Customer Relationship Management systems (or CRMs) are powerful and extremely helpful tools for business owners. They allow you to organize and streamline customer interactions and relationships in wide-ranging ways.
Because salespeople often manage multiple clients and relationships, CRMs are tailor-made for sales-centric industries. As a result, they’re frequently overlooked by business owners in adjacent fields. So, how could you, as a property owner or landlord, utilize a CRM to maximize your profits, maintain and grow your investments, and keep your tenants happy?
In this guide, we’ll examine some of the most popular property management CRM software on the market and discuss how landlords can best use it.
More eyes on your listings means more qualified renters.
Key Takeaways
- CRMs are powerful tools for streamlining the operations of a business, including tracking and converting leads and managing the process from start to finish.
- For property management, a CRM can handle all sorts of tasks that would otherwise take hours longer and require multiple software tools to implement.
- Property management software like TurboTenant has CRM functionality that makes it easy for landlords to collect rent online, communicate with their tenants, and manage maintenance requests. Landlords build strong relationships with their tenants by staying on top of these critical tasks.
Understanding CRM in Property Management
CRM property management software can be a potent tool for landlords and property owners. If you manage multiple properties, keeping track of where every potential renter is in the process is incredibly important — not just for tracking your income but also for ensuring your customers are properly cared for.
It’s one of the keys to long-term success in any industry, including property rental.
Since the goal is to streamline your operation and make it more efficient, a good property management CRM software should include a few standard features before you even begin to consider it.
Property Marketing
The first (and sometimes biggest) hurdle is getting your property in front of as many qualified leads as possible. TurbotTenant blasts property listings to dozens of popular listing sites, which widens the potential applicant pool and automatically pulls those leads into the platform.
Lead Management
As leads are gathered, ideally directly into the CRM from the listing sites, you can see contact details, current status, what site they were brought in by, and other information depending on the CRM you’re using.
With TurboTenant, the software offers a number of options that can help sort the leads and move them along in the rental process. If there are a large number of applicants to any property, you’ll be able to quickly filter and sort them based on various details, including whether or not you’ve already screened them.
Tenant Screening
After you’ve gathered several leads for your rental units, the next step is to ensure the candidates are qualified. A built-in tenant screening feature makes this incredibly simple and convenient. Quickly sorting which leads have completed and passed the screening makes picking on the perfect candidate painless.
Lease Management
To keep everything in one place, tracking each tenant’s lease and lease status should be a core component of your chosen CRM. Some CRMs, like TurboTenant, offer a library of state-specific lease templates and the ability to sign them online and store them directly within the platform for easy access.
This way, all relevant documentation and materials are connected directly to the tenant within the platform and viewable by all parties 24/7. When everybody is on the same page, the risk of miscommunication and misunderstandings is reduced.
Rent Collection
Online rent collection is a critical component that a property management CRM software should offer if your goal is to streamline your rental investments. Instead of manually tracking check payments or ACH transfers, a solid CRM allows tenants to set up autopay and wave goodbye to late fees forever.
On the landlord side, a solid property management CRM for property management provides the means to automatically remind tenants of upcoming rent obligations and apply late fees to missed payments. It’s a great way to remove emotion from the relationship and replace it with objective information.
Communication
One of the key components of a CRM is building and maintaining a positive relationship between landlords and tenants. A great way to do this is to be open and communicative about any problems or challenges and respond promptly to urgent repairs or requests.
Landlords and tenants can stay in close contact by choosing a CRM with a dedicated messaging system (like TurboTenant). And because communication is centralized to their apps, landlords and tenants quickly find conversations without digging through emails and text messages.
Review of Top CRM Software Choices for 2024
TurboTenant
TurboTenant is a property management software solution with CRM functionality designed to provide landlords and tenants the support they need for a happy, healthy, and successful rental experience.
TurboTenant features everything you’d want in property management software, like lease tracking, online rent payment, individual mobile apps for landlords and tenants, and a user-friendly repair and maintenance tracking system. Further, lead capture and flow are incredibly intuitive and allow managers to easily see where every applicant and tenant is in the rental process.
Regarding pricing, TurboTenant offers a completely free tier for landlords, no matter how many units you manage. A Premium tier with upgraded features like expedited property listing and access to state-specific lease agreements runs just 9.92/month, billed annually.
monday
Monday is a CRM that covers a wide range of industries but counts real estate management as one of its core audiences. It’s fully customizable and offers many standard CRM features, like lead capture and tracking, client communication and email management, financial performance tracking, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
However, while the CRM is clean-looking and powerful, the features specific to property management are somewhat lacking. Other than tracking and capturing leads, monday offers the ability to track individual properties and build customizable forms and documents. It also contains a resource management tool allowing property managers to assign workloads to vendors, repair personnel, and even real estate agents you might work with.
The free plan allows two users access to the same dashboard and access to over 200 templates, each specific to a different industry or CRM type. Plans increase from there with access to more capabilities, like automation, customizable dashboards, and integrations with other software platforms. Depending on the feature set you need, those plans range from $27/month to $57/month.
Entrata
Entrata is CRM property management software that incorporates generative AI into many of its features, including expanding property listings and images to maximize efficiency and convert more leads.
The tool uses ResidentPortal, which allows tenants to pay rent, submit work orders, and communicate with their landlords. It also has a comprehensive financial report system that focuses on data visualization. Because of the emphasis on financial reporting, Entrata seems geared towards property owners with a large number of properties and a consistent flow of lead traffic.
Entrata pricing is customized based on the client’s needs, and at the time of this writing, that information wasn’t readily available for review.
Buildium
Buildium is designed for mixed portfolios — that is, property managers who manage a wide range of property types. Its CRM features are built around streamlining and automating as much as possible to increase profits.
The platform allows property managers to stay connected to tenants, vendors, and repair teams through its communications system. It features online leasing, online rent collection, and a website-building tool for owners needing websites for their properties.
Buildium is the most expensive software on this list, with its lowest tier starting at $55/month. This tier includes a number of features, like maintenance tracking, tenant communications, and online rent portals, but charges $5 per online signature and a $99 fee for adding a bank account. The more expensive tiers, $174/month and $375/month, bundle more features and charge fewer fees, and the most expensive plan claims to provide access to up to $500 worth of sourced leads.
How to Choose the Right CRM Software for Your Property Management Business
As you’ve seen, there are a lot of CRM software options out there in the marketplace. So, how do you determine which software is best for you and your investments?
The first thing to consider is your portfolio size and the needs of your tenants. For landlords and property owners with a high number of rental units, CRM is not only helpful but also essential.
One that automates as much of the process as possible is ideal. Tenant and lease management, online payment processing and rent payments, lease signing and tracking, and maintenance tracking are key components, so CRMs that do these things well should move to the top of the list. Additionally, CRMs that offer robust financial monitoring and reporting help keep track of your profit margins and cash flow.
Keep in mind these features are important for property owners of all sizes. CRMs that are easily scalable without dramatic price increases for access should be considered. You never know when you’ll be adding to your portfolio, and the last thing you want to do is switch software mid-stream.
TurboTenant’s CRM Capabilities
TurboTenant’s interface and lead tracking are incredibly intuitive and easy to use, allowing full sorting and filtering by property, lease status, lead status, and more.
As leads flow into the software from the dozens of listing sites TurboTenant utilizes, landlords can see exactly where the leads originated, making it easy to see how effective each marketing channel is. And tenant background checks are fully integrated into the platform, making it simple to screen leads and get the best tenants in just a few clicks.
The most crucial thing TurboTenant does for you is simplify your workflow and cut out inefficiencies by collecting every aspect of property management in a straightforward dashboard. From marketing to lease writing to collecting rent to move-out checklists, TurboTenant covers it all.
Conclusion
No matter how many properties you own or manage, streamlining your operations is essential to sustain growth and minimize your team behind a screen. But as you’ve seen, there are a lot of options out there for property management CRM software, and choosing the best one might feel overwhelming.
As you think through your options, ask yourself a few questions:
- How well does the software capture and track leads? And are the leads coming from a diverse array of sources?
- Does the CRM save me time by providing a mobile app that grants access to the entire suite of the software’s functionality?
- Is the software cost-effective and won’t add more time to my day by offering a clunky user experience and a lack of important tools?
TurboTenant covers all these bases, including lead tracking from start to finish, an all-in-one approach, and a pleasing user experience. With TurboTenant, you can manage unlimited properties for free (or for a meager price if you want a few Premium features) and save time knowing that everything is taken care of.
So sign up for a free account today and streamline your property management life.