As we are becoming an increasingly globalized society nearly every industry across the board is turning to technology to provide innovation. Modern tech solutions are often necessary in order to stay competitive in an industry – its sink or swim, adapt or fail.This doesn’t always happen though, particularly in the commercial real estate industry. Many realtors/property owners prefer traditional methods of managing and operating their enterprise, despite the increasing benefits and innovation that modern property management software provides. Here a few examples of how technology is adding value to the industry today.

Digital Asset Management

Technology can provide a platform for organizing all of your assets and giving those who need it access to view and asses that information instantly. Traditionally these things may have been logged or tracked in different places, or not at all.For instance, property management software can keep track of your tenants and all relevant customer date like contracts, background, contact info, as well as the property they are associated with and its information. Additionally, software solutions can now offer tracking of more detailed information like appliance, utility, and amenity information, down to specific quantities, brands, condition and more.Further, staff and employees are often tracked through such software and can be given different levels of access depending on their credentials. Access to such complex information through an online software or app can help your enterprise make complex, data driven decisions in real time, giving you an edge on your competitors in the industry.

Ticket Tracking

Tenant/manager communication has traditionally been a source of frustration in the real estate industry. Traditional property managers often have a second phone reserved for tenant requests, receiving interrupting calls or text messages throughout the day, many times more than they can keep up with.When property groups grow they have hired more management staff to keep up with the growing requests. This adds cost, and amid the growing requests dealt with by hand, many are lost or delayed. Ticket tracking eliminates these challenges by allowing tenants to submit requests electronically at any time. This allows them to give detailed descriptions of maintenance tickets or complaints and for staff to track those tickets through completion.Staff are also often able to use those tickets to communicate with contractors on work-orders. This level of technology improves internal efficiency and accountability, meaning you can respond to the tickets on your time and ensure that the orders will be executed in the way you see fit..

Payment Processing

Online payment processing in a property management portal is one of the most important developments in the industry. While in the past tenants have shown that they prefer to pay rent and fees with cash or check, more and more are coming to prefer online payment for its benefits.First, it eliminates traditional barriers to payment like lost checks, causing late fees, or missing money orders, resulting in a total loss for the tenant. The ability to pay anywhere at any time means less headache and interaction with property managers in person and more payments made on time.Additionally, recurring payments are becoming increasingly popular and benefit both landlord and tenant, saving time and resources across the board. Automated online payment reminders are also an innovation that helps both parties, meaning less late fees and more payments made.Further, online payment options digitizes your bookkeeping and automatically generates a ledger with all of your accounts in one, easily accessible location. This saves time and reduces the chance of human error, a must-have in the industry.SecondKeys recently partnered with Elavon inc., global merchant services providers and ChargeBee for seamless invoicing and payment processing through our platform beginning in June of 2019. Request a product demo today at www.secondkeys.com for more information.To make a difference in your renting experience, drop us a line to learn more!