Andrew Colagiuri and the team at FLK it over are on a mission.
A mission to help real estate agencies build their businesses, build them faster and build them with a lot less manual paperwork.
And, while it may seem a little perplexing for a software provider that focuses on document management and e-signatures to have such a goal, Andrew says they are crystal clear on their aim.
“If we can help an agent with a sales agreement or a property manager with a lease get those documents signed faster, then we can help the momentum of your business move forward faster as well,” Andrew says.
That’s the mission FLK it over has been on since launching in May 2018.
Streamlining tasks and communication
Back then, the Australian software-as-a-service provider was a tool for property managers, PM departments, and agencies to create and sign documents electronically.
“We wanted to streamline many of the tasks and the communication surrounding that,” Andrew notes.
“So, when someone signs a lease, we pre-write the email to the owner, we pre-write the email to the strata manager, we schedule all the renewals, and we send all of the documents to the tenant.
“We try to create automation in our system to lighten the load for the agents so things don’t get missed as well.”
Andrew notes that it was his own experience as a sales agent, property manager, and agency owner that led to the creation of FLK it over.
“I had my own office at the time, I was in property management, and very frustrated because digital signing wasn’t well adopted in Australia at all at that stage,” he recalls.
“The frustration was mainly around the lease renewal process and getting tenants, who had been in the property for three years, to come back into the office to sign the exact same document.
“The only thing that was changing was the rent amount and the start and end date.
“I thought, ‘There has to be a better way’.”
And there was.
Built by real estate professionals for the industry
Andrew says one of the pluses of FLK it over was that it was built by those with real estate experience for those in the industry.
He didn’t want it to become ‘just another tool’ but rather a must-have solution that targets industry pain points and solves them with technology.
Since those early days, FLK it over has evolved to become much more than just a tool for property managers.
Today, the platform facilitates the signing of about 35,000 documents every month and about 5,000 property managers and sales agents log in each month.
“We’ve evolved into a full office solution,” Andrew notes.
“Whether you’re in sales, property management, human resources or operations, FLK it over can be used right across the board.”
For Ray White Taylor and Partners Director, Peter Taylor, FLK it over has streamlined his team’s operations on both the sales and property management side of the business, saved time and paper and, most importantly, created a better client experience.
“It’s easy to put a lease together, it’s easy to tailor a lease to a specific property, but the most important thing is the user experience on the other side,” he said.
“It just makes the whole process easier and we also look more professional.
“We’re not using piles of paper and we don’t have a lot of people coming into the office to sign leases.
“I can’t remember the last time we printed a lease.”
Mr Taylor said using FLK it over also enabled team members to monitor when documents were received and read, which helped them streamline their workflows and keep landlords or vendors up-to-date.
He said being able to send documents in multiple formats and to various devices also enabled them to provide better service.
“I send them in three different formats,” Mr Taylor explained.
“I’d say to the client, ‘I’m going to send you a PDF version, I’m going to send you a link, which you can do on your phone or your desktop, and you’ll also get a text message that you can use on your phone.
“I’ve never had anyone say, ‘Thank doesn’t work for me’.”
A continuous evolution
One of the recent upgrades to the software is Custom Placeholders, which allows you to upload any PDF and use it to create a template that can be saved and reused at any time.
For an employment agreement, you can select to have fields such as ‘name’, ‘start date’, ‘wage’ and ‘address’ able to be changed and customised each time you use the form.
You can also select fields to fill in yourself or leave fields blank for the other person to fill in.
“If you don’t know the answer to the question, such as the employee’s address, you can choose for the recipient to answer that question on the PDF,” Andrew says.
“This also works brilliantly for an auction reserve letter.
“If I’m an agent, I’ll have my auction reserve letter template saved, I’ll fill in the address, the auction date, and then I’ll ask the recipient to do the vendor bid and reserve price.
“I answer two questions, they answer two questions, they review the PDF and sign.”
Andrew says the technology works for any PDF.
“You upload your own content, you create your own templates, and you never have to touch a Word document or PDF again.”
He said another new feature with FLK it over was mobile functionality, which means sales agents and property managers can access any of the documents they need on the run.
“If you’re an agent and you’re at an auction and your vendor turns up and says, ‘I forgot the auction reserve letter,’ there’s no problem,” Andrew notes.
“You open your phone, grab the auction reserve letter template, put in their name and phone number and send it to them.
“They open it up, they answer the questions, they sign on the phone and you have your signed auction reserve letter straight away.”
Reaching new heights
In 2024, FLK it over has also been named as part of the REACH Australia and New Zealand program.
Launched in 2019, the REACH Australia and New Zealand program is the longest-running program outside of the US and has evolved to become a cornerstone for technology companies aiming to scale their growth and make a lasting impact on the real estate communities of Australia and New Zealand.
The program has been behind some of the country’s most successful PropTech startups, including ActivePipe, BoxBrownie, Realtime Conveyancer, Future Rent and Propic.
Andrew says being a part of the cohort will open doors for FLK it over to help more agencies.
“REACH has impeccable relationships, both locally and internationally, and with the nature of our product, and definitely the appetite for it, having that international reach is really important,” he says.
“Talking locally, their relationships with all stakeholders in the industry are second to none.
“They have a proven track record of assisting PropTech to go from one level to the next, whether that be from a concept to a startup or a startup to a scale-up.
“It definitely ticks all the boxes with what we want to achieve in the next 18 months to two years and helps facilitate or assist us in reaching those goals.”
