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The job of being a property manager, since the beginning, has never been one that is easy. It takes an abundance of time, patience, and, most of all, hard work.

Although it can be a very prosperous and successful occupation, it never hurts to have a helping hand assist you with your day-to-day tasks. This is where a web-based property management software could potentially become a beneficial tool for you and your business.

In this guide, we will be going over exactly how these tools could benefit you in terms of growing and streamlining your business today as well as some of the best options that exist when browsing through the many that are available to you.

How can web-based property management software help you?

Any kind of online property management software has the potential to assist with the large collection of duties that are included in the property management scene. A high-quality property management software should be capable of:

  • Collecting rent from tenants
  • Screening and reviewing tenant applications
  • Listing properties and scheduling showings
  • Handling maintenance orders
  • Tackling an eviction process

...and many more.

When done manually, a property manager can spend hours upon hours completing these tasks, leaving little to no time for other, more important things that need to be taken care of.

However, the right rental property management software could shrink the time needed to complete all of these tasks from hours to minutes, all in the same place.

Furthermore, cloud-based property management software programs allow for your information to be accessible from virtually anywhere, including your office desk, your personal computer, your laptop, and even your phone.

This could become an integral part of your operation if you are a property manager who spends most of their time traveling and does not spend much time sitting in front of their computer.

Now, before diving into which options might suit your needs best, let's go over some of the features that you should look for in a web-based property management software that you may not find in traditional software.

Features of a web-based property management software

Every property management software that you come across is going to be slightly different than the other ones that you consider. For this reason, it is important to know what to look for in the software to make sure that the one that you choose meets your business's needs as closely as possible.

Some questions you may ask while evaluating software include:

  1. Is there a free trial?
  2. How easy is it to use?
  3. What are the fees that have to be paid?
  4. Is some sort of training provided?

These are some basic questions that should help guide you toward the property management software that suits you best.

Apart from asking these questions, we have also listed below some of the most important features that you, as a property manager, should be searching for in property management software.

Accessibility

One of the main features of cloud-based property management software is that it can be accessed from virtually anywhere.

Due to the fact that they are not tethered to your physical device, any device with a web browser and internet capabilities can access the software and access all of the information that is contained in the software.

This is very useful for many people as it means that if you are a person who spends a lot of time traveling, you do not have to worry about not having access to your property management software.

Easier to set up

Another one of the features of web-based property management software is that it is easier to set up than traditional software. When installing software to your computer, you are responsible for knowing about the components of your system, backing up your data, and making sure that your hardware and software are all up to date.

All of this can take a lot of time and energy away from the property manager and may take even more time to learn about. However, when web-based software is used, the user does not have to worry about any of that as it is all done on the software side and is mainly hidden from the user.

All the user has to do is configure their account and go to the correct website and they are ready to use the software.

Lower costs

Although it may seem like property management software may be a major investment, opting for a web-based version may actually undercut some of the costs that are associated with other options.

For example, for some larger businesses, a higher-end, more sophisticated computer may be required to store all of the information of a property management software as it may span across hundreds or thousands of properties.

On the other hand, cloud-based property management software takes care of this problem since all of the resources come from their end, and you can access these resources from any device, regardless of storage or processing power.

Security

One of the final, and potentially most important, features of property management software operating off of the cloud is that your information is going to be more secure.

Many of the sites that offer this kind of service also offer a high-end infrastructure that protects the user against events like fires, theft, computer malfunctions, and power failures. These sites also offer automatic backups and recovery services which allow you to recover any information that may have been lost somehow.

For this reason, it may be more secure for you as a property manager to keep your information in cloud-based property management software than in your physical device.

Top 5 Best Cloud-Based Property Management Software

Now that we have described some of the most important features of web-based property management software, we can now list some of the top choices that you may be interested in investing in. Below are the top choices that we have hand-picked for you to consider investing in to continue growing your business.

DoorLoop

DoorLoop

Excellent for: All-in-one property management

DoorLoop is an all-in-one, complete property management software that provides all of the necessary tools that a property manager would ever need to grow their business.

With DoorLoop, you will have all the resources that you will need to manage any number of properties, whether it be one property or one thousand properties, all in the cloud.

DoorLoop Reviews

Average rating: 5/5 stars

DoorLoop has been ranked very highly on various websites, including Capterra and SoftwareAdvice.

Some of the leading reviews describe how it is very easy to use and how it has very high-quality customer service. Some of the other reviews also praise the low pricing model that allows users to get a full suite of features for a very low price compared to other choices on this list.

DoorLoop Features

Some of DoorLoop's most prominent features include:

  • A complete property accounting suite: Automate online rent payments, accept multiple payment methods, and organize all your accounts in one place
  • Convenient tenant portal: Automatically collect rent payments and even communicate directly with tenants from in the app
  • Maintenance order management system: Includes everything from a centralized order database to the ability to edit orders in the queue with notes and attachments, assign to vendors, communicate with tenants, and pay vendors all from within the platform
  • World-class support: A dedicated account manager trained to help you get the most from the software will respond to any issue within minutes.
  • Owner portal that allows you to print checks and offer specialized reports that owners can print out

These features, plus many more, can be at your disposal by signing up for DoorLoop's all-in-one property management software.

DoorLoop Pricing

DoorLoop’s basic plan is just $59/month for your first 20 units.

Property Manager Cloud

Property Manager Cloud

Excellent for: Cloud-based management

Property Manager Cloud is a web-based property management software that is designed for property managers that handle any number of properties. This software covers the majority of rental properties and gives rental property managers the tools to automate many of their daily tasks.

Property Manager Cloud Reviews

Average rating: 4/5 stars

On many sites, Property Manager Cloud has been rated highly for its intuitive design and easy-to-use design that allows new users to learn how to use the software very quickly.

However, there are some reviews that state that the customer service occasionally fails to resolve issues or takes longer than expected to provide some sort of reply.

Property Manager Cloud Features

Property Manager Cloud boasts a large array of features to help property managers, including:

  • Accounting features
  • Credit Checks
  • Lease Agreement Creation
  • Online Payments
  • Portfolio Management

...and several more.

Property Manager Cloud Pricing

The pricing model for Property Manager Cloud is a flat rate starting at $19.77 per month for 1-10 units. However, if you would like to manage more units, the prices per month go up to $87 per month.

TenantCloud

TenantCloud

Excellent for: Tenant-landlord relations

TenantCloud is another rental property management solution that is completely based on the cloud and serves to ease the amount of work that a property manager has to worry about in their daily lives.

It also provides a plethora of accounting, advertising, and invoicing capabilities within the same software. This allows the property manager to keep several aspects of their business all in one place.

TenantCloud Reviews

Average rating: 4.1/5 stars

Many of the reviews of the TenantCloud software are actually from tenants who describe how it is easy for them to communicate with the landlord and how the transparency makes it easier for them to maintain a healthy relationship with the landlord.

However, it has been noted that it may be a little difficult for some to maneuver around the software.

TenantCloud Features

TenantCloud boasts one of the more complete sets of features, which include but are not limited to:

  • Billing and invoicing
  • Contact management
  • Lease Management
  • Online Payments
  • Property Database

TenantCloud Pricing

The pricing model for the TenantCloud software goes up to $40 per month for one of the higher plans and starts at $12.00. TenantCloud also provides custom plans for businesses that are interested in more features than those provided in the other plans.

Rentalfy

Rentalfy

Excellent for: Cost-effective solution

Rentalfy is a web-based property management software that boasts a wide array of robust features. These are all provided for a relatively low price compared to other options on this list.

This cloud-based software offers features that are sure to assist any property manager in their daily tasks. The best part is that there is no installation needed whatsoever as it is completely based on a web browser and is completely ran by Rentalfy resources.

Rentalfy Reviews

Average rating: 4.8/5 stars

Rentalfy ranks very highly among all of the software on this list because of its reported ease of use. This means that it is easy for new users to figure out how to use the software in as little time as possible, saving people a lot of time. However, many users reported how paying a fee in order to use the rent payment feature was very inconvenient.

Rentalfy Features

Some of Rentalfy's most notable features, among many more, include:

  • Billing and invoicing
  • Owner Portal
  • Credit Check
  • Online Payments
  • Lease Management

Rentalfy Pricing

Rentalfy's pricing model is one that is a flat rate per month as a plan, starting at $24 a month for the cheapest plan. The plans increase in price as they provide more features and coverage for more units, and go up to $159, the most expensive plan that covers unlimited units.

iManageRent

iManageRent

Excellent for: DIY Landlords and Property Managers

iManageRent is another cloud-based property management software that is designed for landlords with any number of properties.

This software is built to manage either a larger array of properties or a smaller collection. This software also offers information from various websites like Zillow to give the user a more complete page of listings.

iManageRent Reviews

Average rating: 4.8/5 stars

iManageRent has also ranked highly in terms of customer reviews among the software on this list. This is mainly due to its notable customer service along with its easy-to-use interface that makes it simple and straightforward for property managers to manage all of their properties.

iManageRent Features

Although many of iManageRent's features come at an extra price per month, some of its most useful features listed include:

  • Commercial property management
  • Late fee calculation
  • Credit check
  • Rent tracking
  • Maintenance orders

iManageRent Pricing

iManageRent's pricing model is slightly different from the other ones that are listed in this guide since they charge per feature, per month.

The basic package is free to use with limited features.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is an abundance of choices out there for a property manager to choose from. The best choice for you depends mostly on the needs of your business as well as the size of your business.

For most businesses, however, all-in-one software is what would most likely work best. This is because of its capability to maintain all aspects of the business in one place as well as keep up with any amount of properties that are needed.

This kind of software should also have various strong features and include a solid combination of

  • Software capabilities
  • Accessibility
  • Efficiency
  • High-quality customer service

If this sounds like the kind of software that would best suit your business, then DoorLoop should be your first option to consider.

Schedule a free demo today to see what DoorLoop can do for you!

Frequently Asked Quesitons

David is the co-founder & Head of Special Projects of DoorLoop, a best-selling author, legal CLE speaker, and real estate investor. When he's not hanging with his three children, he's writing articles here!

Legal Disclaimer

The information on this website is from public sources, for informational purposes only and not intended for legal or accounting advice. DoorLoop does not guarantee its accuracy and is not liable for any damages or inaccuracies.

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