Residents and property manager benefit from Velocity Convergent Billing
(August 26, 2008) — Velocity, a leading provider of resident utility billing and invoice processing services for the multifamily industry, today announced that its popular revenue-enhancing convergent bill is now available for online review and payment by apartment residents.
With Velocity Convergent Billing Services, residents can now go to their online portal to review and pay their rent and other charges, including utilities (electricity, gas, water and sewer), service fees, amenity fees, and vacant unit cost recovery, on a single online bill. This type of self-service approach also allows residents to see their utility consumption, enabling them to make lifestyle adjustments and better control their expenses.
From the property management perspective, the integration of convergent billing and online access gets all charges in front of residents in a timely, unified manner and improves total collections, while the ability for residents to pay online improves collection times.
“It’s about improving the resident experience and property operations at the same time,” stated Ashley Glover, president, Velocity. “Velocity Convergent Billing is an amenity for residents — proven to increase resident satisfaction. Additionally, our studies have shown that properties lift overall resident collections an average of three to five percent by providing a convergent bill that includes resident ledger and utility charges.”
The online presentment of the Velocity convergent bill is powered by CrossFire, another solution from RealPage. CrossFire serves more than 4,000 communities with integrated systems to manage marketing and leasing over the phone, online and in the office. CrossFire offers a powerful resident portal that provides online rent payments, online service requests, online renewals and now integrated convergent bill presentment.
“Velocity’s Convergent Billing, combined with the Online Living system from CrossFire, presents property operation teams a state-of-the-art platform to facilitate resident self-service, increase resident satisfaction and improve NOI,” declared Michael Fortinberry, president of CrossFire.
Communities can also use CrossFire Online Living to communicate resident notices and community events. With Velocity Convergent Billing, the online experience has just gotten richer for residents and property managers.
To schedule an interview with a RealPage executive, please contact Lisa Bascom at lisa.bascom@realpage.com or (972) 820-3246.
About Velocity
Velocity is the fastest growing resident utility billing and invoice processing company in the multifamily industry. Serving more than 2,000 multifamily communities in the United States, Velocity’s innovative approach leverages technology and property management system integration to reduce work at the site and increase property revenues. The Velocity product line includes resident convergent and utility billing with built-in compliance and comprehensive reports and auditing; utility invoice processing for accurate, timely handling, rate and consumption monitoring, streamlined payment approvals, and comprehensive reporting; and utility submetering with end-to-end meter installation, maintenance, and service. For more information, visit www.realpage.com/velocity.
About CrossFire
CrossFire is a comprehensive platform of marketing and leasing systems—from generating new prospects through custom websites to intensive lead management, all the way to electronic leasing and resident retention. CrossFire has integrated tools for all stages of the resident lifecycle — Leads, Leasing and Living. OnCall, Online and OnSite, CrossFire powers the most advanced leasing systems in multi-family. For more information, visit www.realpage.com/crossfire.
About RealPage
Located in Carrollton, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, RealPage provides products and services to more than 20,000 apartment communities across the United States. Its five on-demand product lines include OneSite® property management systems that automate the leasing, renting, management, and accounting of conventional, affordable, and student housing properties; CrossFire® sales and marketing systems that boost occupancy and build retention; MPF YieldStar® asset optimization systems that maximize asset valuation and investment return; Velocity™ utility and billing services that accelerate payments for resident charges and LeasingDesk™ point of lease systems that streamline the leasing process. For more information, please call 1-87-REALPAGE or visit www.realpage.com.