Ownersite Technologies Corporate Blog

ColumbiaCare Services Chooses Ownersite to Manage Maintenance of 25-Vehicle Fleet

2011-09-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

ROSWELL, GA - September 13, 2011 - Ownersite Technologies, developer of Web-based maintenance management solutions for small to medium sized fleets, today announced that ColumbiaCare Services, a non-profit system of behavioral healthcare facilities and service programs serving eastern Oregon, has selected Ownersite's Vehicle Maintenance Management Application to help manage its 25-vechicle fleet.

Ownersite for Fleets is one of the only SaaS solutions purpose-built for fleet vehicle maintenance management. In addition to comprehensive maintenance and expense tracking, Ownersite customers can track driving and ownership information plus schedule alerts for a broad array of vehicle-related activities—from service reminders to insurance claims.

"The software we were using before wasn't providing us with regular updates, so our vehicles weren't getting serviced in a timely manner. Ownersite's software sends us updates so we know exactly when a vehicle needs an oil change or registration," explained Patricia Trepanier, accounts receivable and vehicle maintenance manager, ColumbiaCare Services. "Ownersite's software also makes it easy for us to evaluate how much we're spending on vehicle maintenance, which comes in handy when we need quarterly reports on that data. We just click a button and there it is."

Ownersite's reporting capabilities include multiple vehicle analysis of total cost of ownership, cost per mile and comparative fuel costs. Driver-directed reminders, multi-user support and user-defined access groups are among the functions Ownersite offers to fleet managers. New mobile capabilities provide authorized users and drivers with direct access to vehicle records and maintenance management information -- from the road -- for entry of vehicle servicing as well as fuel purchases.

"Ownersite Fleet Management enables our customers to look at vehicle maintenance records once a month or once a day and quickly and easily see the information they need to service vehicles so that their fleets are working at peak performance. which translates into cost savings for organizations," said Steve Eppinger, CEO, Ownersite Technologies.

About ColumbiaCare Services

ColumbiaCare has been providing a full range of mental health and residential services for citizens of Oregon since its inception in 2003, and has since expanded services into Idaho. ColumbiaCare has extensive history and experience in designing, developing (building or remodeling), and/or operating residential treatment programs including 13 licensed treatment facilities providing 24-hour residential services to adults with a primary diagnosis of mental illness. ColumbiaCare also owns and operates 6 supportive housing apartment buildings; owns a children's foster home-based crisis respite home and has 3 other facilities under development. More information is available at http://www.columbiacare.org.

About Ownersite Technologies

Ownersite Technologies provides comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance the safety, reliability and value of our customers' personal and commercial assets and vehicles. Our low cost maintenance management tools put the advantages usually reserved for large fleet owners into the hands of small business owners for a fraction of the cost. Ownersite.com is distributed directly to businesses and consumers online as well as through a channel of financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Roswell, GA, Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company formed by the original creators of http://www.f150online.com. For more information, visit http://www.ownersite.com.

Vancouver Sightseeing Specialists: Controlling Preventive Maintenance Through Technology

2011-08-02T13:26:00.000-04:00

OWNERSITE FOR FLEETS CASE STUDY

Vancouver Sightseeing Specialists: Controlling Preventive Maintenance Through Technology

For many fleet owners, preventive maintenance is a continual recordkeeping nightmare. Even firms with in-house maintenance staffs report difficulty staying on top of this crucial task. Yet, failing to keep buses maintained on the proper schedule reduces fuel efficiency, shortens vehicle life spans and can potentially leave customers stranded on the side of the road.

Tim Bourassa, Operations Manager of Burnaby, BC-based Big Bus LTD (which operates Vancouver Sightseeing Specialists), recognized the role preventive maintenance plays in keeping his buses operating at peak performance. He also realized that manual coordination of maintenance schedules and service records—or even informal, computer-based recordkeeping—was not an efficient solution for the 50+ bus operation.

Yet, while plenty of firms offered to perform maintenance on his buses, there were few realistic solutions for streamlining management of the process. "We had been looking for something for several years to fit our bill," says Bourassa. "A simple Google search brought Ownersite to our attention."

For Bourassa, preventive maintenance tracking was more than a financial necessity—it was a regulatory requirement. Canada has strict guidelines for bus owners to meet regarding safety and preventive maintenance programs.

After evaluating Ownersite and its offerings, Bourassa selected Ownersite for Fleets. This software suite is an enhanced and customized version of Ownersite's vehicle lifecycle management solution, a Web-based maintenance, expense and records tracking, alerting and reporting solution for vehicles of all types.

Ownersite for Fleets supports such fleet-centric features as driver-directed reminders, multi-user support and user-defined access groups. Its reporting capabilities include multiple-vehicle analyses of total cost of ownership, cost per mile and comparative (pre- and post-maintenance) fuel costs. In total, this "Swiss-army knife" of tools provides some 75 utilities for recording, tracking and reporting on vehicle records, including maintenance schedules and service records.

Bourassa says his shop manager uses the preventative maintenance component of the program to assign duties to the shop staff (Big Bus has an in-house maintenance shop). To use Ownersite for Fleets, Bourassa or his staff logs into the interface from any Web browser (PC or mobile). Although Bourassa's staff enters data manually on a daily basis, Ownersite also supports upload (in several formats) of vehicle records data ranging from mileage logs and service records to driver information, accidents, recall and vehicle histories, and more.

Data entry screens are custom-designed for vehicle records, making it easy and quick to record the correct information. "Ownersite has helped save us time and confusion with keeping records," says Bourassa. "And the customer service is amazing. Ownersite representatives are very helpful and understanding about our needs. The service alone tipped the scales to Ownersite."

Bourassa is looking forward to Ownersite's upcoming smart phone integration, but is very content with the current solution. "The program helps keep us on track and offers a simple and easy-to-understand audit trail," says Bourassa. "Ownersite is without a doubt a great investment. The program gives us a sense of security knowing that our fleet is being looked after and operating safely."

About Big Bus LTD

Big Bus LTD operates guided, "hop-on, hop-off" sightseeing tours of Vancouver, Canada. Although the tour takes 90 minutes from start to finish, ticketholders can leave the bus at any or all of the tour's 22 stops around the city and rejoin at their leisure. Tickets are good for two days, consecutive or non-consecutive, and ticketholders have two weeks from the first date of use to take advantage of the second day of travel. Each ticket also includes one ice cream treat. For more information, visit www.bigbus.ca or call 604.684.5605

Ownersite.com Empowers Drivers with Mobile Edition of Affordable Vehicle Maintenance Management Application, Now in Beta

2011-06-30T16:49:00.000-04:00

ROSWELL, GA – June 30, 2011 – Ownersite Technologies, developer of Web-based maintenance management solutions for small to medium sized fleets, today announced the public beta release of its mobile edition, with a target for general availability of August 31, 2011. Access to the application will be free for all Ownersite.com subscribers.

Ownersite Mobile will give authorized users and drivers direct access to the Ownersite.com vehicle records and maintenance management information for their vehicles, allowing them to enter data on vehicle servicing (both scheduled and unanticipated), fuel purchases and other information from the road. Integration with geolocation services will reduce data entry for trip logging, fuel and maintenance stops by automatically capturing the event location.

Panchero's Franchise Corp., which uses a small fleet of Hummers to advertise its business in the Midwest, has been testing the release. "Since we began using Ownersite's mobile platform, it's easy for our drivers to log in and enter their miles on trip reports," says Nanette Boyer, director of real estate. "Ownersite's solution has made it more convenient to keep track of mileage logs, maintenance, insurance and registrations."

Ownersite for Fleets, one of the only Web-based solutions purpose-built for fleet vehicle maintenance management, gains powerful new functionality with the release of Ownersite Mobile. Additional features include setting user access policies, automating maintenance alerts to drivers, capturing trouble tickets from the road at the time they occur, and generating mobile reports that show administrators which records are being entered by drivers.

"The mobile solution not only empowers drivers to input data so someone in the back office doesn't have to; it also puts the maintenance schedule and vehicle history in the hands of the driver at all times," says Steve Eppinger, founder of Ownersite Technologies. "With this history at hand, they can take better care of the vehicle and make better decisions when faced with maintenance issues on the road, ultimately saving the company time and money."

Ownersite Mobile is available as a native Android app that can be downloaded from the Android Market, and as a website optimized for access by mobile devices like iPhones and iPads, and smartphones and tablets that run Android, Windows 7 and Blackberry OS. Ownersite pricing is tiered based on the number of vehicles, with no additional charge for adding users or access to Ownersite Mobile.

About Ownersite Technologies

Ownersite Technologies provides comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance the safety, reliability and value of our customers' personal and commercial assets and vehicles. Our low cost maintenance management tools put the advantages usually reserved for large fleet owners into the hands of small business owners for a fraction of the cost. Ownersite.com is distributed directly to businesses and consumers online as well as through a channel of financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Roswell, GA, Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company formed by the original creators of www.f150online.com. For more information, visit www.ownersite.com.

Ownersite.com Helps Fleet Managers Control Fuel Expenses During Gas Price Spike

2011-05-18T09:52:00.000-04:00

ROSWELL, GA – May 18, 2011 – Ownersite Technologies, developer of asset management software for vehicle and home owners, today announced that fleet managers utilizing Ownersite.com to track the maintenance of their vehicles are feeling less pressure from rising fuel prices because of the greater fuel efficiency of their vehicles. Ownersite.com, the maintenance reminder and expense tracking system popular with fleet owners, has been shown to help car and truck owners who keep their vehicles in top condition achieve a measurable reduction in fuel usage.

When fuel prices rise, service-based businesses are often the first to feel the pinch at the pump. Businesses who can maintain the same level of quality service with a smaller increase in the cost of doing business gain a competitive advantage.

"We depend on Ownersite's technology to remind us when to service our vehicles – from oil to air filter changes," stated Paul Hartnett, president of Axis Coach, LLC. "Keeping our fleet well maintained has saved us between five and ten percent on our fuel costs."

Ownersite.com's developers recognize that in some fiercely competitive service industries that five to ten percent savings may contribute straight to the profit margin of a sale. Business owners recognize that with gas at $4/gallon, they could potentially recapture $500/year for each vehicle averaging 20,000 annual miles.

"Our software is designed to help vehicle owners operate their vehicles more efficiently and extend their lifetime on the road," said Steven Eppinger, President and CEO of Ownersite Technologies. "Ultimately we're helping them gain more value from their vehicle investment."

Ownersite.com users range from limousine and car services to pest control providers and landscapers. They drive a wide assortment of cars, trucks, vans and buses but are all searching for ways to deliver their service or reach their destination more efficiently.

Ownersite.com capitalizes on what automotive manufacturers have long advocated: that well maintained vehicles will experience better performance – including seeing better gas mileage – and have greater resale value when it comes time to upgrade.

About Ownersite Technologies

Ownersite Technologies provides comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance the safety, reliability and value of our customers' personal and commercial assets and vehicles. Our low cost asset management tools put the advantages usually reserved for large fleet owners into the hands of small business owners for a fraction of the cost. Ownersite.com is distributed directly to businesses and consumers online as well as through our channel of financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Roswell, GA, Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company formed by the original creators of http://www.f150online.com. For more information, visit http://www.ownersite.com.

Ownersite Celebrates 10 Years of Helping Customers Enhance Their Vehicle Safety, Reliability, and Value

2011-01-18T12:11:00.000-05:00

Offers a Best Practices Lesson on Building a Web Company that Lasts

ROSWELL, GA – January 18, 2011 – Ownersite Technologies, a developer of asset management software for vehicle and home owners, today announced the ten-year milestone of helping customers enhance the safety, reliability, and value of their vehicles through their web-based vehicle maintenance and management solution, Ownersite.com.

Launched in January 2001, the idea for Ownersite.com was born from the Founder's ownership of the highly popular F150online.com community site. Starting as an online alternative to the traditional spreadsheet method of documenting fuel usage and vehicle maintenance, the Ownersite.com solution has been continually enhanced throughout the years.

"Although there was initial skepticism that this innovative subscription-based system for vehicle owners had enough traction to last, it's clear that we stand as a best practices lesson on how to build a successful web company," said Steven Eppinger, President and CEO of Ownersite Technologies. "And, even better is the fact that we are continuing to grow and expand our offering as an invaluable service for thousands of consumers and fleet organizations."

Eppinger added, "There are so many highlights that stand out. One of the first is being recognized in July 2001 as an 'Incredibly Useful Site' by Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine shortly after our launch. Then, in 2004, we launched our private-label model, also known as Ownersite OEM, which licenses the core Ownersite.com technology to companies, such as credit unions, financial service providers and maintenance providers, who are interested in providing our technology as a value-added service to their customers."

Over the years, Ownersite has had numerous successes that have enhanced the company's brand equity and solidified its credibility as a viable web-based business driven by a passion for driving and for detail. Here are some highlights:

* From 2005 to 2007, Ownersite initiated promotional strategic partnerships that incrementally increased revenue, including a stint in NASCAR sponsorship.
* In 2008, recognizing that vehicle owners are also often homeowners, Ownersite expanded its model under the label, Home Ownersite, to help provide the same level of safety, reliability, and value from their homes.
* In 2009, Ownersite formed many strategic affiliate relationships that deepened its revenue stream and provided a solid foundation for growth.
* In 2010, Ownersite reached the milestone of tracking 100 million miles of service records and introduced major product enhancements for fleets and consumers.
* To kick off 2011, Ownersite will reach out to auto enthusiasts by sponsoring Adam Carolla's popular CarCast podcast.

Going forward, Eppinger is excited about the possibilities: "We have a clear strategy laid out for the next few years about how Ownersite will continue increasing the value, savings, convenience and intelligence that a web-based service organization can offer customers. We plan to expand our efforts in social media, improve our mobile offerings, and continue to develop innovative product features for consumers and fleets. We look forward to the new opportunities that await over the next ten years."

About Ownersite Technologies

Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company based in Roswell, GA. Launched in January 2001, it is the mission of Ownersite Technologies to provide the most comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance personal asset lifecycles, aimed at increasing the safety, dependability and value of our customers' homes and vehicles. We do this through direct relationships with the owners themselves as well as through financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. For further information, please visit www.ownersite.com.

Ownersite Introduces Operational Process Efficiencies for Fleets and Enhanced Functionality For Consumers

2010-06-18T11:17:00.001-04:00

Celebrates One Hundred Million Mile Mark for Stored Maintenance and Fuel Records

ROSWELL, GA – June 18, 2010 – Ownersite Technologies, a developer of asset management software for vehicle and home owners, today introduced greater functionality for their steadily increasing small and medium-sized fleet customer base (including limousine and chartered fleet operators, ambulance and EMS providers, computer and network assistance providers, home theater and automation companies, and landscaping and HVAC companies) and service enhancements for their growing consumer following.

"Ownersite is beginning its tenth year of offering a comprehensive web-based vehicle maintenance management solution to consumers and fleets," said Steven Eppinger, President and CEO of Ownersite Technologies. "Over the years, we have helped our customers log more than one hundred million miles worth of maintenance and fuel records. In our continuing quest to discover creative ways to add further value for all of our customers, we have been working tirelessly to develop our most comprehensive product enhancements to date to answer specific challenges that our customers face."

Eppinger added, "In developing the new functionality for our innovative solution, we focused on features that would enhance our value proposition of safety, reliability, and value that are the hallmarks of our success. For consumers and fleet customers, the new features offer unparalleled ease of use and convenience. In particular, our fleet customers have been hit with some critical challenges due to the recessionary environment, including volatile fuel prices, increased costs, and residual values on used vehicles. They are looking for ways to keep the vehicles in service for a longer time to contain costs associated with vehicle replacement. Our new features will help fleet companies handle these pressures by offering a more concise way to track maintenance and costs associated with those vehicles."

New Features for Fleet Users

* Multiple Users – As one of the most frequently requested features, Ownersite now includes multi-user capabilities, which will enable administrators to create groups with specific product access rights as well as assign users to specific vehicles.
* Work Orders - Fleet users now have a tool to create work orders, which improves their workflow and helps track revenue and costs.
* Preventive Maintenance Schedules – The PM Schedule feature allows users to group services along with their frequencies and assign them to vehicles rather than entering each service individually, one vehicle at a time. This is an excellent way to reduce time and costs.

New Features and Enhancements for All Users

* Accident Manager – Though the professionals behind Ownersite hope users never have to take advantage of this feature, it provides a centralized place to record accident details, including photos, files, notes and driver information when necessary.
* Improved Data Imports - The performance of the fuel record import has been improved and a maintenance record import, payment record import, and trip log import have been added. This will make it much easier to import data that is already maintained in other applications or spreadsheets.
* List Management - For areas where users can add their own entries to the drop-down lists, such as maintenance types, service reminder types and parts and accessories, those entries can now be edited and removed. Users also have the option of adding custom payment types.

Many of these new features are currently in beta mode with many of them coming online in full production in the near term. This public beta can be accessed with the user's existing email address and password at http://beta.ownersite.com. Although Ownersite enjoys a more than 80% subscription renewal rate, customers do not renew from time-to-time, so the company is extending an offer to try this beta version for thirty days to experience these exciting improvements.

About Ownersite Technologies

Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company based in Roswell, GA. Founded in 2000, it is the mission of Ownersite Technologies to provide the most comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance personal asset lifecycles, aimed at increasing the safety, dependability and value of our customers' homes and vehicles. We do this through direct relationships with the owners themselves as well as through financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. For further information, please visit http://www.ownersite.com.

1st Advantage Federal Credit Union Selects Ownersite Technologies as an Affiliate for its Drive1A.com Automotive Site

2009-08-13T08:00:00.003-04:00

Affiliate Relationship Provides Compelling Value Proposition

ROSWELL, GA – August 12, 2009 – Ownersite Technologies, a developer of personal asset management software for home and vehicle owners, today announced that it has formed its first affiliate partnership with 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union. The Virginia-based credit union is promoting Ownersite as a valuable automotive resource on the financial institution’s dedicated automotive site, Drive1A.com, which offers loans for all types of new and used vehicles, including autos, watercraft, RVs and motorcycles, as well as offers helpful tips and articles geared toward helping their members get the most out of their vehicles.

Ownersite's affiliate program builds on the company's comprehensive vehicle management capabilities by offering greater revenue-sharing and co-branding opportunities for 1st Advantage. The credit union receives a commission for every client that signs up for this valuable web-based service while Ownersite benefits from an expanded customer base.

"We are excited to partner with 1st Advantage because they share our philosophy of helping maximize the safety, reliability, and value of our customers’ assets, such as their vehicles and their homes," says Steven Eppinger, President and CEO of Ownersite Technologies. "Our affiliate program provides 1st Advantage with an expert vehicle maintenance partner that can be beneficial to their members in terms of a convenient, low-cost online maintenance tracking system."

1st Advantage will be able to offer to connect its members to a number of Ownersite's online vehicle maintenance tools, including documenting service histories, tools for tracking business and personal vehicle expenses, immediate access to recalls and technical service bulletin summaries, pre-established and/or customized service reminders, and a central and safe location for maintaining all important vehicle information.

Eppinger added, "The co-branding aspect of the program enables these organizations to strengthen their brands by including their logo and website link at the top of each member's online vehicle maintenance pages after they sign up for the Ownersite program. The affiliate relationship, therefore, enables 1st Advantage to create ongoing value and lasting interaction opportunities between them and their members that can carry on much longer than just offering them a vehicle loan."

In addition to enhanced revenue and co-branding, 1st Advantage also can take advantage of insightful vehicle maintenance articles that they can use on their Drive1A.com website and in their member newsletter. This educational material will help to stimulate interest, educate their members, and build loyalty to the 1st Advantage brand. For more information on the benefits for credit unions and its members, please visit www.ownersite.com/CU.cfm.

About 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union

Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union has approximately 60,000 members serviced by 11 branch locations. The credit union offers checking and savings, business services, loan services (home, car, and personal) and credit cards, credit counseling, online banking and investment services. For more information, please visit www.1stadvantage.org.

About Ownersite Technologies

Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company based in Roswell, GA. Founded in 2000, it is the mission of Ownersite Technologies to provide the most comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance personal asset lifecycles, aimed at increasing the safety, dependability and value of our customers' homes and vehicles. We do this through direct relationships with the owners themselves as well as through financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. For further information, please visit www.ownersite.com.

Great article on Ownersite in the July issue of LCT Magazine

2009-08-04T16:09:00.003-04:00

One of Ownersite's fastest growing audiences is the small to medium fleet market. It's great to see such a fantastic article about Ownersite in this space. Many thanks to the folks at LCT Magazine, a publisher for the limousine and chauffeured transportation market, for the great job.

Ownersite PDF -- LCT July

Home Ownersite Assists Homeowners With Hurricane Season Preparation By Offering Comprehensive Home Inventory Solution

2009-06-04T08:36:00.001-04:00

Tracks Valuables, Ensures Sufficient Insurance Coverage, Speeds Recovery

ROSWELL, GA – June 4, 2009 – Home Ownersite (http://home.ownersite.com), the complete home ownership website created by Ownersite Technologies, is reminding homeowners that hurricane season has begun and there is no better time than now to start creating a home inventory to document everything in and around the home. Not exclusive to hurricane season, Home Ownersite and a detailed inventory add year-round value for homeowners in case of unexpected events, such as fire, theft, or other natural disasters.

According to a May 2008 survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, most homeowners are not prepared if hurricanes strike, resulting in lost possessions. The survey found that 48% of homeowners have no home inventory of their possessions, while 32% do not have inventories with photos, and 58% do not have inventories with receipts to substantiate the value of their possessions. Additionally, of those that do have home inventories, 44% do not have remotely stored inventories and 28% do not have know what type of insurance they have or what it covers.

Home Ownersite offers a comprehensive online approach to managing the complete home ownership experience. Unlike other solutions that may require software, printouts, or trips to a safe deposit box, Home Ownersite makes it easy to securely record all of the important details of home ownership. The online service provides a shareable home inventory, photo album, and file manager that can be used to store important records related to personal belongings, taxes, mortgages, insurance policies, repairs and renovations, and more.

As a featured speaker on consumer solutions for the recent Jefferson Parish Hurricane Preparedness Expo, an area of Louisiana devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Steven Eppinger, President and CEO of Ownersite Technologies, noted, “The Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have publicly touted the benefits of a home inventory. It is better to get prepared now before the hurricanes begin or some other emergency strikes. Having an up-to-date listing of what they own and what it is worth will provide homeowners with peace of mind. Without it, a homeowner may get less than 50% of the actual value of their belongings because there is no proof in terms of its replacement value.”

In commenting on the benefits of a home inventory, Eppinger added, “Having an online home inventory enables an insurance company or government agency to more effectively validate the amount of funds needed to rebuild and replace more quickly than if a homeowner tried to put together a list of everything they owned from memory. With the lack of sleep and emotions running high, no one will remember everything. However, an online record accessed from any computer, PDA, or mobile phone can be provided to an insurance company immediately upon loss. This will mean that claims can be processed faster, perhaps within a matter of weeks rather than months. Additionally, the service also helps homeowners work with their insurance companies to determine if they are sufficiently covered through a customizable, password-protected, and confidential web page.”

The technology behind the Home Ownersite service makes constructing a home inventory quick, easy, and safe. No additional software beyond a web browser is required. Photos can be uploaded and receipts scanned with a thumbnail for each image. There are user-friendly pages that help walk the homeowner through the process, taking as little as 2-3 hours to complete for an average three-bedroom home. The company utilizes a Class A data center, offering large data storage capacity and 256-bit high-grade encryption. Home Ownersite has a clear policy on how privacy is protected. It also adheres to the strict PCI-DSS security and policy standards put forth by credit card companies.

In keeping with the company’s philosophy of offering high value at a low cost, the Home Ownersite service is only $29.95 per year with a 60-day free trial offer. Homeowners can get started right now by visiting http://home.ownersite.com.

About Home Ownersite
Home Ownersite (http://home.ownersite.com) is a web‐based application that makes it easy to safely and securely record all of the important details of home ownership—from a comprehensive and shareable home inventory—to a photo album and file manager to store important home records related to taxes, mortgages, insurance policies, and more. While there are many home inventory solutions available, our comprehensive online approach to managing the complete ownership lifecycle provides subscribers with a unique, year-round value proposition.

About Ownersite Technologies
Ownersite Technologies is a privately held technology company based in Roswell, GA. Founded in 2000, it is the mission of Ownersite Technologies to provide the most comprehensive web-based and mobile solutions to enhance personal asset lifecycles, aimed at increasing the safety, dependability and value of our customers’ homes and vehicles. We do this through direct relationships with the owners themselves, as well as through financial service and insurance providers, automotive service shops, and enthusiast networks. For further information, please visit http://www.ownersite.com.

The migration to the new data center is underway...

2009-05-09T12:22:00.002-04:00

The day is finally here. We are looking forward to the growth and expansion opportunities that the new location will bring. Hopefully, downtime will no more than a couple of hours, the majority of that time taken up by the servers in transit. We'll post more about the new data center once everything is tested and back up and running. Thanks for your patience!

Strengthening our Advisory Board with the addition of licensing and consumer brands expert.

2009-03-10T12:21:00.008-04:00

I am happy to welcome Pete Canalichio to the Ownersite Technologies team. Pete joins Ralph Petti, an expert in disaster planning and risk mitigation, as the newest member of our Advisory Board.

Pete brings with him a tremendous amount of military and private-sector experience, as both a veteran of the United States Navy and veteran of large and well-respected consumer brands known throughout the world. As our company continues to grow, and demand for our private-label offerings on both the automotive and home side increase, Pete's experience with licensing and brand building will be quite valuable.

Pete's complete bio can be found at http://www.ownersite.com/Management.cfm

Pete's LinkedIn profile can be found here - http://www.linkedin.com/in/petecanalichio

Welcome, Pete!

If Kramer used Ownersite, Elaine's fish might still be alive...

2009-03-05T11:41:00.005-05:00

The goal of Ownersite's mobile-device friendly interface at http://mobile.ownersite.com has always been to provide driving-centric resources to the vehicle owner, that are useful while on the road or away from their primary PC, rather than attempt to replicate the entire application.

Keeping with that goal, we have added a fun and useful feature that I really could have used a couple of weeks back when I parked my rental car in the garage at the Houston Galleria. Ownersite Mobile now let's you record where you parked and how much time you have left on the parking meter. While we know this is not exactly ground-breaking functionality, we do hope it will come in useful.

Features include:

1) current date & time automatically selected
2) save parking information by lot, level and/or spot
3) save parking information by cross-streets
4) save parking information by address
5) count-down on main screen for remaining time on parking meter

Please note that we have only tested the functionality on a Windows Mobile device with Pocket IE and Opera 9.5 beta because nobody around here owns an iPhone yet.

Happy Parking!

Ownersite adds better maintenance & reminder integration, mpg per fuel record

2009-02-27T09:38:00.014-05:00

We are in the process of wrapping up our customer survey and we wanted to thank everyone for their support, feedback, kind words and suggestions. Several hundred people replied, so I think the information we have collected is going to serve our users very well. Of the suggestions, two items were requested more frequently than any other:

1) add a column to the fuel display page that shows fuel consumption by record
2) better integrate the maintenance record and reminder functionality

I am happy to say that we have listened to your feedback and have made these very useful enhancements to Ownersite as a result.

There is now a column on the fuel display page that shows your fuel consumption by record. (we have maintained this information in the past on the fuel graph and text-based fuel usage report, but not on the main page) The column will include a value only if two consecutive fuel records are both fillups. (if they are not fillups there is no way to know accurately how much fuel was used for the calculation)

In what was probably the number one request, we have enhanced how maintenance records and reminders integrate with each other. Ownersite has been able to detect if a reminder already exists for a maintenance, tire or oil change record that has been added for a couple of years now, but it was handled by popup messages, which we suspect were simply not being seen as a result of popup blockers being on by default in most browsers now. We have done away with the popup and the functionality is now handled by standard screens. Combined with the recently introduced reminder reset feature, we suspect this will accomodate the needs of 95% of our users.

Here is the existing reminder...

Now let's add a maintenance record...

Ownersite detects if there is a reminder scheduled for this service..

The reminder has been updated to reflect maintenance record...

There are a couple of caveats to the integration right now, in that it only works for odometer-based reminders. It will also do its best to detect user-defined reminders, but in some cases differences between the maintenance labels and reminder labels will not be detected.

We hope these features enhance your experience with Ownersite. We are always looking for ways to improve the product and we are listening to your suggestions. (and we have more things in the works) As always, thank you for your support!

Ownersite adds Twitter support for quicker entry of fuel records

2008-12-30T17:00:00.004-05:00

A lot of technology and website trends have come and gone since we launched Ownersite back in 2001. We have incorporated some of the more useful ones, like a mobile interface (including a specific iPhone version) and this blog, for example. But we had held off on creating a Twitter interface until now. Some of the more useful fuel logging sites/social networks (like MyMileMarker, FuelFrog & FuelClinic come to mind) have had this kind of functionality for a while, but our users had not requested it until recently. I am happy to announce that we now have it and I must say that it really is a time saver. I may be a bit "old-school" but by using OutTwit (Outlook Twitter client) I can enter my fuel records in seconds, without having to login to my Ownersite account (mobile or otherwise). I believe this functionality may convince some Ownersite users that are not logging fuel economy to start doing so. More information can be found here. Can we say that we are Web 2.0 compliant now?

Ownersite for your Health?

2008-12-08T12:01:00.003-05:00

I heard an ad on the radio this morning (while listening to Neil Boortz) for MedsFile.com and I think it sounds like a great idea. In short, MedsFile.com is a web-based application to store your personal health record, including your medications, medical history, etc. I would equate it to Google Health, which launched with tremendous hype, but I don't personally think it has lived up to its initial hype.

What makes it different (other than what I consider a more attractive interface), based on what I can see on their website, they are independent and not affiliated with any particular insurance company or pharmaceutical company and their revenue model is based on subscriptions, like Ownersite and Home Ownersite, and not riddled with advertisements.

Why did I post this when it has nothing to do with cars or homes? Well, I guess when it comes down to it, the biggest personal asset you can manage is your health and this looks like a great product to do that. I wish these guys the best of luck with MedsFile.com.

(disclaimer: none necessary, I am not affiliated with this company in any way)

Home Ownersite, Disaster Planning & Jefferson Parish Chamber of Commerce

2008-11-17T13:15:00.005-05:00

It is going to be a big weekend for us, as we are slated to participate in the 2nd Annual Jefferson Parish Hurricane Preparedness Expo at the Alario Center. We were asked to participate by RP Risk Advisors, a highly respected consulting firm in the business continuity and disaster recovery space, to talk about Home Ownersite and round out their message on the consumer side. We feel very honored and are excited about the opportunity to present, and to meet some folks down in the New Orleans area, one of our favorite parts of this great land. We feel we can offer these folks a great solution to one of the most important components of disaster planning, a comprehensive, off-site, home inventory.

Here is the press release from RP Risk Advisors:

Jefferson Parish Press Release RPRA FINAL 111708

Ownersite, Home Ownersite and Personal Asset Management

2008-11-05T07:48:00.010-05:00

I admit it, I am one of those people that logs in every day to check my bank account for cleared checks, see what charges have posted to the old AMEX card and how the family investments currently stand. Based on the increased use (and trust for) online banking and personal finance tools, I suspect I am not alone. Desktop software products like Quicken have been around for years to satiate the desire to know what your money is doing (I even had my free copy of Microsoft Money 1.0 back in the day) and now thanks to powerful web-based products like Mint, you can go online and do something very similar. In my opinion, having that kind of focus on personal finances is important in this era of increased dependence on credit.

But what if families applied the same principals they apply to their money, credit and retirement accounts to most expensive items they are likely to ever purchase, their homes and their vehicles? Corporate America has recognized the importance of applying this kind of focus for years to protect and value their assets, with fleet management software and asset tracking tools, but little focus has been placed on doing something similar at the consumer level. That is, until now.

With Ownersite and Home Ownersite, we are starting to get people to think more critically about the overall importance and value of their vehicles and their homes, a paradigm shift that we refer to as "personal asset management."

We all know that a vehicle immediately loses value when driven off the lot, yet we still continue to make payments on it for several years. How can we maintain as much value as possible, while at the same time keep it in peak operating condition. Ultimately, it is incumbent upon the owner to have maintenance performed, but Ownersite reminds its users of when and why, provides an online repository to store service information and ultimately makes it simple to share that history (and receipts) with a potential buyer online come resale time. Fuel economy tracking, trip logging and comprehensive reporting tools help manage the ownership life cycle.

For most of us, our home is the most expensive thing we will ever own, but few of us take the care to document all the important contents within the home. In the event of a flood, fire or break-in that makes recovering a challenging process. Thanks to Home Ownersite, it is easy to document, and ultimately share with your insurance agent, what was taken or destroyed and get on with your life as quickly as possible. But inventory is just one component of Home Ownersite, with task reminders (change those smoke detector batteries!), an online journal, photo and file store, mortgage and tax document repositories and much more, the product is intended for the complete ownership life cycle of your home.

And what if you are a renter or own multiple properties? It is important to keep track of all the assets in your life, wherever they are, especially if they are out of sight most of the time.

Let's be honest, some of us check the balance of our 401k every day, but we don't rely on our 401k to drive our kids to school or provide our family shelter. Thankfully, more and more people are understanding the importance of applying this mentality to their homes and vehicles, as evidenced by the number of products out there competing with Ownersite Technologies on the desktop, for PDA's and online.

Online banking has now become ubiquitous. Web-based tools to track our personal finances are gaining popularity every day. Our goal since 2001 is to educate consumers on the importance and value of "personal asset management" with Ownersite and Home Ownersite.

Ownersite Recognized as "Top Tool" on Mashable

2008-10-24T11:30:00.006-04:00

Even though Ownersite has been around since 2000, growing and improving every day, it still receives little ongoing recognition (with the exception of the always incredible Autoblog and the review noted below from Gear Diary) in the "Web 2.0" world. In part, this is likely due to our subscription-based revenue model in a world where so many people feel that if it's online, it should be free. Of course, the fact that we've been online and growing (and expanding our product line) for more than eight years, while others have tried and failed, I would say that the model works pretty well.

Anyway, with that in mind, I was overjoyed by the recognition and a resulting jump in traffic last week from a couple of very useful blog posts on Mashable. Many thanks go out to Sean Aune for including Ownersite in his collection of resources: 18 Tools to Track Car and Fuel Maintenance and 200+ Tools for Surviving the Economic Crisis.

Thanks, Sean!

Let's Take a Tour, Learn More About Home Ownersite

2008-10-24T11:16:00.007-04:00

Home Ownersite provides a tremendous amount of functionality beyond the useful home inventory component. Because of this, it can be difficult to "sell" visitors on why they should consider subscribing. Now that we have our new product tour online at http://home.ownersite.com/TourMenu.cfm, visitors should be able to get a much better understanding of the "big picture" value of the product. We even included special tips for each section to help new and existing subscribers get even more value from the application. Since the tour went online about a week ago, we have received tremendous feedback and the free trial rates have reflected that feedback.

More Care & Ownership Tips From Home Ownersite

2008-10-23T11:48:00.008-04:00

Our relatively new Car Care and Home Care sections are important components to the mission of Ownersite and Home Ownersite, respectively. Each section contains dozens of highly researched and informative articles on a variety of topics that pertain to the ownership life cycle of big-ticket personal assets. All of the articles are not just available to subscribers, but to any visitor to the sites. In fact, the articles are also available for re-use for our affiliates.

This morning we just added two new sections to the Home Ownersite Home Care section, Home Safety & Reliability and Home Value & Resales. Articles in these sections include:

Tending to the Most Vulnerable: Child-Proofing Your Home
Dampening Home Fire Hazards Through Careful Maintenance
Lock and Stock: Protecting Your Home and Valuables From Theft
Maintenance Ups the Reliability Factor of Your Home
Lifeguard Alert! Keeping Your Family Safe in and Around the Swimming Pool
Weathering External Factors Through an Offensive and Defensive Home Maintenance Strategy
Making Your Home Last: Maintaining Its Life for Your Pleasure
Understanding Home Value and How It’s Calculated
Supersizing Your Home: Is This the Opportune Market to Trade Up?
Increasing the Value of Your Home
Cleaning, Staging and Prepping: How to Get Your House Ready to Sell

We hope these article prove helpful for not only our subscribers, but to any home owner looking to get more out of their property.

Multi-tasking...a guiding principle behind Ownersite's products.

2008-09-29T12:11:00.012-04:00

Much like Food Network's Alton Brown, we are big fans of "multi-taskers."

When we set out to develop Ownersite, our intention was not to merely build the best fuel log or the most useful reminder system, but to look at the entire life cycle of vehicle ownership and provide a comprehensive suite of tools to enhance it. The result is Ownersite. While it's possible that no two subscribers approach the use of Ownersite in the same way, it is likely that each any every subscriber finds functionality to get a better handle on their respective vehicles.

We approached the initial launch of Home Ownersite in the same exact way. Ownersite Technologies is not a developer of "personal finance" products (the industry already has Quicken on the desktop and Mint on the web), rather we see ourselves as developers of "personal asset management" tools, not for our subscribers money, rather for the most expensive items they will likely purchase with that money.

With all of that in mind, I am excited to announce even more functionality forHome Ownersite. In the past two weeks we have rolled out a Journal module and an Insurance module. Home Ownersite is more useful than ever as a repository for all aspect of home ownership, from a complete and sharable home inventory product, a log of maintenance, repair & renovations to a centralized location to store details on tax records, mortgage(s) and insurance.

In addition to all this, we have also expanded the Home Care articles section of the main website with even more educational content, with even more to come in the coming days.

Ownersite has grown and improved over the years thanks to the feedback of our dedicated subscribers. We believe that Home Ownersite will grow and improve in the same way.

Helping home owners better prepare for disasters

2008-09-01T08:17:00.002-04:00

When we first started developing Home Ownersite, we knew that the primary component that would draw subscribers was the inventory capability. The idea of keeping a home inventory is something that naturally resonates with consumers that want to be prepared in the event of a natural disaster.

As we looked at the market further, we realized that there is so much more to being prepared for a disaster for home owners than just the inventory. Corporate America has embraced risk mitigation through disaster planning for years, so we sought to find a company that helps the Fortune 500 decrease their risk to bring similar concepts to the consumer. What we found, and who we decided to work with, is the highly respected RP Risk Advisors.

There are already printed and static resources that advise on how to prepare for a flood, fire, hurricane, tornado, etc (we even link to them in Home Ownersite's Resources section), but no true interactive, online resource that takes into account your unique risk level based on a number of factors. Working with RP, we have started developing the first online, interactive resource for home owners to prepare for a disaster.

We are very excited to bring our subscribers this functionality, which should be rolled out in early 2009, so keep watching this space (or your Home Ownersite account) for more information. The press release is embedded below.

pr_homerp_090108

Introducing more helpful resources from Ownersite, our new Car Care section

2008-06-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

With the launch of our new Car Care section, we think Ownersite will become an even more useful resource for vehicle owners, whether they subscribe to Ownersite or not. To visit this new section, click on the Car Care link up above.

The Car Care section contains about 20 articles (with plans to grow) covering many aspects of vehicle ownership, from basic everyday car care tips, to advice on saving fuel, increasing the value of your vehicle or even selling your vehicles. We believe these articles keep with the overall theme of Ownersite, to help increase the safety, reliability and value of our customers vehicle.

We would love your feedback on this new section. Some may have noticed that it originally included advertisements, but we decided to do away with those, again in keeping with our ad-free theme for the application.

Note that this is not the same content that is contained within the Ownersite application from the Car Care Council, rather it is yet another independent perspective on how to enhance vehicle ownership.

Enjoy!

Announcing The Launch of Home Ownersite

2008-03-06T11:59:00.003-05:00

Over the years, we have heard from so many subscribers that they would love to have something similar to Ownersite, only for their homes rather than their cars. Almost a year in the making, I am very excited to announce the launched of our second product in the "personal asset management" category, Home Ownersite.

The desire to build this product rests with the fact that a home is the most expensive investment most people will ever make. With that in mind, we wanted to build upon the success (and functionality) of Ownersite with something that would hold broad appeal to homeowners, and at the same time enable the important information sharing that comes along with Ownersite. I plan to talk more about what Home Ownersite is in the near future, but the official launch is now underway!

Incredible review of Ownersite on Gear Diary

2008-02-10T11:56:00.004-05:00

Judie Lipsett just posted her very thorough and informative review of Ownersite on her blog, Gear Diary. I had the opportunity to meet Judie a couple months ago at a Ford media event and I can tell you that she is definitely a car person, something that shows through in the review. Thank you very much for the kind words, Judie!

The new Ownersite product demonstration is live!

2008-02-01T11:54:00.000-05:00

I am very excited to announce that the new animated demo of Ownersite is up and running! To view the demo, click here or click on the image below and a new window will open up.

We have been looking to replace the outdated "tour" of the site with something more modern and compelling, and this definitely fits the bill. It should give new visitors to the site a much better idea of the benefits of an Ownersite subscription without having to page through text and screenshots. There was a lot of content to cover in a very limited time, so we had to leave a few things out, but the majority of the important points are there.

Many thanks to the good folks at Autodemo for making the process quick and easy. I think the final product speaks for itself. Enjoy!

Welcome to the first entry in our blog!

2008-01-28T11:53:00.000-05:00

It took a while, but Ownersite Technologies has finally decided to enter the world of corporate blogging. I am not exactly sure what took us so long, but maybe the fact that I have been around and making my living from this whole Internet thing for well over 12 years now caused my trepidation. I've seen a lot of changes, mostly along the lines of "what's old is new again" going from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. The same principals hold true when building a business. You have to have a legitimate business model. That never changed.

What has changed is that blogging is now considered mainstream in corporate America. The Web 2.0 folks have been saying the for a while now. And, hey, GM does it, though I imagine the corporate lawyers are scrutinizing every post, so it has reached the most structured of organizations. So, now we too, have decided to do it.

I plan to use this blog to post thoughts about the industry, announce minor (non press-worthy) changes and enhancements to Ownersite (and other related and exciting applications soon to be announced), as well as muse on topics of interest.

We'd love your feedback, but please keep it professional and productive. Oh, and we ask that you do not use the blog comment form for support issues. Thanks and we hope you enjoy this!