REA 9 Tips and Tricks
- How to do an email merge from REA 9.
- Be consistent when adding information to your database.
- Set Address Standards for your company and FOLLOW them.
- Create Companies first then add your contacts.
- Always search for a contact before you add them.
- Changing dates in REA using quick keys.
- Calculations in numeric fields.
- Build your property database.
How to do an email merge from REA 9.
For instructions on doing an email merge to a group of contacts in REA 9, please download and read the pdf instructions we have created here.
Be consistent when adding information to your database.
Information incorrectly added to your database can create problems instead of solving them. This article outlines the correct way to add new records to your system using data standardization while avoiding duplication of records.
Set Address Standards for your company and FOLLOW them.
- Never use any punctuation in an address.
- Use a single letter for directions (N, S, NW).
- Always spell out designators (i.e. Street, Circle, Avenue).
- Always spell out secondary designators (i.e. Suite, Unit).
- Enter the zip code and let REA enter the city and state.
Create Companies first then add your contacts.
REA 9 adds a new table to contact management, the company table, and it makes adding multiple contacts to a company very simple. It also eliminates address redundancy and mistakes. In REA 9 contacts do not contain company names or address information. Instead you link the contacts to a company record and only enter the address once.
There is a backend benefit to the company database too. When a company moves or changes its name you only have to make one change and all the contacts automatically reflect the new information. The company database also makes it easy to see all the contacts in an organization, subsidiary or at a single address.
Always search for a contact before you add them.
Before adding a contact to REA you should use global search {F12} to make sure they are not already in your database. Global search allows you to look up clients using common information such as name, phone number, address or email.
Global search automatically removes things like spaces, punctuation and use multiple fields to make the search more productive. Global search also allows you to add the client you searched for if it is not found in the database. There is a global search for each database and you'll find it under the Tools | Search menu in REA 9.
Changing dates in REA using quick keys.
Date fields in REA 9 have some secret keys that make changing them much quicker. You can press the "T" key in a date field and REA will automatically set the field to today's date. Use the {+} (plus) key to increment the date one day at a time and the {-} minus key to decrement it one day at a time. The following keys can also be helpful and you can remember them by the spelling of the words.
WeeK: Press {W} for the beginning of the week and {K} for the end.
MontH: Press {M} for the beginning of the month and {H} for the end.
YeaR: Press {Y} for the beginning of the year and {R} for the end.
Today: Press {T} for today's date.
Calculations in numeric fields.
Each numeric field has a secret calculator built into it. You can perform math functions just by pressing the right keys.
For example, you want to enter 25% of $837,300 in a field. With the secret calculator it is easy to do. While in a numeric field enter in 837300 then press the {*} (multiply} key on your keyboard. Now type in .25 and press enter. REA automatically multiplies the two numbers and enters in the result in the field.
The following keys all work in a numeric field:
{+} (plus key): does addition
{-} (minus key): does subtraction
{*} (multiply key): does multiplication
{/} (forward slash key): does division
Build your property database.
One major advantage REA has over contact managers is the robust property database. The property database requires the least amount of effort to create and has the highest return on you efforts. A good property database will separate you from your competition and you'll find you use each record you enter over and over again.
Companies, contacts, owners, tenants, agents all change. Tracking those is a lot of work because of the constant change. A building rarely changes; once you put the basic information about a property in your system and add a picture of the property you can reuse that information for many years.
Creating reports such as comp reports become a simple matter of querying the property table and printing the report. Break down your area and start by entering the basic information and attaching a digital photo for the most useful properties in your area.
Gradually work your way through the top 50 properties to the top 100 and so on. Set a goal for yourself to add a certain number of properties to your system each week and then stick to it. Take a look at the property table fields and decide which fields are mandatory to make reports useful and make sure you fill all those fields in before you move to another property.