Property management software is a tailor-made solution for property managers, letting agents and landlords, made to help them manage and oversee properties. Features such as automation, communication, report generation and work order management are designed to improve the efficiency of the processes involved in property management. It is important to remember that property management software is beneficial not only for letting agents but also owners, tenants, contractors and accountants. Acting as an all-in-one solution, property management software provides many benefits to all the stakeholders involved.
Here are the five top benefits of property management software:
1. Improved communication
Efficient communication is crucial when there are multiple stakeholders to consider. Being able to reach out and get feedback minimises the chances of delays, misunderstandings and mistakes.
Property management software allows managers to send emails, messages and push notifications to their tenants, contractors and property owners. This can include reminders such as rent payments or outstanding orders, ensuring that everyone involved is on the same page regarding deadlines and payments.
Tenants can also communicate with their property manager and inform them about any necessary repairs. This benefits both the tenant and the property manager. Tenants have a fixed structure of communication, and if they have any problems, they can access all necessary documents from their portal, such as certificates for the property. For the property manager, all communication is managed on the platform. Upon receiving a request, the property manager can issue a work order to a contractor on the system, minimising the need to make calls or write emails. The tenant is then made aware of the job and when it will be carried out, maximising transparency.
2. Saving time
Property management software implements automation and integrates with other platforms, all with the aim of saving managers time to focus on the most important issues.
Traditionally, property managers had to write up several emails saying the same thing, check due rent payments manually before sending a reminder, as well as having to reconcile accounts, often done via spreadsheet. Thanks to the automation that property management software facilitates, standard email drafts can be sent out at the click of a button, so you never have to write the same email over and over again. Reminders can be set up, to remind stakeholders of events such as EPC checks or upcoming viewings. This is especially useful for agents who manage large portfolios, as it makes it easier to keep track of many activities all at once.
Some property software is integrated with third-party platforms, for example: credit checking and tenant-finding platforms for accounting. These integrations help you to save time; integrating with accounting software allows you to synchronise all the payments made with your property management platform, eliminating the need to switch between two platforms and transfer the data manually.
3. Saving money
Property management software performs many admin functions that would usually take a lot of time to do manually. It helps you save money on labour costs, as you can manage your portfolio completely by yourself, or with the help of a few others should you see fit. That doesn’t mean that the software replaces people, it simply means less focus is required on admin as most of the processes can be automated.
The software has the potential to save hours of work on admin tasks, saving you a lot of money in the process. Tedious, repetitive tasks can be replaced by automated tasks, and once the information is placed into the software, it doesn’t have to be dealt with again.
Going paperless will also save you money, as all your documents and reports will be electronic. This will also reduce the chances of your documents getting lost.
4. Greater Accessibility
All the data that is stored in the cloud can be accessed if you have an Internet connection, providing you with much greater accessibility. You can access your data anytime, anywhere.
Certain property management software will provide you with multiple portals for your tenants, contractors and owners. This will allow your stakeholders to access all the data in real-time. For example, a letting agent who is constantly on-the-go will be able to access all the property-related information from the app, instead of having to wait until they’re back at their desk in the office. Furthermore, a self-managing landlord can take care of issues and track any activity while travelling, within or outside of the country.
It’s very easy for employees to work remotely, while the entire company is connected through a cloud interface. All you need is a device from which you can access the software.
5. Control
Using property management software will allow you to have greater control over your portfolio. Being in the centre of all processes lets you decide what information is accessible to each of your stakeholders. Features such as data tracking and report generation are very helpful to stay ahead of the curve with any updates within your properties.
Data tracking is a very useful feature that allows you to know where things are at any point in time (i.e a report, certificate). Data tracking minimises the chances of your documents getting lost or forgotten about.
These reports can then be sent to your tenants or owners with a click of a button, and you can decide who receives which reports.
Technological developments have been constantly used to solve problems for society, from automating the production of textiles to the creation of Artificial Intelligence. Property management software is one of the technological developments that was created specifically to solve problems associated with property management for managers, agents and landlords.
Property management software was created to make your life easier, by taking control of many aspects involved in managing your property. Features presented in the software will help you to be in control of your properties without wasting any more money. Better efficiency and integration results in better communication with all your stakeholders and leads to an improved workflow. Cloud storage will make it almost impossible to lose important documents, which can happen if you have large piles of paper stored in your office.
