Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Tuesday Edition #29

Author

Peter Lohmann
August 11, 2026

A no-fluff, twice-weekly briefing for the property management industry.

How To Design A Process People Actually Want To Use

Here’s a collection of concepts that I use when thinking about building a great process:

  • Confirm you actually need a true Process (vs a reference document/Notion page)

  • Get crystal clear on what triggers the process to start

  • Start with low-tech

  • Enforce a culture of daily task completion

  • Contort your business to the tools

  • Standardize terminology, punctuation, and verb tense

  • Involve the right team members throughout

  • Use as few tools & technology as possible, but no fewer

  • Eliminate & re-order steps at every opportunity

  • Don’t overlap with another process

  • Don’t manually enter data at runtime if only used once

  • Just enough process - don’t overengineer

  • Build for the common-case, not the rare exceptions

  • Minimize (but don’t eliminate) conditional logic

  • Put HOW to do it, WHERE you do it (self-documenting)

  • Make it easy & fast to start the process

  • Build in a few hours and deploy immediately. Capture the momentum

  • Improvements should be incremental

  • Process depreciation is real: you’re never “done” with a process

THIS ISSUE PRESENTED BY LDGR SYSTEMS

Last week I flagged the accounting process that makes every property manager wince: the AP pile, the late utility bills, the reconciliations nobody fully trusts. Here's the part I didn't get into: how LDGR actually works.

They're not asking you to rip out your tech stack. LDGR sits on top of whatever you're already running (Yardi, AppFolio, Buildium, RealPage, doesn't matter which), so there's no new system to learn and nothing to log into and babysit every day. It just runs in the background.

The moment an invoice hits your inbox, LDGR processes it, codes it, and inputs it into your PM system exactly the way you or your CFO want to see it.
Want to check their work? Full audit tracking is built in for visibility.

They're already doing this for ~40,000 units, at 50–75% less than the cost of an FTE or an outsourced solution.

If you've got a process like that eating your week, tell them about it and kick off a free trial:

PM Company & Vendor Updates

  • OneSource Real Estate has acquired 1 of 100 Property Management in Atlanta

  • PMI Daytona Beach has acquired PMI Daytona Flagler

  • Tomorrow: Sharing what I've learned from 3 years of working with a personal assistant. Catch Peter & The Wolf live, register here.

Why Entrepreneurs Are So Bad at Relaxing

Jon sent me a video on why leisure is a skill you have to build, and it kind of got under my skin. It breaks “leisure” into three categories: learning things you don't have to, deepening relationships nobody pays you for, and getting spiritually deeper. Good list, but something's missing…

Turns out "wasting time" might be the skill you're missing. My grandfather, who puttered around his Maine cottage with coffee or a cocktail for weeks every summer, knew how to do this best. Not enough entrepreneurs know how to do this, but they should all give it a try.

(Also available on Spotify & Apple Podcasts)

Meme Tuesday:

Did you miss it? 3 highlights from Friday’s Newsletter:

  1. ACH Deep Dive for Property Managers

  2. Great podcast with Stephen Glover of Peak PM

  3. Level Up Your AI webinar with Wolfgang Croskey (Thurs. @ 2pm ET)

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The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this newsletter. Additionally, some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.