Add additional information to your stock data

We have made some major improvements to the Stock feature on Community Insight so that you can now add additional information to your properties and view that on the maps page.


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The enhanced functionality allows you to add more information to Community Insight so that you can see information for individual properties. Coupled with the socio-economic data available within the system and the locally held datasets you can add in, this improved functionality contributes to making Community Insight a one-stop shop for local information. 

 

The developments focus on:

  • Enhancing the Stock functionality to allow you to add additional information to your individual properties
  • Improving the error feedback and the importing process so that you have a more streamlined experience
  • Improving the speed so the maps page loads quicker

 

This blog is here to give you a rundown of all the changes including:

  • What’s new?
  • What has been improved?
  • Potential use case

For step-by-step guidance, please read through the Manage Stock section on the Help Centre.

What’s new in Community Insight?

Previously, you could upload your stock properties, categorise them into a maximum of 30 types and then view those properties on the map. Now, along with assigning a stock type you can also add individual information for each property, which can then be displayed on the map.

Adding metadata is optional and completely customisable. To add metadata to your properties you can input information in the 5 columns to the right of the postcode and stock type columns.

Please note: If you use the Organisations feature then your metadata goes in the 5 columns after that Organisations column.

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Below is an example of how metadata will display on the map once uploaded.

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For step-by-step guidance, please read through the Manage Stock section on the Help Centre.

What has been improved?

Removed copy and paste option

Previously, you could upload your stock by either copying and pasting or uploading a CSV. We have removed the copy and paste option. Removing this option allowed us to focus on improving the error feedback and speeding up the upload process.

 

Better error feedback

We have improved the error feedback you receive when uploading stock so that any formatting issues can easily be identified and rectified. This should make uploading stock a smoother & less confusing process.

 

Improved site performance

We have focused on speeding up the time it takes for the stock to load on the map. This is something which has been raised by users in the past and is an issue for those organisations who have very large property portfolios. This work means that you can now upload more information about your properties without seeing a significant drop in the performance of the site.

Potential use case

Understanding the areas you work in

Use Community Insight to combine the data you have on your properties with the socio-economic context of an area, to get a better understanding of your tenants and their needs. 

 

Upload your stock with the added metadata 

Now that you can add information to individual properties, you will need to upload your latest stock. 

For step-by-step guidance, please read through the Manage Stock section on the Help Centre.

 

The enhanced functionality allows you to add additional information to individual properties, which will then be displayed on the map when an icon is clicked on. The information you add is entirely up to you. For example, you could add any of the following:

  • Number of bedrooms in a property 
  • Number of occupants in a property
  • Council Tax Band 
  • Repairs due
  • Smart meter 

 

The example below demonstrates the kind of information you could upload and how it must be formatted.

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Download your property data for an area 

In Community Insight you can create stock groups, these are areas which can be standard areas or more bespoke areas created by you. Once you have successfully uploaded your stock data with the additional information, Community Insight will match the stock to your stock groups thereby allowing you to see the stock you have in an area. You can also download the list of stock in an area

To do this go onto the maps and select to view an area on the map, then click on the i icon next to the area name, this will open up a popup detailing more information about that stock group with the option to “Download list of stock”.

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Visualise your property data on Community Insight 

Once you have successfully uploaded your stock data, you can view this on the map by clicking on individual stock icons. This allows you to visualise your property information in a more accessible way.

You can use the Display Mode to enter full screen and then take a screenshot of the maps to add into presentations.

Overlay socio-economic data alongside your property data

Layer the property data you have uploaded with the standard socio-economic datasets in Community Insight so that you can see the housing provision alongside the needs of an area.

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Feedback

We are always looking for more feedback and would also love to hear how you are using the improved Stock functionality, so please do get in touch with us on support@ocsi.co.uk