Property Management Software That Managers Actually Use
AppFolio and Buildium work fine until your portfolio hits 500 units or your workflows stop fitting their boxes. We build property management platforms around how your team actually operates — custom maintenance routing, your accounting rules, your tenant communication style. Not the other way around.
What is Custom Property Management Software?
Property management software handles the daily operations of running rental properties — tenant applications, lease execution, rent collection, maintenance coordination, and financial reporting. Off-the-shelf platforms cover the basics, but custom development becomes necessary when your portfolio has specific requirements: mixed-use properties with different lease structures, complex maintenance vendor networks, or accounting rules that do not map to standard GL codes. Custom software fits your operations instead of forcing your team to change how they work.
- Tenant portals with online rent payment via ACH, credit card, and digital wallets
- Maintenance workflows with vendor dispatch, work order tracking, and cost approvals
- QuickBooks and Xero integration for real-time financial sync
- Lease management with automated renewals, rent escalation, and compliance tracking
What We Build for Property Managers
Modules designed around property management operations — not generic business software forced into a property context.
Tenant Portal & Communication Hub
Self-service tenant portals for rent payment, maintenance requests, lease document access, and community updates. Properties with active tenant portals see 40% fewer inbound calls and 22% faster rent collection.
Maintenance Work Order System
Automated work order creation, vendor routing based on trade and availability, approval workflows for costs over threshold, and completion verification with photo documentation. Average dispatch-to-resolution dropped from 3.2 days to 18 hours for one 800-unit client.
Financial Management & Reporting
Owner statements, operating budgets, CAM reconciliation, and custom financial reports. Two-way sync with QuickBooks Online and Xero so your accountant works in their preferred tool while property data stays current.
Lease Administration Engine
Track lease terms, option dates, rent escalations, and renewal deadlines across your entire portfolio. Automated notifications 90, 60, and 30 days before key dates so nothing slips through. Handles residential, commercial, and mixed-use lease structures.
Screening & Application Processing
Online applications with integrated credit checks, criminal background screening, income verification, and landlord reference automation. Reduces screening turnaround from 3 days to 4 hours with automated decision rules.
Portfolio Analytics Dashboard
Occupancy rates, delinquency tracking, maintenance cost per unit, and NOI by property — all in real-time. Compare performance across properties and identify the units dragging down your portfolio metrics.
When Custom Property Management Software Makes Sense
Not everyone needs custom. Here is when it actually pays off versus sticking with off-the-shelf options.
Growing Management Companies (500+ Units)
At 500 units, the per-unit cost of off-the-shelf software starts compounding, and the limitations become painful. Custom platforms scale linearly — your cost per unit drops as you grow instead of increasing. One company managing 1,200 units saves $34K annually versus their previous Yardi license.
Mixed-Use & Commercial Portfolios
Managing retail, office, and residential in the same portfolio requires different lease structures, CAM calculations, and tenant communication workflows. Off-the-shelf tools force you to run parallel systems. Custom software unifies operations under one roof.
Student & Co-Living Housing
Per-bed leasing, roommate matching, semester-aligned lease terms, and community features are not standard in most property management platforms. Purpose-built student housing software handles the unique workflows that Yardi Voyager requires expensive custom modules for.
HOA & Community Management
Assessment billing, violation tracking, architectural review workflows, and community communication tools. HOA management has specific needs — reserve fund tracking, special assessment calculation, and board meeting management — that generic PM software handles poorly.
How We Build Property Management Software
Property management software touches accounting, legal, and operations. We build it methodically because mistakes in any of those areas are expensive.
Operations Audit & Requirements
We shadow your property managers for 1-2 weeks. Not interviews — actual observation. We watch how they handle maintenance calls, process applications, and run monthly owner reports. This reveals the workflows that matter and the ones that can be simplified.
Accounting & Data Migration Planning
Map your chart of accounts, bank connections, and reporting requirements. Plan the migration from your current system with zero downtime. We extract historical data — tenant records, lease terms, financial history — and validate every record before import.
Core Module Development
Build the lease engine, rent ledger, and maintenance system first. These are the operational backbone. We connect ACH payment processing (typically Stripe or Dwolla) and accounting integration during this phase.
Portal & Integration Build
Develop the tenant portal, owner portal, and vendor interfaces. Connect background screening providers, utility billing APIs, and any property-specific integrations like smart lock systems or package lockers.
Migration, Training & Go-Live
Run parallel operations for 30 days — new and old systems side by side. Validate financials match to the penny. Train staff on the new workflows. We stay on-site (or on-call) for the first two rent cycles to catch anything the test period missed.
Ready to get started? Let's discuss your project.
Property Management Software Investment
Pricing depends on unit count, module requirements, and integration complexity with your accounting stack.
Core Operations Platform
Lease management, rent collection, and basic maintenance tracking for portfolios under 500 units.
Custom pricing based on your requirements
- Tenant and owner portals
- Online rent collection (ACH + card)
- Maintenance request tracking
- Basic financial reporting
- QuickBooks Online integration
- Email and chat support
Full Management Suite
Complete property management platform for 500-2,000 unit portfolios with advanced accounting and operations tools.
Custom pricing based on your requirements
- Everything in Core Operations
- Advanced lease administration
- Automated vendor dispatch
- CAM reconciliation
- Custom financial reporting
- Screening and application processing
- Dedicated implementation manager
Enterprise Portfolio Platform
Multi-entity management for large operators with 2,000+ units, complex ownership structures, and institutional reporting needs.
Custom pricing based on your requirements
- Everything in Full Management
- Multi-entity and fund accounting
- Investor portal and reporting
- Business intelligence dashboards
- API access for custom integrations
- Dedicated engineering support
- Custom SLA and uptime guarantees
Property Management Software Questions Answered
Quick answers to the questions we hear most often.
We build a two-way sync using QuickBooks Online API. Rent payments, expenses, and journal entries flow automatically into QBO. Bank reconciliation data flows back. The sync runs every 15 minutes for transactions and daily for balance verification. We map your property chart of accounts to QBO categories during setup, and your accountant continues working in QuickBooks as if nothing changed.
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Ready to Get Started with Property Management Software?
Let's discuss your project and discover how we can help you achieve your business goals with our expert team.