There’s a version of AI that sounds impressive in a demo, but collects dust by the following quarter. And then there’s what’s happening at APM.
Lisa Frisch, Operations Manager, has been using ALLi—FRONTSTEPS’ AI-powered automation tool—in her day-to-day property management operations, and the results aren’t theoretical. They’re showing up in board reports, work orders, violation letters, and the culture of her team. We sat down with Lisa to hear what’s actually changed, what made adoption work, and why she’s encouraging the rest of the industry to stop waiting.
From "Far-Fetched Idea" to Everyday Tool
Q: Before working with ALLi, how did your team think about AI?
Lisa: “AI was kind of like this far-fetched idea that was never going to come to fruition. It’s out there, we know it’s out there, but nobody’s presenting anything that can actually be used. It was just a dream—a fantasy that someday somebody will get around to adopting something that our industry can use.”
That changed when APM began working more closely with Corey Delaney, AI adoption specialist at FRONTSTEPS, who introduced ALLi not as a concept but as something immediately applicable to real workflows.
Lisa: “Corey has been instrumental in opening our eyes to what ALLi can do.”
The Board Management Report That Changed Everything
Q: Can you share an example of something ALLi has made easier or less manual for your team?
Lisa: “The biggest thing—and I said it at FRONTSTEPS Forward—is the board management report. Right now, we create our own, so we’re going through creating those for every single association. Every manager has their own way of doing it. ALLi streamlines it. It’s a beautiful product at the end of the day, simple for the boards to read—and the boards are excited to get it.”
The impact went beyond aesthetics. Board reports that once took hours to compile now generate quickly, with a consistent, professional format that reflects well on APM as a company.
Lisa: “People think about our industry—they don’t necessarily think that being a management company or property manager is anything to write home about. It is. We’re a professional industry. People need to take it seriously.”
The enthusiasm spread fast. When Lisa’s team saw what ALLi could produce, the conversation shifted from skepticism to curiosity.
Lisa: “Their eyes get huge. They’re like, ‘Oh my god.’ And then it’s: what else can she do? What else? They all start talking. Hey, did you see you can do this? That’s our culture here, anyway—we all share. Share the info, share how good this can be, share how easy it makes your life.”
Where ALLi Makes the Biggest Difference Day-to-Day
Q: Where do you see ALLi having the most impact on your team's daily work?
For APM, the value lives in the operational rhythm—the work that happens every single day without exception.
Lisa: “In our industry we have day-to-day things that get executed every single day, whether it’s emails, whether it’s the actual items from the meetings the night before. It’s taking the item, applying it to whoever it needs to go to as a task, setting up those steps so that it can get executed, and having a tracking system in place so that you know that it was done.”
Violation letters, work orders, and architectural requests are the bread and butter of community management—and ALLi is making those touchpoints faster and more accountable.
Lisa: “When we take them and do them ourselves, it could be seven days before we actually get it completed from start to finish. This can happen instantaneously.”
The visibility component matters just as much as the speed. Anyone on the team can step in, see exactly where a task stands, and understand what’s been done—which is a meaningful shift for a team managing multiple associations simultaneously.
Why Integration Made the Difference
Q: What made ALLi feel like something built for APM's needs rather than a generic AI tool?
One of the clearest advantages ALLi had over outside AI tools was that it didn’t require APM to build a bridge between platforms.
Lisa: “ALLi is already integrated with FRONTSTEPS, so all of our information is already there—it’s executable immediately. Using an outside source, it isn’t. It’s not integrated with my current financials or anything else. So it’s harder, and it’s more work for my managers.”
Beyond integration, the ability to customize ALLi to match APM’s specific processes has been a defining feature. Lisa gave a concrete example: her team wanted current bids awaiting board approval added to the management report, so Corey built that data point in.
Lisa: “We can ask, ‘Hey, we want to add this data point.’ And it gets done. Being able to change on a dime—that’s huge. The fact that you can make these changes to better fit your actual process.”
The Role of Corey and the FRONTSTEPS Team
Q: How has having a dedicated guide changed the way your team understands and uses ALLi?
Lisa was direct about this: the product matters, but the relationship matters just as much.
Lisa: “Corey is incredible. He’s easy to work with, he listens. He also works for a management company, so he understands our day-to-day life. Until you live our life, you don’t know what we need. It’s easy to write software—but understanding what we actually need is something different.”
What sets the FRONTSTEPS team apart, in Lisa’s view, is a willingness to engage honestly—including when the answer is no.
Lisa: “He listens, takes what we’re asking for, and says, ‘Yeah, I can do it’ or ‘No, I can’t, and this is why.’ He tries to work through the problem to see if it’s valuable. And he’ll tell us—if it’s not valuable, don’t waste your time with this. You can’t put a price on that.”
A Message to the Rest of the Industry
At FRONTSTEPS Forward, Lisa didn’t just talk about what ALLi does for APM. She made a case for why every property management company needs to move now.
Lisa: “If you’re not getting yourself in a position to have an AI product as your business partner—as part of your team, as an employee within your organization—you’re missing the boat. You’re going to get left behind in this industry. You don’t want to play catch up. You want to be ahead of the game.”
Her point wasn’t just about urgency. It was about opportunity—specifically, the opportunity to shape the tool rather than inherit it.
Lisa: “Here, you have the ability to impact what your AI product looks like. Do it now, where you can actually work alongside people like FRONTSTEPS, where they’re willing to say, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ Otherwise you’re going to get a standard product. Here you go. Good luck.”
What's Next for APM and FRONTSTEPS, powered by ALLi
Lisa sees the current state as a strong foundation, with the most impactful automation still ahead. Closing the loop on work orders—so that ALLi can take a task all the way through to vendor notification without a manual step in between—is the capability she’s most focused on.
Lisa: “Getting those things completely executable by ALLi—the efficiency is out the door. That is going to be life changing.”
For property management companies weighing whether ALLi is worth the investment, Lisa’s experience offers a straightforward answer. The technology is ready, the integration is already there. And the team at FRONTSTEPS is paying attention to what you really need.
