How AppFolio gives Virtuous Management Group the confidence and tools to win new business

Even before founding VMG, Dan knew the software he chose would become the backbone of his business. However, he didn’t want just any solution — he wanted a true business partner that would stick with him for the long term. As Dan recalls:
“I only had a handful of units starting out. I came to AppFolio and said, ‘If you want to take a chance on me, you’ll see that my business is going to take off. I can promise you that, but I need somebody who wants to be a long-term partner.’ They believed in my vision when others didn’t, and now we’ve been partners for five years.”
Since partnering with AppFolio, VMG has absolutely fulfilled that vision, going from 0 to over 100 associations in just five years.
“We’ve grown at such a rapid pace to the point where we’re bringing on pretty much two associations per month. AppFolio has really helped us to scale with relative ease.”

Managing associations across multiple states comes with its own set of challenges. However, having all of their business-critical processes within one system has enabled the team at VMG to maintain transparency and get work done faster. Dan explains:
“We love the fact that AppFolio is a central repository. We don’t have to have a lot of add-on products or make our managers use different software programs to be effective at their job. Everything is in one spot.”
In addition, having a single solution has made it easier to provide team members and board members with access to important documents. As Dan shares:
“It’s great for me to be able to look at the treasurer and say, ‘Now you have the access that we have. You can see all of this in real time and there are 30-something different reports that you can run whenever you choose. You don’t have to wait for financials to be emailed to you,’ and that blows people away. We’ve benefited greatly from AppFolio’s all-inclusive system.”

More than anything, AppFolio reduces the amount of busywork for VMG’s team so they can focus on more important priorities, such as business growth and customer service. This is evidenced by Dan:
“AppFolio saves our managers time because everything is in one spot. They don't have to learn other systems. It also cuts down on phone calls and emails. While we're getting the work done, the board can access information at their fingertips. It’s so fast and easy for us to blast out a newsletter or announcement, too.”
These time savings have also had a huge impact on VMG’s ability to carry out tasks in the field, such as violations. Dan shares:
“When our managers are driving through the community and see a home with a shutter hanging loose, they can snap a picture right on the spot through the app. The template is already loaded to generate and send the violation letter out to the homeowner. They don't have to worry about getting back to the office to upload it or adding it to their to-do list. It can all be done in real time. That's pretty valuable.”

As a leader in association management, Dan prides himself on building others up and giving back to the communities he manages. Rather than choosing the employees with the longest resumes, Dan believes in choosing the employees with the biggest hearts. Through the time savings and automation of AppFolio, Dan can focus on coaching his employees and building the next generation of leaders.
“I love putting people in positions to thrive and seeing them take off and become empowered to do great things on their properties and to be great leaders for their teams. If you've ever seen a boxing match, after they finish one of the rounds, they take a break and talk to the cornerman, and then they go fight again. I’m the cornerman. I coach our upper management team. I work directly with them to where they can then start spreading it out to others. I'm really enjoying it now that I have more time.”

As VMG has expanded and taken on more employees, office space has become limited. Being able to work remotely not only frees up physical space but also provides its team with more flexible work options. As Dan mentions:
“Given that AppFolio is fully mobile, it's an added bonus because we don't have to be together all the time. We’ve been growing rapidly and have gotten jammed on office space. But that’s not a problem because we can give employees the option to work from home. It’s a win-win because we don’t have to find another building, and they can have more flexibility.”