Property Management Automation: 9 Tasks & Tools to Automate

 

 

Property management can feel endless. Between answering resident questions, coordinating maintenance requests, and keeping things running smoothly, the workload can be heavy. Fortunately, property management automation has made great strides in lightening the workload and improving resident living.

If you’re unsure where to start automating, this guide will walk you through what tasks to prioritize when doing so. More importantly, we cover the best tools to use for automation, such as access control systems and property management software.

This post will cover: 

• What is property management automation?
• 9 tasks improved by automating property management
• Tools for property management automation

 

 

What is property management automation?

Property management automation refers to any tools or processes that reduce your manual workload by letting technology work for you. Software, apps, and other tools will streamline your property management workflows and automate away your repetitive tasks.

This doesn’t mean you have to automate everything or replace your building’s staff with technology. It simply means making your (and your staff’s) most time-consuming tasks easier to handle. At the same time, automation will optimize your management techniques.

Recent years have presented a new wave of tenants, primarily millennials and Gen Zers. These renters expect their residences to keep up to date with technology. By adopting property management automation, you’ll make your job easier while pleasing your residents.

 

AI property management

AI (artificial intelligence) property management refers to using technology that imitates human intelligence to complete management tasks. Generally, AI technologies use machine learning to analyze data and make decisions or improve operations based on that data.

A 2021 study by Clockify found that workers spend 219 hours per year “on repetitive services and tasks that could be easily automated.” Property management is a unique industry because a disproportionately large number of tasks fall into this category.

As a property manager, it may seem like your work never ends. In fact, you’re the primary point of contact for all staff, residents, leasing agents, and contractors. Because of this, you must use the time you have efficiently.

The easiest way to do this is to implement AI tools.

 

How does AI help property management?

AI helps property management by automating redundant tasks and using machine learning to continually improve how it performs those processes.

To begin with, think of tasks you have to be present for to complete. For instance, many property managers are pulled away from pressing work to facilitate lease renewals, collect rent payments, or accept package deliveries. If that is your case, AI can help you.

One common example of AI in property management is AI leasing assistants. AI leasing assistants complement real human leasing agents by being available 24/7 when staff members aren’t working. Rather than letting a human agent field all inquiries from prospects, you can use an AI assistant to automatically respond via text or email to prospects.

 

Top 9 tasks property managers should automate

Compared to traditional property management, enhancing property management with automation can seem intimidating. But if you approach one task at a time, you’ll find your property running smoother than ever.

Here are the top 9 tasks property managers can automate:

1. Lease renewals
2. Package and delivery management
3. Rent payments
4. Facilitating apartment tours
5. Staff recruitment
6. Maintenance request management
7. Granting property access to residents and guests
8. Tenant screening
9. Front desk station

 

1. Lease renewals

It’s incredibly easy to automate the lease renewal process. Using lease administration software like Visual Lease or AppFolio, you can enter lease terms when a tenant moves in.

Then, when their lease renewal date is approaching, the software will automatically send them your personalized lease renewal email. This email can contain information on how to proceed with renewing their lease, changes in rent, and more.

If a resident chooses to renew, the software can then prepare and send them a renewal contract. Once signed by the tenant, it’ll make its way to you. Altogether, automating lease renewals reduces your work to the final step: signing off.

 

2. Package and delivery management

Implementing a package management system at your property will increase convenience for you, your residents, and couriers.

There are a few package delivery systems to choose from:

• Package room
• Package lockers
• Off-site package storage and drop-off program
• Package management software

For best results, set up a package room in your building — and control access to it with a smart video intercom. With a package room system, you can grant property access to couriers remotely and automatically notify residents of deliveries via their smartphones.

Installing a package room can dramatically reduce property management operating expenses and increase your property’s NOI.

 

 

3. Rent payments

Collecting rent online with automatic reminders is one of the easiest ways to save yourself time. Not only will establishing an automated rent payment system streamline your business, but it’ll also appeal to your tenants.

Nowadays, most tenants prefer digital banking. By offering a digital rent payment option, you’ll appeal to more prospective residents. Furthermore, you’ll make rent payments more convenient for both you and your tenants.

Many online rent payment systems will send your residents automatic reminders when their payment is due. What’s more, these systems will notify you and your resident if there is a transaction error. This will greatly reduce your workload of collecting late and overdue payments.

 

4. Facilitating apartment tours

Do you have vacant units that need to be filled but no time to facilitate multiple showings? You can offer self-guided tours using property management automation tools to save time, money, and energy.

With self-guided tours, you can show vacancies to more people, increasing your chances of signing a lease faster. Moreover, prospective residents will be happy to tour a property with a flexible touring schedule. You get to showcase your property’s willingness to please residents before they even step foot on site.

You can completely automate the touring process by investing in:

• A self-guided touring app or platform. Companies that provide these platforms make it simple — all you have to do is add a link to a booking platform to your website. From there, prospects provide their information and ID and choose a time to tour the building.
• A smart access control system. When prospects arrive at the building, they can use an automatically generated virtual key to gain property access and unlock doors within the building.

 

5. Staff recruitment

The last thing you want to do with your time at work is spend hours searching for new employees. Thankfully, there is software built to screen applicants before you even get your hands on a resume.

Recruiting software scans submitted resumes to flag possible good fits for your job posting.

This way, you can just review a few highly qualified candidates instead of sifting through a pile of resumes.

 

6. Maintenance request management

Maintenance requests are one of the most disruptive realities of multifamily living.

Keeping up with property maintenance is necessary to ensure resident satisfaction and safety. However, filtering maintenance requests through property management prolongs the time between request filing and completion.

By automating maintenance requests using software, your maintenance crew will be notified as soon as a new request is sent in. The software can assign tickets to crew members accordingly. Then, after a maintenance worker marks a request as complete, you’ll receive an automatic notification. Use this notification as a reminder to follow up with the residents and ensure they’re satisfied with the work.

Alerting tenants of routine maintenance such as checking smoke detectors, or larger projects like painting hallways, is also particularly time-consuming. You can automate these alerts using property management software like RentBridge or Entrata, among others.

 

7. Granting property access to residents and guests

One of the most time-consuming tasks for property staff is monitoring your property’s front door or gate. In the case of an especially large building, vetting visitors could be a full-time responsibility.

You can easily alleviate staff from this monotonous duty by installing a video intercom system.

Here’s how a video intercom automates property access:

• Residents and staff members can easily open the door for themselves with their smartphones or a unique PIN.
• Visitors can video call a resident to request access — and residents can grant access from anywhere using just a smartphone.
• Residents and staff can send planned visitors a virtual key for one-time or recurring use.

Unquestionably, property safety is the top concern for property managers. A smart video intercom system automatically snaps a time- and date-stamped photo of all entries. This log optimizes your property’s safety without compromising convenience.

 

8. Tenant screening

Taking time to perform background checks, assess credit scores, and review criminal records of potential tenants is standard. But it’s also time-consuming and forces your attention away from the residents already living in your building.

Thankfully, modern property technology has made it possible to screen tenants without spending your time at a computer.

Tenant screening services like Experian Connect and E-Renter do the screening of potential tenants for you. This way, you can save time and be sure that you approve the best possible tenants for your property.

 

9. Front desk station

Your building’s front desk is a prime location for automation. Technology like ButterflyMx’s Front Desk Station software gives you all of the benefits of a front desk without hiring extra staff or even installing any additional physical hardware. All you have to do is install the software on a compatible Apple or Windows computer.

The Front Desk Station provides:

• Easy communication. You can voice chat with residents and guests at any intercom leading to your building or amenity spaces. This is useful if they are having trouble entering the building or have any questions.
• Access management. You can verify and grant access to the building remotely should any guests or visitors request it.
• Live video. You can watch live video feeds from video intercoms across your property, which is a major boost to building security. You can also send video recordings and live streams to residents.

 

Tools for property management automation

While we’ve shown you what parts of property management can be automated, it’s time to walk you through some tools that can help you in the process.

Here are some of the leading platforms in real estate to help you automate property management:

• ButterflyMX
• Yardi
• RingCentral
• UpKeep

 

Watch how ButterflyMX works:

 

ButterflyMX

Established in 2014, ButterflyMX is a cloud-based access control company. We offer the only property-wide access platform that enables residents and staff to use their smartphones as credentials throughout the property, from the front door and gate to amenity spaces, elevators, and individual units.

Here is how ButterflyMX automates property management:

• Visitor & delivery management. Automate visitor and delivery driver access by enabling residents to grant entry through ButterflyMX’s highly-rated mobile app or by sending a limited-time visitor pass. This eliminates the need for staff to screen or manually grant access to visitors.
• PMS integrations. ButterflyMX integrates with leading property management software (PMS) tools, automating the process of adding or revoking resident access. Once the PMS is integrated with ButterflyMX, residents are automatically granted access on move-in day, and their access is revoked on their move-out day, reducing the risk of unauthorized entry.
• Self-guided touring. Streamline the apartment tour process with self-guided touring. Prospective tenants can gain temporary access to the building, amenity spaces, and individual units, allowing them to tour at their convenience without requiring staff involvement. This automation increases the number of potential residents viewing your property, giving you a competitive edge.

 

Yardi

Yardi is one of the most robust property management software platforms available, automating a wide variety of tasks to simplify operations. Beyond its seamless integration with ButterflyMX., Yardi offers many ways to automate property management.

Here is how Yardi can automate your property management:

• Leasing. Yardi simplifies lease tracking and management by automating lease renewals, rent increases, and compliance monitoring. Notifications for upcoming lease expirations or renewal opportunities are sent automatically, ensuring that managers stay on top of critical deadlines without manual reminders.
• Accounting and financials. Yardi automates financial processes, including rent collection, expense tracking, and reporting. Rent payments can also be scheduled and processed automatically, which reduces late payments and minimizes manual intervention.
• Maintenance. Yardi automates maintenance request logging and task assignment by letting tenants submit requests online. These requests are then routed to the appropriate service provider or maintenance team. The platform tracks the status of each task, providing transparency for both tenants and managers.

 

RingCentral

RingCentral is a cloud-based communication platform designed to automate how property managers connect with tenants, staff, and vendors. From automated call handling to mass notifications, RingCentral ensures seamless communication, saving time and improving response efficiency.

RingCentral offers the following features to automate tasks:

• Virtual receptionist. RingCentral’s virtual receptionist feature ensures that tenant calls are automatically routed to the appropriate person without the need for a live operator. Customizable call flows allow you to set up greetings, directory options, and after-hours responses, ensuring tenants always get the necessary information or assistance.
• Tenant communication. You can automate tenant notifications via text, email, or voice messages. Whether it’s a maintenance update, community event reminder, or emergency alert, RingCentral lets you schedule mass messages to keep tenants informed without manual outreach.
• Team management. RingCentral integrates team messaging and video conferencing so that you can automate assignments and updates across your team. For example, maintenance staff can receive automated alerts and updates when new requests are submitted, ensuring smooth coordination and quick response times.

 

UpKeep

UpKeep is maintenance management software built to improve the entire maintenance process. It allows you to automate work orders and schedules while receiving real-time updates, ensuring your property remains in excellent condition.

UpKeep enables automation in the following ways:

• Maintenance requests. UpKeep allows tenants or staff to submit maintenance requests online, which are automatically converted into work orders. Then, the system assigns these work orders to the appropriate team or vendor, ensuring tasks are routed and prioritized without requiring human oversight.
• Scheduling. Automate preventative maintenance by setting recurring schedules for inspections, equipment servicing, or repairs. In turn, you can reduce the likelihood of major issues while ensuring critical upkeep is performed.
• Reporting. Maintenance progress can be tracked with automated notifications sent directly to you and residents at each stage of the process. UpKeep also generates detailed analytics and reports on maintenance trends, costs, and team performance, helping you make informed decisions.