5 Best Property Management CRM Software: Comparison Guide

Establishing and nurturing business relationships is the key to success in any industry, including property management. This includes meeting the needs of your customers (tenants and property owners). The best way to do this is by using a tech solution: property management customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Property management CRM software is not just a fancy tool for managing contacts; it’s an essential component for the success of your property management business.

The right property management CRM software can make all the difference in streamlining operations, boosting efficiency, and achieving successful relationships with tenants, property owners, and vendors in a rental business.

For this reason, we've compiled a list of some of today's best property management software and have provided you with a blueprint for making an informed decision that suits your specific business needs.

What is CRM?

CRM is a tech solution that helps businesses effectively manage their interactions and relationships with customers. It centralizes and organizes customer service data, allowing businesses to have a comprehensive view of their clients and interactions.

Generally speaking, this data can include contact information, communication history, purchase history, support tickets, and more.

CRM software includes these features and more:

• Contact management
• Client management
• Lead generation tools
• Team collaboration tools
• Sales pipeline management
• Marketing automation
• Analytics tools
• Robust reporting
• Customer service and support
• Document management

What is Property Management CRM?

The aforementioned features are necessary in various industries, including property management. However, property management CRM software is specifically designed with real estate in mind; it streamlines and automates. property-related tasks and processes.

From tenant and owner information management to maintenance and work order tracking, property management CRM software offers a comprehensive suite of tools to enhance property management workflows.

The Importance of CRM in Property Management

A good property management CRM system can streamline operations, improve tenant relationships, and increase overall efficiency. It automates your collaboration with tenants, nurturing relationships and keeping track of important information about your properties.

But what do these benefits actually look like in practice? We'll go into the benefits of property management CRM systems more below.

Streamlining Operations

Property management companies juggle multiple tasks like managing leads, automating tasks, and organizing data. Property management CRM systems facilitate these operations by centralizing these tasks within a single platform, reducing the need for manual work or extra apps and increasing efficiency.

A property management CRM system with an intuitive dashboard and alert system can help property owners and agents keep track of what needs to be done and ensure timely communication with potential residents.

Improving Business Relationships

In property management, healthy landlord-tenant relationships are the key to success.

Property management software, specifically CRM software, makes it easier for property managers and owners to stay in touch with tenants, providing better communication tools and tailored experiences.

Property management CRMs can help you do the following and more:

• Keep track of all communications with residents in one place
• Access information like tenants' name, address, contact info, and previous requests
• Write and exchange notes with residents
• Submit tasks to ensure no resident requests are missed

CRM property management systems usually integrate email and text message as common communication channels, allowing for smooth communication between the property manager and tenant. This ensures that property managers are always on top of tenant concerns, leading to better relationships and ultimately, a successful property management business.

Notably, many CRM property management systems are also built for communication with vendors, contractors, property owners, and other parties involved with a property. This makes them an excellent solution for all aspects of property management communication, as they keep everyone on the same page.

Facilitating Work Order Management

Because of its communication and task generation tools, CRM for property management greatly facilitates work order management.

Tenants can submit maintenance requests with notes and photos. Property managers can then create and track tasks related to those maintenance requests and work orders within the CRM system. Depending on the software, they can grant vendors user access and assign the tasks directly to them.

From there, tenants and property managers both can monitor progress and maintain a comprehensive maintenance history for the property. This improves tenant satisfaction, transparency between all parties, maintenance efficiency, and the overall condition of your property.

Increasing Organization and Efficiency

CRM systems play a vital role in enhancing efficiency by reducing manual work, automating processes, and providing valuable information to help you make better decisions for your property management company.

By streamlining operations and providing data-driven insights, CRM software allows property managers to make informed decisions, ultimately promoting business growth.

By keeping important documents and information in one place, property management CRMs can also help keep any real estate business organized.

Enhancing Financial Management

Property management CRMs often integrate accounting software or include their own financial management tools. This allows property managers and owners to perform a variety of sensitive tasks, including the following:

• Financial tracking
• Rent collection
• Reporting
• Income and expense tracking
• Cash flow management
• Financial performance monitoring
• Bank reconciliation

With these features, property management teams and owners can prepare themselves for tax season, stay on top of their expenses, and make informed decisions based on real-time data analytics and visualizations.

Overall, embracing a CRM system with a property management platform is a wise investment for any property manager looking to enhance their business operations and stay ahead in the competitive market.

Can I Use Salesforce for Rental Property Management?

Salesforce, a popular CRM software, can be a versatile tool for various industries.

However, when it comes to rental property management, it may not provide the specialized features needed to address the unique requirements of property managers.

While Salesforce is a customizable CRM to some extent, it lacks the key features property management teams rely on in real estate businesses, such as tools for screening and managing tenants.

Therefore, all-in-one software that includes CRM tools and features for managing current and prospective residents is the most strategic choice for property management companies.

Features to Look for in Property Management CRM Software

When it comes to choosing the right property management CRM software, several factors come into play. You need to consider features and functionality, ease of use and customization, integration and compatibility with existing systems, and pricing and scalability.

To maximize the potential of these systems, make sure that the one you choose aligns with your business needs and requirements.

Pricing and Scalability

Budget and scalability are important factors to consider when choosing a property management CRM software. The pricing of the CRM system should be within your budget, while also offering the features and functionality that your business requires.

Different companies have different ways of charging for their software, so look out for the following to make sure its pricing plan suits your needs and budget:

• Free software with limited features
• Monthly fees
• Per-unit-per-month payments
• Minimum monthly fees
• Different features for different plans
• Scalability for your portfolio's growth
• Legally binding contracts

Scalability is also crucial, as it ensures the CRM software can accommodate your business as it grows. This means the CRM software should offer plans that cater to different business sizes and needs, allowing you to upgrade or downgrade as necessary.

By considering pricing and scalability, you can ensure your chosen CRM system is a worthwhile investment for your property management business.

Maintenance and Work Order Management

Efficient maintenance and work order management are crucial for maintaining property value and tenant satisfaction.

When evaluating CRM solutions, consider the following features:

• Work order tracking: The CRM software should allow you to create and track maintenance requests and work orders. This feature ensures that maintenance tasks are logged, assigned to the appropriate team or vendor, and can be tracked until completion.
• Communication and collaboration: Look for software that offers features for seamless communication and collaboration with vendors or maintenance teams. This can include the ability to send messages, share documents, and receive updates on work order status.

Property and Lease Management

Property and lease management are at the core of property management operations and real estate.

Your CRM software should offer these robust tools to streamline these processes:

• Property and unit information database: Your CRM for property management should provide a centralized database to store and manage property and unit details. This includes property addresses, unit configurations, lease terms, and lease documents.
• Rent collection options: Look for software that enables multiple options for efficient rent collection by integrating with payment processors or offering built-in payment capabilities. The more rent collection options there are, the more easily your tenants will be able to pay.
• Automated rent reminders and late fees: To ensure that your tenants will pay on time, look for a software that will automatically remind them when rent is due and apply late fees when necessary.
• Lease renewal management: The CRM software should include features for tracking lease expiration dates, automating lease renewal notifications, and managing the lease renewal process.

Tenant Management, Screening, and Communication

Effective tenant management, screening, and communication are essential for maintaining positive tenant relationships and minimizing vacancy rates.

For this reason, consider the following features when making your decision:

• Tenant screening: Look for CRM software that offers tenant screening capabilities. This includes tools to conduct background checks, credit checks, and rental history verification to ensure reliable and responsible tenants.
• Tenant communication: The software should facilitate communication with tenants through various channels, such as email or text messaging. Features like message templates, automated reminders, and tenant portals can enhance tenant communication and engagement.
• Online tenant applications: The CRM software should help you manage leads by supporting online tenant applications. This way, prospective tenants can apply online, and your application review process will be easier.

Reporting and Analytics

Data-driven decision-making is critical for optimizing property management strategies.

The real estate CRM software should offer robust reporting and analytics capabilities:

• Comprehensive reporting: Look for software that provides pre-built reports and customizable report templates. These reports should cover key metrics like occupancy rates, financial performance, maintenance history, and tenant demographics.
• Visualizations and dashboards: Visual representations of data through charts, graphs, and customizable dashboards enable property managers to analyze data and gain insights at a glance. Look for CRM software that offers interactive visualizations to facilitate data analysis and decision-making.
• Customizable KPIs: The CRM software should allow property managers to define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) specific to their business goals and metrics.

Ease of Use and User Interface

An intuitive user interface and ease of use are essential for efficient adoption and utilization of CRM software, especially in real estate.

These are the hallmarks of accessible CRM solutions for property management:

• User-friendly interface: A clean and intuitive interface minimizes learning curves and makes software easy to navigate. This ensures that property managers and their teams can quickly adapt to the software and maximize its capabilities instead of letting it slow them down.
• Customization options: Look for features like customizable fields, workflows, and layouts, which will let you tailor the software to match your unique processes and preferences.
• Role-based permissions: The CRM software should provide role-based permissions, allowing you to control access to sensitive data and functionalities based on user roles and responsibilities.
• Mobile accessibility: Mobile app availability enables property managers to create and track work orders on-the-go, ensuring quick response times and efficient maintenance management. It also makes it easy for tenants to pay their rent.

Integration and Compatibility

Seamless integration with other software applications and compatibility with various platforms are essential for an efficient property management ecosystem in today's digital era.

Look out for the following:

• Integration capabilities: Consider the software's integration capabilities with accounting software, property listing platforms, and lead generation, project management, and marketing tools. Integration allows for streamlined data transfer, eliminates manual data entry, and enables a more connected workflow. Open API access is a huge bonus as well.
• Platform compatibility: Ensure that the CRM software is compatible with popular operating systems and devices like Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, web browsers, cell phones, tablets, and more. This way, you can access and manage your property data easily no matter where you are or what device you're using.

Customer Support and Training

Reliable customer support and comprehensive training resources are essential for a smooth implementation and ongoing utilization of the CRM software.

Make sure your CRM for property management is a boon and not a burden by looking for these resources:

• Customer support channels: Look for software providers that offer multiple channels for customer support, such as phone, email, or live chat. Prompt and helpful customer support ensures that any issues or questions are addressed in a timely manner.
• Training resources: Consider whether the software provider offers comprehensive training resources, such as online documentation, knowledge base articles, video tutorials, or webinars. These resources facilitate onboarding and continuous learning for property management teams.

Top Property Management CRM Software of 2023

To point you in the right direction, we'll now delve into the top property management CRM software of 2023.

Note that many enterprise-level CRM software tools are not transparent with their pricing. They often hide it so they can negotiate with customers and businesses on a case-by-case basis. Be sure to compare different options to one another so you can determine whether the price offered is a good or bad deal.

DoorLoop

DoorLoop is an all-in-one CRM software built specifically for property management. It helps property owners and managers manage their properties, existing tenants, leads, and more with ease and confidence.

Its dashboard was specifically designed to be intuitive and easy to use, even for those with no technical experience. Its features centralize and streamline any property management business as well.

DoorLoop Features

• Accounting suite designed to replace QuickBooks
• Owner portal
• Built-in CRM and tenant portal
• Maintenance order management
• Advertising and marketing tools
• Automated system to collect rent and other fees
• Responsive customer service
• Mobile app
• Open API powered by Zapier

DoorLoop Pricing

DoorLoop's affordable pricing starts at $59 a month for up to 20 properties. It's an accessible CRM option for landlords, property managers, and other real estate professionals of any portfolio size and type.

DoorLoop also offers multiple pricing tiers based on your needs and will scale with you as your portfolio grows. It allows you to add unlimited users at no additional cost and doesn't require you to sign any contracts as well.

Knock

Knock is a CRM service designed for multifamily managers, operational executives, IT teams, and others. It helps property management companies improve their workflows and operational efficiency.

Knock Features

• Reporting and analytics
• AI chat feature
• Lead management
• Data transparency tools
• Recording tools for phone calls
• Automated responses

Knock Pricing

Knock unfortunately doesn't list its pricing online, but it does advertise a demo for its software. You may need to contact the company directly to obtain pricing information.

ServiceMax

ServiceMax is a field service management software with built-in CRM tools that make it a possible option for property management companies.

ServiceMax Features

• Built-in CRM
• Simultaneously assign multiple work orders to multiple contractors
• Robust reporting
• Work order assigning and tracking
• Mobile apps

ServiceMax Pricing

Pricing isn’t available for any of ServiceMax’s plans online. You’ll need to schedule a demo to get pricing details.

ManagerPlus

ManagerPlus is another dedicated work order management tool that has nearly complete CRM service functionality. It allows users not only to manage contractors but also communicate with tenants on a variety of issues, including maintenance requests.

ManagerPlus Features

• Work order creation and assigning
• Mobile app with built-in messaging
• CRM capabilities
• Reporting

ManagerPlus Pricing

ManagerPlus has just two pricing plans available but no longer shares its pricing online. Schedule a demo to find out their pricing structure.

Entrata

Entrata is a property management software known for being accessible, convenient, and easy to use for property owners and managers.

As a software dedicated to property management, it has tools for not only CRM but also other aspects of the industry, such as maintenance request management, a tenant portal, and marketing tools.

Entrata Features

• Accounting features
• CRM for tenant and lead management
• Lead management
• Maintenance management
• Invoicing
• Tenant portal
• Reporting 
• Customer websites

Entrata Pricing

Unfortunately, Entrata is another company that does not list its pricing publicly online. The only way to find out pricing information is to manually contact their sales team online and wait for a response to get more information.

What Is the Best CRM for Real Estate Investors?

Property management CRM software is an invaluable tool for streamlining operations, improving tenant relationships, and increasing overall efficiency in any real estate business.

By evaluating CRM software based on features and functionality, ease of use and customization, integration and compatibility, and pricing and scalability, you can choose the best CRM system for your property management business.

With the right CRM platform in place and a strategic approach to implementation, you can elevate your property management business and stay ahead of the competition.

In the end, the best management software for your real estate business is the one that is tailored to your needs and won't hold you or your team back. Consider the following:

• Is the software easy to use?
• Does the company have resources for you to seamlessly implement the CRM tool into your real estate business?
• Will the software scale up and down with your real estate portfolio?
• Does the CRM tool offer flexibility without a contract?
• Does the software have tools for improving CRM with not only tenants but also other parties in your real estate business, such as vendors, contractors, and property owners?

DoorLoop ticks all of these boxes and more, which is why it offers a free demo so that real estate investors can easily see for themselves how well it can serve their business.

See how your business's CRM can evolve with DoorLoop by scheduling a free demo today!