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Property Management Software - Common Functionality
Property management software allows for the storage and swift retrieval of details pertaining to properties and tenants. Some applications also include accounting facilities, along with storage of maintenance, supplier, insurance and various other details. They often allow for the production of a variety of reports. The advantages such applications confer include:
Property Management
All property details are available in one place.
Storage of property purchase details.
Storage of utility details (gas, water & electricity meter details).
Production of various property administration reports.
Property searching to find suitable properties for tenants within a real estate portfolio.
Tenant Management
Tracking rent payments.
Managing tenant, reference, guarantor and deposit details.
Storage of tenants' personal details, including initial contact, reference, employer and guarantor details.
Storage of lease details (start & end dates, rental charge, payment frequency & deposit details).
Automatic generation of payment schedules for each tenant and property.
Automatic tracking and administration of tenant payments against payment schedule.
Automatic generation of late payment charges for rent arrears.
Viewing of tenant payment history, account balance & future payment schedule.
Production of various tenant reports (lease expiration, account balances, overdue rent, etc.).
Automatic generation of tenant standard letters and statements.
Accounting
Recording of income and expenditure against an individual property.
Classification of transactions by expense type (e.g. maintenance costs).
Production of financial reports, e.g. income, expenditure, profit and loss and VAT.
Reporting can be limited to a particular period (e.g. financial year), property or both.
Reports can be exported to Excel or Word.
Maintenance
Scheduling of maintenance for all properties and tracking to completion.
Production of various reports (e.g. maintenance schedule for next 12 months).
Reports can be limited to a particular period, property, supplier and job type.
Suppliers
Storage of supplier details (contact details, supplier type, email and web site details).
Reference supplier details alphabetically or by supplier type.
Transaction history, for comparison of quotations.
Production of supplier payment reports.
Recording your suppliers' performance.
Customise supplier types.
Insurance
Recording insurance policy details by property.
Production of reports, illustrating active policies, renewals and properties without insurance.
EXAMPLES OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
QFM Property Management
QFM Property Management provides a solution for centralising a wide range of property management functions. It provides access to property information and helps reduce administration costs. The system's range of management reports ensures improved management control over income / expenditure, contractual obligations and operational costs. Landlords can use the monthly diary and year planner to keep track of rental, rate and service charge payments and lease renewals. QFM Property Management software can be used to manage an individual property or a portfolio.
Service Works Global
Service Works Global has developed a suite of specialist applications that complement its facilities, property and performance management software; all of which seamlessly integrate into the core QFM product. Applications include:
Space Management.
Asbestos Management.
Invoice Management.
Website - www.serviceworksglobal.com
Propman Property Management Software
Propman is a flexible property management solution. Propman's property database and integrated financial accounting suite can be tailored to handle every aspect of property ownership, occupation and management.
Landlords will find Propman intuitive and simple to use. Its flexible configuration provides effective and efficient management of commercial, industrial, retail, residential (lettings and block management) and agricultural property portfolios. Designed as an integrated property management and financial accounting system, Propman provides a database backed up by accounting controls and reporting facilities. All aspects of the property database and accounting system are fully integrated; entry of information in one section automatically updates information in all other relevant areas.
Website - www.grosvenorsystems.co.uk
Costs
A basic property management software package costs about £100. This property management software will enable the landlord to carry out the basic management functions relating to their portfolio. For more advanced facilities, a landlord would have to pay several thousands of pounds for a full property management software suite. This will of course include full software support and training on
It is possible for landlords to obtain property management software free. Technically some property management software isn't the same; it does not sit on the individual landlord's computer. Instead, the landlord's data is kept on the website's server. This means that the landlord can only access the data through an internet connection. It does have the advantage that the data relating to their residential investment portfolio is available wherever there is an internet connection, rather than only being available on a single PC. It also means that hardware failure or loss does not affect critical property management data.
Which One to Buy?
Landlords should consider carefully the advantages and disadvantages of using specialist property management software. For those with a single property the advantages of purchasing a specialist package of property management software is probably not going to be worth £100, given that the data recording can be done using a simple spreadsheet. Those with several properties may find the added facilities of property management software useful. It will assist in organising their residential investment portfolio, particularly if they are unfamiliar with spreadsheets, or are not naturally good organisers. Those that use the Internet regularly and have good internet access may consider that a web-based application is preferable, particularly if free. For professional landlords that employ specialist staff, the outlay on 'high end' property management software, of several thousand of pounds, may be justified for their residential investment business. The efficiency savings may allow a landlord to recoup quickly the initial expenditure.
Conclusion
A property portfolio is an income source; hence, its effective management is essential. For landlords with multiple properties, property management software can be a worthwhile investment. It allows the landlord to focus on the priority business of letting properties, rather than their administration.
If you would like one of Global Financial Limited's independent mortgage brokers to supply you with a no obligation quotation then simply fill in the form and a broker will phone you to discuss the finer points as you would not want to sign up to a mortgage that is not quite what you wanted.
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