The best property management software should make it easy to manage real estate portfolios, from screening tenants to maintaining the property.
The software must be able to not only handle documents from office software, but also needs to be able to cover accounting and financial management.
Apart from managing tenants and maintenance, you will also need to screen rental applications and keep track of inventory. Furthermore, you will need to handle advertising and marketing, as well as report any faults. The best software will also enable you to communicate directly with tenants and provide updates and status notifications as required.
Aside from that, the number of properties involved is a factor, as someone managing a small number of real estate units will likely have different needs than someone managing a large number of properties.
There are many solutions available that are very comprehensive for organizations that need to manage a lot of property units. These solutions are cloud-based services, which means you can access them from anywhere, such as on the go using your smartphone.
Commercial Property Management Software
Some products are meant to be used for commercial or residential/multi family portfolios, while others can be used for any type of real estate assets.
Most platforms offer a variety of features, including modules for accounting, billing, reporting, maintenance request management, online payments, and communication. However, each platform comes with a slightly different set of features.
The price of a product usually depends on how many units are managed, the user licenses, or other factors.
Most platforms offer free demos, so it is wise to take the product for a test drive to ensure it is going to serve your particular property management needs before making a purchasing decision.
RealPage Commercial
RealPage Commercial is a property management solution that can be used by REITs, property management companies, real estate owners, and developers of office, industrial, and retail portfolios.
This software provides many features that are useful for managing every aspect of commercial real estate. These features include things such as financial management and reporting, as well as operational features.
The lease administration component includes lease boilerplates that make it easy to add new leases.
The platform can also calculate lease accounting for CPI increases, percentage rent, late fees, recurring charges, and more to make sure billing is accurate.
The reconciliation engine can handle the entire process of recovering money that is owed.
Tenants who use the RealPage Commercial platform can make online payments, send service requests, view lease balances, and more.
Rent Manager
Rent Manager is a versatile and user-friendly property management software. It is equipped with an asset management database, integrated accounting, contact management, and work ordering capabilities plus marketing solutions. This makes it perfect for managing properties of any size.
The platform lets you do things like track, manage, and resolve service issues, as well as download detailed reports on your finances. You can also create a professional and interactive website for finding new tenants or buyers for a property, which is integrated with Rent Manager.
The platform is also mobile-friendly, which is great for when you’re on the go and need to accept payments, organize service inspections, enter work orders, or take photos.
Although this software is very useful for property managers, tenants can also access information about past transactions, sign leases, and pay rent from any device. If you want to find out how much the software costs, you will need to contact the company, but there is a free trial available if you want to try it out.
MRI Commercial Suite
MRI offers a lot of features in its commercial real estate management software.
The lease administration module works as a centralized data repository, allowing users to access the most recent lease data for each tenant.
The platform has calculators for lease clauses, offsets, breakpoints, and recovery billbacks, as well as robust reporting and data visualization tools to help analyze and maximize overall portfolio performance.
The Tenant Connect portal lets tenants access account information, make online payments, and submit service requests anytime, anywhere.
CRESSblue
The CRESSblue software is designed specifically for managing commercial net lease properties. It offers a variety of features and tools for managing shopping centers, retail plazas, industrial complexes, and office buildings.
It can make a variety of property management tasks easier, such as lease abstracting, budgeting, maintenance contracts and schedules, CAM reconciliations, lease options, work orders notifications, and more.
This software can help to keep all documents organized and tidy while also being able to generate different types of reports.
The price of CRESSblue is determined by how many leases and users are being managed. Upgrades are included in the price. CRESSblue offers training for individuals and groups who need it, as well as phone and email support.
SOFT4RealEstate
Whatever your business, this software will make your job easier. SOFT4RealEstate makes it easy to manage any kind of property, from commercial to retail to mixed-use. No matter what your business is, this software will make your job easier.
The application has a similar look and feel to other Microsoft products such as MS Office because it is powered by Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
It can be used on your own servers, or through a cloud service.
The software is available as a monthly subscription or as a licensed stand-alone application, and is priced per user.
Notable features of the software include the ability for users to create lease contracts from templates, store and track tenant data, manage a portfolio of lease units, track vacancies and sales leads, calculate common area maintenance charges, and manage work order requests.
The software can also help you manage your finances by creating and sending invoices, generating reports, and tracking maintenance schedules.
VTS
The VTS platform manages commercial real estate portfolios for leasing and asset purposes.
The software has a large network of users who manage a very large amount of space.
The business intelligence analytics feature of this software allows landlords and agency brokers to close deals faster and increase their overall conversion rate. Other features include inventory, tenant, and deal management.
VTS can help commercial real estate teams work together more effectively by allowing them to share data instantly, speed up the approvals process, and communicate more efficiently.
The platform can be used on iOS devices such as phones and tablets, and can also be integrated with other commercial real estate management solutions, like MRI and Yardi.
Property Management Software for Multifamily Portfolios
Property Matrix
This software is designed for managing large properties with many units. It is highly configurable to meet the specific needs of the property.
This product comes with 120 features and 500 customizable reporting fields. Its user-friendly interface works great on all types of devices.
The subscription-type plans start at $400 per month, and the price goes up depending on how many units you want to manage and which features you want to include. The plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee.
Property Matrix offers various enterprise class services such as accounting, document management, customizable templates and reports, online payment options, and an integrated communications hub.
The software enables you to build a website for each building in your portfolio.
Shiftsuite
The Shiftsuite property management platform is created specifically for condominium managers. It has separate applications that can be used alone or together as a bundle.
The different modules that can be installed on the system include accounting, property management, community websites, certificate management, online proxies, and vendor vetting.
The platform currently listed 450,000 condo units and 1,600 community websites. The monthly fees for the various application modules differ, and are based on factors such as the number of units managed and the number of user licenses.
The online proxy application is priced per use, and the price increases with the number of units managed.
iManageRent
The iManageRent is a cloud-based platform that automates and simplifies property management tasks and renting.
This software is good for people who own property, manage property, or work in the property industry.
The platform can be used by landlords and property managers to get an estimate of market rents, find prospects, screen possible tenants, calculate security deposits and rent increases, collect rent payments online, and manage requests for work orders.
iManageRent can be used by organizations as a white-label solution, which means it can be branded for each organization.
The platform can be used by multiple people with different levels of access. It can also be connected to third-party websites, letting organizations use some of the platform features on their own websites.
Rentmoji
Rentmoji is a one-stop shop for residential rental property management.
The platform has many features, such as property accounting, processing payments, handling maintenance requests, storing documents, harvesting leads, and managing vendors.
The apartment complex features an automated resident application and screening module, and a step-by-step move-in process. It also has individual portals for owners, residents, and vendors.
The platform is available as a software as a service product, and it is highly customizable to the needs of each organization. It also works flawlessly on all mobile devices.
Property Management Software for Hybrid Portfolios
Yardi
Yardi is a well-known property management software provider that has over 20,000 corporate and government customers.
The company offers two different property management platforms – one called Yardi Breeze which is designed for smaller real estate firms, and another called Yardi Voyager which is designed for medium to large size property management companies, owners, and investors.
Both platforms are designed for managing accounting and operations processes for residential and commercial portfolios.
Yardi Voyager also provides extensive reporting, as well as management of lease renewals, construction, and maintenance.
In addition to the basic platform, the company offers a number of add-on products that can be fully integrated with it.
AppFolio Property Manager
AppFolio is a cloud-based solution that can be used by managers of various types of properties, including single family homes, multifamily homes, condos, HOAs, commercial properties, or mixed portfolios.
The platform features designed for residential property managers include: -The ability to accept online applications and screening -Online leases -Online payments -Robust accounting -Automated late fees -Online maintenance requests -One-click vacancy posting.
The commercial property management platform comes with modules for reconciling common area maintenance, scheduling rent increases, creating reports oriented towards commercial rental properties, allowing for online rent payments, and more.
AppFolio has two monthly subscription plans, one for residential properties and one for commercial properties. The residential plan starts at $1.25 per unit per month, and the commercial plan starts at $1.50 per unit per month.
Property Boulevard
The Property Boulevard real estate management solution is a versatile tool that can be used for commercial and residential portfolios, HOAs, and condominiums.
The software includes modules for managing receivables and payables, accounting, banking, payroll, units and tenants, vendors, maintenance, and inventory.
The accounting and management modules can be used together or separately.
Property Boulevard has several features that increase productivity and security, including automatic updates, paperless office, and restricted access options.
The platform can either be deployed on-site or used in the cloud. The cloud-based version can be accessed on smartphones and tablets through a special app. The on-site option can be deployed with or without a terminal server.
Total Management
Total Management is a web-based property management platform designed to serve both the residential and commercial real estate markets.
The tools available for managing residential and multifamily properties include custom dashboards, work order management, tenant portals and tracking. They are suitable for apartments, single family homes and student housing.
The features of this software that are designed specifically for office buildings, retail establishments, and industrial properties include custom dashboards, the ability to track notifications, management of maintenance requests, CAM reconciliation, tax and insurance reconciliation, correspondence management, and accounting functions.
The company charges $1 per unit for residential portfolios and $2.50 per unit for commercial properties every month. In addition, there is a one-time setup fee and a monthly minimum charge.
How we tested the best property management software
We looked for popular property management software options and asked people we know who use this software for recommendations. We set up an account to test the software for ease of use, features, and costs.
Which property management software is best for you?
Which software to use for property management depends on how many properties you have and how much training you need to use the software’s features.
