Greater Midwest Realty needed to improve its compliance systems and speed up its admin processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read on to discover how they implemented Paperless Pipeline in just two months and used it to make future expansion plans a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great Midwest Realty<\/a> (GMR) is a real estate brokerage based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. It has been in business for more than 20 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83c\udfe2 With around 200 agents, it is one of the largest non-franchised real estate firms in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udcc8 The company is currently expanding and aims to increase its number of agents to 5,000. It also plans to transition to a virtual office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In early 2022, GMR\u2019s management was facing a number of challenges in their admin and transaction coordination processes. These included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u274cManual compliance processes:<\/strong> Their current system was completely manual and involved making backup copies of all documents every day on a desktop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u274cNo document accountability or ownership: <\/strong>No one could ever tell who last touched the file or who had sent a note to an agent. The system offered no accountability over transaction documents and it was prone to errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u274cPoor communication: <\/strong>GMR was using Slack to communicate. This made it difficult to find information needed for each transaction\u2014GMR\u2019s admins had to scroll through conversations to find what they needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They knew they required a better system that would allow them to quickly and safely store documents in the cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No one ever knows if they are going to get sick. When someone is gone things are still going to happen. We needed to have the ability for anyone to pick up a transaction.<\/em>“<\/p>Jill Warner, Transaction Coordinator, Greater Midwest Realty<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n They tried using Open To Close but found it overly complicated\u2014the checklist templates didn\u2019t work well for them and documents would get moved around a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GMR\u2019s admin team researched the market to find a simpler, more cost-effective solution. This is when they came across Paperless Pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May of 2022, Jill Warner, Transaction Coordinator for Greater Midwest Realty, scheduled a personal demo to learn how Paperless Pipeline could streamline their current workflow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the demo, she was thrilled to discover just how simple transaction and commission management could be with Paperless Pipeline. One important feature that stood out to Jill was the system’s custom user permission settings. These custom settings ensure that each team member only<\/em> sees what they need to\u2014eliminating confusion and clutter of unneeded data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after the demo, Jill started a 14-day free trial to put Paperless Pipeline to the test. She took advantage of a complimentary setup call and learned exactly how to customize their account to support the brokerage’s unique workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the trial period, Jill and the rest of the admin team at GMR felt confident that Paperless Pipeline was the right transaction management system for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GMR has only been using Paperless Pipeline for a few months but has already seen incredible results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our software has provided the real estate brokerage with a central hub and single source of truth for all of its transactions. This has helped speed up their admin tasks, as well as improve accountability and communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0fTransaction history: <\/strong>The brokerage\u2019s transaction coordinators can see who has touched each document, including what they did and when. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0f<\/strong>Checklist templates: <\/strong>Admin can customize and automatically apply checklists in Paperless Pipeline based on the type of deal, the side, the location, and each separate stage or status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0fIn-system notes: <\/strong>Before using Paperless Pipeline, GMR\u2019s admins were using Slack to communicate. They were getting hundreds of messages each day. Admins can now easily send notes and emails to each other within Paperless Pipeline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0fAutomation:<\/strong> The company has set up all of its scanners to automatically send documents straight to Paperless Pipeline\u2014no more downloading and then reuploading files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0fReminders:<\/strong> Transaction coordinators no longer have to worry about missing critical deadlines. Instead, they are given timely reminders for key dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0fCommission management:<\/strong> GMR has replaced its spreadsheet-based system with Paperless Pipeline\u2019s Commission Module<\/a>. Now all commission records and disbursement orders are in one place. They can be filled in and sent out in a few clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2714\ufe0fCompliance: <\/strong>Documents, notes, and file statuses can quickly be accessed, reviewed, and updated in one centralized place. Any notes that are added to a document are automatically sent to agents, meaning they are alerted if they are required to do something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome systems have so many bells and whistles to look perfect. But ultimately, it comes down to one question: does it work or not? That\u2019s how I knew Paperless Pipeline was right for us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Jill Warner, Transaction Coordinator, Greater Midwest Realty<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Paperless Pipeline is helping GMR achieve its strategic goals. Our cloud-based transaction management system means that the brokerage\u2019s agents and admins can upload and access documents from anywhere, making the transition to a virtual office a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And with admin tasks being handled more efficiently, GMR\u2019s staff are now free to focus on other things\u2014this will prove critical as the business scales up to 5,000 agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the company\u2019s improved efficiency means that they have reduced the number of new admin hires that they need to take on, reducing the company\u2019s costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GMR has four admin staff that have full access to Paperless Pipeline. While only some of their agents use it at the moment, the company is gradually introducing it to more of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The brokerage has seen better uptake of Paperless Pipeline among its agents than it first expected. Younger agents, in particular, enjoy using it and have been encouraging their older colleagues to give it a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe thought fully-implementing Pipeline was going to take about a year but it is coming sooner because the agents want to use it. There are still hurdles we are working through but once we do it will be amazing\u2014we\u2019ll be saving so much time!\u201d<\/em><\/p>Jill Warner, Transaction Coordinator, Greater Midwest Realty<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Jill Warner, Transaction Coordinator<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greater Midwest Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 763-767-9200<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Greater Midwest Realty needed to improve its compliance systems and speed up its admin processes. Read on to discover how they implemented Paperless Pipeline in just two months and used it to make future expansion plans a reality. About Greater … Before Paperless Pipeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After Paperless Pipeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Achieving GMR\u2019s strategic goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
GMR agents love Paperless Pipeline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Success Story Provided By: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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