Every business owner’s goal is to increase efficiency and eliminate waste. Rental property owners are no different. Small to mid-sized landlords often have their own day jobs or other responsibilities, so building an efficient business model is a top priority.
Fortunately for landlords, technology is excellent at maximizing efficiency. Property management software is the single biggest technology landlords can use to streamline their business. It allows landlords to automate daily tasks, schedule routine communication, and simplify the entire tenant onboarding process.
Here are a few ways property management software can streamline your rental business.
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Online Rent Collection
Rent collection is the most attractive feature of property management software for many landlords. Because rent is the most important function of a rental business, software has made the collection process as simple as possible.
With online rent collection, tenants make debit, credit, or ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments instead of paying by cash or check. This means no more trips to the bank or frequent deposits and withdrawals.
What’s more, all payment-related records are generated automatically and organized securely by the software—no need to create individual rent receipts for tenants or constantly update your accounting books. Property management software does this all for you.
Tenant Screening
Tenant screening is another landlord responsibility that can be streamlined by property management software.
In traditional screening models, landlords need to conduct their own credit, criminal, and eviction searches for each applicant. This means paying costly fees and enduring long wait times to get the information you need. Shouldn’t there be an easier way?
There is. Property management software can produce and consolidate credit, criminal, and eviction reports all at the same time. This is because software companies typically partner with third-party screening services, enabling you to track down a tenant’s records in just moments. Simply enter the tenant’s name and basic information, and the software will pull all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Online Lease Signing
Lease signing can sometimes feel tedious. Landlords need to create and solidify the lease, specify terms, discuss it with tenants, obtain signatures, and know how to add addenda when necessary. If you’re working with paper leases and wet signatures, this process can be even more cumbersome.
Property management software is your tool for streamlining leasing. With software, landlords are able to upload, create, and edit leases directly on the software’s platform. From there, all you need to do is specify the fields that tenants are allowed to edit and you’re ready to share your lease in one click.
Renters will receive copies of their leases in their email inboxes. They can sign your lease electronically, which is a safer and more secure method than traditional pen-and-paper signing. As soon as they do, you’ll receive a notification that your tenants are ready to move in!
Bonus: With property management software, all signers have access to the lease from a computer or mobile device. This eliminates the need for you to print out another copy of the lease if the tenant loses theirs.
Multi-User Management
Multi-user management is a great secondary feature offered by many property management software companies. This feature lets you add additional team members (for example, maintenance staff, accountants, managers) as users of the software platform.
If you’re worried about the confusion or chaos involved with teaching multiple people how to use the software, there’s a solution for this too. Property management software allows you to designate which users have access to which features. For example, you can designate that your electrician or plumber can only see and manipulate maintenance tickets. Other features not involved with maintenance are invisible to them.
Property management software keeps everyone focused while facilitating cooperation between your team members.
Streamline Your Rental Business with Software
If you’re accustomed to traditional rental management, you might see software as just another source of stress. If this is you, you may be comforted to know that property management software was designed with landlords like you in mind. Software developers know the daily challenges landlords face and strive to provide simple, streamlined solutions. If you aren’t yet using property management software, be assured the upgrade will bring you maximum efficiency.