Custom Transaction Statuses, Improved Search & More

On Thursday, we released improvements that will quicken your workflow and better customize Pipeline to your office.

Improved Doc Uploads
You can now upload docs by dragging them directly into Pipeline. To drag-and-drop documents, you’ll drag files from a folder on your computer and drop them into Upload Docs.

uploaddocs

Along with drag-and-drop uploads, you can now upload multiple documents into a transaction without needing to assign them from Working Docs.

Better Search
We’ve improved the search feature to help you better find the exact transactions you’re looking for. Now, you can search by specific terms like buyer, seller, full agent name, and more. The video below gives you an in-depth look at the new search options.

Custom Transaction Statuses
You can customize transaction statuses to fit your office’s workflow even better. Watch the video below to see how you can rename transaction statuses or create new ones entirely.

More Awesome Sauce
Last but not least, you can now show or hide all comments in Working and Unreviewed with a single click. Along with this, individual docs in transactions can now be edited in-line without leaving the page.

More Checklist Improvements

Last month we updated checklists to include due dates on tasks. We’ve gotten some really positive feedback and made our due dates even better as a result.

Starting today, you can view your soonest due tasks from the dashboard. You can also receive a daily email reminder of what’s on your task list or add your tasks to your preferred calendar: iCal, Outlook, or Google Calendar. Here’s a video that walks through the changes:

We also gave account administrators additional options with checklist permissions. Now you have the option to let a non-admin user add checklists to transactions they’re assigned to. You can enable that permission by editing their profile under [Admin] and [Manage Users].

Search and Assign Agents, Easily Create Checklist Templates

Over the weekend we released some changes to Pipeline to make everyday tasks easier. These improvements let you better manage and assign agents, and more easily create checklist templates.

Agent Assignments
Now, you can also search for agents when assigning them to transactions. Here’s a video that walks through the new agent assignment feature:

Duplicate Checklist Templates
You can now duplicate an existing checklist template by clicking [Actions] and [Copy Template].

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All tasks will be carried over to the new checklist where you can change the location, checklist name, and create additional tasks as needed.

You can also reorder your checklists within a transaction by clicking and holding the title. Newly created checklists will appear at the top.

2012 In Review

We started 2012 off with fireworks by launching a completely redesigned Paperless Pipeline. The new design established consistency across the application so agents and staff can learn something once—and apply that to many tasks throughout Paperless Pipeline.

Last year also brought big improvements to several key areas of Pipeline:

  • Document previews are now high-resolution, really fast, and work with touch-screen phones and tablets.
  • PDFs that are out-of-date or otherwise damaged are now automatically upgraded and repaired.
  • Pipeline’s servers can now be monitored on the new status page.

The number of real estate offices who rely on Paperless Pipeline for their transactions nearly doubled over the past year. Not bad for a product that already has something of a “cult following.”

With 2012 behind us, it’s time to think about our resolutions for the rest of 2013:

Resolution 1: Big improvements
Now that Pipeline is consistent and easy to use, it’s time to focus on building new things. The first of those improvements, checklist due dates, launched last week. Our team is already underway on more features we know your staff and agents are going to love. I’m really excited about the things we’re going to build together this year.

Resolution 2: Smart communication
We will focus on improving how we talk to offices who are newly interested, those who are just getting started, and even those who have been with us for years. This doesn’t necessarily mean more communication, it means being more thoughtful about how and why we communicate with you all.

We’re excited to spend another year with you…and motivated to make it the best yet.

Checklist Due Dates Are Here!

When you log in to Pipeline on Thursday, you’ll notice some big changes…

Checklist Due Dates
Now you can add due dates to your checklist tasks. Use them to track deadlines on transaction paperwork, contingencies, agents’ tasks, and anything else that has a due date.

Tasks Page
The Tasks page is an overview of all overdue and upcoming tasks from across your transactions. It’s color-coded so you can easily see what’s upcoming, due today or tomorrow, and overdue.

Better Checklist Template Organization
When creating or editing a template, you can now drag and drop your items to easily reorder them.

Our video takes a closer look at these features.

These features are a result of your great feedback over the last year. So, thank you!

IE7 Support and Google Chrome Frame

On January 7th, 2013, we will be discontinuing support for Internet Explorer (IE) versions 7 and earlier so we can spend more time making Paperless Pipeline better for everyone.

Why We’re No Longer Supporting IE7
Paperless Pipeline is built using modern web technologies and many of these technologies aren’t compatible with legacy browsers like IE7. Currently, we commit a large chunk of our development time to supporting older browsers, which takes away from the time we’re able to spend improving Paperless Pipeline and introducing new features.

Typical day of Pipeline Development: 6 hours improvements, 2 hours supporting IE7

By discontinuing support for older browsers like Internet Explorer 7, we’ll be able to dedicate more time to making Paperless Pipeline better, faster, and more useful.

Will This Affect You?
If you aren’t sure what browser you’re currently using, visit: http://www.whatbrowser.org/

If you’re using Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer 8 or higher—you don’t need to do anything. You can stop reading right here…

If You Use Internet Explorer 7
If you are using Internet Explorer 7 or below, we recommend you upgrade your browser to the latest version of Internet Explorer.

Download and install the latest version of Internet Explorer here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/internet-explorer/download-ie

We know there are business reasons why some folks need to continue using Internet Explorer 7, however. If that’s the case, you’re in luck. Google has a product called Chrome Frame that allows older versions of Internet Explorer to work more like a modern web browser.

What is Google Chrome Frame?
Google Chrome Frame is a free plug-in for Internet Explorer. It speeds up your web experience and provides advanced features for sites like Paperless Pipeline that support it.

Chrome Frame doesn’t negatively affect sites that rely on older versions of Internet Explorer, either, so it’s safe to install for everyone.

To Install Google Chrome Frame
If you’re an IE user that has decided to install Google Chrome Frame, you can get started here: http://www.google.com/chromeframe

You may have to restart your computer after the installation.

Questions?
We think Google Chrome Frame is a great solution for offices and individuals stuck using older versions of Internet Explorer for one reason or another.

If you have questions or concerns about your browser, please contact help@paperlesspipeline.com.

Previews in Office Docs

PDF previews are now available in Office Docs so you can view your commonly used forms, disclosures, and training materials in a single click.

To take a quick look at a form, click on the doc name and the preview will expand below it. Page through the document by clicking your keyboard arrows and jump to specific pages by typing the page number.

To download a form, click on [Actions] and [Download] or scroll to the bottom of the preview and click on [Download Doc]. Use Alt + click to open the PDF in your browser’s default PDF viewer, or Shift + click to open the doc in another window.

Previews, Shortcuts, and Big Fancy Servers

We’ve received really great feedback about the new document previews. The best part is seeing how easy it is for new agents (and new offices) to instantly understand how to open and review a doc in Pipeline.

We also received feedback from some of our long-time users who relied on PDF downloads to review documents. With the new document previews, you had to click twice to download the PDF—once on the document name and again on Download Doc.

We think reducing the number of clicks it takes to accomplish something is a big deal, so we whipped up a solution as quickly as we could.

First, we added an arrow that appears when you hover over a document name. Clicking that arrow will pop out the document using the new document previews.

In addition, you can now hold the Alt key on your keyboard while clicking the document name and the document will download instantly. If it’s a PDF, it will probably open in your browser’s native PDF Viewer (depending on your browser settings).

You may have also noticed a faster, more responsive Pipeline this week. That’s because our infrastructure got an upgrade over the weekend and we now have nearly double the servers powering Paperless Pipeline. Hold on to your hats!

iPhone and iPad-friendly Document Previews

We recently revamped PDF previews to make it even easier to view and work on documents within Paperless Pipeline. And, they’re now fully functional on your iPhone and iPad so you can review, assign, and follow-up on documents anywhere.

With the new document previews, you can:

  • Jump to a specific page by typing the page number on your keyboard.
  • Flip through the pages by clicking your keyboard arrows.
  • Open the document in a new window (handy for comparing two documents).
  • Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the document.

Here’s a peek at what you’ll find next time you log in to Pipeline:

With this change, the entire Paperless Pipeline application is fully functional on all your mobile devices. The new PDF previews should not only save you time, but also make your day-to-day tasks even easier and more efficient!

Change in Transaction Quota Date

On July 1, we’re changing our monthly plans to make them easier to understand and maintain from month-to-month. Your monthly transaction quota and billing date will now have the same start and end date so you can more closely monitor how many transactions you use and determine the right plan for your office.

Your new transaction quota date will be determined by your last billing date. If you were charged on June 10, your quota will now reset on the 10th of each month. Depending on where your billing date falls within the month, you may have your quota reset earlier than usual during July. In that case, you’ll get a few bonus transactions for the same price to help us keep things as simple as possible as we transition.

Let’s say you’re on the 40 / month plan and your billing date is July 15. On July 15, your account will be charged at that level and your transaction count will reset to zero. That means you’ll have from July 15 to August 15 to add 40 transactions. You’ll still have the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade at any point throughout the month.

One other thing that’s changing on July 1 is the price of our unlimited plan. It will now be $450 for up to 450 transactions, with each additional transaction costing $1 each. Current users who are on the unlimited plan or have been within the last three months will be grandfathered in and will always pay the existing monthly rate of $450.