The problem
Insurance certificates, lease terms, contractor numbers and meeting papers live in different inboxes, and every request means hunting. If a 24-flat block gets 10 document requests a month and each takes 8 minutes to find and send, that's 80 minutes, about 1.3 hours a month.
What the AI does
Manage Your Block is an online portal built for residents' management companies, directors and owners of apartment blocks. The standard portal stores documents and contact details such as contractors, suppliers and current residents in one place, which you can reach from any device. Portal PLUS adds service charge collection. The vendor's page doesn't list the full feature set, so you check the features page and the trial before relying on it.
A worked example
A director-managed residents' management company in Reading looks after one 24-flat block. A volunteer director gets about 10 requests a month for documents such as insurance certificates, the lease and contractor details.
Before
8 minutes to find and send each of 10 requests: 80 minutes, about 1.3 hours a month
After
About 2 minutes to point people to the portal or send the file: 20 minutes a month
What it's worth
About 1 hour a month saved (6 minutes x 10 requests = 60 minutes), worth around £25 if a volunteer's time is worth £25 an hour. The portal is £99 a year, about £8 a month, and Portal PLUS is £148 a year, about £12 a month, which adds service charge collection. It pays back at this volume if the portal does the job for your block.
How to set it up
- Ask Manage Your Block whether the price is per block, and whether there are limits on units or documents, before you sign up.
- Use the 7-day trial or free demo, and upload the documents people ask for most.
- Decide who can see what: residents, directors and the managing agent.
- Tell residents where the portal is and what's in it, and remove old documents from email chains.
- If you want Portal PLUS for service charge collection, ask how the money is held and who is responsible before using it.
What goes wrong
- The page doesn't say whether £99 a year covers one block or a limited number of units. For several blocks, get a written quote.
- Residents' contact details are personal data; control who can see them and tell residents what's held.
- Service charge collection means handling leaseholders' money. Check how funds are held and what your lease and regulators require.
- A portal is only useful if documents are kept current. Name someone to update it after each renewal or works project.