Improved access and operational efficiency, application processing time halved, team efficiency up 50%

Salesforce Solution Summary

CUBE84 delivered a custom managed-services engagement built on Salesforce NPSP. The solution included:

• A digitized application intake and qualification workflow that replaced manual paperwork.
• Custom logic to auto-map applicant eligibility to available units (based on income thresholds, family size, availability) and assign suitable units.
• A scheduling and milestone-tracking system tied to property development and unit readiness, with task automation to trigger paperwork and resident communications.
• Role-based interfaces tailored for different internal users (leasing, property management, resident services) to maintain clarity and consistency.
• Dashboards for leadership to view application pipelines, unit availability, occupancy rates, waitlists, and development milestones.

The rollout followed a phased approach: initial pilot for new applications, then broader rollout for full intake + matching + tracking, followed by dashboard and reporting setup.

Beyond The Surface Problem

Many housing nonprofits face structural challenges beyond affordability. For organizations like Housing Alexandria:

• Manual, paper-heavy application processes create bottlenecks. Applicants may miss deadlines or fail to submit required documents, causing high attrition even among qualified candidates.
• Matching eligibility to unit availability is complex. Income thresholds, household size, and unit-type availability vary. Organizations often struggle to correctly qualify and allocate units under pressure.
• As new developments come online, coordinating release dates, paperwork, and occupancy can become chaotic. Without clear milestone tracking, units may sit vacant, or residents may be delayed.
• Internal inefficiencies burden staff. Frequent follow-ups, manual checks, and lack of visibility across teams slows down operations and increases overhead.

Historically, many nonprofits treat these inefficiencies as “part of the work.” Housing Alexandria needed a system that treated equitable access, operational clarity, and responsiveness as core capabilities.

Housing Alexandria’s Objective

• Improve the housing application and automate the allocation process to ensure timely and fair placement of qualified applicants.
• Increase internal operational efficiency and transparency across development, leasing, and resident services teams.
• Track and manage development milestones and occupancy in a scalable way as new properties come online.

Here’s How We Did It:

• We began with a detailed discovery phase. We mapped out the application workflow from first contact through final placement. We studied existing pain points: paperwork volume, delays, eligibility confusion, unit mismatch, and coordination challenges.
• We built a custom digital application intake via Salesforce forms. We created qualification logic reflecting unit eligibility criteria (income, family size, unit type). We developed automated matching logic to assign applicants to appropriate available units.
• We added a schedule-tracking module tied to development timelines. When a property unit’s readiness date was updated, it generated tasks automatically for leasing paperwork, resident outreach, and occupancy preparation.
• We configured role-based page layouts and permissions: leasing agents saw only intake and matching; property managers saw occupancy and maintenance readiness; resident services saw communication and onboarding tasks.
• We created dashboards and reports for decision-makers: pipeline volume, waitlists, occupancy rates, projected occupancy, development milestone status, and processing time metrics.
• Training and documentation were delivered to internal staff. Pilot rollout began with one property; after success, we rolled out across all existing and upcoming properties.

Transformation In Motion

After deployment, Housing Alexandria’s application processing time dropped by half. The automated qualification and matching logic eliminated manual screening delays and reduced human errors. The team’s overall operational efficiency increased roughly 50 percent. Staff coordinated more smoothly across leasing, development, and resident services. New units coming online were processed through occupancy and paperwork without hiccups. Waitlist management became transparent and auditable. Leadership gained real-time visibility into pipeline, occupancy, and development status. As a result, Housing Alexandria served more families more quickly, reduced vacancy periods, and maintained consistent occupancy levels even as new developments came online.

What Changed

Because of the digitized workflow:

• Qualified applicants receive timely notifications and are matched to appropriate units faster.
• Vacancies are filled rapidly, reducing turnover time between units.
• Staff spend less time on manual paperwork and follow-ups, freeing capacity for resident services and outreach.
• Tracking of development milestones ensures unit readiness aligns with leasing and occupancy paperwork.
• Organizational transparency improves accountability, enabling data-driven planning for new developments and resident services.