Symba has the cheat codes for managing agent finances: Tech Review

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Symba is a business and financial management app.

Platforms: iOS, Android
Ideal for: Agents, teams

Top selling points:

• Mobile-first
• Light, intuitive UI
• Tax/bookkeeping features
• Full back-office deal breakdowns
• Deal and task-tracking modules

Top concern:

It may be tough for an agent who is already on top of their finances to switch to a mobile solution like this. Outside of that, I have little concern about the concept or its delivery. I worry a little about it expanding beyond its current value proposition.

What you should know:

Symba is a mobile app (a browser version is pending) for managing agents’ and teams’ transaction finances. It easily creates deal net sheets, connects multiple bank accounts, provides income/expense breakdowns, creates income projections, and clearly delineates tax obligations for every deal, quarterly and over time. Its fintech-light layered over a deal tracker, spliced with back-office accounting. It’s a superb tool for anyone new or growing in the business and a solid accessory solution for those already comfortable managing their numbers.

There’s a tool in my expedition first-aid kit called a pulse oximeter. You’ve likely had this little device clamped onto your finger on occasion, it manages blood O2 levels. This app is like that. Simple. Smart. And helps you know a lot about the status of your livelihood from only a few initial data points.

I’m always amped on apps that are singular in purpose, that identify a popular irritation and solve it with a clear, direct experience.

Contacts can be absorbed through the device’s native Rolodex, and should one of them be part of a deal, Symba automatically collates their info into the transaction workflow, which includes task lists and deal status updates.

Each deal, based on type, is supported with a simple status timeline, starting with “In Communication” and ending with “Under Contract.” Tasks are then stacked within each and drive status changes.

It sounds like a lot of work for a mobile app, but Symba does a great job collapsing larger duties into what’s the most pertinent. It’s slimmed down business management.

The financial aspects of Symba, its core competency, really, take a little setup upon initialization, but nothing a few minutes of focused interaction won’t alleviate. Merely add your split and contract details, connect bank accounts (and credit card accounts) and enter listing data as it comes.

Data between Symba and your bank accounts flow securely both ways.

The app visually categorizes income and expenses per deal, taxes owed, deductions and even populates tax forms to be relayed to the appropriate professional for filing. Estimated taxes, too, are highlighted to ensure users know exactly what they need to hang on to cut those quarterly checks. It also lets you upload photos of receipts to attach to deals and larger work expenditures.

All financial data can be viewed in any number of time frames: monthly, quarterly and annually. It includes profit projections benchmarked against past performance and current deals in the app.

Overall, the impact of such critical business economics so nicely summarized is impressive, especially when one considers how challenging this aspect of the business still is for a large number of agents.

Symba is positioned perfectly as a tool that becomes more valuable with time. It’s the carpenter’s favorite tool, the one that only leaves the hip bag when it’s being used. And its deal oversight functionality is blended just well enough to help the user know where it all stands. It does its one thing really well and won’t get in the way of your tech stack.

I suppose a caveat is in order. I loathe handling my finances and doing taxes even more. I have a bunch of 1099s every year, send quarterlies, track home office stuff, and still ache with panic come the start of each year.

I’ll pay an accountant anything to handle my taxes and books. It’s been said I have a number phobia. Math for chemistry and physics were fine, having formulas and a purpose helped. But when actual legal repercussions can come from not handling your finances correctly, I put it all on tech and professionals. Maybe I’m too excited about seeing cool solutions for my personal pain.

But, if you’re like me, you’ll immediately recognize how Symba can help.

Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe

Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.