The $3 property management software plan

How much money are you spending on property management software? More importantly, how much time are you spending on your software?

Property management takes a lot of organization and a lot of communication to work right. Many property management professionals think they have to spend a grand every year to get one behemoth piece of software that does everything. The problem with that, though, is that you still have to learn it.

When you’re spending your time learning how to use your software, you’re not out there doing the business part of your company. But what if you could use simple, inexpensive software to run your business and still come out with just as good a result?

I have a few apps that I use and recommend to my property management customers. Two are free, while the third only requires a small monthly fee. You can build your own software package a la carte. It’s easy—and all it takes is a couple of minutes to get set up.

Here are the three apps that will simplify your life as a property management professional.

Cozy

Cozy.co is a platform that allows you to do basically any part of your property management business, from rent to maintenance, through their easy-to-use online portal. It’s free for landlords forever. They’re able to do this because they make all their money off transaction fees instead of having you pay a monthly fee.

A lot of landlords, especially at scale, do much of their payment work online. Instead of driving around trying to get checks, you can automate it through Cozy. You don’t have to buy expensive software just to stay organized for rent. You can automate maintenance tickets, too—no more random phone calls for non-urgent fixes, just point them to the portal. It’s a great time-saver and organizer for every part of your business.

Loom

Loom is a free video software that allows you to quickly record content from your computer and send it to someone. It allows you to make videos that don’t just let you hear what the person is saying, but see what they’re doing. You can show your computer screen and yourself, which is great when you’re trying to collaborate. Loom is great for any sort of back and forth email, especially with anything that’s technical. It allows you to both show AND tell.

LastPass

LastPass is password management software that keeps all of your passwords organized. It’s hugely helpful for keeping track of all your accounts and keeping them secure. There’s a bonus, too: for just three dollars a month, you can share your passwords with other people as needed. If you’re building a landlord management system out of these discrete apps, it allows you to control access. For example—Cozy only supports one account, not multiple accounts. But you can share that password and control access that way through LastPass. It helps with keeping track of all your various bills, too. You can share your login through LastPass with your bookkeeper to make things easier.

This is the groundwork for a toolbox you can use to keep your property management straight. With just these three tools, you’re well on your way to creating an ecosystem of useful property management software.