With the global digitalization, adoption of different technologies, the need for top-notch Property Management Software has become critical within the real estate industry. To remain competitive on the market and facilitate your workflow, consider upgrading your software to a more automatic and innovative cloud-based solution. We are here to guide you through the process of choosing key features of property management software.
Who needs a software solution?
- Real estate companies
- Property owners and managers
- Tenants
- Hotel managers
- Retail
The reasons you need to employ property management software
Before jumping into the world of property management system features, let’s start with the basics and discover the meaning of it.
Usually, it is a web platform, mobile app, or even both, with a set of tools that were developed to help real estate companies automate corporate procedures. Some of them may include properties ( residential\ commercial) management, leads attraction, communication between landlords and tenants, rent payments tracking, etc. Real estate agents face already mentioned business operations on a daily basis. Manually performing this process demands a lot of effort. Why do you need to employ software? Let’s take a look at a couple of things that most realtors struggle with.
Communication
Every process related to the industry requires an excellent communication flow. Whether it is managing multiple properties, helping tenants, running a constant leasing process, or responding to clients. In case you rely on phone calls and emails only, eventually, there will be a risk of miscommunication or other human mistakes. So, managing this process online isn’t a bad idea.
Payments
In case you are fed up with managing financial records manually, in 2021 you can finally allow yourself to let it go. This process used to be accompanied by errors and unnecessary stress, because it’s difficult to remember exact dates, names, and numbers. Consider using pm software features that will remind each of the tenants about an upcoming payment, decrease the risk of missing payments records, etc. What’s more, it will eliminate the need to conduct financial reports.
Do you struggle with work productivity? Check out our tips on the best team management software tools.
Access to data
Have you ever been in a situation where you walking down the street and suddenly you need to resolve some work issues as quickly as possible? And have you ever wished to have access to your work information remotely? A lot of people related to the real estate industry dreamed about the same. The ability to access work data from anywhere is more convenient than driving to the office to use a local network.
So, a property management software solution (especially if it is available either as a web platform and mobile app) is the key to this common problem.
Data storage
You can forget about the fear of losing valuable information and making backups. Property management software completely eliminates the risk of losing business history. thanks to cloud storage. Not only does it store your information safely, but it also gives you access from anywhere.
The most popular property management platforms
Before discovering property management software features, we decided to review a couple of popular property management platforms, so you can make a little comparison.
Buildium was founded in 2004 by two property managers, which is the main advantage of the company because founders knew exactly what functions of the property management system are critical.
It is a good choice for both residential and corporate real estate managers. The platform is simple to use, it has a customer support system and 3d parties integrations (with Apartments.com, Apartment List, TransUnion, PayNearMe, Zillow, etc). Its features allow controlling every aspect of the business: tenant and lease tracking, online rent payments, vacancy management, automated fee reminders, on-demand reports, and so on.
The company offers a free 15-day trial before you make a final decision. A price is based on the number of units you manage (the more units you have, the lower the cost per unit you pay).
AppFolio was founded in 2006. One of the benefits of this particular company is that you pay only for the features you apply and the possibility to use their mobile app. A platform supports various property types: commercial buildings, residential apartments, student housing, and offers features to cover each of these types. Moreover, there is a possibility to add advanced features, for example, online payments, leasing assistants, automated accounts payable, etc.
To create an account, a user has to pay a $400 onboarding fee and then a monthly fee, based on the amount of units.
Founded in 2006, the company satisfies the needs of real estate agencies by utilizing the latest technologies. The cloud-based system allows users to track finance, generate and analyze reports, collect rent applications online, store documents, and automate tasks.
There is a free 15-day trial period, afterward, it costs $25 per month for 10 units and increases by $10 for every 10 units. At 50 units it is $60, increasing to $75 for 75 units and 100 for $100 units.
Key features of property management software
So, let’s proceed with features of the property management system we consider the most useful.
Mobile application
Being a property manager, you can’t underestimate the possibility of accessing the system remotely. Your constant meetings with clients, open houses, commuting from one place to another are no longer reasons to interfere with work. So, if your property management software has a mobile application available, it will help you access the property, manage inspections, respond to emails, and communicate with clients in the most convenient way.
To take the most advantage of CRM, we advise you to consider creating a cross-platform application that will work simultaneously on every device and OS.
Reporting & Analytics
One of the best features of property management system is the ability to generate reports. The real estate industry benefits from reporting features as it saves lots of manual work, allows tracking operations and identifies potential risks. A few examples of reports include
- Financial Reports record revenue, taxes, commissions, net income, etc.
- Production Reports help you understand how your property is operating per rate plan.
- Daily Activity Reports help run a smooth operation by keeping your team on the same page.
Compliance management
This feature aims to help real estate agents comply with legislation and manage related tasks (e.g.insurance expiry dates, smoke alarm, etc)
Data security
One of the most crucial functions of property management software is a guarantee of security. As a real-estate manager, you process lots of sensitive information so it’s critical that your property management software reliably encrypts data. Basic requirements may include:
- Two-factor authentication
- Push- notification (about unauthorized logins, sudden breaks, etc)
Cloud solution
With all the necessary information stored in the cloud, you can work from anywhere and save extra time. What does it mean when the data is stored in the cloud? It means that it can’t be lost since it is stored remotely in a secure network of servers that can be accessed from any place. Also, it is a cost-efficient solution since you can save on the need to purchase big on-premise servers.
Calendar
One of the essential features of a property management system is an interactive calendar. It allows each homeowner, realtor, or estate manager to conduct daily meetings and optimize the current flow ( manage multiple reservations, check room availability etc) in the most convenient way. Moreover, this feature can be even more useful if you will create a shared team calendar to manage those meetings together.
Sale integration
Not only it provides a seamless customer experience, but also it saves you lots of time in adjusting reservations on the go and the pressure of tracking clients’ obligations.
Our Experience
Inoxoft is a real estate management software development company with 7 years of experience in the global market. With software development project management tools and knowledge, our experts provide custom-made solutions for real estate enterprises to lead them through the process of property management. What other features can you get from a custom system made just for you?
- Pricing intelligence
- Virtual assistants
- Robust database and so on
Advantages from working with our software developers
- a flexible cooperation model
- a dedicated team
- automation in processes, backup, and security
- high-quality services and the final product
- reliable architecture
- clear code and data safety
Check out our portfolio to take a closer look at our projects.
Final Thoughts
Property management software is a useful service that allows companies to manage their processes from financial accounting and reporting to lead generation. Many software platforms have a narrow focus on a specific niche, but you have to pay for using each of them.
In the article, we named a list of features for property management system, which we consider the most important. If you own a real estate company or work in one, you can add all the specific features you need by investing once in your own custom system.
Develop a PMS on your own or outsource it to our experts. Contact us to get an approximate cost of the custom property management solution.
Originally published at https://inoxoft.com on November 4, 2021.
