Best Rental Property Management Software

Whether managing a few units or multi-location properties, it is important to have the best rental property management software.  It helps you stay organized and gives you more time to focus on growing your rental housing business. It boosts efficiency by streamlining routine tasks, centralizing communications, managing maintenance requests, and collecting rent payments on time. Managers don’t have to rely on spreadsheets for everything; important tasks are completed on time, leaving little room for errors.

Choosing the right software that will meet your business demand is challenging. When selecting software, you need to consider its key features, benefits, compatibility with other software, price, as well as customer support you will get. We’ll guide you on how to compare and evaluate each of these factors and select a software that best suits your needs & budget.

What is Rental Property Management Software?

Rental Property Management Software helps property managers and owners to streamline their daily to-do tasks. It allows them to focus on things that matter most to their business, i.e., growing their rental portfolio. From marketing properties on lease to managing daily operations like screening tenants, rent collection, accounting & billing, handling maintenance requests and vendors, tracking tenant information, and guest communications -- it facilitates daily operations. It allows property managers to make informed decisions with real-time reports on rent payments, vacant units, income, and expense statements.

Benefits of Using Rental Management Software

Property managers have to perform & manage numerous tasks daily. Manually working on these tasks often leads to errors & longer turnaround times. With rental property management software, they don’t have to juggle multiple systems and can even manage their properties remotely. With such corporate housing software, property managers can automate most of the repetitive tasks & increase their team’s efficiency, and enhance customer experience.

1. Cost and time savings

   From tracking rent payments to assigning tasks to staff, handling maintenance tasks, and screening tenants -- property managers have to deal with these juggling tasks daily. It consumes a lot of admin time and delays the response time. Property managers need to hire more staff to complete these tasks on time, increasing labor costs. With rental property software, all these daily tasks can be automated-saving time and money.

2. Improved organization

   Software for rental property management makes your rental business more organized, efficient, and transparent. It stores all the property related-data and tenant information in one place. It also centralizes communication with built-in email integration, messaging systems, and automated alerts. It provides customizable automated workflows for maintenance tasks, invoicing, rent collection, leasing process & regular communication with tenants. With data-driven reporting and analysis, it generates reports like occupancy rates and rental expenses & allows you to take more informed decisions.

3. Enhanced tenant screening

   It is crucial to screen bad tenants to avoid fraud and scams. The manual screening process is time-consuming and involves to and fro emails or documents. With built-in tenant screening capabilities, rental management tools screen tenants on pre-determined criteria like age, credit history info, and social security number and can even run background checks and raise red flags.

4. Streamlined maintenance and repairs

   The wear and tear of the rental properties need to be taken care of on a timely basis rather than putting it on the back burner. Rental property management software automatically schedules all the routine maintenance tasks. It allows managers to create workflows that automatically assign work orders to maintenance vendors & sends a message/ emails to tenants of scheduled repair well in advance. Further, in an emergency or accident, tenants can inform managers through the software in real-time and skip dialing a phone call.

5. Real-time data access

   All the tenant details like name, stay details, invoice sent, rent agreement, and payment details are stored in a cloud-based platform. One can access this information from anywhere, anytime.  You can search, retrieve and send documents to your residents in real-time.

6. Scalability and growth

   When a rental housing business adds new markets to its inventory portfolio, on-premise installations get cumbersome, take time, and incur costs.

   Landlord property management software’s are cloud-based systems that save users the installation cost of hosting. It is scalable and frees you from the upkeep of this software, as vendors take care of it.

7. Data security and privacy

   It is important to be proactive in preventing data breaches in property management rather than mitigating them. Sensitive information like SSN numbers, credit card details, billing details, and lease agreements are regularly collected from tenants and can’t be left unguarded. Landlord management software lower the risk by
   implementing data encryption of important documents, access gateways, giving timely alerts to the relevant parties, and two-point authentication.

8. Efficient rent collection

   These tools allow online rent payments. It saves time by eliminating the need to collect paper rent checks, manual data entry, and trips to the bank. It reduces errors and saves resident information in a secure cloud system. It also enhances tenant experience by providing payment flexibility and the ability to make payments from anywhere.

   It also boosts staff efficiency through automated payment reminders and reduces delinquency rates. One can keep track of online payments that enable the generation of automated financial reports.

How does Rental Property Management Software work?

Best rental property management software is made keeping in mind the tasks and challenges of property owners and managers. It allows them to manage multiple properties from one platform. With built-in tools, they can track and manage their maintenance tasks, create invoices, collect rent online, communicate with tenants, access & store agreements, and complete their leasing process. Most of this cloud-based software has pre-built workflows and message templates that help to automate repetitive tasks with few clicks.

Features of Rental Property Software

The best short-term rentals management software has several features built considering the property manager’s pain point. These features reduce workload, streamline communication with tenants, and increase efficiency. It gives managers more time to focus on growing their business than running one. Here’s the list of the most used property management features.

1. Rent roll and payments

   Collecting rent has been a top priority for property managers, but it does not have to be time-consuming. One can reduce the payment processing time to half with the online payment process.

   It is quick, reliable, and automates the payment process. It allows tenants to add their bank account or credit card details to the resident portal and gives the flexibility of recurring payments. On the scheduled date, money gets deducted automatically, without the need to deposit money manually or through a paper cheque. Some rental property software also allows property managers to communicate directly with tenants.

2. Property listing and advertising

   Listing and promoting properties just get faster with apartment rental software. With a few clicks, units get listed on key property listing sites. You can have property details like photos, videos, & unit information, as well as highlight available amenities – to make your property stand out and ready for syndication. It cuts down the manual work of copying, pasting, formatting, and uploading property photos.

   When properties get listed in rental listing sites like Apartments.com, Zillow Rental Network, and Zumper -- chances of vacant units getting booked increase as it gets in front of millions of renters.

3. Applications and tenant screening management

   Simplifying and automating the tenant entry process is as significant as collecting rent or assigning maintenance orders.

   Most software allows tenants to download the application form, sign the application with e-signature, and process the application fees. These applications are stored in the system. A property manager can view the status of the form and retrieve it from anywhere.

   Some software has a built-in tenant screening process and easily flags fraudulent information. With standardized screening criteria set within the software like rent history, credit history, income, and criminal activity-- tenant screening checks applicants. It avoids increased turnover, costly maintenance repairs, and eviction headaches due to bad tenants.

4. Maintenance record keeping

   Maintaining accurate records of all maintenance activities is crucial to ensure timely repair of your property. It also requires real-time communications with tenants to accept maintenance requests.  Managers can streamline the maintenance record-keeping process with a rental property management system.

   They can easily assign tasks to team members or create work orders for vendors with notes and images. One can also create or track tasks on the go with a mobile app. Such software further simplifies the process by allowing them to pay vendors and even communicate with tenants in real time.

5. Maintenance and work order tracking

   All the work orders or tasks get stored in one place. One can view it on a single dashboard or window. It allows property managers to check the workload balance of the department/ vendors.

   The dashboard allows managers to prioritize issues, re-assign work, and track orders from anywhere. It is helpful to increase efficiency if any last-minute changes require immediate attention.

6. Financial reporting and accounting

   Online rental property management software helps managers and owners efficiently manage their accounting tasks and helps in the upkeep of bookkeeping accurately. It also gives a true financial picture by recording every fee, deposit, and refund. One can quickly access current revenue and easily forecast future cash flow.

   It also helps managers & owners make faster & more data-driven informed decisions.

   It also automatically generates customizable reports that provide valuable insights for operating a rental business. From reports like owner's statements, income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets to delinquency records – all these diverse reports save time and effort for property managers and make business more transparent.

7. Vacancy management

   It is crucial to track the vacancy and occupancy status of the properties. Most rental property software saves property managers time by automatically identifying these vacant units. It automatically posts vacant units on popular property listing platforms. At the same time, it alerts providers of upcoming lease expiration so that they can prepare well in advance for vacant units.

8. Communication and tenant portal

   Tenant-staff communication is key for enhanced tenant experience and an organized rental business. All the communication options like email, message, or text are stored in the software to be accessed anytime. It also allows managers to communicate with tenants without any integrations. With various message or email templates, one can save time writing the message/email. One can create, schedule, or send communications with a few clicks.

   Tenants also have the flexibility to access the information & tools, submit online requests, and pay rent at their fingertips using the tenant portal. It gives self-service flexibility & frees your staff from sending regular communication like sharing stay information, wi-fi password, or attending phone calls after working hours.

9. Lease and contract management

   It allows users to manage the entire leasing process online. The whole leasing cycle gets faster – from collecting signatures digitally, having customizable lease templates, and automating the e-signing process to sending reminders & having status updates. Tenants can sign lease agreements anywhere and from any device — all in their comfort.

What to Look For in Rental Property Management Software?

As a property manager or landlord, your prime focus is to meet business goals and daily operational needs. Best rental property software helps you to stay organized by streamlining all processes & enhancing tenant experience by decreasing response time. We have listed the most popular features that help in running the business.

1. Features & functionality

   Look for software that provides automation capabilities with pre-built configurable workflow templates & message templates. It saves time and increases efficiency by automating daily tasks involved with reservation, finance, communication & operations. From move-in inspection, tenant screening, task tracking, posting listings for vacant units, and maintenance monitoring to move-out – an integrated platform helps you manage and alert your staff from one place.

2. Ease of use

   Whether your software is easy to use should be a deciding factor when considering property management software. It reduces your staff training time significantly. Be it an intuitive & user-friendly dashboard, in-built message templates, lease agreement templates or inspection forms for every situation, or pre-configurable workflow templates – all these capabilities make the software easy to use & reduce the friction of migrating to new software.

3. Customer support

   While selecting apartment rental software, one should look for a dedicated customer support team. This helps property managers to share their challenges, mutually plan their staff’s training schedule, or get help in implementation. Check out for support time or mode of support over the phone or the Zoom calls or emails provided. In addition, look out if you are getting training videos, FAQs, or step-by-step guides for a smooth migration.

4. Cloud-based & mobile compatibility

   Another factor property managers should look for in the software is that it should be cloud-based & compatible with mobile. It gives them the flexibility to manage units from any location.

   Cloud-based software is cost-effective and reduces installation, maintenance, and up-gradation cost. One can easily upgrade and downsize storage based on the requirement.

   Further, managers should prefer mobile-compatible software to manage multi-location properties remotely. With a few clicks on their mobile phone, they can communicate with tenants anytime, accept payments, assign tasks to vendors, and easily track their status.

5. Security

   Security is another critical aspect of selecting software. As landlord management software stores tenant's sensitive information like address, SSN, credit card details, and lease agreements – it can't be kept unguarded. It should be secure enough that an unauthorized person doesn't have access to the tenant-staff communication or sensitive information.

   Modern-day software provides security by giving only authorized users access to files & documents. All the documents are encrypted and password-protected, giving extra security.

6. Pricing & value for money

   Most of the software charges per unit per month basis” or on “per monthly basis and have a monthly minimum fee. Whether software charges users on per user or per-month basis, as a property manager, you need to understand how much value addition you are getting from it.

   You should be clear about what features you are getting and how they can help you streamline the processes. In addition to the features, you should also consider its scalability, integration with accounting or marketing platforms, customer support, user-friendliness, and reputation & reviews of the platform.

7. User feedback and reputation

   If you are still unsure which software to go ahead with, look at software review sites like SoftwareSuggest or check out Google my business reviews. These sites provide real-time software reviews from the user of the software.

8. Free trials and demos

   Free trials and demos are a great way to understand whether the software will suffice your business needs. Some software provides free trials for 14 days, where you can explore most of the features on your own. Some software also provides a 1-1 live demo where the account manager will walk you through the software interface and all the main features.

Top 5 Software for Rental Property Management Comparison

When you know which features to consider, selecting rental property management software for landlords is easy. Yet you require more clarity on what features you are getting, what are the pros and cons of using a software, and how much value for money you would be getting. Here is the list of top 5 rental property management software that can help you manage your properties efficiently.

Name	Free Trial	Demo	Starting Price
Buildium	14 Days	Yes	$52/month for 150 units
AppFolio	14 Days	Yes	$250/month for min. 50 units
Rentec Direct	14 Days	Yes	$45/month
Propertyware	NA	Yes	$1/month for 1 unit
DoorLoop	7 Days	Yes	$49/month

1. Buildium

Buildium is a leading property management software built to keep property managers’ pain points. Its unified platform caters to small, mid-sized, and large businesses. From robust accounting capabilities, online payment collections, online leasing, and communications to vendor management and tenant screening – it helps you manage every aspect of rental property management. Award-winning customer support, flexible & transparent pricing, open API & marketplace of property management apps — makes it a property manager’s favorite.

Features

• Robust accounting feature
• Automated online payments for rent, fees, and bills
• Rental listing syndications on all major sites
• Maintenance Management
• Online leasing
• Tenant Screening

Pros

• Its accounting system is easy to use & comes with a financial transaction ledger, customizable chart of accounts, & comprehensive reporting suite.
• Property managers can electronically receive payments, pay vendors, and pay owners with ease with a simplified payment system
• Know how much you owe your company, property owners, and vendors with built-in calculators.
• Tenants can easily place maintenance requests online, and managers can send the request to vendors in one click—reducing the response time.

Cons

• Its property Inspection add-on is not very user-friendly and is not expensive too.
• It provides few customizable options, but it can increase the flexibility of the interface by adding the ability to create custom fields and reports 
• Its interface is not user-friendly when managing multiple units, accounting requirements, and maintenance requests.

Pricing

• Buildium has a straightforward pricing model. The essential plan starts at just $52 per month fees for up to 150 units. Plans scale to “Growth plan,” which starts at $166/ month with additional features. “Premium plan” starts at $479/ month. One can take the 14-day trial to check out the Buildium features ( no credit card is required)

2. AppFolio

AppFolio is one of the best property management software that allows residents and owners to run the entire portfolio on one platform. It is easy to use & cloud–based scalable platform that streamlines and automates most of the daily processes required to keep the business running. Whether managing single-family, multi-family portfolios, or affordable housing – it has solutions for every market. It provides data-driven insights with robust accounting, eliminates inefficiencies with smart automation, and provides seamless online maintenance workflows & a frictionless leasing experience to residents. AppFolio Stack™ seamless integrations increase your teams' productivity.

Features

• Centralized communication
• Well-structured & intuitive accounting solution
• Online payments
• Mobile App
• Online portals for renters
• Online owner portal
• Manage maintenance requests with smart maintenance
• Online leasing & tenant screening

  Pros

• The tasks do not require a lot of time, saving admin time
• Its online rent payment feature is very useful and enhances tenant experience
• All the documents, agreements, and payments can be accessed easily from anywhere
• Maintenance requests can be done with a few clicks
• User report provides better insights for informed decision making

 Cons

• It is expensive compared to other software
• Its customer care is not up to the mark. Users experience slow response time & lack of support
• Allows little customizable options to create reports. Owner statements can be made easy for the owners to comprehend.

Pricing

• Appfolio has two transparent & straightforward pricing models. It has two pricing tiers. For small and mid-sized portfolios, pricing starts at $1.40/unit/ month with a $280 Minimum monthly fee for 50 unit minimum.  For portfolios managing 1000+ units, it is priced at $3.00/unit/ month with a $1,500 Minimum monthly fee for 500 unit minimum.

3. Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct is web-based rental property software that meets the needs of modern property management. Whether you are managing a single property or 10,000 units, its responsive design allows you to manage properties on any device, like a desktop, mobile, or tablet. It provides unlimited free US-based support and training.

It helps to streamline your rental management tasks, connect with your tenants, and save you time. From a complete accounting system with general ledger accounting, tenant screening to avoid frauds, online rent payments, and tenant portals that receive maintenance requests to work order management that tracks maintenance and repair—it helps landlords and property managers to operate their rental business easily.

 Features

• Online rent payments
• Ledger Accounting & reporting
• Electronic Signatures
• Tenant Screening
• Insurance Protection
• Work order management system for maintenance issues
• Receive portal
• Vacancy Syndication

Pros

• It is affordable, easy to use, and set up. Its e-signing capabilities save a lot of admin time and reduce move-in time.
• Support is quick and responsive
• It has an extremely robust reporting system to track and manage your portfolio performance.
• Reports are easy to comprehend and use.

Cons

• The owners portal and tenant portal are working well; however, they should have a property management app for more flexibility.
• Should offer more customization for creating reports
• Online payments could be made easier

Pricing

• Rentec Direct offers two plans. Its pro plan is for landlords and investors who self-manage their properties and are priced at $45/ month. While Rentec PM is for property managers and is $55 per month price. For units above 2,500 units, they offer a special deal
• Rental businesses can take a 2-week trial and find out how it can benefit their business, making it one of the best free property management software.

4. Propertyware

Propertyware rental property management system comes with a lot of customization and provides flexibility to property managers to manage their business as they want. Its robust accounting features, custom reporting, dashboard, and open API allow users to manage their properties from one platform.

Features

• Robust accounts receivable & accounts payable
• Work order management
• Owner and tenant insurance
• Listing and syndication
• Tenant screening
• Tenant communications

Pros

• It is scalable, customizable, and has all capabilities required to run a business from one place.
• Robust reporting feature that allows you to create reports with ease.
• An advanced accounting system that keeps track of property expenses & facilitates rent collection

Cons

• Support needs improvement and should have a lower response time
• Move-out inspection is not user friendly
• Lease extensions could be made easier
• Creating custom reports is confusing

Pricing

• Propertyware uses a unit-per-month pricing model but comes with a minimum monthly cost. It offers 3-tier pricing – basic, plus, premium. It plus tier is the most popular.
• Its basic plan comes at $1 per unit per month with a $250 monthly minimum. In addition to it, it charges implementation fees of 2x the monthly subscription price.

5. DoorLoop

Doorloop allows you to manage and grow your portfolio from anywhere with ease. Whether you manage a single-family or multi-family property, an apartment, townhouse, or duplex, its customizable features help you grow & streamline your rental properties. Be it vacancy syndication on sites like Zillow, collecting rent online, e-signing lease agreements, tenant screening and background checks, or managing accounting – Doorloop makes it super simple. It provides quality training and support.

Features

•  Advanced accounting
•  Tenant portal app
•  Work order management
•  Owner portal
•  Automatically list vacant units
•  Tenant screening

     Pros

• The tenant portal is easy to use, allowing tenants to see their current balance online and pay automatically.
• Customer support is responsive & accurate and available on Zoom calls phone as well.
• The property management app is great; one can monitor payments or tenant maintenance issues over the phone.
• The capability to generate e-signatures for leases increases business efficiency significantly.

Cons

• The accounting and banking setup is a little more complicated than expected.
• Bank reconciliations get tedious with many transactions.
• Little expensive, especially for small businesses

Pricing

• Doorloop has 3 pricing tiers- starter, pro & premium. Its starter plan starts at $49 per month for the first 2 months & billed yearly.

Market Trends to Understand for Rental Property Management Software

The rental housing industry is growing and evolving. There is an increase in digital technology adoption, tenant expectations, and preferences for self-service & online payments. Providers must stay updated on current market trends, and technology changes to stay ahead of their competitors. There is a growing need to boost efficiency & streamline things even with limited resources while giving tenants an enhanced experience.

1. Shift toward cloud-based solutions

   The main reason for this shift is the accessibility of the software. Cloud-based software is web-based and easily accessed by multiple users located at different locations to make informed decisions and respond quickly to tenants' needs.

   It is also scalable. As the business grows, you require advanced features like revenue management and tenant screening – this means more storage requirements. Desktop-based software requires additional licenses and hardware upgrades, whereas cloud-based software can be upgraded or downgraded based on requirements.

   Also, as the data is stored in the cloud, one can easily skip taking manual backups or stop worrying about losing information if the desktop system crashes.

2. Mobile-friendly & responsive design

   The increasing use of mobile-based applications by tenants has shifted the focus of property managers and owners to look for mobile-friendly & responsive landlord management software. Whether it is booking a property, signing the lease agreement, or making a request-- tenants like to use their phones rather than a phone call.

   It provides an accessible platform not only to tenants but also to your staff. Your staff doesn’t have to be in the office to manage things. With mobile apps, they can create, assign, and track tasks on the go with just a few clicks.

3. Integration with third-party services

   With the rise in digital technology and increasing renter demand, all the software must integrate to provide a unified view of the rental housing business.

   It streamlines reservation, operations, and finance processes. It not only reduces error but also saves a lot of time on manual data transfer and syncing. For example,  your reservation platform, CRM, and Quickbooks should be connected.

   In addition, one should take a step forward to understand how these integrations will contribute to day-to-day workflows and how they can avoid inefficiencies in the key processes.

4. Automation and AI-powered features

   Automation streamlines and boost your business efficiency by 2-3 folds. It also enhances the renter experience by reducing response time and gives your staff more time to focus on what matters most—growing your business. All can be automated, from rent collection, maintenance requests, task assignment, book-keeping entry, invoicing, and tenant screening, to the leasing process. A few AI-powered features, like AI-based tenant screening, automate most of the screening process and allow you to review a tenant's history, credit score, employment, etc. It saves time and raises red flags for possible fraud.

What is the cost of Rental Property Management Software?

Most rental property management software charges “per unit per month basis” or “per monthly basis.” Most software offer 2-3 pricing tiers, where the base version has the basic features required to run the business, while higher versions have add-ons like unlimited support or training or may have unique features along with basic features.

In addition, they may charge monthly minimum fees in the range of $200 to $250 range along with minimum units. They also offer a free trial for 14 days to be familiar with the platform.

Conclusion

Selecting the right rental property management system can get tricky when you have not identified the pain points that have kept your business from growing.

We have listed out popular software that addresses the common challenges. It relieves your staff from time-sapping routine tasks through smart automation while easing workloads & fewer errors, and eliminating work duplication. It allows you to automate rent collection & tenant screening & schedule invoices, and simplifies accounting. You can communicate with tenants or even assign tasks on the go.