Introduction

We are elated to welcome you to your LoftyWorks journey. This Help Center article covers the top items you will need to accomplish when you set up your LoftyWorks account for the first time. Feel free to revisit this resource any time you need a refresher or want to come back to basics. 

Summary

• Understanding the LoftyWorks Language
• Integrations
• Chart of Accounts

Understanding the LoftyWorks Language

Every business has its own way of naming things. To help you through your LoftyWorks learning, let's get aligned on the things you'll use the most.  

Workspace

Your Workspace tells LoftyWorks who you are. You should set this up before you interact with any homeowners or tenants via the CRM. What you enter here will be used all throughout LoftyWorks and your communications. You will also configure whether you are using the system as a Landlord or as a Property Manager here. 

Things you should have on hand:

• Company Logo
• Companies Name and Address

Navigate to Settings > Workspace

Workspace Type

Since Property Managers and Landlords will interact with the software in a different way, we have implemented a toggle that will cater the system to each type of need. Scroll down to the bottom of Settings > Workspace to find this toggle. 

*IMPORTANT - we do not recommend changing this toggle once you have started to use LoftyWorks. It will change your workspace setup and you could lose data. Only make this selection the first time you are setting up your account. 

To make it really simple, ask yourself: do I need to pay any homeowners out, or am I just managing my own properties? 

If you are paying homeowners out, choose Agent. If you are managing your own properties, choose Landlord. 

If you like details, here's a breakdown of the differences:

*If you have defined yourself as an Agent, you must set up your Default Management Fee. To do so, go to Finance > Default Management Fee. 

What is a Property?

LoftyWorks supports multiple different kinds of units and unit mixes. A Property is any individual unit that is available to rent. You might call this a unit, a property, a door, an apartment, a condo, a townhouse, etc. As long as you're in LoftyWorks, you'll call it a Property. 

If you have multiple units in one community, such as an apartment, office building or other multi-family building, you will link them together with a Parent Property. 

You can find your Properties or Parent Properties on the left-hand side of the screen. 

Example hierarchy of a Property:

Example hierarchy of multiple units under a Parent Property.

Now that you understand the language we use for properties, here are some resources to help you Add Your First Property or Add Your First Parent Property.

Contracts

In LoftyWorks, Contracts hold all the details of your tenancy. This is where you manage the contract length, the rent amount and frequency, the tenants, the documents, and more.

We highly recommend setting up a Recurring Invoice when you add the Contract. This will help you stay on track with the rent payments you need to follow up on.

You can find your Contracts on the left-hand side of the screen.

You can also find a Contract by opening up the Property it is associated with. 

Feel good? When you're finished here, head over to Adding your First Contract!

Integrations

LoftyWorks integrates with all of your favorite tools to streamline your Property Management experience.

Some of these integrations take some time to set up, because you will need to set up an account with the vendor. For example, in order to collect Rent in the Tenant Portal, you will need to set up an account with National Processing, which can take 1-2 weeks. 

To start integrating LoftyWorks to your favorite tools, go to Settings > Integrations.

This Help Center article is filled with guides to help you get started: LoftyWorks Integrations

Here are the most important ones to get started:

• National Processing Integration
  • Allows you to collect rent through the Tenant Portal. Can take 1-2 weeks to set up. 
• Checkbook Integration
  • Processes outgoing payments. Required if you need to pay out Landlords or Vendors.
• TransUnion Integration
  • Screen your Tenants and share the results with your Landlords. Has a vetting process if you are signing up for the first time. 

Chart of Accounts

A Chart of Accounts is a list of all financial accounts that you use in your Property Management business. This structured framework helps in the recording, categorization, and reporting of financial data and transactions. When you are starting your LoftyWorks account, we recommend taking some time to set up your Chart of Accounts to ensure that your finances stay organized down the line. 

You can find your Chart of Accounts by going to Accounting > Chart of Accounts. 

Questions?

Thank you for taking time to invest in your LoftyWorks learning. We hope you enjoy our best-in-class Property Management software. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, quips, queries, or quandaries, please email support@loftyworks.com.