from other agents.
Applicant details and their requirements are held on the system. Retained clients
and other agent's requirements can also be held.
You can record more than
one current requirement for a single applicant. The system also helps you to
verify their requirements are still current.
Matching of applicant requirements to properties can be performed automatically
on entry of a new requirement or property. Alternatively you can produce lists
of matching properties from a general search.
A matching history of properties to applicants is maintained. From these matching records you can send out particulars, arrange viewings, record offers made and progress to a letting or sale.
Key dates such as the date
the details were sent or the date the property was viewed are recorded in the
Agency diary. You can set up your own warning and reminder actions (e.g. to
prompt for follow-up) to appear automatically in the diary whenever a key date
is entered.
Marketing reports to clients can be produced on a periodic basis. These summarize
marketing activity and interest received in the form of details sent, viewings
arranged and offers made. You can also keep track of marketing expenditure.
Fees can be automatically calculated for individual sales or lettings. The fees
are usually calculated as a percentage of the sale price or annual rent although
other bases are supported. Fee billing and projection analyses can be produced.
A wide range of standard reports is available including internal trading reports,
enquiry and viewing reports. The reports can be distributed by email. In addition,
it is simple to export the information to word processors or spreadsheets.
END OF AGENCY SECTION
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
MANAGE
Manage is the River Lake property management system. It is aimed at both the managing agent and owner/investor. The system provides rental and service charge accounting with interest on arrears calculations. Full client accounting and a comprehensive ledger suite is included.
The Manage system provides a comprehensive database of client, property and lease information.
The system provides full rental accounting with rent projections and demand generation. Adjustments to the rent at lease start, on vacate and following rent review are automatically implemented and demanded. Tenant arrears can be easily monitored, debts chased and interest on arrears calculated.
The service charge module allows both on account and in arrears collection of charges. Multiple reconciliation periods are provided producing tenant statements, balancing charges and an analysis of irrecoverable costs.
Full client accounting provides multiple statement formats with sophisticated client bank account controls.
An extensive property and lease database is maintained. Against the property you can record details pertinent to the property type (ITZA zoning for retail properties, maintenance details etc).
Details of both landlord and tenant leases are held including review and renewal dates, rent history and summarised restrictions and covenants.
Key dates such as rent review
dates and lease renewal dates are recorded in the Management diary. You can
set up your own warning and reminder actions to appear automatically in the
diary whenever a key date is entered. Professional work relating to rent reviews
and lease renewals can be tracked through the River Lake Professional system.
Rent due both to landlords and from tenants can be calculated and demands raised
at regular frequencies. Adjustments to the rent at the start of the lease, at
vacate or after a rent review are automatically implemented.
Demands can also be raised
for other types of regular charge such as service charge or insurance.
Service charge apportionment is based on unit occupancy. Any number of different
schedules of apportionment can be held against a property defining the method
by which different expenditure should be recovered.
Budgets can be entered. These are apportioned to each tenant to form the basis of on-account demands.
Service charge reconciliation will raise demands or credit notes for under/over recovery and full reconciliation analyses can be generated to send to tenants.
Sales and purchase invoices, cash receipts and payments and journals can be entered on the system. Direct recovery of non-service charge expenditure is achieved automatically. Sales, purchase and cash daybook reports can be produced.
A debtor analysis details all overdue accounts. Interest on late payment can be calculated and demands raised.
Full transaction enquiries
are available including VAT analysis. Interfaces to other accountancy systems
(eg Sage) are included.
Each client account can be reconciled individually on-demand or as a batch on
a regular basis. Fees due are calculated and detailed client statements can
be produced in a variety of formats.
Sophisticated client bank
account controls can be put in place both for client specific accounts and common
receipts and payments accounts.
You can set up standard letters to be sent to your tenants. For example you
may send letters to remind the tenant of decoration obligations or to chase
overdue accounts
A wide range of standard reports is available including property and lease schedules,
billing forecasts, service charge and accounting analyses. The reports can be
distributed by email. In addition, it is simple to export the information to
word processors or spreadsheets.
END OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SECTION
PROFESSIONAL
Professional is a job tracking system managing any type of professional work including Rent Reviews, Lease Renewals, Acquisitions and Disposal of commercial property.
The Professional system incorporates a database of client, occupier, property and lease information.
You can report on forthcoming lease events and generate letters to occupiers pitching for the business.
Jobs can be raised for any type of professional work. Job progress can be tracked and time spent on each stage recorded. Potential fees are calculated and invoices generated.
Specialised job screens for rent review and lease renewal track the key dates involved in these processes via an integral diary. Counter notices and letters to the landlord or tenant can automatically be produced.
An extensive property and lease database is maintained. Details of both landlord and tenant leases are held including review and renewal dates, rent history and summarized restrictions and covenants.
A comparables database is
also held. This is automatically updated with the results of your deals and
can hold reported deals from other agents.
A database of future rent reviews, lease expiry and break option dates (with
notice periods) is built from information entered in any of the River Lake packages.
You can report on forthcoming
lease events and generate letters to the occupiers pitching for the business.
A series of letters can be generated at different time intervals from the event
or after a certain time from the last letter sent.
Rent review and lease renewal jobs track the key dates involved in these processes
(notice dates, counter notice dates etc.). Counter notices and letters to the
landlord or tenant can automatically be produced. Based on your estimate of
the likely agreed rent, potential fees can be calculated.
Key dates such as counter notice dates and application to court dates are recorded
in the diary. You can set up your own warning and reminder actions to appear
automatically in the diary whenever a key date is entered.
Jobs are raised to track the progress of work being undertaken for a client
and to estimate fees. Jobs can be raised for rent reviews, lease renewal, property
acquisition, disposal etc. In addition, the Agency and Rating systems can also
be set to update jobs enabling you to monitor the status of all work for the
client and to produce consolidated fee reports.
If you wish, you can monitor the progress of each job by setting up a series
of tasks specific to the job type. Each task can have an estimated completion
date and record who completed the task, when it was completed and how many hours
were spent on the task. Disbursements can be recorded against the job.
All jobs have a fee basis, which determines how the fees are calculated. Estimated
fees and fees billed are held. Fees can be billed in total or on an interim
basis. Fees due to be billed can be identified and form the basis of a projected
income report. If you choose to record the time spent on individual tasks then
the fee billed can be compared to a potential fee based on time spent at an
hourly rate.
Fees can be invoiced along
with any disbursements. Payments can be recorded and debts chased.
A wide range of standard reports is available including job progress reports,
fee and comparable rent reports. The reports can be distributed by email. In
addition, it is simple to export the information to word processors or spreadsheets.
END OF PROFESSIONAL SECTION
RATING
Rating is a specialised
system handling liability calculations and appeal tracking in the 1995, 2000
and 2005 Lists for England, Scotland and Wales.
The Rating system provides a comprehensive database of clients, hereditaments
and rating authorities.
Appeals can be raised, their progress tracked via an integral diary and settlement details recorded.
Detailed valuations can be entered including the Valuation Officer's figures. The effects on liability of the appeal are automatically calculated.
The effects on liability of material change, splits, mergers and reconstitutions are all handled.
Liability projections over the life of the List can be made based on your estimates of inflation. Projected liability for the 2005 List can be calculated.
Details of all of your client's hereditaments are held on the system. Both the postal address and address as known by the Valuation Office are recorded.
Also held is the property type, VO category, rating authority, owner, occupier and other information pertinent to rating.
In addition, where you are
acting for a leaseholder, details of the lease including next review dates,
lease end dates and so on can be recorded both for the Form Of Return and potential
Landlord & Tenant business.
Billing authorities, valuation offices, group offices and tribunals are recorded
with addresses, contact names, phone numbers etc.
The rating system is supplied
with all necessary authority details for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland.
Proposals to alter the List based on inaccuracies, change of circumstances,
reconstructions etc. can be recorded and printed by the system.
Given an estimate of the likely revised RV, projected liability, savings and fees are automatically calculated. The progress of the appeal can be tracked using a variety of in-built reports. Key dates are also recorded in the Rates Dairy. You can set up your own warning and reminder actions to appear automatically in the diary whenever a key date (such as a Programme or Hearing date) is entered.
Proposals can be raised en masse where circumstances have affected all properties in a particular area or of a particular type.
The proposals can be printed
in a number of different styles (all acceptable to the VO). If you already have
your own format this can be incorporated into the software package.
Valuation details can be entered against the hereditament and individual proposals.
Both your valuation and the Valuation Officer's figures can be recorded.
The valuations can comprise
of any number of areas with a rate(£/m2) or relativity to a primary rate
for each area. Additions and allowances can be recorded against each area and/or
against the valuation as a whole. The valuation details can be printed in a
variety of formats including one that simply shows your areas. This could be
sent to the VO as the basis of negotiation.
Fees can be automatically calculated for individual appeals. The fee can be
either a percentage of RV, a percentage of the RV reduction achieved or a percentage
of saving. These percentages can be varied according to RV and can include a
fixed fee, a minimum amount and a cap.
Calculations for the 1995 List onwards are supported incorporating all the latest
legislation. Liability is projected for the duration of the List using your
estimates of inflation. These estimates can be changed at any time and all affected
liabilities are recalculated.
There is also an Ad-Hoc
liability calculator allowing you to test out different appeal scenarios or
provide liability and saving projections for prospective clients.
Splits and mergers are one of the more complex areas of rating, particularly
when it comes to liability calculations.
Multiple splits or mergers for an original hereditament can be entered with the effect on liability being automatically calculated. A reconstruction history is maintained enabling you to track back to the original hereditaments from the current (or vice versa).
Proposed splits and mergers
can be entered onto the system with the potential effect on liability being
calculated based on your estimates of the revised rateable values. The proposals
can be printed with all original hereditaments being listed.
You can set up standard letters to be sent to your clients or authorities. For
example you may send letters to thank a client for a new instruction, inform
them of the progress of their appeals etc. You may send letters to authorities
requesting proposal acknowledgement, chasing refunds etc. These letters can
be produced on demand or generated automatically by the system when certain
events occur.
A wide range of standard reports is available including progress reports, consolidated
liability projections and savings reports. These reports can be distributed
by email. In addition, it is simple to export the information to word processors
or spreadsheets for you to design your own reports.
END OF RATING SECTION
PRICING
Software Licence
The software is provided on the basis of a non-exclusive licence. There is a one off licence cost that is dependent upon the number of users.
Entry level pricing:
Agency System is 2500 GB POUNDS
Professional System is 1500 GB POUNDS
Manage System 2500 GB POUNDS
Rating System is 2500 GB POUNDS
There is an annual maintenance charge of 20 percent of the licence cost. This
charge covers telephone support, product upgrades and enhancements brought about
by changes in legislation.
Installation of the product at your main site is carried out by our staff at no extra cost. Installation at additional sites is charged at 300 pounds per day.
In order to ensure a swift and successful implementation of the River Lake system, a day's consultancy is included in the licence fee. This covers configuration of the system in liaison with senior staff and planning the training and implementation timetable.
We believe that training is essential. Training in all aspects of the use of the system is provided by our experienced staff at your premises.
It is often possible to
bring across some or all of your data from another computer system. Conversions
are separately quoted for following detailed discussion of your requirements.
END OF PRICING SECTION
Contact Information
Telephone 01442 828929
FAX to 0870 7058129
or Write to
River Lake Software Ltd
81-82 Akeman Street
Tring
Herts
HP23 6AF
or
Email david bliss at david.bliss@riverlake.co.uk
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