ProMan is a hosted solution, so the only system requirement is an internet browser with internet access. Although we have seen the system operated on a 56K dial-up connection, broadband is preferable. The hosted solution means that a new branch office can be opened with minimal network problems and owners and managers can access the management pages from home, if required.

A key feature is the ability to distribute property details without intervention from office staff. On the launch of a property, the system selects all applicants with matching requirements and sends an email containing brief details and a link to the website. When the applicant logs in they can download a pdf version of the full property particulars. When they do this, the property is automatically added to their personal portfolio. This enables a negotiator to see all of the properties an applicant has selected and, conversely, which applicants have selected a particular property.

All of the information relating to a property is entered through a series of management screens covering Vendor Details, Fee Structure, Location Details, Property Description, Marketing Schedule, Photographs and Key Features.

All Offers can be recorded, with a natural progression from non-instructed sale, through instructed sale, exchanged, completed and paid. The commission earned is analysed through each of these stages and price and commission adjustments are tracked and reported.

Applicants are responsible for maintaining their own profile data, and can delete themselves from the system. Negotiators can call up lists of all applicant with details of the property details they have downloaded, when they last visited together with contact details. There are utility services to clear out profiles that have not been used for a pre-determined time.

There are four different commission analyses. Pipeline Balances gives you a date order list of all instructed, exchanged and completed deals still in the pipeline. Monthly Figures provide an analysis of monthly commission earned. Aborted and Amended deals are reported in the month in which they occur and a Net Sales and Exchanged Sales figure is available. Similar reports are available for Weekly Figures and Negotiator Figures. All of these reports are created in real-time, so they are as up to date as the last deal entered into the system.

Employees can be set up in a variety of roles which give them different access rights to the system pages. Typically, there would be four levels Negotiator, Data Entry, Office Manager, Director/Partner. Each page has a customisable role and permission level attached to it.

The is no lump-sum initial cost for software licences. Instead users pay a monthly subscription for the modules that they use. This enables the cost benefits of using ProMan to be clearly identified. There is a minimum contract period of twelve months for each module.