What makes agency IT different
Your staff work from phones as much as from desks. Copies of passports and visas sit in inboxes and shared folders long after anyone needs them. Estate agents, and letting agents handling higher-value lets, are supervised by HMRC for anti-money laundering, which means keeping ID records properly and for the right length of time. And deposits and rent mean money moves on the strength of an email.
What we set up for agents
- Multi-factor authentication on every account, phones included.
- Company email and files on phones kept in a managed work area, which can be removed if a phone is lost or someone leaves, without touching their personal photos or apps.
- One controlled place for tenant and landlord documents in SharePoint, with access limited to the staff who need it, instead of copies spread across inboxes.
- Shared mailboxes for lettings@, sales@ and enquiries@, so nothing is lost when someone is out or off.
- Alerts for forwarding rules on mailboxes that deal with deposits, rent and landlord payments.
- A leavers process, so negotiators who move on lose access to your clients and landlords on their last day.
Keeping ID documents for the right time
Right to Rent and anti-money laundering rules set how long you must keep ID copies. Data protection law says you should not keep them longer than you need to. We can set up retention in Microsoft 365 so documents in the right folders are kept for the period you choose and then flagged for review, rather than sitting in someone's inbox for ever.
Payments and bank details
If a criminal gets into a mailbox, the first thing they look for is a payment about to happen. Any change to a landlord's or tenant's bank details should be confirmed by phone, on a number you already hold, before money moves. We set up the technical controls and help you write that rule down.
Which Microsoft 365 plan
Business Premium for anyone with company email or documents on a phone or laptop, because the managed work area and device controls are part of it. From us it is £25 per user, per month, on a 12-month term. Staff who only need email can be on a cheaper plan. See licence prices.
What we can do for you
Microsoft 365 Setup
Set up properly, with the right licence for each person and security switched on from day one.
Security Health Check
A written review of nine areas of your Microsoft 365, with a plain-English traffic-light report.
Business Websites
A one-page site written and built for you, then hosted, backed up and looked after from £15 a month.
We are two engineers, not a call centre. Everything is a fixed price agreed in writing, and no work starts until you have accepted the quote. If what you have already works, we will tell you that and charge you nothing for saying so.
Common questions
How should letting agents store tenant ID documents?
In one controlled location with access limited to the staff who need it, kept for as long as your Right to Rent and anti-money laundering obligations require, and then deleted. Not in individual inboxes or on staff phones.
Can our staff use their own phones for work email?
Yes, with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Company email and files sit in a managed area on the phone that can be removed when someone leaves or loses the phone, without touching their personal content.
How much does IT for an estate or letting agent cost?
Microsoft 365 setup is from £499 and a Security Health Check from £349, both fixed prices agreed in writing before work starts. Business Premium licences are £25 per user, per month on a 12-month term. Klariq is not VAT registered, so no VAT is added.
Talk to an engineer, not a salesperson.
Tell us how your business works and what is bothering you. We will give you a straight answer and a fixed quote, and if what you have is fine, we will say so.
Get in touchWe also set up IT for accountants and bookkeepers, law firms, counsellors and therapists and trades and construction firms. We cover Wigan, Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, St Helens, Warrington, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.