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Artcraft does “a little bit of everything” as a property management company based in Glen Allen, Virginia. With a footprint that also includes Florida, they’ve been in business for more than 30 years, managing a diverse portfolio. They transitioned to AppFolio back in 2011 with just 1,500 units. Today, Artcraft manages over 4,000 units, including affordable housing, newer luxury construction, senior properties, conventional residential properties, and more. President Alethea Parker shared how their company has evolved over the past 12 years, with the help of AppFolio.
A Thriving Partnership,
12 Years and Counting: Artcraft Management and AppFolio
Artcraft has seen a lot of growth over the past 30 years. As their portfolio diversified and business needs evolved, it was clear that the company needed both efficiencies in their day-to-day operations and a trusted partner that could support them.
“I feel like we’ve been a part of AppFolio’s growth as much as they’ve been a part of our growth. We onboarded in 2011 and since then, AppFolio has just kept adding new things constantly. It wasn’t like we had to wait months or years for an update or addition. It was happening on a constant basis, so we really liked that. Our transition to AppFolio was seamless compared to our prior transition. There was a lot of customer support. AppFolio has always reached out to us to ask us about new products they’re working on: We’ve done a lot of beta. We’ve been really happy.”
From Manual to Managed: The Ease of Automated Invoice Tracking
In property management, it can be challenging to organize and track invoices. This is especially true when your portfolio has seen growth, with units across multiple states and owners. Manual bill entry did not provide the Artcraft team with the company-wide visibility they needed, but now, with a purchase order system and a streamlined dashboard for invoices, they’re able to stay ahead of invoicing and accounts payable.
“In the past, it was challenging to track invoices and quickly see what was (and was not) paid. Now, we’re getting most of our invoices through Smart Bill Entry, saving significant time for everybody who touches the bill. We now require purchase orders every time something is ordered. Vendors are required to put their invoices in AppFolio, and it’s all very visible.”
Greater Peace of Mind with Renters’ Insurance Tracking
Even with the best of intentions and policies, making sure your residents are actually insured can be a tall task. Taking manual tracking and double-checking out of the equation is critical for ensuring your properties have the proper coverage at any given time. This used to be a source of great worry for Alethea for good reason, as she explains:
“Whenever something happened — if we had a fire — I would hold my breath like, ‘Did they have insurance or did they not?’ even though managers were supposed to be tracking it.
With AppFolio, we have the visibility we need in the dashboard. It takes all that manual ‘trying to figure it out’ out of it. And because we have this product, we can place our residents on insurance if they don’t bring us their own plan. Now with our conventional properties, we’re more like 95% compliant now, where I’m pretty sure it was less than 50% before.”
Instant Insights: Reporting Made Quick and Easy
Pulling various metrics, data, and information from multiple platforms and tools is very time consuming when preparing for an owners’ update or an internal performance presentation. Having one powerful centralized system, with reporting features, frees up Alethea’s team for more optimizations and less busy work.
“Before AppFolio, none of our reports worked, and we had to go out and pay somebody to write all our reports. Then, we were using Excel, but not everyone is great with Excel. We’d finagle columns and formatting and drop in notes. Now, we can just do all that in AppFolio. It’s just a one-page report that shows collections, occupancy, occupancy trends, work orders pending, how many applications were received, etc. Now, I’m able to customize reports. I love it.”
A Customer Service Team That Listens, Supports, and Solves
There’s nothing more frustrating than having an urgent issue and not being able to reach a customer support team. Unavailable or unhelpful representatives do not foster trust, much less success. One aspect of the partnership with AppFolio that the Artcraft team depends on is prompt support when updates or issues arise. Alethea shares her experience further:
“I absolutely love the AppFolio customer service team, and I know if I reach out to them, whatever problems I have will be fixed. I feel like I’m noticed and heard. It’s about making sure to really listen, hear, and adjust. AppFolio does really well with that.”
Continuous Improvements for an Ever-Evolving Industry
As the team at Artcraft has grown into managing new property types across a wider region, it has been critical to have a provider that supports unique and evolving business needs.
“AppFolio has come a long way. As we grew, it was almost like AppFolio knew what we needed and would add it. We added a couple of properties that included a handful of commercial units. And all of the sudden AppFolio says, ‘We can do commercial units!’ When we first took them on, there weren't any student housing tools in AppFolio. They adjusted to that, too, so now we continue to do student housing. I am really looking forward to the day when we can get the whole AI package, too. I’m really excited about all those changes.”
An Integrated Leasing CRM That Makes Sense
Another continuous improvement? Artcraft was a part of the testing, beta workflows, and — ultimately — the rollout of the new Leasing CRM. With continuous add-ons and improvements, AppFolio has proven to be a scalable partner in multiple ways, which has further decreased the need for manual work.
“Before, we had to do everything manually outside of the system. Now, we have a Leasing CRM that tracks every interaction. When we’re having marketing and leasing challenges, I sit and look through the guest cards and listen to some of the calls to get a feel for where any issues might be. It makes it possible to get that high-level view and take a look at how our folks are operating.”
A New Way of Working Efficiently
Juggling multiple providers, invoices, dashboards, and metrics is inefficient and time-consuming. Artcraft Management saved time and identified opportunities and trends more quickly by streamlining their property management software and technology solutions. Intuitive and clear visibility into all of their properties and operations was a game-changer. As President, Alethea’s reporting and oversight tasks have become far more productive since switching to AppFolio:
“My goal has been to have as much as possible inside one system. I feel like that’s the way to go. Instead of a manager having five different check-ins, passwords, authentication codes, and texts, just being able to log into AppFolio is a big deal.”
Curating a Culture of Care and Community
Having everything they need all in one platform, with easy-to-view dashboards and easy-to-export reporting, has allowed the team at Artcraft Management to grow and evolve over the years.
Beyond growth, the efficiencies gained and time saved have enabled the team at Artcraft to put their attention and efforts into passion projects and culture-building. For example, they prioritize giving back to the community and getting to personally know, understand, and provide excellent service to their residents and owners.
“One of our main driving goals is treating people right. We housed and funded a Boys & Girls Club on property, and had after-school care for our kids. We’ve worked with different groups in the community to provide assistance for residents who need it.”
Alethea Parker
President, Artcraft Management, Inc.
4,000+ Units
