Meet the Client
Washington State Housing Finance Commission’s Asset Management and Compliance (AMC) team exists for one reason: making quality, affordable housing accessible to Washington residents. The team monitors multi-family properties across the state, verifying compliance with federal and state regulations. Their work directly impacts thousands of families who depend on affordable housing options.
Daily Detour: Drowning in inches of paper
Property owners and developers knew the drill. Submit inch-thick packets. Mail them to the AMC office. Wait. Hope nothing was missing.
The AMC team faced the same mountain from the other side. Staff spent thousands of hours manually entering data from physical documents. Filing cabinets lined the walls. Every January brought 1,200 massive packets for annual reviews. Each multi-family property transfer meant phone calls and emails to track down missing forms. Tax credit applications arrived on CDs alongside paper copies. Staff had to manually collate everything.
Then COVID-19 hit. Remote work wasn’t optional anymore. Paper processes weren’t just inefficient; they became impossible.
The AMC needed to go paperless. Not eventually. Within 60 days.
About our Client
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The Solution: Digital forms that actually make sense
AMC partnered with the MCCi to implement Laserfiche, a content management platform that organizes documents, captures information through digital forms, and automates workflows. The goal wasn’t just to survive COVID. It was to build something better for property owners and staff.
Smart Forms That Guide Submitters
The team tackled their most complex process first: multi-family property transfers. These applications varied wildly depending on the buyer. An LLC needs different forms than a nonprofit. Out-of-state purchasers face additional requirements.
Property owners often struggled with the instructions. Some submitted unnecessary forms. Others missed required documents. Back-and-forth emails delayed approvals.
Laserfiche conditional forms changed that. Submitters answer a few questions upfront. The system shows only the forms they need. Required fields appear automatically. Irrelevant forms stay hidden.
Property owners now spend less time on paperwork. The AMC spends less time explaining requirements. Applications arrive complete.
Integration That Eliminates Redundancy
The AMC team also improved their tax credit application process. Before Laserfiche, applicants mailed paper copies and CDs. Staff manually entered data and sorted documents.
MCCi integrated Laserfiche with Salesforce. Applicants now log in to Salesforce to upload documentation directly to the Laserfiche repository. They can view what their team members submitted. They can remove documents if needed.
“We found this beneficial as most applicants work in teams. They can see what everyone else submitted and confirm that they’re submitting everything that they need to,” says Matthew Vickery, Salesforce Administrator for the AMC.
Team visibility means fewer incomplete applications. Fewer incomplete applications mean less back-and-forth. Staff process applications faster. Applicants get decisions sooner.
Annual Reviews Without the Annual Stress
Every January brought the same challenge: processing 1,200 annual review packets from multi-family property owners. Each packet required manual data entry. Each document had to be filed in its own folder.
Staff dreaded January.
Now, property owners submit reviews digitally through Laserfiche. The system captures data automatically. Documents route to the right locations. Staff focus on compliance reviews rather than data entry.
7,000 Staff Hours Saved
On top of the customer service improvements, Laserfiche provides innumerable time-saving benefits to AMC staff.
For instance, at the beginning of each year, multi-family property owners must submit a review for regulatory and compliance purposes. Every January, the team would have to process over 1,200 large packets, manually entering data and filing them in individual folders.
Now they take in these documents digitally through Laserfiche.