How are you managing your documents? Are you still using Google Drive to store contracts and your email to send reports to investors?
Many firms still use generic file storage to manage documents, rather than real estate document management software designated for real estate.
But without a document management solution, they’re spending valuable time and resources that they could invest in closing more deals. They also increase the risk of human errors, misplaced and lost files.
Proper investor document management is a crucial part of your investment operations. It improves productivity, investor relations, team collaboration, and the ability to scale while keeping operational costs down.
When selecting a document management system (DMS), it is important to know what features and capabilities you should look for.
A good DMS should possess the necessary features and capabilities to simplify your workflow, share documents, and improve your investment management abilities to raise capital faster.
This blog post covers the essential features for any real estate document management system. These features are essential for efficient investment management operations.
Designed for real estate investment management
As we mentioned, generic document storage solutions (like Google Drive or Dropbox) lack the capability to manage investment-related documents effectively.
Your DMS should be able to classify and differentiate between document types, such as subscription documents, K-1s, and distribution notices.
Additionally, it should be able to associate the different documents with the relevant entities, current and prospective investors, assets, and deals.
This categorization feature lets you quickly search, filter, and sort documents (or document groups) based on these attributes.
CRM Integration with document access from investor profiles
An investor CRM is a platform that enables firms to manage investor relations. From the CRM, firms can:
- Manage their investors’ information and contact details.
- Interact with investors and leads.
- Handle investor requests, assign tasks, and send documents.
For a more detailed overview of what is an investor CRM read our article on “9 capabilities your real estate investor CRM must have”.
Your investor document management solution must integrate with the CRM as part of one seamless platform. From the CRM, you should be able to easily access documents related to an investor, investment, or asset from their profile.
Investor Portal Integration and e-signatures
The Investor Portal is also an inseparable part of your document management. The portal is the investors’ point of access to their relevant documents and information. It’s where they can access data rooms and brochures, sign legal documents, get and download reports, and more.
By integrating your DMS with your Investor Portal, you can control which documents your investors can see and access on their portal, which makes investor management that much easier.
Enabling your investors to access documents themselves proves to create substantial benefits:
- Fundraising operations are faster and simpler when investors go through the subscription process independently and e-sign documents from within the platform.
- It increases trust and transparency and eliminates potential friction with investors, who have clear and immediate visibility of all their investments at all times.
- It saves valuable time and resources for your team by reducing the number of investor requests for information and documents.
Smart bulk Uploads (Document Collections)
Manually uploading and classifying multiple documents takes up a lot of time.
The smart upload feature automates document uploads so that whole document collections are uploaded, automatically identified, and classified within seconds.
All you have to do is to “drag and drop,” and the system will also categorize and assign the documents based on investor name, document type, and entity.
Uploading and assigning document collections with Agora
This smart feature streamlines your workflow, saves you time, and ensures that documents are uploaded accurately.
Additionally, you can later track all uploaded document collections in one place. You can also filter collections by document type, entity, or effective date.
Advanced Search and Filtering
Your DMS should enable you to find any document or group of documents instantly.
The search and filtering function should search by name or date and allow you to filter by document type, investor profile, entity, or any other related attribute.
This feature allows you to find the documents you need quickly and efficiently, saving you time and improving your productivity.
Privacy and security
A DMS inherently offers more privacy and security than sending documents over email.
According to the FBI’s 2022 IC3 Report, Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams accounted for 27% of all cybercrime-related financial losses.
When using cloud-based infrastructure, documents are protected by the cloud’s security measures, depending on the cloud service provider, be it Amazon AWS or other common cloud solutions.
The cloud is highly secured and backed up regularly to ensure availability and data corruption and prevent cyber attacks.
Research different document management solutions and ask the right questions
Choosing the suitable DMS for your investment management needs is crucial.
By selecting a robust DMS with the right features and capabilities, you can increase your productivity, enhance your investment management capabilities, and stay competitive in the real estate investment management industry.
Check out Agora’s document management software
Agora’s investor document management solution is part of a comprehensive investment solution designed specifically for real estate firms and includes all the essential features discussed above.
Agora’s software covers all investment management needs for real estate investment firms, GPs, and syndicators, providing a seamless experience for firms and their investors.
Are you interested to learn more?
