Any property owner who wants to rent their property out has to deal with a lot of hassle. Finding people up to their standard, making sure that their property does not lose its value because of damage it could sustain by those who rent it, as well as organizing the whole renting process and getting the money you want without having to deal with the lessees themselves. This is where a property management system comes in.
A property management system is software that helps owners of properties, such as hotels, Inns, bed, and breakfasts or rental properties, organize their whole operational system so that they can be more efficiently run. There are many property management systems that are available to property owners; however, there are some features you need to be looking for to ensure that you are picking the right one for you and your business.
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1. Integration
The very first thing to look for when looking for the perfect property management software is whether it is going to be easy to integrate or not. This is very important because if the system is overly complicated or hard to integrate it will cause you problems which means that you will be losing money not gaining it. You want a system that makes it easier for you so it saves you more time, not a system that will need extra effort to implement and maintain. You should also ensure that your property management software has easy to use interfaces for you to keep track of all necessary operations.
2. Check-In And Checkout
One of the very important steps in any kind of rental situation is the checking in and out process. As a property owner and lessor, you need to have that step of your operation running as smoothly as possible so that your clients have a high-quality experience thus increasing the number of your clients and maintaining those who are already in your customer base. Having a smoothly run check-in and checkout system will ensure that you keep clients satisfied and keep you from stressing out over any issues concerning the check-ins and check-outs.
3. Bookings
Any good vacation rental management software should be designed to help you as the owner with facilitating any booking of your property. That way you get more clients which will increase your overall revenue. For example, an application like PMBO, which is great for owners who want to rent out their properties, can manage channels like Airbnb and HomeAway to increase bookings for your rentals.
4. Payment
Property management software should have multiple methods for you to track your clients’ payments for their stay at your property. Having ways to track multiple payment methods will make you able to rent out to customers without having to worry about miscalculated payments. This makes keeping up with your accounting easier because it will be automatically entered by the property management software, which in turn will make processes such as tax filing and income statements a much easier process.
5. Housekeeping
This is a very important feature to have if you own properties such as hotels or inns where there is a constant need for a cleaning service. Reliable property management software has automatic calculations done that delegate housekeeping work to the cleaning staff in a way that ensures all rooms being clean after the checkout of a client and before the next check-in of another.
It also distributes the work evenly so none of the employees you have are overwhelmed or not given any work. It also removes the hassle of manually creating a work schedule for the cleaning staff and consequently removes the chance of human errors
6. Reports
Property management software has to provide continuous reports to update you with all the details about your rentals. These reports range from quarterly ones to bi-weekly and sometimes there is software that provides you with weekly reports on the state of your properties, profit, clients as well as reservations and cancellations to ensure that you are always aware of everything going on.
7. Automated Smart Calendar
The main feature the software you are looking for should have is a smart calendar that is automatically updated with all check-ins, checkouts, Housekeeping, as well as any events or holidays to ensure that you can easily check any of these details in a matter of seconds. Making sure that it updates automatically will save you the hassle of manually updating it and having any kind of mistake occurs.
8. Mobility
Having this software at the ready wherever you are is going to make your life way easier than ever. Look for software that can be available on multiple devices so that you can remotely check on your rentals without having to worry about finding the time to do so.
9. Rate Planning
This is one of the most important features there are in ideal property management software. Rate planning features enable you to take full advantages of surges in rentals during holidays or certain events. This feature automatically calculates the amount of money that the renter should pay according to the check-in and check-out date thus saving you or your employees from having to manually calculate it.
If for example, people are renting on a national holiday then rent will be calculated at a different rate. This will save you a lot of time of manually changing the rates on certain dates. It also saves you from having angry customers because the prices you give them will always be accurate due to the highly precise calculations of your property management software.
10. Secure Databases
All the features mentioned above are very great to have in a Property Management Software; however, this one takes the cake. Your property management system should have a very secure database. Your clients trust you to not give out their personal information. This includes not only their names and emails but very sensitive information like debit and credit card numbers as well as their addresses or ID. Having secured databases will ensure that this information does not fall into the wrong hands. You have to also bear in mind that if you do not have a secure database you are putting your business at risk too.
Property Management At Its Finest
Ideally, you will be able to find all of these necessary features in the property management software you are planning on using. The features are indispensable if you have many properties that you will be renting. Property management systems are designed to make things easier for you to handle so be sure to choose a worthwhile software that even though might cost a bit more will, in fact, be better for you and your business.
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