Canceling A LA Mode - Total

[CoCat]

Hello, I am looking to cancel my A La Mode Total Software I've been using for years.

Is anyone familiar with data access once your account closes? I store everything on Titan Drive and in the digital workfile. Will I lose access to all of this? I saw the download all files option from the cloud, but it just downloads A La Mode's formatted file - not the xml or pdf or anything.

Will I no longer be able to access all my old reports/notes/comps? Or is it just I won't be able to interface with them?

 

[RCA]

Hello, I am looking to cancel my A La Mode Total Software I've been using for years.

Is anyone familiar with data access once your account closes? I store everything on Titan Drive and in the digital workfile. Will I lose access to all of this? I saw the download all files option from the cloud, but it just downloads A La Mode's formatted file - not the xml or pdf or anything.

Will I no longer be able to access all my old reports/notes/comps? Or is it just I won't be able to interface with them?

My understanding is that unless you keep your Titan Drive subscription active, you will loose their storage. But, of course you can download that - and if you do make sure to create at least a second storage someplace on the cloud, like DropBox or Google Drive.

I keep everything backed-up to Synology. Synology in turn (at least the important parts of it) can be further backed-up to the cloud or another Synology Drive located remotely.

Titan Drive, for me is just a kind of convenience so that I can also easily restore all settings. -- But it doesn't necessarily work for narrative reports (depending on the kinds of file you create in your workfile) - so you probably need your own cloud storage and local back-up for that anyway.

 

[Airstream]

I’m not sure about your question…but why don’t you do a mirror image of your hard drive on an external drive? I use Mac OS and regularly back up the entire system. But your question is certainly a good one. Let us know what alamode says. I’m going to be in a similar situation soon myself… getting to that complete retirement age.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

So if you let your subscription expire you won't be able to open anything...Well, I think that comes with the territory so if you don't have a copy of your report in file you got a USPAP problem. To satisfy the workfile requirement, I always created a pdf of the files and put each pdf and jpg or word processing file in a folder with the file number and borrower name... But that doesn't solve the issue of transferrability and I am unaware of any software that converts other software files-

And the reason, obviously is to keep you from changing vendors...well, I'd change anyway. Alamode has a converter of other files to Alamode, so check with whomever you are going to use and find out if they can convert Alamode files. There may be an intermediate way via MISMO and UAD. I don't know

 

[Overimprovement]

How are you delivering your reports? Mine are almost all pdf/xml, though I do have a couple env clients. Anything in pdf is already easily accessible for eternity of course. For the rest, as long as you have the total file, if push came to shove, you could always pay someone (or get a volunteer) to open the report and save it as PDF for you--for that lawsuit 3 years down the road. I would think saving the total file would meet any file retention requirements in USPAP, so long as you have SOME way of opening it down the road.

 

[Mejappz]

Alamode has a converter of other files to Alamode, so check with whomever you are going to use and find out if they can convert Alamode files. There may be an intermediate way via MISMO and UAD. I don't know

These corrupt software companies encrypt their files so you can’t convert them. You can extract the MISMO data into the new software(form-filler) database.

 

[Overimprovement]

How are you delivering your reports? Mine are almost all pdf/xml, though I do have a couple env clients. Anything in pdf is already easily accessible for eternity of course. For the rest, as long as you have the total file, if push came to shove, you could always pay someone (or get a volunteer) to open the report and save it as PDF for you--for that lawsuit 3 years down the road. I would think saving the total file would meet any file retention requirements in USPAP, so long as you have SOME way of opening it down the road.

Just realized that the PDF report file doesn't print or save the workfile, or anything in the notes tab. Since that would be definitely be needed too if you had to recall a report down the road, this would not help much.

 

[RCA]

How are you delivering your reports? Mine are almost all pdf/xml, though I do have a couple env clients. Anything in pdf is already easily accessible for eternity of course. For the rest, as long as you have the total file, if push came to shove, you could always pay someone (or get a volunteer) to open the report and save it as PDF for you--for that lawsuit 3 years down the road. I would think saving the total file would meet any file retention requirements in USPAP, so long as you have SOME way of opening it down the road.

Almost all the clients I have want XML. LoanDepot insists on ENV - but I really hate doing ENV. On my large reports, it is just too difficult. So, I just don't do them any more. A few do take PDFs.

 

[Tiffany Gibbons]

Hello, I am looking to cancel my A La Mode Total Software I've been using for years.

Is anyone familiar with data access once your account closes? I store everything on Titan Drive and in the digital workfile. Will I lose access to all of this? I saw the download all files option from the cloud, but it just downloads A La Mode's formatted file - not the xml or pdf or anything.

Will I no longer be able to access all my old reports/notes/comps? Or is it just I won't be able to interface with them?

Save as xml or pdf to your computer or external hard drive for your just in case records. If you ever need to open to edit, just get the free trial version good for 30 days. under your trainee (or yout dog's) name. I dumped them too and went to Clickforms but just started over for new files, I was in a new area though. YMMV.

 

[Flakey]

If you have a copy of all your appraisals in a work file that you control, you shouldn't need to convert anything. If you don't, like Terrell says, you could have a USPAP problem. If A la mode has a ransomware hit, you're in trouble too. Think of them as ransomware lite.