Corporate Housing 101 Property Management Toolbox

Streamline Your Property Management Business With the Cloud

Admin
Published Date: 2014-04-21

You have enough things to keep you busy with move-ins, move-outs, screening tenants and property repairs. Simplify your business by running it out of the cloud. Low-cost tools in the cloud give you access to your important information wherever you are. You'll never have to be tied to your desk to do admin work again. Organize Your Tenant Information Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications have been around for a long time. However, sophisticated features haven't always been available for the small business. Cloud-based products such as Zoho CRM (ZohoCRM.com) let you keep your tenant information available wherever you are. Free to use for one user and available on all desktops and mobile devices, you can review and update tenant details anywhere. Since this application is in the cloud, you don't need to worry about maintaining files on your office computer.

Take Those Conversations With You

You don't just manage properties; you manage people as well, notes Rent Manager. Organizing tenant conversations so you can easily get to them is another task you can do in the cloud. Evernote is an application that also runs on your desktop or mobile device. Make notes in Evernote about tenant conversations. Take pictures of property damage and save them in this app. Scan tenant agreements directly into Evernote. Create a library of tenant documents and forms. Keep current city regulations handy in Evernote, too. Keep a list of people you work with, such as plumbers and electricians, with notes about their specialties, reliability and rates. Make a list of those contacts available for emergency services.

Keeping it all Safe

Busy people can easily forget to do regular backups of the information on their computers. Forget a few backups and you become vulnerable to some serious problems should you experience a data loss or corruption situation. Automated data backup solutions in the cloud will keep your data safe and routinely backed up. Applications such as the enterprise online cloud backup solution from Mozy give you ways to automatically backup and encrypt your data for added security. Once configured, it will consistently back up without need for monthly updates. Most of these products also offer mobile access so you can check on the status of backups and even schedule data restores.

Easy Payment Processing

Make receiving and posting tenant payments easier with cloud-based payment processing. Give tenants the ability to access an online payment tool to make payments. Collect overdue payments right at the tenant's door and post them using your smartphone or tablet. Tools such as Intuit GoPayment lets you take payments anywhere. Review payment information on your mobile devices or desktop and see which tenants consistently pay on time. Send them a quick "Thank You" note. Identify the good tenants and keep them.

All-In-One in the Cloud

Many software companies are moving their products into the cloud, including property management software companies. If you like the idea of working with an all-in-one package, tools such as PropertyWare or Aaxsys.com are both available in the cloud. These applications let you track leases and contracts, store documents and manage tenant information. Move-ins and move-outs are automatically tracked and renewals are flagged with alerts sent to you. Manage work orders and repairs. Many of these applications come with tenant portals that allow renters to log in and check balances, make payments, report problems or ask questions. Cut down the phone calls and emails by promoting the use of this feature. Respond to tenants from your smartphone or tablet while out doing unit inspections. Always remember to visit your MYCHBO Dashboard for more free tools.