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FOCUS SOFTWARE PROPERTY MANAGER USER’S GUIDE

Housing Compliance Services

2999 Oak Road, Suite 710

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

VERSION 1.6a

OCTOBER 31, 2016

10/31/2016 FOCUS So�ware Property Manager User’s Guide 1

FOCUS SOFTWARE PROPERTY MANAGER USER’S GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Log In Instructions ........................................................................................................................................ 2

FOCUS Homepage......................................................................................................................................... 3

Property Compliance Summary ................................................................................................................... 4

Property Details ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Units .............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Editing Units ................................................................................................................................................. 8

Checking Compliance and Creating a Project Status Report (PSR) ........................................................... 13

Programs ..................................................................................................................................................... 20

Users ........................................................................................................................................................... 22

Tasks ........................................................................................................................................................... 23

Reports........................................................................................................................................................ 24

Audit ........................................................................................................................................................... 25

Notes ........................................................................................................................................................... 26

Questions .................................................................................................................................................... 27


LOG IN INSTRUCTIONS

Enter the following URL: htps://www.housingcompliance.org/hcs/

You will be provided a user name and password from a representa�ve at Housing Compliance Services. When you receive user name and password you will use the URL stated above to log onto the system. Enter the user name and password and click the “login” buton. If by chance you have forgoten your password, you are able to reset by pressing the “lost password code” language in blue. Please see below:

https://www.housingcompliance.org/hcs/


FOCUS HOME PAGE

A�er logging in, you will be sent to the FOCUS Homepage:

All the proper�es assigned to your user name will be displayed on the homepage. This page is the management dashboard for the housing por�olio and is accessed in order to view the property informa�on.

To choose a specific property, double-click on the “Name” of the property in the matrix shown above. Once you double-click the specific property you will then be redirected to the property compliance summary page.


PROPERTY COMPLIANCE SUMMARY

Once in the property compliance summary page you will see a total of nine (9) different tabs to select.

The different tabs are as follows:

• Property Details • Units • Programs • Users • Documents • Tasks • Reports • Audit • Notes

Each tab will need to be clicked to be opened to use its specific user func�on. Please see the image below to understand the way the tabs are structured.


PROPERTY DETAILS

Click on the “Property Details” tab to view the general property details of the property selected. These will include the agency name, address, property type, development type, close of finance date, in service date and the current status.


UNITS

When selec�ng the “Units” tab, there are two different tabs that you are able to view:

• Units • Buildings (if buildings have numbers associated to them)

Units Tab:


Within the units tab, you will see the following property informa�on:

• Unit – Unit number. • Building – Building leter or number. • Bedrooms – The number of bedrooms within the unit. • Event Type – The type of event associated with the unit. The selec�on of events are Move In,

Move Out and Rental Update. • Date – The date in which the event (see above) occurred. • Household Size – The number of people/tenants in the current household. • Current Income – The current annual income of the household. • Rent – The amount of rent paid on a monthly basis. • Move In Date – The date the household moved into the unit. • Move In Income – The amount of income earned by household at date of move in. • Move In Household – The number in the household at move in.


EDITING UNITS

In order to edit the units, press the “Edit” buton in the upper right hand corner. Once you are in the edi�ng mode, you will be able to edit all unit informa�on.

Rent Subsidy and u�lity allowance are also editable above by double clicking the cell.


Below is an example of the “Manage Units” screen:

To edit, double-click on the unit to be edited or click “Add Event.” The reasons you as a property manager will need to edit a unit are based on “events.” The different types of events are:

• Move In • Move Out • Rental Update, which can include:

o Rent change o Income change o Household size adjustment o Recer�fica�on


Move In and Move Outs will only occur once per household. All other changes to the unit will be recorded by entering a Rental Update. The majority of the �me the “event” will be based on a Rental Update. Recer�fica�on, rent, income and household size changes are all completed through the Rental Update sec�on.

Edit Screen:

Press the “Add Event” buton noted above the orange arrow.

Edit Event Screen:

In order to add an event, you will first need to select the “Event Type” from the drop down.


In this instance, the screen below will show an example of adding an event as a “Rental Update.” Change in rent, increase in income, addi�onal family member or recer�fica�on.

The items necessary for the making an update to either “Move In,” “Move Out” or “Rental Update” are the following:

• Event Type – The type of event associated with the unit. The selec�on of events are Move In, Move Out, and Rental Update.

• Date – The date in which the event occurred. • Current Income – The current annual income. • Rent – The amount of rent paid on a monthly basis. (tenant por�on) • Household Size – The number of people living in the unit.


When finished entering the new data, press the “Save” buton in the le� hand corner. This will ensure that the update has been made to the system.

If you are entering a recertification, be sure to check the “recertification” box at the top of the screen immediately above the date.

As soon as the save buton has been selected, you will be redirected back to the list of events for that unit made by date. Select the “Save” buton again to return to the list of all units.


CHECKING COMPLIANCE AND CREATING A PROJECT STATUS REPORT (PSR)

In order to check the compliance of the programs and submit a PSR Report, you will need to be in the “manage units” screen. You get to this screen by doing the following:

(The steps have been shown within this manual on pages 5-7)

1. Open the property. 2. Click on the “Units” tab and click the edit buton. 3. Click the “Check Compliance” buton (shown below)


4. A�er you click the “Check Compliance” tab a smaller window will appear. You will be given the op�on to select the month the report was due. Click refresh. If you have more than one program you will be asked to choose one compliance report individually. The compliance report shown as the example to run is the HOME program.


5. A�er clicking on the HOME “Calculate Compliance” buton, you will be redirected to the “HOME Report” screen. It will automa�cally show you the “Unit Compliance” view. This tab will provide a breakdown of all units and confirma�on if they are in compliance or not with the program.

Example of the “Unit Compliance” screen:

• The le� hand icon in red is sta�ng the unit is “Out of Compliance.” • The very right hand column will state the reason for the unit being “Out of Compliance.”

To make correc�ons to any units, you can click on the “Manage Units” buton to make edits.


6. You may also view the compliance with another op�on. Click on the “Set-Aside Compliance” tab to receive a summary of the number of units that are in compliance and how many are required for each set aside. Example of the “Set-Aside Compliance” screen:


7. Once you have reviewed the compliance of the property and are ready to run the PSR report, you will need to go back to the “Unit Compliance” screen and click on the “Start PSR Submission” buton.


8. A�er pressing the “Start PSR Submission” buton you will be taken to the following screen seen below: Confirm the date range for the report you are running and chose your company from the drop down sec�on.

9. If you are prepared to submit the PSR, click on the “Submit” buton shown above.


10. A�er you click the “Submit” buton, a PSR report will be crea�ng and put into PDF format. The PSR report is then automa�cally saved. The report will be added to your reports tab as an open report wai�ng to be approved by the Agency.

This PSR report will be sent to the agency for review. As soon as the agency reviews the PSR and accepts it as complete, you will be informed of the status of the PSR.


PROGRAMS

When the “Programs” tab is selected, you will see the regulatory programs being monitored for each property. In reference to the example below, the programs being monitored are “Bond,” “Home” and “Inclusionary.”

In order to open up a program, the “Open Program” selec�on will need to be clicked.


Once “Open Program” (in the right-hand corner) has been selected, the next screen will redirect you to the program details. The details will encompass the following:

• Details – The details provide both the program and calcula�on details • Set-Aside Levels – Specifies the income and rent limit percentages • Reports – Has a historical reference to all reports and lets the property manager know if any

report is currently open or has been approved by the compliance manager • Tasks – Notates if there are any open, closed or scheduled tasks to be accomplished by the

property manager within the specific regulatory program • Units – Matrix of all units and their set-aside level within the program • Audits – Notates a history of all inspec�ons on the property assigned to the specific regulatory

program • Limits - Chart of the current and historic income and rent limits within the regulatory program

for the county in which the property is located


USERS

When the “users” tab is selected, the property manager will be able to see a list of all contacts in rela�on to the property.


TASKS

When the “Tasks” tab is selected, you will see the sub tabs labeled as “Open” or “Closed.”

The “Open” task no�fies that there is a certain task to be addressed. The “Closed” task tab shows a historical reference on all closed tasks accomplished by the property manager.

Noted above you will see the Tasks tab with a “3” next to the Tasks �tle. This number will tell you as a property manager how many open tasks there are under this property


REPORTS

When the “Reports” tab is selected, the property manager will be able to see a list of all “Approved” and “Open” property status reports (PSRs).


AUDIT

When the “Audit” tab is selected, the property manager will be able to see a list of any and all audits that have been completed at the property.


NOTES

When the “Notes” tab is selected, the property manager will be able to dra� certain notes to keep in regards to the property.

When the “Add Note” tab is clicked you are able to input a new note. All users with access to the property will be able to see your note.


QUESTIONS?

If you have any website related ques�ons or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Housing Compliance Services:

Caitlin Lanctot

[email protected]

(925) 280-4394

Mercedes Baumbach

[email protected]

(925) 478-5855

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]