Propriety prowess: McDougal Companies executives had a clear idea for a one-stop software program, but they couldn't find it--so they designed it themselves.

For many companies, customized software programs are often the way to go. But because management and staff are most familiar with operational processes of their own companies, choosing to develop a proprietary software system in-house can be the most effective and affordable solution.

Such was the case several years ago when Mike McDougal, President, McDougal Companies Ltd., Lubbock, Texas, set forth to create a streamlined leasing system to be integrated within the company's existing property management system.

McDougal Companies, which operates 19 communities with 3,300 units, particularly in the student-housing niche, wanted a one-stop software program for all leasing aspects. The goal was to eliminate paperwork and the need for staff to input resident information every time a prospect entered a McDougal community. At times, the leasing staff was entering the information into as many as six different programs and then updating each with every transaction or visit.

"When you are a resident spending the day looking for apartments, you don't want to have to spend a lot of time filling out paperwork everywhere you go," said Suzanne Comer, Vice President of Corporate Services, McDougal Companies. "You want to be able to see the apartments."

Today, one guest card can follow the applicant to any McDougal community. The idea behind the electronic guest card is more than just name, address and phone number. It has the capability of being a 24/7, life-long community pass, enabling residents to come and go through the community as well as being a conduit for information between management and resident.

The proprietary software is integrated with McDougal Companies' third-party screening software and lease writing software, which enables leasing agents to enter applicant information into one system and take a resident from guest card to lease.

The software also allows McDougal Companies to maintain marketing research about residents and prospects and generate reports that help it determine what part of the country (through ZIP codes) its prospects are coming from and which marketing message or source drew them to the community.

"It gives us a wide range of valuable demographic information, such as age and where residents are moving from," Comer said. "This way, we can determine the most effective places to do our advertising."

Birth of a Great Idea

"It is something Mike started thinking about a while back, based on a conversation he had with a screening company representative during a conference," said Jeffery F. Lowry, CAPS, Senior Vice President, Multifamily Housing, McDougal Companies. "But when we went looking for a company that could provide this type of truly integrated software, we didn't find the product we were looking for."

The idea stalled, Lowry said, until early 2002 when McDougal Companies found its own program designer and began a step-by-step process of designing a Web-based leasing system.

The proprietary software has not only saved time for staff and residents, it has enhanced what is already a strong reputation that McDougal Companies is cutting edge in its technology development in Lubbock, home of Texas Tech University and the West Texas Region.

"Being from a generation that has grown up with computers, our student residents love it," said Clifton Wilkinson, Vice President of Business Development, McDougal Companies.

Wilkinson said one primary benefit to having property management software developed in-house is that McDougal Companies owns the product and can modify it quickly and easily to meet its specific needs.

Lowry said that the company realized immediate cost savings simply because it doesn't have to spend the $5,000 to $6,000 annually to purchase the user licenses for its communities that it would have had if it purchased a third-party software product.

"It has expanded beyond the guest card to now being able to offer many other functions on the menu bar," Wilkinson said. By working with onsite staff, the McDougal Companies' programmers effectively created user-friendly tools that meet the needs of its staff.

The system now has six modules and is seamlessly integrated with Blue Moon software, which generates the NAA Lease and the Texas Apartment Association leases used by McDougal Companies, and it is integrated with McDougal's national, third-party screening company. Other modules include an online application, a make-ready board and an online work-order system that reflects real-time availability of apartments.

"If a prospect goes to our Web site, the system can see exactly what units are available because it is updated based on notices given, move-outs and dates units that will be made ready," Wilkinson said. "Real-time means if our customers see a unit that is available and apply for it, it is theirs."

The system also has automatic e-mail response capability built in, which sends a follow-up e-mail to prospects. It also can send blast e-mails with details on special deals, announcements from McDougal Companies or a personal message, such as recognizing a resident's birthday.

"To help with the learning curve, we were careful not to add every module at once," Wilkinson said. "We added the modules one by one to test the software for accuracy and ease of use. As a module was added we had a brief training session to introduce the process, and after that, our staff had full access to the system as well as the ability to make any enhancement suggestions for the software. Our next goal is to design a yield management system."

Lowry said McDougal Companies has been contacted by other apartment management firms about purchasing the leasing software.

About McDougal Companies

McDougal Companies, Lubbock, Texas, operates 19 communities with 3,300 units, particularly in the student-housing niche.

Future Direction

Following are results from the National Multi Housing Council's second annual Property Management Software Scorecard, issued Nov. 1, 2005.

* Users rated accounting/general ledger as the most desirable candidate for future integration into property management systems.

* Web-based users and desktop users have different future integration needs, with desktop users focused almost exclusively on accounting functionality, and Web-based users seeking an expanded array of budget and billing services.

* The 2005 list of future needs is significantly different from the 2004 list, when automated rent payment solutions and resident/credit screening systems took the top two positions. Neither of those appears on the 2005 wish list. The only items that were listed as highly desirable in 2004 and 2005 are budget and forecasting and utility billing and tracking.