7 min read
Author: Andrew Nicol
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
We’ve just launched Opes+, a free tool for property investors. Because Opes+ is so new, investors have lots of questions about the app.
Here are answers to the main questions you might have.
If we’ve missed anything, leave a comment in the comments section at the end of this page.
Opes+ is a free app that helps you run cashflows on your investment properties.
It started back in 2021. We, here at Opes, built the Return on Investment spreadsheet.
It was a free spreadsheet that ran the cashflows on your investment properties. That way you could decide which one to buy.
Over the years, we received feedback:
So we decided to build Opes+. We’ve just released the first version of the app and will continue to add features over time.
We’ve set up a new email address for anything Opes+ related.
If you need technical support, you can email support@opespartners.co.nz.
We understand that it can feel weird to rely on a free app, so you might wonder if there are any hidden gotcha’s or costs.
Nope. There are no hidden costs. We don’t even ask for your credit card information. It. Is. Free.
There are two reasons we’ve done this as a business.
Firstly, a lot of people hear about Opes because we put out lots of free information.
Whether it’s our podcasts, webinars, articles or spreadsheets. Over 18,000 investors downloaded our previous free spreadsheet. All this free education grows our brand because people then use our information and talk about it.
If we give Opes+ away free, more people will use it. Then they might decide to use our other services at Opes.
The other reason is it lowers your expectations, and we mean that in a good way.
If we charged for Opes+ we’d need to wait until it was perfect. We’d feel bad for taking your money if the app wasn’t 100% perfect.
So we can release more features faster if we give it away free. That means we could get the app live and in your hands. That way we can get feedback and make the app even better.
We have no plans to charge for Opes+. The core features currently in Opes+ will be free forever.
There is a chance that in the future we develop additional features, and there may be a cost for those, but we have no plans for that right now.
Cyber security is top of mind for us. You don’t want to put your financial information in only to find that it wasn’t secure.
That’s why we work with a local, New Zealand-based, web-development company to build Opes+. They run penetration tests on the app to make sure we are following industry best practices.
We are also in the process of hiring a third-party cyber security agency to add an additional layer of security. This will become even more important as we add new features.
Just keep in mind that no website is unhackable. Even banks sometimes get hacked! But, cyber security is top of mind. We are very aware that we need to protect your financial information.
We have big plans. We want to release lots of new features in Opes+ and we’re currently working through feedback and bugs from the launch.
The next step is to let Opes clients see their property packs within the app. This should happen in the coming months.
After that we can plan to take our investment-ready spreadsheet and get that into Opes+. We even want to include new AI features that will help you plan your property portfolio.
After that, we want to adapt Opes+ so you can see all your:
All in Opes+. That way you can manage your properties in one place. And then, of course, an iPhone and android app.
We are currently planning at least a year in advance. We know what big features we want to release at least 12-15 months in the future.
Not currently. But Opes+ still looks good when you access it through your phone.
We plan to have an iPhone and Android app in mid-2025.
If you created your Wealth Plan in the new version of My Wealth Plan (released early 2024), then you can already see it in Opes+.
If you created your Wealth Plan in the older version (early 2024 or before), then you should be able to see your plan within the next few weeks.
Just make sure you are logging in using the same email address as you use with your financial adviser at Opes.
The trouble with our old system is that the data was all in spreadsheets, so the app isn’t pulling through your properties.
We don’t have plans to automatically pull through previous properties you have bought through us. You can either enter these in yourself or you can add them when you have your next annual review with your financial adviser.
The idea in releasing Opes+ was to provide it early before every feature is in place. That way you can start getting the benefit of Opes+ now, even before those other types of features are ready.
You can create a free account at plus.opespartners.co.nz
Nope. Our old spreadsheet only let you put in 3 properties, but in Opes+ you can add in as many properties as you want. That’s part of the reason we ditched the spreadsheets and built Opes+.
Not yet, but we hope to bring this feature soon.
Our mantra is: “First version. Not forever version”
So our plan was to get a first version live that could replace our old spreadsheet. That’s happened. Now, we’re focusing on adding new features and this has been hotly requested.
Your projections will be as accurate as the data you put in. The more accurate you can be, the better. However, we can’t predict the future, so treat the numbers as ‘projections’ rather than ‘forecasts.’
That means the numbers won’t work out exactly as they appear in the app, but it gives you a robust view of how the numbers might work out.
To make sure the projections are accurate, we had all our spreadsheets and models audited. Twice.
First, by an investment company. They tested the way we calculate the numbers. Do they match up with investment best practice?
Then we got them audited again by a spreadsheet analyst and model builder. This was to make sure the formulae are correct.
These audits aren’t compulsory. We didn’t legally have to do them. But, we knew that this was the right thing to do since you’ll rely on these numbers to make investment decisions. We went through these audits so you can feel confident the projections are robust.
Yes, you can click the “Change Assumptions” button throughout the app and change any of our assumptions.
Yes, you can add any property from throughout the world. However, we are not experts in overseas property, so be careful with your assumptions.
Not yet. This is another hotly requested feature we are working on.
If you’re an Opes Partners client, you get a few extra features through the app. You get access to your Wealth Plan and our investment guides.
If you don’t have a Wealth Plan, you can get one free by requesting a session with an Opes financial adviser. You can do this through the app.
Yes. You can create a free Wealth Plan with an Opes Partners financial adviser. Your Wealth Plan will then appear within the app.
You can request your free Portfolio Planning Session with Opes+.
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
Andrew Nicol, Managing Director at Opes Partners, is a seasoned financial adviser and property investment expert with 20+ years of experience. With 40 investment properties, he hosts the Property Academy Podcast, co-authored 'Wealth Plan' with Ed Mcknight, and has helped 1,894 Kiwis achieve financial security through property investment.
