Enumerate

I am the Vice President and General Manager for Steward Property Services, Inc., located in Petaluma, CA. We are a small company that has a strong local reputation that has been built over twenty years of managing Common Interest Developments from Ukiah to San Rafael. We have a unique take on managing HOAs and prefer to work toward a sense of community, rather than as enforcement agents. However, every Board we manage and every Association we manage is unique and they all have their own priorities, which we try our best to satisfy.

When I started with this company over five years ago, the housing market was just beginning to crash. Foreclosures and bankruptcies were skyrocketing and our operational needs were multiplying faster than we could handle. This is when I started looking to consolidate our operations and use technology to increase efficiency in an effort to lower costs for our clients. We had been using software that was geared toward rental properties and creating customized communication using the Microsoft Office Suite.

As our business began to grow, and I was promoted into more of a supervisory position, there was no way for me to provide accurate or constructive oversight because everyone seemed to be "doing their own thing." When I came across TOPS software, a light came on. All of their features fit all of our needs and everything was bundled into one nice package, which also functioned as a centralized database for all of the information that we had previously had to create individual folders for. The housing of data was also attractive because much of this could be kept digitally and we could begin decreasing our paper use. I researched many competitors and many different types of programs.

The answer, for me, quickly became obvious. TOPS would be the perfect solution for our company. I worked with their sales department and expressed my problems and needs and they were able to define for me how TOPS could help. In 2008, we purchased the software with the intent of having our accounting department test it and become familiar with it, before introducing it to the management side of the house. This was incremental because we were able to first import all of our accounts from our previous software. Because we had our own unique needs, we chose to transfer all of the data ourselves, but if you are not that tech savvy, TOPS has conversion specialists that can work with almost any kind of database and get you up and running quickly.

TOPS worked with our banks so that we could import and export data for check writing, reconciliations, deposits and all other areas of accounting functionality. We were able to convert all of our properties as their fiscal cycles renewed and began 2009 with all of our accounts in TOPS. The hiccups were minimal, but I was sure to purchase their unlimited tech support, and this has become incredibly valuable, as we have progressed. They are so friendly and helpful with minor user issues, but when our server crashed and we had to convert all of our backup data to our new server, TOPS worked overtime to make sure that we were up and running as soon as possible. If we want to customize any of our operations within TOPS, tech support and their training department have helped us get there.

The training classes are fantastic and easy for any user, no matter the skill level. Once we transitioned this software to our managers, the reaction was immediate. Our managers actually thanked me for making their jobs easier. I helped them set up their form letters and CC&R tables, and suddenly their mountain of violation work had been streamlined and easily archived for reference. The reports helped them manage work orders, phone calls, and follow up on violations. I helped accounting set up their delinquency tables and tracking became a breeze. It was easier to train my successor on the delinquency process because TOPS streamlines and tracks the progress of the delinquency and using the job streaming function allowed the delinquency process to be completed in a matter of minutes, versus what used to take us three or four days.

I could type on and on about how valuable TOPS has been to our business. They are constantly evolving the software and developing partnerships with companies such as AtHomeNet.com, who created and manages Association websites for us and is able to work with TOPS so that users can securely login to their Association site and view pertinent accounting data and reports. I try to attend any seminar TOPS offers because their products keep evolving so rapidly, I don't want to miss out.

If you are thinking of transitioning software, I highly recommend TOPS for both small and large management companies. If you would ever like to speak with me about our experience, someone at TOPS can put you in touch with me. Or use the contacts listed in this review. I could not be happier with the choice we made. I hope you have success too!

Tops One has been instrumental for us as an entire office. We no longer have to rely on just our finance department to assist homeowners with financial information. Everyone has been cross trained on the Tops One system and can easily pull a statement or look up a balance

The worst customer service and user support ever experienced in professional service contract. Despite 2+ years and innumerable hours spent investigating, documenting and evidencing functionality issues, we've made no progress towards efficient use of the software. Every month a different software operation is "broken" by their development team as they endeavor to roll out more features despite unreliable functionality of existing offerings. High turnover in the support dept is deeply concerning. Tops/Enumerate must be just as difficult to work for as it is to work with. Support tickets often go unanswered for weeks and many are left unresolved entirely. My staff are often more knowledgeable of the software than the Support personnel assigned to the issue. It's apparent that those who are designing the code have never worked in the Association Management industry. Frustration doesn't even begin to describe our experience. From day 1, the transition from our previous software (TopsPro, the predecessor to TopsONE) was a disaster. Twice our roll out date was delayed due to failure to provide sufficient training in a timely manner. When we finally went live, we discovered that irreparable errors were made in the initial population of our data. They didn't ask questions and now we're stuck with permanent errors that cannot be amended or deleted. Since then, we've spent 100s of hours correcting data and creating workarounds.

Although it has not quite yet been six months that we've had this software, I can identify several items that this software does to make the job in the management world easier.

If your goal is to run your office efficiently then I suggest you do not use tops one!! I was so excited after talking to the sales rep about all the cool changes we could make and not one of the promises turned out!

I have sent at least 10 emails to ask them when I am getting my training on the compliance and management side of the software and I was told the rep will call me and then after more emails from me i was told some other rep will call me then after another email today they told me the third rep is going to be reaching out to me. That is what inspired the review! I can't believe this company is able to stay in business or are they on their way out and that is why all the issues many companies are having.

I also called other companies across Utah and Arizona that use tops and I have asked them if they are having the same problems and I have had every one of the companies tell me they are looking to change! Don't buy this product you will regret your choice.

The next step to get back my money/training and misdirected promises would be get a lawyer involved. Sad that they can just be honest and fair to their clients