Housing Authorities have the unique challenge of needing to provide extensive services to a broad population with limited resources to be able to do so. Due to this, many agencies have antiquated processes and systems that in turn lead to employees being frustrated and tenants having a delay in services. One way that Housing Authorities can better serve their population is making an intentional in digital automated systems. PiF Technologies supports agencies of all sizes, including Keene, NH, Worcester, MA, and Chelsea, MA to name a few.
We understand the unique needs of these organizations and through our experience have developed a solution suite that we know works. We’ve identified some core common challenges Housing Authorities face, but our solutions are flexible and scalable to fit whatever needs may be exclusive to your agency.
Admissions and Section 8 Applications
When a prospective tenant wants to apply for public housing through your agency, what are the steps they need to take to do so? Many authorities require individuals to go to the office in person and complete a stack of paper forms. For those lacking transportation or availability during office hours due to work or other engagements, simply completing the application can prove to be a challenge. Expanding access to your housing programs simply by providing accessible electronic forms that can be completed from any device means that applicants can easily find the housing they need.
Once documents are completed, they need to be packaged together and stored. Traditionally this may be done with a simple stapler, folder, or paperclip and then stuffed into a filing cabinet. This method was disorganized and not secure, which should be a priority when handling sensitive documents associated with housing applications. With our Document Management solution, you can easily scan paper documents, package them with other associated files, and then easily index and file them away in a secure digital environment. This allows you to create a virtual tenant file that is searchable and accessible and can be referenced back to for future needs.
Approvals are also simple with our solution, by building in custom logic documents can be virtually routed for approval with ease. Employees often wear many hats in their roles and aren’t always tied to their desk, rather than drop off paperwork and hoping for the best, you can digitally remind them to approve and sign.
In addition to the initial application, tenants need to recertify that their income, family composition, and other information is accurate. When tenant files are disparate and disorganized, verifying and updating this important information can prove to be complicated. Automation can make the process simple for both your tenants and your employees.
Common files to digitally store:
- Tenant files
- Compliance documents
- Participant files
Facilities Management
When something goes wrong at one of your properties, how is it handled? If your residents need something fixed in their unit, do they need to call and hope someone answers and then wait for maintenance to show up? Does your facilities team have a central hub to access current work orders or maintenance issues? When managing multiple properties common challenges can arise regarding maintenance and facilities. By allowing Work Orders to be completed digitally via an Electronic Form and then routed and stored in a central document management system, maintenance can be completed quicker and you can maintain a record of requests at a specific property for future reference.
Our solution helps streamline not only Work Orders but Capital improvements, Site Plans, and PNA (Physical Needs Assessments). These records can be stored and packaged with other affiliated documents, meaning that you can retrieve an organized packet whenever you need it. By eliminating the manual paper piece of each of these processes you can run a more efficient Housing Authority and better serve your community.
Accounting Functions
As a non-profit organization, Accounting and Finance are common challenges. Aside from managing finances within your organization, ensuring that processes are completed accurately and in a timely manner is also crucial. Paper processes are often time-consuming, disorganized, and heavily rely on resources and personnel that your Housing Authority may not be able to properly provide. Automation takes the pressure off of your employees and outdated systems and empowers your agency to complete common accounting functions faster and better than ever before.
Processing invoices is one of the most common processes for our Housing Authority customers to automate. With automation, your agency can reduce invoice processing time and costs as well as reduce delays in payment. Automation also helps your organization gain visibility of cash flow and current liabilities, having this transparency is especially important when answering to local, state, and federal government agencies. Invoices, purchase orders, and other documentation can be easily matched and routed for approval and then stored in our smart and secure Document Management platform.
Other common documents such as financial statements, closing documents, contracts, requests for proposals, and bid documentation can easily be managed and stored with a Document Management system.
Common files to digitally store:
- AP invoices-with auto workflow
- Purchase orders
- Financial Statements
- Contracts, RFP, bid doc
- Bank Reconciliations
- Development Planning closing documents
Human Resources and Administration
You want to hire people for your team that share the same values and mission as your organization and can represent it well. Part of growing a great team is by providing them with a seamless hiring and onboarding process. Physical paper or clunky PDF applications that require potential new employees to manually fill out the same data over and over again are largely ineffective and more often than not lead to incorrect information being entered.
Our Electronic Forms solution coupled with Document Management helps you manage common HR and administrative tasks easier. Employees can apply to their roles via a digital form and then complete their entire onboarding process digitally as well. Employee records can be packaged and stored in a secure environment. Timesheets and time-off requests can also be completed digitally and added to an employee’s virtual record, making it easier to manage multiple employees across multiple locations.
Common files to digitally store:
- Timesheets & Time Off Requests
- Employee Onboarding
- Open Enrollment & Benefits Elections
- I-9 & W-4
- 401K & Direct Deposit
- Background Checks
