Creating the secret sauce

Atlas Management may be a boutique shop in the greater Portland metro area, but their roots run deep, from Willamette Valley, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington. Chief Operating Officer Brandon Morett’s career in property management happened naturally, with his first position being a maintenance technician shortly after graduating from high school. He worked his way up over the years and eventually joined Atlas and its founding partners, Andy Labunsky and Mark Iliyn, in 2015. Since then, Brandon says it’s been nothing but a whirlwind.

“Property management always just seemed like the right decision. It's really a people business, and I've always been really good with people. It was natural for me to find my way in this industry,” Brandon says. 

With a lot of big names in the area, Atlas focuses on those who care about their community. In fact, that’s how they’ve been able to grow their business — through word of mouth. Brandon shares:
“What really sets us apart from others are two things: our commitment to communication through resident and client interactions and having the right technology in place.”

Going beyond the industry standard

Brandon and his partners’ goal is to grow Atlas exponentially so they can help more people. Brandon explains: 

“My greatest joy is finding people who have yet to realize their potential and putting them in a position where they can put it to use. We want to be able to affect as many people as we can and provide as many opportunities as we can.”

But to achieve this goal, Brandon knew Atlas needed a true technology partner. Among the solutions they considered, AppFolio Property Manager stood out to them the most. ​​They partnered with AppFolio in 2016 and never looked back. Since joining, they’ve been able to double their size year-over-year. 

“We’ve heard the same ‘We’re the industry standard’ sales pitch, but if you’re not willing to be a little experimental, then our philosophies don’t line up. AppFolio was an easy decision because they’re tech-focused, inventive, forward-thinking, and they align with us and how we’re wanting to grow.”

Efficiency and performance combined

Though operational efficiency is a top challenge for property management businesses, Brandon’s team stays ahead of the curve with AppFolio on their side. 

“AppFolio has really become integrated with my life. It's an app on the home screen of my phone and not in a folder that I keep putting away. I'm using their functionally every day, and they’ve helped me communicate better and do more with my team.”  

Using AppFolio as the single source of truth for your entire organization provides your team with one reliable system for consistent reporting and analysis. Global Search capabilities — such as recent search results that show the last 5 queries and tenant notes that provide owners with quick access to information — have saved Atlas valuable time, empowered them to discover more insights, and enabled their team to serve their customers more efficiently.

“AppFolio is helpful because it encompasses a little bit of everything. It does the maintenance piece for us, the accounting piece for us, the interaction piece with residents, and our internal processes.”

Technology that’s ahead of the curve

For your business to thrive, you need a technology partner who is by your side for the entire journey. With our one powerful platform behind you, you can transform your day-to-day operations to boost efficiency and productivity, giving you more time to focus on what matters.

Brandon recalls two moments where AppFolio was one step ahead of him:
“I’ll never forget when AppFolio implemented their AI bill reading and invoicing feature, Smart Bill Entry. That has been a game changer for our company.​​ I know this because the people that work in our accounting department are always raving about how amazing it is — even our CFO, Mark. He was so pumped about it, saying, ‘Wait, I don't have to do this anymore? This is now just an automated process?’ Seeing him get excited about it made it rewarding for me.” 

“​​As a member of the AppFolio Customer Advisory Board (CAB), being able to see how the brainstorming process happens at AppFolio is pretty impressive. It just shows how AppFolio is always one step ahead. At a recent CAB meeting, I received an email from a portfolio manager asking if there was a way to look up a resident’s license plate without having to go through leases. I asked AppFolio's CEO, ‘What if we could look up license plate numbers just by typing it in the search bar?’ and he looks over to one of his team members and asks, ‘How’s this coming along?’ They replied, ‘We're rolling it out next week.’ That was a cool moment where AppFolio was so ahead of me that I could tell my employees it’s happening soon.”

A resilient company culture 

In addition to being good at property management, Atlas Management is good at making an impact in their community and on those around them. Brandon takes pride in building and sustaining a resilient yet fun company culture. That’s one of their strong suits and a big reason people like working with them.

By taking advantage of the tools that AppFolio Property Manager provides them, they’re not only able to focus on their day-to-day work but also on the ways they can give back to their local community. 

“Every quarter we do a team event where we go to an elementary school in our neighborhood to clean their garden area, plant trees, and make platforms for children to learn how to‌ garden. Things like that are so important to us. Our mission will always be to provide a workspace where people can come to work and love their jobs, then go home feeling fulfilled.”