Are you still using Excel?
One of the things that I have learnt in this business is that there is no easy answer to this question. Each company has its own needs with respect to how to manage a portfolio of assets.
Most of the companies use an accounting software to run the financial component of the business (such as Yardi, JDE etc.) and another "software" to run the operation portion of the business ("Microsoft Excel" or some other software from a reputable company or "nothing").
Being a Millennial I have always believed that there has to be a "better" way of managing real estate. I believe that having reliable information in real time is one of the key components of being a successful property manager.
Some of the tools that we use are:
- Microsoft Surface Pro/Go tablet
- Microsoft One Note
- and a Property Management Software
Microsoft One Note is a relatively new software that Microsoft released few years ago. Once you get use to it you can do amazing things with it. That's one of the reason why I love my Surface devices.
You can easily create notebooks/pages/sub pages and take notes with One Note. One Note has also versions for iOS and Android therefore you can sync the information between different devices.
When we talk about a software for a property manager we should have in mind some of the features such as:
- being able to access in real time information about the properties such as drawings, construction information (sprinkler capacity, floor load capacity, ceiling height, roof type, insulation etc)
- having information about tenants - what is their suite address, legal name, who are the emergency contacts etc.
- being able to manage the service agreements - expiration dates, prices, vendor insurance, contact information etc.
- manage all the insurances for tenants, vendors and properties
- tracking all the assets related to the properties (HVAC, Roof, glazing, dock levelers etc.)
- automatically generate Maintenance Plans for all the assets
- managing the communication with the tenants
- managing purchase orders
- creating Inspection forms that are easy to track and reference to at any given time
If you are looking to find our more information about eProp and how we can help your business feel free to contact us.
Everything is cloud based and was designed to be very intuitive and user friendly as possible.
Written Bogdan Burlacu, the founder of eProp.