Business Management

Boosting Efficiency in Property Management with CRM Solutions

Filed Under: Business Management, Property Maintenance

Introduction: The Evolving Landscape of Property Management

If you’re a property manager, you know how much time is spent juggling emails, phone calls, maintenance requests, and financial reports every single day.

  • Tenants have questions about rent, lease renewals, or repairs—and they want quick answers.
  • Owners expect detailed reports, updates on property conditions, and financial transparency.
  • Vendors need to be scheduled, confirmed, and followed up with.
  • Rental applicants flood inboxes with questions, tour requests, and paperwork.

It’s a lot to handle, and without the right tools, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

That’s where SimplifyEm with CRM functionality comes in. Designed to make property management simple and stress-free, this all-in-one solution helps landlords and property managers stay organized, communicate better, and get more done—with less hassle.

What is a Property Management CRM?

A Property Management CRM is software that helps you manage properties, tenants, and finances—all in one place. Unlike traditional Real Estate CRM software, which focuses on sales, property management CRMs are built specifically for the needs of landlords and property managers.

How a CRM Can Simplify Your Workflow

  • Keeps Tenant and Lease Information Organized – No more digging through emails or paper files.
  • Automates Rent Collection – Set up reminders and let the system do the work.
  • Streamlines Maintenance Requests – Easily track, assign, and update work orders.
  • Improves Communication – Keep all conversations in one place, so nothing gets lost.
  • Simplifies Accounting – Track income, expenses, and generate financial reports effortlessly.

And with SimplifyEm, you get all of this in an easy-to-use, intuitive system that’s designed with YOU in mind.

How SimplifyEm CRM Delivers a WOW Experience

At SimplifyEm, we believe property management should be easy, stress-free, and even enjoyable! That’s why SimplifyEm with CRM  functionality isn’t just another software—it’s a game-changer that helps you manage properties efficiently while making your life easier.

Everything You Need, All in One Place

  • Automated Rent Collection – No more chasing down payments. Tenants get reminders, and payments are tracked automatically.
  • Tenant Communication Hub – Quickly respond to questions and keep all conversations organized in one place.
  • Maintenance Request Portal – Tenants submit service requests online, and you can assign vendors with a click.
  • Accounting Integration – Easily track expenses, income, and overdue payments—no spreadsheets required!
  • Lease Management and Renewals – Get reminders before leases expire and store all documents in one spot.

SimplifyEm’s Communication Center: The Ultimate Conversation Tracker

Tired of losing track of emails, texts, and phone calls? We’ve got you covered!

The SimplifyEm Communication Center is your all-in-one conversation hub that keeps every interaction—across email, SMS, and phone calls—in one easy-to-access location.

  • Property managers can access past conversations instantly without searching through separate email accounts or phone logs.
  • Every message, from maintenance requests to lease negotiations, is recorded and linked to the relevant property and stakeholders.
  • Owners, vendors, and tenants can be included in the same conversation thread, ensuring clear and transparent communication.
  • The ability to track all interactions in one place reduces miscommunication and speeds up response times.

By centralizing conversations, SimplifyEm’s Communication Center saves property managers hours of time each week and prevents important messages from getting lost in the shuffle.Communication Center

How a CRM Functionality Saves You Time and Reduces Stress

Less Time on Repetitive Tasks

  • Automate rent reminders, lease renewals, and follow-ups, so you can focus on what matters.

Happier Tenants, Owners, and Vendors

  • Quick responses and easy communication make everyone’s life easier.

Stay Organized Without the Headaches

  • All your property, tenant, and financial info is at your fingertips.

At SimplifyEm, our goal is simple: to help you work smarter, not harder!

Real Results: A SimplifyEm Success Story

A mid-sized property management firm using SimplifyEm CRM reported:

  • 30% reduction in late rent payments due to automated reminders.
  • 50% improvement in maintenance request resolution time.
  • Significant increase in tenant satisfaction scores.

By streamlining operations and automating key workflows, SimplifyEm CRM functionality saved this company over 10 hours per week, allowing managers to focus on growing their business instead of handling repetitive tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Property Management CRM Functionality

  • What makes SimplifyEm different from other Property Management CRMs?

    SimplifyEm is designed for ease of use, offering intuitive automation and financial tracking features tailored for property managers of all sizes.

  • How does CRM software improve tenant relations?

    Faster communication, better organization, and automated updates make life easier for tenants.

  • Can SimplifyEm integrate with accounting tools?

    Yes! Easily track payments, expenses, and generate financial reports.

  • Is SimplifyEm good for small landlords?

    Absolutely! Whether you manage 5 units or 500, SimplifyEm scales with your needs.

  • What is the cost of implementing a Property Management CRM?

    Pricing varies, but the time and stress you save make it well worth the investment!

 

Sources:

https://www.naahq.org/

https://www.census.gov

Are ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) Rentals a Good Idea?

Filed Under: Business Management, Property Maintenance, Property Management, Property Management Software, Real Estate Investing, Rental Laws & Taxes

What is an ADU?

An ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) is a secondary/independent living unit on the same land as a primary residence unit. ADU’s can be attached to a primary residence or detached. It would most likely consist of a kitchen, living area, bathroom and separate room or space for bed.

It’s typically smaller in size and suitable for either a single person or a couple.

Many cities are encouraging developing ADU’s due to a shortage of housing and also rentable units compared to demand for affordable housing.

Government data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency and California Department of Housing and Community Development shows ADU’s are becoming popular.

The number of ADU are growing. Here is data for California:

Growth in Number of ADU Per Year

You can also see the value of properties with ADU is also growing, here is data for California:

Property Value Growth with an ADU on the property.

What Steps Are Required to Create an ADU?

If you want to create an ADU, you should take into consideration the following:

Cost – What kind of funding/loan will you need?
Type of ADU – What type of ADU are you building?
Local Regulation – What type of regulations does your local municipality require?
Design the ADU – Find an architect or designer to create plans.
Permits – Get necessary permits from your local planning authority.
Contractor – you’ll need to hire a licensed contractor, unless you’ll build yourself.
Construct – Get it built and inspected by municipality inspectors.

Cost of ADU

Building an ADU is a significant expense. You should have a good idea of cost before you start. Here are some estimates based on size. The range is determined based on your location and design choices.

Cost and Value of ADU based on size

Type of ADU

There are a variety of types of ADU; you should determine if you can use space in the primary residence to convert it to an ADU or if you have enough space in your lot to construct one.

Here are some of the common types to consider:

  • Detached ADU
  • Attached – addition to main house
  • Garage converted to ADU
  • Basement converted to ADU

Local Regulations Governing ADU’s

You’ll need to contact your local planning authority to understand ADU rules. Some things to consider are:

  • Zoning Laws – Can you build an ADU in your neighborhood?
  • Size limits – What’s the maximum size for an ADU?
  • Setbacks – How much space do you need from your neighbors to where you can place an ADU?
  • Height Restrictions – How high can roofline and ceilings be?
  • Parking – What kind of parking if any do you have to provide?
  • Occupancy – Are there limits to the number of people allowed in ADU? Can it be used for long and short term rental?

Designing the ADU

You will need to find an Architect or Designer you’re comfortable with to come up with plans that meet your cost requirements and also satisfy local regulations.

Permits for an ADU

You and your Architect should set up a meeting with your local planning department to determine what kind of permits you need to start the project.

Typically, you’ll need:

  • Building permit
  • Zoning Approval
  • Site plan approval
  • Utility permits
  • Fire safety compliance

Getting a Contractor to Start Building your ADU

Once you’ve gotten the appropriate permits, you need to start construction. There are two key decisions you need to make. First, will you build yourself or use a contractor? Second, if you use a contractor finding the right one for you.

Make sure your contractor has an up-to-date license.

Constructing an ADU

Once you have started construction, at the end of each stage of the build, get it inspected for approval by the planning department. Typically, different stages where you’ll need an inspection are:

  • Foundation
  • Framing
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical
  • Final Inspection

Inspectors are your friend; getting it approved by them can ensure you’re getting quality work.

Should I Create an ADU from Scratch or Prefab?

One other consideration that can affect costs is should build ADU from scratch or prefab?

Typically, custom construction takes longer and is more expensive. However, you can customize the design to your liking so it better matches the main residence. It also tends to have higher resale value.

Whereas prefab is limited in design, which can make it look more cookie-cutter. It can also have a lower resale value. However, construction can be done faster, and it can also lower costs. Sometimes it’s easier to get a permit as well.

What Are the Costs and Benefits of an ADU?

An ADU can be a great investment. The costs are significant based on the size, location and design choices, as we showed earlier.

There are many benefits, such as:

  • Rental income
  • Property value increase
  • Flexible space for family needs: aging parents, adult children, guest space
  • Affordable housing – Help your community by providing affordable housing.

Should You Consider Section 8 Housing for your ADU?

Section 8 housing means you’re willing to accept low-income tenants where a portion of the rent is paid by the government. There are many advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Advantage:

  • Guaranteed rent payments
  • Larger pool of potential tenants
  • Lessens the risk of rental loss

Disadvantage:

  • Property inspection to meet Section 8 standards
  • Rent must comply with government regulations
  • More government administrative work

Do You Want To Accept Pets in ADU – Is It Pet-Friendly?

Accepting pets in your ADU has many advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage:

  • Larger pool of potential tenants
  • Higher Rent (Pet Fee, Pet Rent)
  • Tenants tend to stay longer

Disadvantage:

  • More property damage
  • Noise issues
  • More cleaning when tenants move out

Should You Make Your ADU a Short-Term Rental?

It can be profitable to have your ADU as a short-term rental (AirBNB) rather than long-term rental. There are many advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

  • More rental income
  • Flexibility for your own usage of ADU
  • Tenant turnover is easier

Disadvantages

  • Zoning restrictions – Many cities do not allow it.
  • More management – since there is frequent tenant turnover
  • Operating cost – frequent cleaning, furniture, Utilities

How can SimplifyEm help with your ADU?

If you are renting out your ADU. You need software that does an excellent job of:

  • Keeping track of your tenants account and balance
  • Great communication capabilities to stay in touch with your tenant and have everything recorded.
  • Having your records ready for tax time.

SimplifyEm Property Management Software does all of this and is the easiest to use.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about ADU

  • What is an ADU?

    ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) is a secondary living space in the lot of a primary residence.

    It can be a detached space or attached (such as a converted garage or basement) as an independent unit consisting of a kitchen, living area with a bedroom space, and bathroom.

  • What are the costs and benefits of an ADU?

    The cost of an ADU consists of permit to build as well construction cost. The factors that affect its cost are size of space, design decisions you make, as well location. It can be very expensive to construct running into several hundred of thousands dollars.

    It provides many benefits and gives you a flexible space to deal with elderly parents, adult children, as well as guests.

    You can also rent it out for income. Having an ADU on a property typically increases property value.

  • Should I consider a Prefab ADU?

    A Prefab ADU is absolutely worth considering. It provides many benefits, such as lower construction costs as well as a faster time to build.

    Some limitations of Prefab are you have less control over design; you can’t have all the design elements you want. It’s limited to whatever is offered by the prefab company.

  • Do ADU’s make an affordable rental?

    ADU tends to be smaller than Single Family homes. So they can make for ideal space for single people or young couples on a limited budget.

  • Can an ADU be used for Section 8 housing?

    You should check with government authorities as to what qualifies for Section 8 housing. Typically, a fully functional ADU can be used for section 8 housing.

    Turning your ADU into Section 8 housing gives you the benefit of a regular rent check from the government. However, you do become subject to government rules on how much rent you can charge as well as filling out government forms and paperwork.

Sources:

https://www.fhfa.gov/blog/statistics/trends-in-median-appraised-value-for-properties-with-accessory-dwelling-units-in-california

https://www.hcd.ca.gov/policy-and-research/accessory-dwelling-units

How to Get Rid Of American Cockroaches or German Cockroaches in Your Rental Property

Filed Under: Business Management, Property Maintenance, Property Management, Property Management Software

Roaches can make your rental property less attractive and lower the ROI If it’s a vacant unit, it makes it less attractive and harder to rent.

It’s also a very common problem, according to the US Census Bureau, 14 million homes have reported seeing a roach infestation over a 12 month period.

Here is some data on likelihood of Roach Infestation versus No infestation based on these signs in the home.

Odds of Roach Sighting in US Homes

It’s important to be proactive to prevent infestation, hHowever if you have an infestation, it’s critical to act fast to take care of it. You also need to consider the kind of pest control remedies you’re comfortable with: Do you prefer natural pest control remedies? Do you have pets? Does it have to be pet-safe? Do you want to work with a professional pest control firm, keeping in mind costs?

What are the Characteristics of American and German Cockroaches?

German and American Cockroaches are the two most common types and are the hardest to get rid of according to Orkin. American Cockroaches are ½ inch longer than German Cockroaches. Both types prefer warm and moist locations. The German variety tends to gather in Kitchen and Bathroom, while the American variety prefer basements, drains, and crawl spaces.

The German variety is most common and reproduces quickly. One of the main problems they cause is spreading bacteria wherever they travel.

What Can You Do To Prevent a Roach Infestation?

There are several steps to deal with this effectively:

  1. Regular monitoring to look for infestation
  2. Preventing infestation

Tenant and Property Manager Responsibilities

As a property manager, you should communicate with the tenant on their role and responsibilities and yours in monitoring, preventing, and dealing with infestation. Communicating this upfront will help start your relationship with the tenant on good footing.

1) Regular monitoring – establishing a regular schedule with your tenant for unit inspection, whether it’s weekly, monthly, or quarterly with an inspection form looking for infestation is great practice. Having property management software that includes event based calendaring that automatically setups tasks between your tenant and yourself can help automate this.

2) Preventing Infestation – Roaches are attracted to food sources, water, and dark warm hidden spaces. Incenting your tenant to keep things tidy, especially the kitchen counter should be clear of food debris and damp water. You should be proactive about fixing leaky water pipes. While vinegar doesn’t kill cockroaches, it’s a great repellant and great at preventing infestation.

Getting rid of an infestation, what are roach killer solutions?

How should we proactively deal with infestation? If there is a roach infestation, the tenant should notify you right away, and it should be dealt with immediately. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to get rid of the infestation. You can try three different types of remedies:

  1. Natural home remedies
  2. Store bought chemical remedies
  3. Hiring a professional pest control firm

One other consideration in all this is that there are pets involved. You want it to be pet friendly.

1) Home remedies are very attractive since they are safer compared to chemical treatment. Baking soda, boric acid, and diatomaceous earth are the most common home remedies. The good thing is Diatomaceous earth is pet safe.

2) Store bought chemical methods are very effective, but its critical safety guidelines are followed if you have pets or children. Some common solutions are Advion cockroach gel bait, Combat roach killing bait, and glue traps. Please read the label carefully if you have pets and children; typically, don’t allow them in the space where you’re sprayed for at least 2 to 4 hours. Make sure anything you place to prevent roaches is not reachable by them if possible.

3) Professional pest control firms can be very effective. If you set up a regular schedule they can prevent an infestation from ever happening. They have access to commercial-grade solutions and treatments. According to Angie’s list, you can expect it to cost anywhere from $100 to $600.

Conclusion

Having a great relationship with your tenant is required so you can take a joint proactive approach to prevent infestation, such as regular monitoring, and a quick action plan to resolve an infestation is key.

You can lower your expenses and maximize your rent by creating a cockroach free environment for your tenant.

Frequently Asked Question on Roach Infestation

    ‘

  • What smells do roaches hate?

    Roaches dislike essential oils such as Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Lavender Oil, Peppermint Oil, and Rosemary Oil. They also dislike some plants such as Rosemary, Mint, and Chrysanthemum. Some spices and fruit are also natural repellants, such as cinnamon, lemons, and oranges. So having these around could be a great way to discourage roaches.

  • How long can roaches live without food?

    Cockroaches can live for a month without food. So you should regularly clean your kitchen counter.

  • How long can roaches live without water?

    Cockroaches can live for up to 12 days without water. So making sure you have water drops in your kitchen and bathroom and fixing leaking faucets is key to preventing infestation.

  • Will bleach kill roaches?

    While you can drown a cockroach in bleach. It’s not the best solution since it’s harmful to humans and pets. There are more natural, safer solutions, like baking soda.

Sources:
https://www.orkin.com/pests/cockroaches/german-cockroaches/german-cockroach-vs-american-cockroach

https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-does-cockroach-extermination-cost.htm

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/how-many-american-homes-have-pests.html

How To Get Rid of Ants in Your Rental House or Apartment

Filed Under: Business Management, Property Management, Property Management Software

As a property manager, it’s never pleasant to get a call from your tenant that there is an ant infestation in your rental property. Ant infestations can happen suddenly and grow fast.

They are irritating for your tenants and also can cause problems for you. Ants are known to contaminate food; they can even damage wiring and electronics.

What Types of ants Commonly Affect Houses?

According to the University of California, there are various common types of ants that can invade a house. Here are a few of the common types:

Types of Ants and Their Characteristics

While some varieties live outdoors, they will come inside the house for food and take it back to their ant colony. As you can see, the most common types of food you need to store away securely are Sweets, Fats, Greasy Foods, and Proteins.

Why Do You Have Ants in Your House?

Ants need food and water just like us.. The most likely cause is that your rental property has water they need or the food they’re attracted to is too accessible to them. Here are five things to watch out for:

  1. You have sugary foods accessible to them. A great way to take care of this is to keep the kitchen clean and use sealed containers they can not access.
  2. Make sure greasy surfaces are cleaned up in the kitchen counter, stove top, and garbage container.
  3. Ants need water. So you should clean up water spills and fix leaky faucets and pipes.
  4. Decaying wood is the perfect hideout for ants. Whether it’s a wood pile next to your house and dry wood siding, this is something to watch out for.
  5. Finally, look at how they can enter your house from outside and seal them. Window, Door, or cracks in your foundation.

What Can I Do to Prevent an Ant Infestation?

Now that you know what attracts ants to your property, there are simple strategies you can implement with your tenants to prevent an infestation:

  1. Get rid of their food supply – make sure you clean up your kitchen regularly, so there is nothing sweet available and all grease has been wiped down.
  2. Get rid of their water supply – promptly pick up any water spills, fix leaky pipes and faucets, and do not leave water accessible to them.
  3. Close of entry points – check the exterior of your property for cracks and holes and seal them.

There are also natural repellents that discourage ants that you can use to discourage ants:

Borax is used as a cleaning product and insect repellent. You should be careful and follow safety instructions. It can be harmful to children and pets.

  • Diatomaceous Earth dries out the oils in an ants body. But it can be an irritant, so do wear gloves and a mask when handling it.
  • Glass cleaner has an odor that removes the scent that ants use to get to food sources.
  • Red or black pepper is a natural deterrent since ants find the smell irritating.
  • Peppermint oil helps repel red ants. But be careful around cats.
  • Citrus fruit or Citrus Oils also helps repel and kill ants.
  • Vinegar mixed with water as a cleaning solution is effective. Ants do not like the smell of vinegar, so it acts as a deterrent.

How Do I Get Rid of Ants? Are Ant Sprays Effective? How do Ant Traps Work?

You can always go to your retail store for chemical spray and Bait Trap. There are popular sprays such as from Raid that are effective. But be careful because some of the chemicals can be harmful if you inhale or eat. So carefully monitor your children and pets.

If you have a carpenter ant infestation, you are probably looking for the best carpenter ant bait, to get off them. Bait traps work by attracting them, and the ants then take harmful chemicals back to the ant colony, which gets rid of the ants.

You can always use a professional pest control firm. According to Angie’s list, that can cost anywhere between $80 to $500 based on infestation size.

Conclusion

Ants can disturb your tenants’ experience with your rental property. Both you as the property manager and your tenant have a role to play in preventing an issue. The best way is to know what attracts ants and keep them away from your house.

Frequently Asked Questions on Ant Infestation

  • What Smells Do Ants Hate?

    Ants typically don’t like the smell of citrus fruits, peppermint oil, lavender, black or red pepper. A great way to prevent an infestation, which could require using harsh chemicals, is to create a repellent for ants by making sure these fragrances are in your home.

  • Does Vinegar Kill Ants?

    Vinegar does not kill ants. But by having vinegar, it neutralizes the smells ants use to get back to their colonies and lessens the infestation.

  • Does Cornmeal Kill Ants?

    Cornmeal does not kill ants, but is helpful. Cornmeal if eaten by ants is not digestible. So they can starve to death if they eat no other food. But only if that is most of their food. If they eat other things, this is less effective.

 

Sources:
https://www.orkin.com/pests/ants

https://ipm.ucanr.edu/m/pn7411-3.html

https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-does-it-cost-get-rid-ants.htm

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/how-many-american-homes-have-pests.html

 

How to Prevent Mice in Your Rental Property

Filed Under: Business Management, Property Management, Property Management Software

One of the most unpleasant calls you can get from your tenant as a property manager is that there are mice in the property. To get rid of mice and prevent them from appearing again, it requires teamwork from both of you.

It’s also a very common problem, according to the US Census Bureau, 14.8 million homes have reported seeing a roach infestation over a 12 month period.

Here is some data on likelihood of Rodent Infestation versus No infestation based on these signs in the home.

Rodent Sightings U.S Homes

It requires preventive measures, such as a mouse repellent strategy that makes the rental property less inviting. If there are mice already in the property, there is a solution to get rid of the mice already there.

What Causes Mice in the Property?

Especially during cooler months, mice look for warmth. So the risk is higher during the autumn and winter time. If you have cracks and openings in your house through the wall, window, basement, foundation or attic, you are more likely to invite mice.

Also, if you have good nesting material such as insulation, cotton, or feather in a pillow that is also attractive.

Finally, food is the other reason for mice to enter your house. Things such as unsealed pet food, open garbage cans, or just open food containers are very attractive to mice.

What Are Natural Repellents for Mice?

First, do all the obvious things. Seal entries into your. Inspect your house for cracks and openings to seal.

Get rid of food sources, by putting all food away in metal or heavy plastic containers. If it’s a paper container or light plastic, mice will be able to get in and get the food supply.

There are smells mice hate, such as peppermint oil, cayenne pepper, and cloves. Try to infuse those fragrances throughout the house.

Other smells that mice hate are smells of cat urine and urine of other predators. You can mimic this with ammonia, if you want a stronger smelling solution.

Other ways to get rid of mice? What is the best mouse bait?

Simple traps like a ‘snap trap’ with the best mouse bait peanut butter work, but obviously they are messy. Typically, it involves a quicker demise for the mice without longer suffering.

There are also electric traps that kill mice with electric shocks. They are effective but can be expensive.

There are also sticky glue mouse traps, but mice can learn to avoid them over time.

You can also use store bought chemical solutions and take precaution when using them around children and pets.

Finally, you can always use a professional pest control service, according to Angie’s list, that can cost from $180 to $600 but can be effective. But it can vary based on the size of your house.

Cost of Mouse Prevention

Conclusion

Mice once they infiltrate are hard to get rid of. The best strategy is to seal your house so it’s hard for them to enter. Also, don’t provide any food or shelter source for them.

Frequently Asked Questions on Mice Prevention

  • What smells do mice hate?

    Mice are known to hate smells like peppermint, clover, and Cayenne pepper. They also hate the smell of Ammonia, since it smells similar to cat urine.

  • How long can mice live without food?

    Mice can survive 2 to 4 days without food. So if you eliminate their food sources, it’s a very effective mouse repellant strategy.

  • Do mice learn to avoid mouse traps?

    Mice will learn over time to avoid traps. At first, it’ll be new for them, but over time they learn.

Sources:

https://www.orkin.com/pests/rodents/mouse-control/mouse-deterrents

https://www.fixr.com/costs/mouse-exterminator

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/how-many-american-homes-have-pests.html

The Ultimate Guide to Running a Property Management Company

Filed Under: Business Management, Property Management

Once you start a property management company, the day-to-day running of the business can overwhelm you. If you are not organized and process-oriented you’ll spend all day fighting emergencies and not be able to grow your business.

Understanding the Basics of Property Management

It’s important to know what property management companies do and how to make it an efficient process. There is typically a monthly rhythm to the business with specific activities at different times of the month:

  • Rent Collection
  • Dealing with late tenant payments
  • Sending out owner payments and reports
  • While maintenance and repairs can happen throughout the month, you can deal with vendor payment at a specific time of the month.

Finding new tenants for vacant units and gaining new owner clients are important revenue-generating activities that happen throughout the month and have to be prioritized.

By thinking about your business in this manner, you can potentially create an organization with specialized roles to scale your business.

It’s important to master key business processes to run and grow your property management company:

  • Monthly tenant rent collection and communication process
  • Monthly owner communication and payment process
  • Property maintenance tasks to minimize repair
  • Monthly financial accounting
  • Filling vacant units with great tenants in minimal time
  • Finding property management owner clients to grow your business
  • Build a variety of revenue streams beyond property management fees.

Running your property management company efficiently:

According to NARPM survey data (National Association of Residential Property Managers), the most successful property managers (those in the top quadrant of profit margin), have most of their growth come from more profit per unit versus growing the number of units (doors) under management.

Property Management Net Profit from Unit Growth vs Profit per Unit

Two Key Measurements to Ensure maximum profit margins

So how do you get into the top quadrant of profit margin? Well, two key indicators are your efficiency in labor and your efficiency in leasing:

  1. How much staff (labor cost) do you need to manage doors under management?
  2. What is your leasing cost to fill a vacant unit?

The top quadrant of property managers has a labor cost of 30.2% compared to the industry average where labor cost 43.7%. This also translates into more doors under management with smaller teams. You can see the difference with top-performing firms.

Door per Team Member Property Management

Another key metric to consider is how much it costs the property manager in terms of leasing wages and leasing commission compared to leasing fee earned. You can see from the table below there is a huge performance difference of a top performing company.

Leasing Profit for Property Management

 

In order to become a top quadrant property manager in terms of profitability, it’s important to keep your tenant happy so they stay for a long time. You should also make sure your owners are happy with your service so you can charge a premium property management fee and they see the value.

Running a Property Management Company – Key Processes

You have to pay attention to and optimize the following key processes:

  • Monthly tenant rent collection and communication process
  • Monthly owner communication and payment process
  • Property maintenance tasks to minimize repair costs
  • Monthly financial accounting
  • Filling vacant units with great tenants quickly

Monthly Rent Collection Best Practices

Monthly rent collection is one of the most important regular activities for your business. It should run a regular process with key steps:

  1. One of the most important regular activities is collecting rent from your tenants. It’s important to make it convenient for your tenant to pay rent in a variety of ways. Giving your tenants the ability to pay rent online via ACH or credit card is important.
  2. Automate Rent Payments: Provide tenants the option to set up automatic payments to avoid missed deadlines.
  3. Communicate status of payment to tenant: Use Late Rent Notices and Rent Receipts.Beyond making it easy, it’s important that your tenant realizes you will enforce the lease and timely payments are expected. If they’ve paid, sent them a rent receipt to give them positive feedback. If they haven’t paid on time then having an attorney-approved and a Late Rent Notice that is automatically sent out via Email and SMS is also critical.
  4. Track payments accurately: Maintain detailed records to identify late payments and follow up appropriately.

Typically the majority of your rent collection should happen in the first few days of the month based on lease terms you’ve signed with your tenants. It’s important you have good record keeping so you know which tenants are late and communicate to them appropriately, including potentially a late rent notice, followed by more stringent communication if needed by a certain day of the month (typically the 5th to 10th of the month). If you have not received rent.

SimplifyEm Late Rent Notice

Owner Communication and Payment Process

As a property manager, you are responsible for managing their properties. You should communicate how their properties are doing on a monthly basis and pay them their balance after all expenses (including your property management fees) have been deducted on a regular basis monthly. You should have a systematic monthly approach to this:

  1. Communicate to your owners with a professionally company-branded owner report that details how their property performed financially.
  2. Promptly disburse their funds. Transfer owner payments after rent clears in your bank to ensure accuracy.
  3. If there is or will be a vacant unit, give them a prompt action plan. This will help strengthen their trust in you.
  4. Set expectations with agreements on fees and payment schedule. Typically you want to send the owner report and owner payment after the rent has been collected and cleared in the bank (meaning the rent check didn’t bounce). Most property managers schedule this process between the 7th to 20th of the month. Set the expectation with your owners on the schedule.

SimplifyEm Owner Balance

Another key document to manage expectations is the property management agreement you sign initially with new owner clients. It sets expectations on fees you’ll be charging, when they should expect monthly owner payments, as well as your and their responsibilities.

Property Maintenance Tasks to Minimize Repair Costs

It’s important to have regular maintenance activities for your property so small maintenance issues don’t become major repairs.

  1. It’s good to have a regular schedule for different types of maintenance. For example:
    1. Monthly Maintenance Tasks – Inspect HVAC filters, test smoke alarms, check for leaks.
    2. Quarterly Maintenance Tasks – Inspect roofing, clean gutters, service heating systems.
    3. Annual Maintenance Tasks – Full property inspections, pest control treatments, review safety compliance.
  2. If you have a trusted vendor you work with for this such as gardeners, plumbers, or handymen it’s great to have them set up as vendors in your property management software.
  3. It’s important to have the ability to have a communication center so that you can reach your vendors for emergency repairs as needed via phone, email, SMS and directly
  4. Issue work orders through your software to your vendors Email and SMS, to streamline the process.

Monthly Financial Accounting Making Sure You’re Audit-Proof

Beyond taking care of recording activities with tenants, owners, and vendors, you need to make sure your bookkeeping is audit-proof. The best way to do that is to consistently do a 3-way reconciliation. It should be done at least monthly, although you can decide to do it daily or weekly. 

This process ensures that your financial transactions are complete and up-to-date. It involves making sure your bank statement balance matches your financial book balance and also matches your client (owner) balance. 

Having property management software that automates this reconciliation process is critical. This is one of the key elements your state’s auditor will ask of you if you’re ever selected for a financial audit.

Filling Your Vacant Units Fast with the Right Tenants Quickly

It’s critical that you know when a unit is going to be vacant. So that you can advertise the vacancy and get the unit ready for occupancy. You can get the right applicants for the vacancy and learn about their background. The faster you can fill the vacancy, the lower your leasing cost, and the more profitable your leasing fee income will be. You can learn more about this in our ultimate guide to finding the right tenant.

Strategies to Grow Your Property Management Company

Keeping your current owner clients happy is the key to having a profitable property management company. If you want to turbocharge growth, it’s important to focus on two additional key business processes:

  • Finding property management owner clients to grow your business
  • Build a variety of revenue streams beyond property management fees.

Acquiring New Property Owner Clients

Requires a variety of marketing and sale activities:

  • Advertising campaign for new owner clients
  • Call campaigns for new owner clients
  • Advertising campaign for existing owner clients (for additional units or referrals)
  • Call campaign for existing owner clients (for additional units or referrals)

It’s best to experiment with all and see what’s most effective. Here are costs to acquire additional units to manage. You want to try to get to the top quadrant:

Unit Acquisition Cost Property management

What is critical is to know how much it costs you to acquire a unit and compare that to the lifetime value of that unit (how much revenue you will typically earn from a unit). The lifetime value of the unit is made up of your earnings from the unit, and typically, how long you manage a unit.

If your lifetime value of a unit is $10,000, you can afford to spend enough to get a new owner client so that it’s still profitable for you over the lifetime.

You can see the Unit Lifetime value for property management companies and assess where you fit:

Lifetime Profit Property Management

Finally beyond the CAC and LTV for acquiring an Owner client, you have to understand why they choose to use a property manager and why they choose not to use a property management service and do it themselves.

According to Peter Lohman here are some factors:
Why owner clients choose to use a property manager:

  • Making property management easier
  • Boosting profitability
  • Reducing legal risks

Reasons owner choose not to use or stop using a property manager:

  • Decline in service quality
  • Fee Increases
  • Tenant placement delay

Building Multiple Revenue Streams Beyond Management Fees

This is the secret sauce to turbocharge your property management company’s revenue growth.

Property management companies charge PM fees; however the most successful companies provide many other services and provide additional value to their owner and tenant clients.

Notice the difference in where revenue comes from for the most profitable property management companies versus the least profitable:

Ancillary Fee - Property Management

Some of the ancillary fees to consider according to NARPM:

  • Application Fee
  • Leasing Fee
  • Renewal Fee
  • Other Owner Paid Fee
  • Other Tenant Paid Fee
  • Owner Maintenance Coordination Fee
  • Vendor Maintenance Referral Income
  • Other Fees

Leveraging Technology to Streamline Your Property Management Business

SimplifyEm property management software can help you easily manage your key business processes and handle them at scale. So when it comes to managing your vacant units, tenants, owners, vendors, banking and accounting. You can handle them seamlessly with easy to use software like SimplifyEm whether you’re managing 8 units or 8,000 units. So it allows you to grow your business without growing your labor cost as much.

Mastering Property Management for Long Term Growth

In conclusion, running a property management company can be very profitable, but it requires you to be great at operations, marketing, sales, and accounting. If you pay attention to each key monthly process and make sure it’s efficient and scalable and are learning from best practices in the industry, you could have great long-term success.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) on Growing a Property Management Company

  • What is a property management company?

    A property management company oversees the daily operations of rental properties on behalf of property owners. Responsibilities include tenant management, rent collection, property maintenance, and financial reporting.

  • What are the key responsibilities of a property manager?

    Property managers handle marketing, tenant screening, lease agreements, rent collection, maintenance coordination, financial reporting, and legal compliance.

  • How do I start a property management company?

    Starting a property management business involves:

    1. Obtaining the necessary licenses and certifications
    2. Setting up a legal business structure
    3. Building a network of property owners and tenants
    4. Implementing property management software
    5. Developing streamlined processes for efficiency
  • What challenges do property management companies face?

    Common challenges include tenant disputes, late rent payments, property maintenance issues, legal compliance, and managing multiple properties efficiently.

  • How can I make my property management business more efficient?
    1. Use property management software for automation
    2. Establish clear policies and procedures
    3. Develop strong tenant screening processes
    4. Create a network of reliable maintenance professionals
    5. Stay updated on local real estate laws and regulations
  • What software can help with property management?

    Software like SimplifyEm helps with tenant tracking, rent collection, maintenance scheduling, financial reporting, and more.

  • How do I attract property owners to my business?
    1. Build a strong online presence
    2. Offer competitive and transparent pricing
    3. Provide excellent customer service
    4. Use referrals and networking to gain trust
  • What legal requirements must I meet?

    Depending on your location, you may need a real estate broker’s license, business registration, insurance coverage, and compliance with landlord-tenant laws.

  • How do I handle difficult tenants?

    Have clear lease agreements, document all interactions, follow legal eviction procedures if necessary, and use mediation when possible.

  • How can I scale my property management business?
    1. Automate tasks with software
    2. Hire a reliable team
    3. Expand marketing efforts
    4. Offer additional services like property maintenance or real estate consulting

For more details and tools to simplify property management, visit SimplifyEm.

 

Sources:

https://www.narpm.org/docs/NARPM_FinancialPerformanceGuideOverview.pdf

https://www.peterlohmann.com/blog/the-property-management-trends-report 

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