Cofounder at UpperKey. Passionate about property management, real estate investments, proptech and driving international business growth.
Automation has become a game-changer for property management in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Time is the one thing we can’t control, yet, with AI and automation simplifying tasks or taking them out of our hands entirely, we’re finally getting some of our valuable time back.
Here are my top 10 automations that property managers can leverage to enhance efficiency, streamline operations and improve tenant experiences.
1. Maintenance Request Management
You’ve probably already set up your support systems and providers, so why get stuck handling all those regular maintenance requests? Typically, most of my company’s maintenance requests are repeat items that don’t require our input.
Automate your maintenance request submissions to generate new work orders, assign them to the appropriate provider and deliver essential tracking. This can save valuable time and support timely resolution. One option is to implement a system that allows tenants to submit maintenance requests through a mobile app.
2. Rent Collection Automation
When operating long-term leases, you’d likely request a standing order or monthly payment plan to ensure rent gets paid on time. However, with short-term lets, I’ve found it pays to send timely reminders, making it as simple as possible for tenants to pay.
Streamlining the rent collection process by automating rent reminders, payment notifications and online payment options can make life easier for managers and tenants. I suggest to set up automated rent reminders via email or SMS, and provide tenants with convenient online payment portals for seamless transactions.
3. Lease Renewal Notifications
With short- and mid-term lets, a timely reminder may encourage a tenant to continue their stay—meaning you don’t have to find new tenants for the extended period. Also, by ensuring your current tenants have the option to extend, you’ll have fewer disappointed customers to contend with where a manual system may fail to reach them in time.
When using an automated system, make sure you are being timely when sending lease renewal notices in order to reduce the chance of lease expirations and facilitate seamless renewals.
4. Tenant Onboarding
Chances are, potential tenants have already taken a digital tour of the property, like what they see and made a tenant application online.
To keep things moving in real time, consider an automated and immediate onboarding process that allows the creation and delivery of lease agreements, move-in checklists and welcome packages digitally over any device. These systems can also typically collect tenant information and documentation, removing the need for physical paperwork.
5. Tenant Communication
Communication is the key to outstanding customer experience. Your tenants need to feel safe in your hands, and sometimes, digital processes can leave them hanging and unsure.
Automating responses, reminders, notifications, important announcements, community updates and maintenance schedules can help remove those doubts and improve interactions. It’s also a valuable opportunity for feedback—we can always do better, after all. A centralized communication platform may be your answer here.
6. Expense Tracking And Reporting
Apart from services involving tenants, automation can also help us track our admin and business operations. Automating expense tracking and budgets and generating detailed reports for better financial management can provide the insights, facts and figures property managers depend on for data-driven decision-making.
Look for accounting software that integrates with your existing property management system to track expenses and generate comprehensive financial reports automatically.
7. Document Management
However organized you are, you’ll likely never be as efficient as an automated system, with masses of essential documentation to file for landlords and tenants, properties, vendors, contracts, agreements, certificates and more.
I suggest to implement a cloud-based document management system that automatically categorizes and stores documents. This can streamline your access to essential files, security and protection.
8. Vendor Management
This links closely with my point about maintenance requests; automating your supply chains can add speed and efficiency while freeing up resources. For everything from cleaning, consumables, contractors and staffing solutions, to marketing, advertising and digital service providers, I think automation is a must for vendor selection, interactions, relations, contract management and payment processing.
Consider using a vendor management system to automate vendor selection based on predefined criteria, manage contracts and facilitate online payment processing.
9. Inspections And Compliance
There are masses of legislation in property management: from tenant screening, lease agreements, safety laws and licensing to housing laws, rent procedures, eviction process and far too many more to mention.
Automating inspection scheduling, reminders and documentation to ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements will help you avoid the headaches that allowing any of these to slip through your net could bring. Look for software that also generates digital inspection reports.
10. Reporting And Analytics
And finally, but by no means exhaustively, remember that using digital systems provides access to masses of data. Whether it’s tenant, vendor, process or marketing intel, this information holds massive value in understanding how you work.
In my experience, automating the generation of performance reports and analytics for data-driven decision-making is a must for enhancing operations, whether that’s customer experience or boosting the bottom line. Use a reporting and analytics tool along with your property management system.
Getting Started With AI
Integrating something as complex as AI into your operations doesn’t happen overnight, so be prepared to play the long game. There are two key areas to manage: the first is technological integration, and the second is educating your teams about a new way of working.
For both, finding the right digital partner is crucial. You won’t be able to accomplish every idea in one effort, so I suggest working with a specialist to create and deliver each AI system alongside your existing operation, with a schedule to switch over completely when all your digital stars align.
Look for a digital partner who will also provide the in-depth training your teams will need to utilize your new options fully. You’ll be putting your business in their hands, too, so research all possible candidates before you make that all-important final choice.
By embracing automation, industry professionals can save time, enhance tenant satisfaction and drive business growth.
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