Real Estate Transaction Coordinator Software: The Team Leader’s Guide to Getting the Best

Not all transaction coordinator software is created equal. And it doesn’t matter if you have decades of experience in the real estate industry and a rock solid hold on your market: the way you handle your transaction pipeline can still define your success.

Top-performing teams, brokerages and transaction coordinators (TCs) know that with the right software, it’s much easier to manage the thorny maze of form intake, deadlines and endless emails, while keeping all parties satisfied and 100% in the loop.

But with dozens of real estate tech products all claiming to be the best, how do you know which one is the right solution for your needs?

To reduce the stress, we’ve prepared this guide detailing the most important items to consider when choosing a transaction coordinator software solution for your real estate business.

Let’s dive in!

Here's what we'll cover:

• What Is Real Estate Transaction Coordinator Software?

• The Top 3 Benefits of a Smart TC Tool

• The 3 Core Types of Real Estate Transaction Software: How to Choose the Right One for You

• The Best Software for Real Estate Transaction Coordinators? Here’s What to Look For

What Is Real Estate Transaction Coordinator Software?

Real estate transaction coordinator software is a tool that simplifies your real estate transaction process through document management, streamlined communication, and customized workflows — think: less paperwork, more automation.

A transaction coordinator program doesn’t replace your regular transaction management workflow — it enhances it. Think about it like taking your car from a 4-cylinder to a V12.

With multiple transactions per agent each month, real estate brokers and team leaders often find themselves struggling to hold agents accountable for their weekly prospecting and follow up activities.

It’s a good problem to have, but one that can definitely stall your success if you let it. However, with the right transaction coordinator software, you can cover the blind spots in your transaction pipeline so you and your agents never have to worry about missing an important touchpoint with your customers under contract.

Unlike transaction management software, the best transaction coordinator software will help fuel transparency and communication between your agents, TCs and most importantly — your customers.

But the advantages don’t end there. Let’s take a closer look at the positive impact the right real estate transaction coordinator software can have on your business.

The Top 3 Benefits of a Smart TC Tool

The right programs can help make your transaction coordination process less complicated and help your TCs close files faster than they ever thought possible. Here are just a couple of the big benefits a smart TC tool can bring to your business.

Benefit #1: A Seamless Customer Experience

Within the highly competitive real estate industry, the customer experience (CX) is key to your agents’ success. Buyers, sellers and other stakeholders have high expectations as to the level of support required through the transaction — and they should. Buying or selling a home is a significant life decision, and it’s up to your agents to make that experience as painless as possible.

With a smart TC tool, your agents never miss a beat. The right platform will enable your agents and TCs to auto-fill details, create closing plans, track important milestones and send emails and messages, right from the palm of their hand.

At the tap of an app, both your agents and homebuyers are instantly on the same page. Agents can feel secure in their role as a trusted advisor to buyers and sellers, and customers feel confident in the choice they made to work with you.

At Preclose, we have a strong bias towards transparency and ease of use. We've built our transaction coordination software to feel just as fun and easy as your customer's favorite messaging app.

Benefit #2: No More Dropping the Ball

In the past, transaction coordination was all about checklists, spreadsheets, and post-it notes.

However, today’s real estate market is intensely competitive, and a patchwork system of Excel sheets and random text messages is no longer going to cut it. The best way to keep your agents on their game even when things get busy is to simply meet them on their turf, namely: their mobile phones.

A best-in-class transaction coordination software will act as a centralized hub for all involved parties — whether they’re in front of their laptops or on the go. Your agents, TCs, buyers and other transaction stakeholders will receive real-time notifications on important deadlines, collaborate on key documents and schedule meetings or inspections at a time that works for everyone, from any location or device.

This kind of transparent, customer-centric system boosts client satisfaction, while eliminating many of the time-consuming admin tasks from your TC’s plate.

With access to all your documents and communications in one central place, you always know which deals are progressing seamlessly and which might require your attention.

Benefit #3: Save Time and Confusion

Every real estate transaction starts with a crucial handover of information between the agents and TCs. In order to keep your customers happy from point A to Z in their real estate journey, this handover process needs to be completely airtight.

By automating the transaction coordination process, you ensure an efficient passing of the baton from your agents to your TCs. As a bonus, your agents will now have more time to tackle high ROI tasks without being interrupted by requests for missing forms or info.

With the right software, your transaction coordinators get better, faster answers from agents, clients, and third parties by communicating via chat vs. lengthy emails and voicemails back and forth.

The 3 Types of Workflows Transaction Coordinator Software Exists For

No two transaction coordination strategies will look exactly the same.

Before you can select the perfect tool for your business, it’s important to understand the broad types of TC workflows so you can figure out where your business stands and how each tool can help you take your customer experience strategy to the next level.

Category #1: Manual Transaction Coordination Workflows

In general, a manual transaction coordination workflow will have the basic functionality you need for an effective transaction coordination process.

It’s simple and it does the job, but it lacks the ability to create customized or automated workflows and therefore, isn't scalable.

For example, your current system of Excel checklists and inboxes might work well for keeping track of 10 or even 20 deals per month, but without the ability to automatically track deadlines or nudge your agent when information is missing, important details can definitely slip through the cracks.

As your volume of business grows, the endless back-and-forth and siloed workflows can definitely put your business at risk.

“I’m now able to close anywhere from 30-60 files per month, or 30 per transaction coordinator because I’ve got the systems, the models and the consistency. ” — Tammi Deinlein, Co-owner, Real Pro Leverage

Category #2: Out-of-the-box Transaction Coordination Systems

This category of TC workflows are your typical out-of-the-box systems. The tool is typically hosted online and is often embedded in the current transaction management tool passed down from your broker. Unlike your manual workflows, these systems can often feel like they weren't made for anyone, because they were made for everyone.

With a built-in transaction coordinator workflow, you can usually expect:

- Solid data security

- Customer support

- The ability to create automated workflows

But, transaction coordination is more than just adding a few extra features to your TM tool. It’s all about creating a positive experience for the customer. And if you’re looking to compete in an increasingly customer-centric world, you’ll need a workflow that emphasizes the client experience.

Category #3: Client-focused Transaction Coordination Workflows

High performance TC software is so much more than an online filing cabinet. Yet, despite the massive improvements in technology, most transaction coordination workflows are still clunky, fragmented and outdated.

This category goes beyond basic transaction coordination workflows to emphasize the client experience.

Here are four ways client-focused TC workflows are different from the two categories mentioned above:

1. You get a done-for-you client experience platform that leverages deadline management, automation, email and chat-based messaging to help your agents and TCs instantly communicate with homebuyers, sellers and other parties.

2. They include ready-to-use, fully customizable email templates that ensure your team stays responsive and can scale communication across a high volume of transactions, without sacrificing the quality of the customer experience.

3. You can integrate seamlessly with the other tools your agents already use and love such as Gmail, Outlook, dotloop, Skyslope and others so that all contract dates, documents and tracking are instantly streamlined.

4. You clients, agents and stakeholders have full visibility on everything going on with the transaction at every point of time. This level of transparency sets your team apart by shattering the everyday stereotypes about real estate agents only caring about their commissions and ensuring high-value customer touchpoints from contract to closing.

To find the best option for your unique team, look for a software tool that helps you bridge the gap between transaction coordination and client experience. Take note of the tools that offer software plus an outsourced TC service versus those focused exclusively on building a best-in-breed tool to empower your existing process.

“I’m thankful that Preclose has done what it's done for me, that I can check things off and I'm not feeling overwhelmed. It's like the anxiety of knowing that there are so many things still left unattended to is gone. I don't know if it was just a godsend or whatever it was, but as soon as Preclose came into my life, it was like, everything else just fell in place." — Melisa Vinke, Owner, Elite Closing Solutions

The Best Software for Real Estate Transaction Coordinators? Here’s What to Look For

Alright, now that you know the main types of transaction coordination software, how do you choose the best tool for you?

Here are five critical questions that will help you make the right choice.

#1. Can you customize it to support your CX strategy?

Pre-formatted templates are great to have. However, every real estate deal is unique. Your transaction coordinator software should be able to customize your checklists or templates for different workflows, regulatory processes, or wow-experience opportunities in a snap.

The capacity to adjust your workflows on the fly ensures you can deliver a consistent VIP experience to your clients, no matter the type of transaction.

Pro Tip: Pick a software that is fluid enough to be adjusted to fit your specific preferences vs. one that forces you to adapt your processes to its default workflows.

#2. Does the transaction coordinator software automate tasks that are repetitive and prone to error?

Many of the critical tasks in the transaction coordination process can feel monotonous and time-consuming. Over time, even the most organized TCs can either get bored or over-confident, resulting in simple but costly mistakes.

Along with being flexible, your real estate transaction coordination software should reduce your chances of making unnecessary mistakes by eliminating the monotonous tasks that steal your focus.

These questions can help you figure out if your software choice offers sufficient automation tools:

• Can the software automatically set reminders for tasks and specific deadlines?

• Can it calculate deadlines automatically?

• Can it prompt or send automated email reminders for overdue tasks?

• How much copy/pasting will it save you?

• Can it automatically sync those tasks out to the calendars of all parties involved?

• Does it allow you to create and share personalized email templates with the team for a consistent brand identity?

• Does the system automatically backup your data? If so, how often (daily/weekly/monthly)?

#3. Does it let your team work from anywhere?

For an industry where most people are constantly on the move, software that’s only accessible from an office workstation or intranet can be a major bottleneck.

You don’t want to have to wait for your TCs to get back into the office before they can update your closing pipeline. Your choice of transaction coordinator software should make it easy for your TCs, agents and clients to complete their parts of the transaction coordination process no matter where they are. This not only speeds up the transaction process, but also improves the overall client experience.

Your solution should make it easy for agents to submit paperwork any time and allow brokers to check in on the status of their entire real estate pipeline, no matter their location or device.

Here are the questions to consider:

• Does the software provide a secure collaborative hub where everyone can upload documents, approve, e-sign and download files no matter the computer or device?

• Is it mobile-optimized?

• How difficult is it to tag other team members from inside the application?

“Each agent has different expectations for client management. Some people want me to be the main point of contact and other people are like, ‘Hey, I just want you to keep me on track.’ The biggest part is keeping everyone on the same deadlines because right now I have 38 files that I’m keeping track of. It’s a lot and missed deadlines don’t make anyone look good, so the customization aspect is really important.” — Catherine Evans, Assistant MCA, Keller Williams Real Estate

#4. Is the TC software easy-to-use?

No matter how innovative the features of a transaction coordination platform may sound, it all means nothing if it’s not user friendly.

If you expect your agents, TCs and customers to use the tool, you need to make sure it’s intuitive and that it doesn’t require a lengthy onboarding process or complicated user manual to get started.

Overly complex software can actually have the reverse effect, demotivating your team and causing missed deadlines, stalled transactions and frustrated clients.

These questions can help you figure out if your software choice is easy-to-use:

• Is the user interface as easy as setting up an email account?

• Does the software require fee-based training to learn?

• How easy is it to locate data and generate reports?

• Can essential data be presented in an easy-to-digest format?

#5.Does the TC software set your agents up to be the best resource in the biz?

For every transaction, your team’s goal is to be the best resource on all things real estate and leave your clients with a lasting impression. However, considering the various stages that go with buying and selling homes, that can be a tall order. Sadly, most times clients feel exhausted, ignored and frustrated by the close of a transaction.

The best real estate TC software empowers your team. It turns them into invaluable resources that keep your clients updated with the information, reminders and any other resources they need to help support their journey through the closing process.

These questions can help you decide if your software enables you build a unique client experience:

• Can your clients easily retrieve any information on the state or stage of their transaction?

• Does it simplify communication flows and keep everyone on track no matter their preferred medium?

Your business, your choice

Investing in real estate transaction coordination software can massively increase revenue potential by freeing up your agents’ prospecting time and improving the customer experience for every client under contract.

However, as we mentioned earlier, not all software is created equal.

Before committing to a TC solution, take the time to ensure it's one that best meets your specific needs and preferences.

Ready for a transaction coordinator software you can trust?

With PrecloseGO! you can monitor all your transactions in one place. The platform also includes features like real-time notifications and email templates to help transaction coordinators increase workflow efficiency, gain better visibility, and improve the customer experience no matter how many files are under contract.