Keep leases, rent, maintenance requests and move-outs on one record per apartment.

An apartment community is a small town under one owner. Leasing agents, a manager, maintenance crews, cleaners, a concierge and a front office all deal with the same hundred or two hundred homes. Each has a resident, a lease, a rent account and a history of repairs that runs back years. Keys too.

Most of that history is kept in a lease binder, a rent roll spreadsheet and a maintenance book that stays in the office. Every question about one apartment means opening three. Software puts one record behind each apartment. A renewal date, an unpaid balance and an open repair appear together.

Leasing begins with an enquiry by phone, web form or walk-in. The agent shows an available apartment, takes an application, checks references and any cosigner, and sends a lease for signature. The deposit is recorded and keys, fobs and a buzzer code are issued. A move-in inspection notes the condition of walls, carpet, oven, dishwasher and fittings, usually on paper with photographs kept on a phone.

Rent falls due on a set day. The office records payments by transfer, card or cheque, chases late balances and applies fees under the lease, with proration for part months. Residents report a dripping faucet, a dead thermostat or a mildew patch at the office, by message or on a form. The maintenance supervisor hands each one to a technician, and the dumpster area, intercom, lifts, parking and the pool need routines of their own.

Months before a lease ends, the manager decides whether to offer a renewal and at what rent, usually after walking the unit and checking the resident’s payment record. Holdover and month-to-month tenants are listed apart. At move-out, the unit is inspected and the deposit reconciled. Then cleaning. Then paint, then make-ready.