In commercial real estate brokerage today the property management division of your business will need a dedicated and specialised property management software program to control asset performance for the clients that you serve. There are many different software packages around, some of which are of the highest quality, whilst others are very average.
Quality is important
If you plan to provide a professional property management service across the best buildings in your town or city, then you will need a high quality software program that can comprehensively cover the needs of the clients and the challenges of the properties. There are significant and different management requirements across industrial, office, and retail property types.
In saying that you do need to choose the right software program, there are costs associated with all of the specialised solutions available. Most of the high quality programmes are reasonably costly although they can be easily funded by the correct management fee structure and a good size property management portfolio.
Understand the reporting solutions
If you want to attract the best clients to your professional property management services, you will need a good software solution to support your activities. You need something that is well proven and cost efficient, and yet something that is easily able to produce the reports that the clients require. An informed client is more readily able to make the best decisions in a timely way.
Know what you must control
Understand the informational needs of the clients that you serve across an array of activities. Consider some of the most common challenges that you strike on a regular daily basis, including:
- The lease documentation and updates
- Tenancy mix details and variations
- Expenditure activity across the various cost codes
- Arrears controls and reporting
- Regular tenancy correspondence and communication
- The landlord reporting requirements and report formats
- Property maintenance records
- Risk management and documentation
- Energy management and tracking
- Environmental issues and controls
- Income controls and optimisation
- Rental strategies and budget expectations
- Property budgeting for both income and expenditure
- Premises and area detail
- Tenant contact, correspondents, and records
- Outgoings activity and performance
- Cash flow projections
So these are some of the most common requirements in most commercial property management activities. At a minimum, the software solutions that you use need to cover these and other issues effectively and directly.
The Categories?
You can see from the list that some of the matters are financially orientated, whilst others are linked to documentation, and also tenancy mix occupancy. One software package has to cover all of the issues in an accurate way.
Choose the best commercial property management software package that suits your typical client profiles, property types, and property portfolios. Understand the factors of growth that will occur with your property portfolio so that the selected property management solution you choose can give you the best ongoing support into the future as the portfolio grows and building complexity increases.
You can get more commercial property management tips in our eCourse ‘Snapshot’ right here.
Commercial Real Estate Online 