Property Management Software for Small Agencies: A Buyer's Guide

First, a warning about this post

We make Loftfolio, and Loftfolio is not property management software in the usual sense. It doesn't collect rent, keep a trust ledger, hold deposits, run maintenance, produce owner statements or handle leases. We're writing this guide because a lot of small agencies search for "property management software" when what they actually need is the front half of the job, and it's worth knowing which half you're shopping for.

Two different jobs

The back office. Rent collection, trust or client accounting, deposits, maintenance requests, inspections, leases and renewals, owner statements. This is what "property management software" usually means in the US, Canada and New Zealand, and what a UK agent would call managing lets plus client accounting.

The front door. Your public listings, inquiries, applications, showings, and keeping owners informed while a unit is on the market. Some property management suites do this well. Many handle the accounting well and the public listings page less well.

If you hold other people's money, you need the back office, and you probably need it audited. If you mostly find renters for owners, or you're a landlord letting your own units, the front door may be most of what you need.

What to look for in the back office

• Trust or client accounting that meets your jurisdiction's rules
• Rent collection and arrears tracking
• Maintenance requests and contractor jobs
• Lease generation and e-signature
• Owner statements and year-end reports
• An accountant who has used it

What to look for in the front door

• A public site you can edit yourself, with a page per property
• An application on every listing, landing in one pipeline
• Documents collected on the applicant's record
• Showings applicants can book themselves
• A way for owners to see progress without calling you
• Whether applicants are charged anything to apply

Questions to ask any vendor

• Is the price on the page? If not, why not?
• Is there a minimum? Some tools have a minimum number of units, or a minimum monthly spend.
• Is there a contract or a setup fee? How do you cancel?
• Per unit, per user or per account? Work out next year's bill if you add five units and one person.
• Who pays for screening and applications? Some tools are cheap for you because the applicant pays.
• Can I export my data if I leave, and in what format?
• Can I change the website myself tonight, without a ticket?

Pairing tools

Using two tools isn't a failure. A common setup for a small agency is accounting or property management software for the money, plus a leasing tool for the site and applicants. The handover point is the accepted applicant: once someone is approved, they move to the system that handles their lease and rent.

Where Loftfolio fits

Loftfolio is the front door. A branded site at yourname.loftfolio.com, every application made on your site as a record with status, notes and messages, document requests, self-booked viewings, and a valuations board, all on every plan. On Pro and Agency, owners get a read-only portal for their own properties.

It's $39, $99 or $249 a month for the account (one, three or ten people), in US dollars, with no contract, no setup fee and no minimum number of units. Export listings, applications and messages as CSV, JSON or ZIP on every plan. Applicants never pay us anything.

Keep your accounting software for the rent. Here is everything Loftfolio doesn't do, and how the pieces fit together in a small agency's stack.

→ See the plans