Chapter 1 discusses the important differences between a process and a system. Learn why so many management companies ultimately fail at implementing online leasing, here.

Document design is the single most overlooked aspect of the leasing process. A poorly designed lease agreement can result in slow preparation of leasing documents, clumsy data entry, and piles of incomplete paperwork. The good news is, better document design can easily be achieved with little effort or expense. Proper design of lease documents help for a smoother workflow which, in turn, will reduce the average time it takes to prepare a lease, shave off a few seconds here and there during data entry, and even reduce common human errors like missing signatures.

Here are some 7 great tips for lease document design:

Place all signature lines at the bottom right side of your leasing documents

By simply redesigning the lease agreement to include all signatures at the bottom right side of each page, you can decrease the time it takes to audit a new lease. Leasing Managers can now quickly skim  through a 10 page lease and spot each signature along the way.

Bonus tip: put a small marking (like a black box) at the bottom of pages that require a signature. This will help reduce the amount of leases with missing signatures.

Lease documents should mirror the point-of-entry.

If you've ever entered a lease into "the system" before, you know how much time is wasted by flipping through pages to find the bit of info that comes next in the data entry form. This is known as a broken workflow and can easily increase data entry time by 20%. This can be easily avoided by designing documents which "mirror" the point of entry.

For example, if the software you use for guest card entry has the following order of inputs:

- Name
- Email
- Phone number

The paper guest card should be designed with the same order:

- Name
- Email
- Phone number

This allows for quicker entry of data and reduces human error.

Purchase Pre-Hole Punched Folders and Paper

Oh, the time we waste punching and re-punching holes into lease agreement packets just to save a few cents on paper. Sure, the savings in hard costs are easier to quantify but, **Process Hackers** value efficiency costs over hard cost for that exact reason. The unknown price you pay for inefficient workflow can easily go unchecked and become a hidden expense to your bottom line. Spring for the pre-punched paper and leasing folders. Not only will it improve the time it takes to create a new lease file, you'll save on paper that becomes garbage because of a hole punch too far up on a lease (It happens).

Design for reduced errors, like your revenue stream depends on it

I was recently asked to design a paper guest card that would help reduce data entry errors. After hours of brainstorming and dead ends, I decided to do what I do best - Figure out who does this sort of thing the best and steal; ruthlessly and unapologetically steal.

Luckily, the answer literally fell in my lap in the form of a Magazine subscription card from my favorite publication, Fast Company. Of course! Magazine companies! Who better to look to for forms that are designed for the purpose of reducing data entry errors? After all, if I submit an illegible subscription form, the magazine can't process it. And if the magazine can't process my subscription, they can't get paid.

It turns out, those little individual boxes for each character of your name does a great job at improving hand writing. This simple addition to a magazine subscription form helped reduce illegible submissions and improve order processing!
Now, simply take that concept and apply it to guest card and watch prospects' sloppy handwriting turn into something you can actually read!

Other great tips for document design:

- Keep all documents the same size (legal) to reduce lost documents in the filing cabinet

- Consider selecting one font as the "official font” for all lease documents to promote easier readability and overall consistency. A nice serif like Georgia would do just fine.

- Include total signature counts on the front page of the lease to reduce incomplete paperwork.