CommonFloor Groups Android App-A Step towards Awesomeness

Jul 3,2014 / By Nimesh / No Comment

Let’s start with a fun way to look at the features of CommonFloor Groups’ new mobile app.

Let’s sum up what we figure from the picture above. Our app’s most prominent features include:

1) Newsfeed

2) Discussion

3) Complaints

4) Notices

5) Neighbours

6) Messages

7) My House

8) Settings

9) Moderate

Here, we simply try to give you a basic idea of the app. To experience its complete awesomeness in easing intra-society communication and management, download Now! Click Here

Now, let’s take a look at how our users have responded (with app activities) over the last 2 weeks.

Good News! We are bringing out our iOS version very soon!

What do you think of this post? If you have interesting ideas for fun posts you’d like to read on this blog, please feel free to type them down in the comment section here.

Smart Residential Living

Know How Much Service Tax a Society Needs To Pay

Jun 26,2014 / By Nimesh / 4 Comments

As the name suggests, service tax is a certain tax imposed by the government on services provided.

In a society, if residents avail of the services provided by the Management Committee, service taxes come into the picture.

We hope to clear some of your basic service tax related doubts with this article.

Let’s draw different situations and understand how much service tax the Management Committee is obligated to pay in each case.

Case 1: If a resident pays more than Rs.5000 towards Management Committee provided services, service tax will be calculated on the whole amount and not just on the amount exceeding Rs.5000.

Case 2: If a resident pays up to Rs.5000 towards Management Committee provided services, no service tax is applicable.

Case 3: If in a financial year, the aggregate value of taxable services offered by the Management Committee does not exceed Rs.10 lakhs, no service tax is applicable. In case the aggregate value of services exceeds Rs.10 Lakhs, the Management Committee is liable to pay service tax only on the amount exceeding Rs.10 Lakhs.

Case 4: When a Management Committee merely acts as a ‘pure agent’, i.e. collects money from residents for various services used such as electricity, water (without adding any extra charge) and transfers the same to the respective authorities concerned, the service falls under the ‘non-taxable services’ category.

However, service tax is applicable on electricity utilized in society common areas.

Note: Management Committees are allowed a set off if they avail of CENVAT credit.

To take a look at the circular published by the Ministry of Finance in January 2014, click here bit.ly/V8IFac

If you still have concerns related to service taxes applicable to housing societies, please write to us at support@commonfloor.com

Fun Posts Smart Residential Living

10 Common Household Items You Can Easily Re-Use/Recycle

Jun 24,2014 / By Nimesh / 2 Comments

Do you know – a part of the rubbish you toss into your garbage bin daily can be re-used to serve some other household purpose?

This way you can save yourself money by using these as substitute items for things you would have had to buy otherwise. This will, in turn, control your inorganic waste contribution for landfill.

Here is a short list of articles you can recycle without any entailing trouble:

1) Old CDs: Make artistic coasters out of old CDs by drawing or painting on them or coating the upper surface with magazine pictures and bottom surface with felt.

2) Carry Bags: Use plastic bags as garbage bags or carry it along to get items from your nearby departmental store.

Use paper bags as gift-wrappers or as paper to jot down things you need to purchase. Wet-wipe containers can serve as great string dispensers.

You can easily use take-away containers, glass jars and small pots to store cakes, needles, threads, buttons, coffee beans and spices.

Try filling little lip balm boxes and toiletry containers from bigger bottles. They make compact travel-friendly packs.

3) Twist Ties/Ropes: These can prove considerably helpful to secure wires and other material while shifting homes or to simply store junk in your storage room.

4) Old Envelopes: Reuse an old envelope by sticking a new address slip over the former address section. You can use them as scrap paper alternatives as well.

5) Scrap Paper/Newspaper: Utilize newspapers to package belongings while shifting or to package items neatly, mark and keep away for later use. You can make use of scrap paper as scribbling or doodling paper. A creative hand-made Birthday or New Year card is always treated specially and you can make one from old postcards, stamps and photos using material such as sequins, sand, beads and threads to decorate.

6) Cardboard/Bubble Wrap/Foam: Keep your objects safe while moving out/in by covering them with bubble wrap or foam before placing them in cardboard boxes. It can also be used as an insulation material on walls and floors.

7) Tyres: Recraft old vehicle tyres into funky tyre-swings and place them in your balcony, garden or terrace.

8) Scrap Wood: Wood scraps can be used to make handicraft items, a small corner table or a spice rack. People with an in-house fireplace will surely love the idea of free firewood.

9) Cork: Use these to make cork message boards, key-chains or to beautify your front door.

10) Old Clothes: If you have clothes you no longer want to wear nor want to throw away, you may cut them out to make pretty covers for your pillows, sofa cushions or teapots.

Get creative by cutting patches from your old denims and stitching them onto new ones.

So, if something you consider useless is lying in some dusty corner of your home, pick it up, dust it off & start putting it to some good use!

And if you have clothes, books or furnitures that you absolutely don’t want to keep, you may consider giving them away to NGOs for people who will be happy to use them.

Fun Posts

When Mr Goodolman Discovered CommonFloor Groups

Jun 17,2014 / By Nimesh / 1 Comment

Mr Goodolman’s children, Mrs Eversmile and Mr Activefeet decide to go on a vacation with their mother for a month. Mr Goodolman decides to stay back and take care of his grandchildren, So La Ti, during the absence of their parents.

Being the resolute person that he is, Mr Goodolman has fearlessly taken up yet another task that he considers no less than a challenge, considering just how boisterous and unruly his grandchildren are. To add to his misery, the kids insist on staying in Mrs. Eversmile’s palatial flat.

On the first day, Mr Goodolman wakes up to three closets turned inside out, make up on the floor, food leftovers on the table, window-sills and everywhere. He soon realizes this task is tougher than he thought and things will soon slip out of control if immediate action is not taken.

But what is it that he could do without being too harsh? He still wants to be the coddling Granpapa that he has always been to them. So he turns to his dear friend, Mr Troublebuster for a solution. Mr Troublebuster, like always, has an answer up his sleeve, but what remains to be established is whether this is the answer to all of Mr. Goodolman’s concerns.

Mr Goodolman makes a quick note of things he either needs or wishes sorted.

After a bit of careful research, Mr Goodolman decides to join his apartment community on CommonFloor Groups.

On Joining CommonFloor Groups

He initiated a discussion on CommonFloor Groups to learn about private tutors and different constructive classes and occasionally organizes kids’ activities along with other guardians.

He also pays his maintenance and other community dues on time and gets all his payments tracked.

He is now good friends with Mr Calmnerve and Mr Inourdays, all of who share like interests. Whenever things don’t go right, Mr Goodolman makes sure he raises a complaint. He felt the need for a new cook and found one in a day’s time.

For La’s birthday bash, Mr Goodolman booked the community hall, rented parking spaces for guests and got her the pink bicycle she always wanted.

CommonFloor Groups saves him money, time and extra effort everyday and now keeps him far more relaxed than he used to be. He calls Mr Troublebuster and thanks him for the idea.

After a month

After a perfect month (of constructive fun), Mr Goodolman and his grandchildren make a pact to spend the next summer vacation together again.

Uncategorized

What You Should Remember After the Builder Hands Over Your Society

Jun 13,2014 / By Nimesh / 1 Comment

As previously discussed, during the handover procedure it is important to record and file all details related to the process so that even if problems arise years later, all you need to do is look through this set of records and, accordingly, figure out what to do next.

The builder-residents society handover procedure needs to be structured, but that’s not where the process ends. There are a few things you should remember to check even after the builder hands over your society.

1) Make sure all society related issues are recorded and filed: All defects that you find should be typed as a letter with a signed acknowledgement of the same from the builder, so he is obligated to fix them. All important e-mails should be printed and kept safely for future references.

2) Make sure you make good use of the builder provided warranty period: Builders generally offer a warranty period within which defects are to be pointed out and duly fixed.

3) Form a team of volunteers to check and cross check all formalities are done correctly: Apart from the Management Committee, it is recommended that you bring together a group of residents to volunteer in making sure all necessary documents have been collected and all required formalities have been done. (To learn what documents you need during society handover, read ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’)

4) Get a community management software to help you keep a permanent track of records: Getting a society management portal will prove significantly helpful in the overall management of your community activities in the long run. (For example: CommonFloor Groups portal. With its many features such as Discussion, Complaints, My Dues, Issue Tracker, Documents repository this portal will serve as a platform to execute and manage community related activities effectively.)

5) Keep originals safely and copies separately with the Committee President: Make sure you keep originals of documents at a safe place such as the Association office and their copies with the Committee President which, when his tenure ends, are passed on to his successor.

6) Make sure you have all documents mentioned on the ‘Handover’ Checklist: Double check that you have all documents mentioned on the handover checklist in ‘Keep a Check on These When Builder Hands Over Your Housing Society’.

If you want to share any important suggestion along these lines, do add them in the comment section below. In case of queries, kindly write to us at support@commonfloor.com.

Author Archives: Nimesh

CommonFloor Groups Android App-A Step towards Awesomeness

Know How Much Service Tax a Society Needs To Pay

10 Common Household Items You Can Easily Re-Use/Recycle

When Mr Goodolman Discovered CommonFloor Groups

What You Should Remember After the Builder Hands Over Your Society