pap erl es s con vey an c i n g · paperless conveyancing in five easy steps: 1. online...

Paperless Conveyancing M A N A G E Y O U R F I L E S W I T H O U T T O U C H I N G A P I E C E O F P A P E R

PAPERLESS CONVEYANCING: MANAGE YOUR FILES WITHOUT TOUCHING A PIECE OF PAPER

Recognise this picture?

How about this one?


Technology is in our everyday lives

They are both in fact photos of the unveiling of the new Pope at St Peter's

Basilica, Vatican City. The first one is in 2005 and the second is in 2013: the

same location but with a separation of eight years. In 2005 you can see there

is only one visible person holding a flip phone. In the second 2013 image,

absolutely everyone is holding some form of device whether it be a

smartphone or tablet and is taking a photo of the unveiling of the new Pope.

This is five years ago now so imagine how far technology has come now

we’re in 2018!

The purpose of the two images is to illustrate (what you probably already

know) that technology is now part of our everyday lives. If you look around

your office, everyone would be using a computer and handheld device -

whether it’s for work or personal use.

It really wasn’t that long ago that technology was the domain for what we called

“computer geeks”. Now, technology is extremely commonplace. If you think

about your own experiences with technology, how many people use their phone

as an alarm clock? Almost everybody does! Then what do you do? You roll over,

turn off the alarm and you tend to check Facebook, messages, emails or news.

Then for those who use public transport to commute to work you more than

likely use your smartphone or tablet to brighten the trip. At work, you use either

a desktop or laptop computer during work hours. Then when you get home you

might use a tablet while watching television.

People’s expectations of technology have fundamentally changed a lot in the last

five to ten years. 2005 might not feel like that long ago – but 13 years is a long

time. Back then very few people would take photos on a mobile phone.

Technology has allowed phones to be almost like mobile computers. Phones can

take photos, record video, communicate in real-time around the world and use

applications that allow you to run your business – if you have the right

technology.


Our expectation is ‘simple & instant’The changing landscape of mobile technology has changed our levels of

expectation. We now expect everything to be simple and instant. Take Virgin or

QANTAS websites for example. If you think about it, not too long ago you would

have to go to a Travel Agent to even book a domestic flight. Now you can go to a

website, book a flight, receive your itinerary and boarding pass before you check-

in. Think about how easy it’s become to order items online. Many items can now

be bought and delivered to your door within 24 hours. It wasn’t that long ago this

was a much more convoluted process. The same applies to many industries that

have leveraged technology to make things simpler and instant for their

customers.

Connectivity – blurring the lines between personal and professional livesSo why can’t we have that beautiful, simple and instant technology that’s

available in our personal life also available in our professional life? Because at the

end of the day, connectivity has really blurred the lines between personal and

professional lives.

No longer do we totally disconnect when we leave the office. If you’re a small

business owner this isn’t easy. People will call you and emails will be sent before

and after work. So why can’t we have that simple and instant technology that

we’re used to in our personal lives, also available in our professional lives?


Bringing it all together: paperless conveyancing

That is where something like Smokeball really comes into play. This is where you

can bring it all together with paperless conveyancing.

What if you had a single point where you entered in all your information once and

then its saved permanently? You can access your matter information on the go

anywhere, at any time so that you’re no longer tethered to the office? Then, you

can access the information from your phone, you can create, compile and send

documents without printing. What if you could organise your settlement via

PEXA or via a Settlement Agent without picking up the phone? Or what about

less (or no) reliance on paper and ‘hard copy’ documents? I know it’s not always

easy to shy away from going completely paperless, but what if you had the

capabilities to have all your client and matter information, your incoming and

outgoing correspondence and everything else that is important to your business

stored in a single electronic location that is saved forever?


Technology: Now adapting to our Professional lives

The beautiful and easy to use technology that we have available in personal lives

is, in fact, available in our professional lives too - the thing is just not a lot of

people know about it yet!

Paperless Conveyancing in five easy steps:

1. Online verification of identity (VOI)

Some of you may have already used InfoTrack’s IDfy VOI, where you can easily

navigate through a verification of identity and save that back to your practice

management system, such as Smokeball, or save it electronically. You don’t have

to send someone to Australia Post anymore, you can now do it all electronically

and effortlessly from the comfort of your office.

VOI facts:

2. Online certificates

This has been around for a while, but the ability to then use online certificates to

compile contracts without printing anything can be done very easily. Through

InfoTrack, our searching integration partner, we offer both online certificates and

online contracts.

Compatible with iPhone, iPad and Android.

Allows you to save incomplete identification data and finish orders at a later

time once all identity documents have been received.

Allows you to verify your client’s identity from any location.

Allows you to maintain face-to-face contact with clients at all times during

identification.

Eliminates the need for document scanning, photocopying and physical filing.


3. Online contracts

Online contracts (eCOS) are secure, fast and easy using our searching integration

partner InfoTrack. Online certificates allow you to:

Order your Contract, searches and certificates in a few clicks.

No need to manually print, collate and scan documents to compile the

contract.

Edit pages 1 & 2 of the Contract easily.

Edit the property address prior to ordering the Contract.

Watermark the Property Address automatically across the Contract

General Conditions pages.

Compile the entire Contract into a single combined .pdf that you can easily

save and email.

Information is prepopulated – It is drawn from the title and mapped into the

Contract.

All additional documents can be imported including Special Conditions,

Section 66W, survey plans, and requisitions on title.

Cost is captured automatically within Smokeball.

4. Digital signing

This provides you with the ability to create a contract, get the other party to sign

it electronically and then send it back to them without picking up a piece of paper.

Digital signing saves you time and money by allowing you to execute documents

faster and avoid the hassle of printing, scanning and posting.

SignIT, available through our integration with InfoTrack, allows you to upload any

document and send it to parties via a secure and encrypted email link. Parties can

review and sign the document online from any location. You can track who has

signed the document and once all parties have executed and everyone receives a

final signed copy. This saves all parties time and improves the user experience.

Posting documents to your client with return self-addressed envelopes is quickly

becoming a thing of the past!


5. Electronic settlement (PEXA)

You can now do your settlement without picking up a piece of paper. It's becoming

increasingly popular as PEXA is quickly gaining momentum. Property Exchange

Australia (PEXA), the electronic property exchange platform, has now completed

more than one million property transactions nationally.

Our integration with InfoTrack now includes electronic settlement through PEXA .

You can create, launch and manage your PEXA workspaces with all your property

matter information mapped directly into the workspace. You can complete the

process digitally to avoid the hassle of printing, collating, scanning and posting, and

there is no need to rely on couriers and settlement agents to get the job done. Our

clients can create a PEXA workspace in less than one minute.

Creating a PEXA workspace in Smokeball is simple:


Upcoming PEXA Mandatory DateThe other thing to mention is that as of 1 July 2018, all standalone caveats,

transfers, mortgages and refinances must be lodged online via PEXA.

This adds a layer of complexity to running your business because a lot of people

are still doing these manually. A lot of solicitors and conveyancers are still

lodging things in the traditional sense. So, now is a great time to consider your

business and how you can do things electronically but within a more seamless

environment.


1. Attract more clients:

Embracing e-conveyancing immediately sets you apart from conveyancers

who haven’t taken the step into digital. You may start to attract more clients

who prefer a quicker, simpler and more transparent way of doing things.

2. Get referrals:

As more banks and real estate agents join up with PEXA, they may look to

refer matters to conveyancers who use the same system. Being considered for

referrals may be as simple as letting local banks and real estate agents know

that you’ve signed up with PEXA.

3. More time to grow your business:

Traditional conveyancing takes a lot of time. Scheduling settlement days,

signing documents, attending settlements and dealing with settlement funds

can be estimated to take up to 5 hours. This can all be completed in less than

15 minutes with electronic conveyancing. With this extra time up your sleeve,

you can spend it creating new business or doing more work.

4. Work-life balance:

Operating in a digital environment facilitates work-from-home options and

flexible start times. You can complete a settlement from the convenience of

your home or while dropping the kids off!

5. Stay competitive:

If you want to stay competitive in business, you simply must embrace change.

Consumers are increasingly expecting things to be done with efficiency in the

digital space. Adopting e-conveyancing will send a clear message to clients and

potential clients that your business is tech-savvy and proactive.

Top Five Benefits of embracing Paperless (Electronic) Conveyancing


How can Smokeball help?

Firstly, you can access PEXA with one click of a button and you can create your

workspace within moments. Our clients tell us this saves them up to 30

minutes per workspace.

You have seamless integration with Microsoft Office, and InfoTrack searching.

It’s also made specifically for conveyancers and property lawyers.

You also have a cloud-based system with live data syncing. The minute you

create a document it’s saved in the cloud. If you have staff working remotely it

can be accessed from anywhere. If you have staff at the other end of the office

you’re not having to push a sync button or wait for documents to update, it’s all

happening in a live environment.

You also have a phone and tablet app. A lot of our clients are working mothers

and have to drop their kids off at school every day. Of course, then an agent

will call and need a copy of a document. With the app, they can easily access

the matter from their phone and send that document off without having to

ring someone or scramble back to the office.

Finally, Smokeball has a Support Team that all have industry experience and

our response time is always less than 30 minutes. We also have dedicated

1300 number, and someone will pick up the phone!

For more information on Smokeball

call us on 1300 33 55 53

www.smokeball.com.au

pap erl es s con vey an c i n g · paperless conveyancing in five easy steps: 1. online...

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