Landlord's Guide When Choosing the Best Property Management Software

Landlords who choose to self-manage their rental business have to juggle several responsibilities and check off tasks on a daily basis. While it's indeed a hard role to play, it can be made easier if you use property management software. 

Picking the best landlord software can make records and information management more efficient and help streamline your workload. It can save you lots of time and money managing your rental business. Then, hopefully, it will lead to your goal of producing a steady stream of passive income. 

Take your time to read this guide on how property management software can help you in your landlord duties. 

What Types of Landlords Need Property Management Software?

Instead of hiring a property management company, you can save money if you invest in landlord software to manage your rental business. It doesn’t matter how many rental units you’re handling, using property management software can lighten your struggles with self-management of your rentals. 

Can Landlord Software Replace a Property Management Company?

There are significant benefits you can get by hiring a property management company. Their expertise and knowledge in managing rental properties are second to none, and they can assist rental owners regarding financial and legal matters of rental property management. 

It’s hard to underestimate the capability of a property management company in dealing with tenants and ensuring that your rental business meets the legal requirements in your locality. The catch is that it can be costly to hire a property manager, especially if you’re tight on the budget. 

Due to the additional expense of working with a property management company, many rental property owners are now self-managing their businesses. Instead of hiring a property manager, they take the affordable route of using property management software to streamline their landlord duties and keep track of their finances. 

Still, property management software can’t replace the role of a property manager but only helps ease the workload of self-managing landlords.

What Are The Essential Features of a Property Management Software?

When looking for the best property management software, you should look at the features it offers. Consider how its features can solve the problems you often face in managing your rental units and help your rental business grow. 

Choose premium landlord software that functions beyond the basic features. Otherwise, you might only encounter more problems and want more options to fill the gaps that can add to your expenses. 

Consider this list of essential features you should look for in a property management software. 

• Optimized for Managing Multiple Tasks. Convenience is the best benefit you can get from using landlord software. Pick one that allows you to manage accounts, properties/units, reports and ledgers in one place. 
• Online Payment Portal. It benefits both you and your tenants if your landlord software allows online rent payments. It’s less hassle, and it has the potential to increase the timely payment of rent. 
• Monitor Income and Expenses. Your property management software must have an option that allows you to track your business finances. It should have the capability to organize financial reports seamlessly and make them understandable for you and your CPA. This way, it will be easier for you to assess income and monitor deductions. 
• Comprehensive Tenant Screening. Every landlord knows that finding a good tenant is one of the most crucial aspects of the business. That’s why you should consider using landlord software that provides extensive tenant screening reports. It should allow you to view the applicant’s personal information and financial history. 
• Make It Easy to Market Your Rental Property. Your property management software should have a feature, which makes it a breeze for you to create an online listing for your vacant units and will syndicate to multiple rental property listing sites. This way, you can reach more people who are looking for rental units. 

Additional things to consider when finding the best landlord software are its cost and user-friendliness. You should look for an affordable software solution yet equipped with features that your rental business needs. Avoid the ones with expensive startup fees and only allow you to use the software if you sign up by paying an expensive cost. 

Since time is important to you as a landlord, pick a property management software solution that’s easy to use. It must have a smooth user interface and allows for seamless navigation between tasks. 

Final Thoughts

Property management software can be a great help for self-managing landlords. Today, you can find landlord software that offers vital features, such as tracking your income and expenses, an online payment portal, and comprehensive tenant screening. 

Using such software can help landlords bridge the gap of managing their rental business without hiring a property manager. It also has the potential of generating a steady stream of passive income.