AFrame Real Estate Transaction Management Software Review
Are you struggling with what software to use to manage your transaction coordinator or real estate business? With so many different software options out there it can be overwhelming! As someone who has closed over 1,000 real estate transactions and tried many different software, today I am reviewing the current software I am using, AFrame! AFrame works for real estate agents, teams, and transaction coordinators. In this post, we’ll go over the top things I look for in real estate transaction management software, some of my favorite features of AFrame, and how I use them to make my day-to-day easier as a TC. Don’t feel like reading? Check out the above video!
The core 3 items I look for in ANY transaction coordinator software:
Email templates with merge/smart fields - This is HUGE. Fillable email templates with merge fields are what cut my new contract processing time down from about an hour to 20-30 minutes. What exactly is it? AFrame gives you the ability to create custom email templates with merge/smart fields to fill in any transaction-related data for you. For example, if you create an email template that says “Hi $buyername” (this is the smart field), when you go to create an email within a transaction, as long as you have entered a buyer name, the fillable email template will complete this smart field and the email will populate to say “Hi John” (or whatever the buyer name is). This is not only a huge timesaver but also helps eliminate typos or human error. Let the computer do some of the work!
Centralized dashboard to see all of my daily tasks - For me personally, I need to be able to see what I need to work on each day in one space, as compact as possible. I like that AFrame’s ‘Daily Focus’ tab, allows me to see all of my transaction and non-transaction-related tasks that need to be done each day in one place. This way, I don’t have to click in and out of multiple tabs or individual transactions.
Easy to use and customize task templates - When you first start working in any transaction management system, you will want to create task templates for each of the main services you offer (For example - buyer contract, lease, listing, etc.). A task template is a living version of your checklist. You can create tasks for each of the items on your checklist and create templates to reuse over and over again. These task templates are intuitive and can update based on other data you put into the transaction such as key dates. These task templates are what I apply to each transaction and that is how the system knows what to tell me to do each day on my dashboard. For me, these must be as easy as possible to set up and also easy to duplicate and customize for different agents or brokerages I am working with. AFrame definitely has this covered!
Some of my favorite AFrame features:
Email integration - If I had to pick a top 4th or 5th feature I look for in a transaction management software this would be it. AFrame integrates with Gmail and gives you the ability to send emails directly from your Gmail domain through an AFrame transaction. This takes using email templates to the next level (No need to copy and paste your templates into Gmail!). This also allows all SENT emails through the software to stay in the file so you can easily have a record of when you sent emails and what was sent. It also helps me eliminate distractions by being able to close my main email tab when I am doing focused task list work.
Easy team integration - As someone who has been expanding my team in the past year, this was huge for me. AFrame makes it super easy to add and remove team members from a particular transaction, assign tasks to each other, and see the notes anyone has made. This is huge for creating a seamless experience if one of us is unavailable and another team member needs to step in. Also, the team setup was super simple and you can view all of the team’s transactions, tasks, and stats on the main dashboard and daily focus tabs.
Goal tracking - Anytime I can delete an extra Google Sheet/excel tab or cancel another software is a huge win for me! I am all about consolidating your real estate business into as few systems as possible. AFrame goal tracking lets you set goals right in your transaction management software and also tracks them for you! You can track your individual and/or team goals, and set goals by transaction count, volume, or gross commission amount. AND - you can always get a quick glimpse at your goals right on the main dashboard!
Prospecting features - This is something I have started to utilize as a transaction coordinator, but I think is an even more important key feature for agents. Are you using a CRM that is separate from your transaction management system? With prospecting tracking and features in AFrame you can do it all in one! The AFrame prospecting tab allows you to monitor contacts, leads, and lead generation activity.
Calendar/calendar integration - If you are someone who lives and breathes your Google Calendar, you will love this! AFrame integrates with Google Calendar, iPhone/iPad, Apple iCal, Outlook 2007, and more so you can see all of your key dates due that day. I love that it gives me a quick snapshot each morning of what important transaction deadlines we have that day. I also love that by having it on my Google Calendar it is super easy to access quickly on my phone if I am on the go.
Ability to create a miscellaneous task - I made a whole video about how much I love this feature! Watch it here. In some other transaction management software, to create a new task you MUST tie it to a transaction. However, as I think consolidating is important, I hate having a non-transaction-related task on a separate to-do list. Lucky for me, AFrame has thought of this and allows you to create miscellaneous tasks right on your dashboard that DO NOT have to be associated with a particular transaction or contact. Example - “Schedule dentist appt” or “Schedule CPA meeting for taxes” - add your personal and business-related tasks to your dashboard to truly keep your to-do list organized and in one place!
Filtering and prioritizing on the dashboard - I saved the best for last because, for me, this is also a top 5 feature I prefer/require. If you watched my time-blocking video, you know I like to work by priority of the tasks and by task type. Having a dashboard that makes it super easy to filter by priority level, and search for keywords or agent names or addresses makes my time-blocking infinitely more efficient. It also helps me make sure nothing important falls through the cracks. Regardless of HOW you like to time-block, the AFrame dashboard makes it easy for you to do so!
Overall, I am very happy with AFrame and I know they continue to develop more features and functionality. Have you used AFrame in your real estate or transaction coordinator business? What is your favorite feature? Comment below!
Have an AFrame-related question? Leave me a comment!
