Automation is the landlord’s friend. Rental management, advertising, leasing, and record-keeping are all repetitive landlord duties that can be automated or enhanced with the right software.
Is your rental business eating up too much of your time? Automating some of your day-to-day tasks with property management software can free up the many hours you spend on rent collection, tenant screening, lease signing, maintenance, tenant communication, and more.
Ready to give it a try? Here are five ways to automate your rental business.
Rent Collection
Online rent collection is a valuable feature of property management software that allows rent collection to be almost entirely automatic.
Once you and your tenants enter your bank account and routing numbers, you’ll never have to do so again. Your software will remember your preferences and make withdraws/deposits from the same account every time. This means no more trips to the bank and a smoother first of the month for you.
Tenants can also benefit from the AutoPay feature. This feature allows tenants to have the software automatically withdraw the correct rent payment each month. AutoPay means no more late fees for them and less hassle for you.
Late Fees
Speaking of late fees, property management software can automate those as well. On most platforms, you can configure your software to automatically push late fees to any renters who haven’t paid their rent by a certain date.
Automatic late fees solve issues of accountability and fairness. Have you ever been pressured by a tenant to drop a late fee or excuse a late payment? It can be tempting to make exceptions for loyal tenants, especially when an honest mistake is at the root. However, you should never do this. Not only will you teach your tenants that late fees are optional, but also that you might not hold them to other lease terms.
Instead, let automatic late fees act as a third-party enforcer of the original lease terms. This way, your tenants are held accountable, but you don’t have to be the “bad guy.”
Routine Communication
Do you send routine emails or reminders to your tenants throughout the month? These tasks can be easily delegated to property management software.
For instance, you might want to send automated monthly rent reminders to all your tenants. Or maybe you only want to send them to tenants who haven’t paid yet. Property management software can send your tenants helpful reminders on a regular schedule or when triggered by the events you define at setup.
You can also customize your message recipients to ensure tenants who don’t need the information aren’t receiving unnecessary messages. No one likes spam. Property management software allows you to designate exactly who receives notifications and when.
Lease Signing
Lease signing can be a complex process of negotiating options and clarifying lease terms. It fundamentally involves direct landlord-tenant interaction. However, this doesn’t mean parts of the lease signing process can’t be automated to save you time.
For instance, creating or uploading leases is fast and easy with property management software. The software allows you to customize and designate repeated fields throughout the lease, such as dates and names. The software will then autofill all fields.
Property management software also makes it much easier to share and sign leases. When you select the option to share a lease, the software will automatically send signable copies to the tenants’ email addresses. Each tenant can then sign at their convenience—no need to meet in person unless a tenant requests it.
Record Keeping
Record keeping is a final great feature that property management software fully automates. Where do you keep payment records, receipts, and tenant information? If your answer is a file cabinet or cluttered hard drive, consider upgrading to a cloud-based property management system.
Property management software automatically generates, saves, and stores accurate records each time a tenant makes a payment. Records are viewable by both you and the tenant, so everyone knows where to check should an issue or dispute arise.
What’s more, tenants will automatically receive individualized payment receipts in their email inboxes. This means there’s no need to create your own receipts or send individual emails to tenants each month to let them know their rent has been received.
Automate Your Rental Business
Leveraging property management software to automate your rental business can save you countless hours and resources. With convenient features designed specifically for landlords, property management software is a valuable asset for your business.
