Trestle’s Advanced AP System Strengthens Association and Vendor Relationships
Through its long-standing working relationship with CIT Bank, Trestle provides vendors several payment options, including in-house paper checks, direct deposit via ACH, and virtual card (v-card) payments. Vendors are able to select their preferred payment option as part of the work order and proposal process. These electronic options help avoid delays experienced with the postal service and guarantee vendors receive payment swiftly.
Timely payment of invoices allows vendors to proceed without delay or interruption and helps to maintain a strong working relationship for Associations and their partners. Utilizing its well-established AP process, Trestle ensures that is Clients’ vendors experience quick and accurate payments.
“Delivering accurate and prompt payments help establish and maintain trust between our Client Associations and their vendors,” said Bob Brencic, CMCA, AMS, MBA, President of Trestle Community Management. “Ongoing enhancements, such as electronic payment options, strengthen Trestle’s existing processes and allow us to exceed the expectations and needs of our Clients.”
Trestle’s Work Order and Proposal Procedures
Concentrating solely on community management services has allowed Trestle to understand the specific needs of Washington’s various types of common interest ownership associations and in response, design meticulous processes best suited for each. With an emphasis on transparency, consistency and accuracy, Trestle has created a robust catalog of internal procedures that have been automated with industry leading technologies. These mature processes result in the positive and consistently reliable experience Trestle’s Clients have grown to expect from the firm.
In order to protect its Client Associations and ensure consistency when issuing multiple proposal requests for Board review, Trestle has prepared an exhaustive catalog of statements of work. Each is project-specific and includes thoroughly outlined specifications. These statements of work can be amended by Trestle’s Community Association Managers to meet the unique needs of each community while still retaining standard language and legal protections. Similarly, Trestle has prepared a detailed work order request form for its Team’s use.
Through the use of these thorough forms, Trestle’s Team can ensure that each vendor receives consistent information. This approach is particularly helpful when a community is requesting multiple proposals from multiple vendors as it ensures each vendor receives an identical request. Further, through integration into Trestle’s My-Community Web Portal, Board Members are able to review and monitor all maintenance items, including pending proposal requests and in-progress work orders, and review and approve vendor invoices. Homeowners are able to review open maintenance projects linked to their home or a shared common area.
What Else Can be Found on Trestle’s My-Community Web Portal?
A community association portal is only as useful as the information it provides. In an effort to ensure current details are readily available, Trestle has fully incorporated its My-Community Web Portal into its Team’s processes. As a result, Trestle’s Team continuously updates the information accessible on the My-Community Web Portal, allowing it to serve as reliable centralized resource for community members.
Full utilization of the My-Community Web Portal allows association business to continue on Board and community members’ schedules. As an online resource, information can be retrieved at any time. Homeowners are able to proactively seek guidance, review easy to use instruction guides provided by Trestle, and ensure that their request or need is not delayed during non-business hours. Similarly, Board Members may review status updates after business hours, ensuring pending items do not go unchecked and important discussions among Board Members are not delayed.
Through the My-Community Web Portal, Homeowners can:
- Report and track maintenance concerns,
- Review their compliance history,
- Submit and monitor alteration requests,
- Keep up to date on important community announcements,
- Watch Trestle’s educational Webinars On-Demand,
- Review governing documents, meeting minutes and notices, and more.
In addition, with the help of Trestle’s My-Community Web Portal, Board and Committee Members can work to keep association business moving between meetings and afterhours. On the My-Community Web Portal, they can:
- Review and approve invoices,
- Discuss and vote on architectural alteration requests,
- Track community-wide compliance and maintenance history,
- Post community announcements, and more.
How Else Does Trestle Support its Clients?
Understanding the value of Board Member and Homeowner education, Trestle began releasing live Webinars and Webinars On-Demand for community members in 2021. An overwhelmingly positive response has shown the value in extending accessible resources to Clients. Through the full deployment of Trestle’s My-Community Web Portal, the firm provides comprehensive access to endless resources including its webinars, detailed management reports, and user-friendly services for architectural request processing, compliance monitoring, and more.
Trestle continuously invests in Team education and skill building. All of the firm’s Team Members attend continuing education courses offered inside and outside of the industry as well as conferences and educational seminars on an ongoing basis. Trestle approaches education holistically, ensuring that all Team Members are well-versed on the intricacies of the community association management services industry.
Through this approach, the firm holds the highest number of prestigious community association management credentials in Washington State including the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA), Association Management Specialist (AMS) and Professional Manager of Community Associations (PCAM) designations.
To best serve its Client Associations, Trestle has established partnerships both inside and outside of the community management industry. Through these well-nurtured working relationships, Trestle has identified trustworthy service providers. Proactively anticipating the future needs of Washington state’s community associations, Trestle has also established relationships which allow it to access industry-leading technologies. These partnerships allow Trestle to implement exclusive and advanced technologies, meeting and exceeding its Clients’ needs. The value of these efforts is passed along to its Client Associations as they access vetted and dependable service providers and the most advanced services in the industry through Trestle.
Connecting with Trestle
In addition to Trestle’s website, the firm regularly connects on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Please contact Bob Brencic, CMCA, AMS, MBA, President of Trestle Community Management, at Bob@TrestleCM.com or (425) 454-6404 for additional details.
