The only thing that occupies more space in a property manager’s mind than keeping rental properties leased is property maintenance. Solving property maintenance issues in a timely manner can make a difference between happy tenants and tenants that complain. Thankfully, this can be avoided by using a quality property maintenance software.

Still organising your maintenance tasks by writing sticky notes, taping business cards to your walls, or storing numbers on your phone?

It's time to use innovative property management tools that will not only streamline your internal processes but improve your team’s performance and keep tenants happy. Here are some suggestions:

Have an organised tradie database viders

1.  Collate all scribbled notes and business cards together and start collecting all contact details from your phone, tablet, and laptop.
2. Create a database in excel where you save the contact details for all the service providers that you worked with. This might take some time, but will be worth it, when you have every number for every contractor in one place.

Generally, property managers tend to work with certain service providers. They will call the same electrician for all their properties, the same painters, the same plumbers. But what happens when your favourite plumber isn't available and you need to find another as soon as possible.

You can check your tradie database and see what contractors offered you good quotes but were overlooked. Whatever the situation is, there is no doubt that having a centralised database is extremely important.

Furthermore, it can also be your chance to put together a list of ‘approved vendors’ and eliminate the ones who failed to meet your standards in the past. By not including them to the approved list, you avoid working with them in the future. 

Initiating, scheduling and tracking jobs using apps

Emails and phone calls are not always the best way to schedule and keep track of property inspections, maintenance projects, and repairs. There are too many opportunities for misunderstandings and confusion. By using a property maintenance software, jobs can be automatically logged, schedule inspections and keep track of everything effortlessly, so teams can invest more time in growing rent rolls.

Property maintenance software ties into a central platform where property managers are connected with landlords and tenants, reducing the amount of time spent calling, and answering emails. Landlords and tenants will know the status of each job as they will be able to see all details on the platform.

Paying and overseeing the trade professionals

Managing and completing paperwork can be time consuming and sending invoices without a well-organised system can lead to late payments. Missed  payments or late payments, might make a bad impression and deter service providers from working with you in the future.

A good way to streamline your relationships with the service providers is to automate your payment system and your paperwork. Not only will you be more consistent when making the payments, but you will also be able to track all the expenses and compare the costs.

Having access to a complete property maintenance history

When using a property maintenance software, you are automatically creating online records of all your payments, maintenance expenses, inspections, and other details about each of your managed properties. This will save you time and allow you to offer clients any information regarding their property.

While property management tools and apps are guaranteed to make your life easier in any area of your business, it's difficult to find a better example than maintenance. This essential part of a property managers job can become a hassle as you are searching for tradies online and spending hours on the phone. Instead, sign up to Bricks + Agent and start automating these tasks so you can focus on growing your business.