Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for property rental agencies.
A checklist built from how property rental agencies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Listings, viewings and applications
- Tenancy agreements and deposits
- Rent ledger and receipts
- Maintenance requests and contractors
- Landlord statements and payouts
- Inspections and move-out
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the agency principal
- For lettings negotiators
- For property managers
- For the accounts desk
- For landlords
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Rent demanded, collected and in arrears by unit, tenant and month
- Owner statement showing fee, repairs and payout
- Empty units and days vacant
- Tenancies ending this quarter, with rent review date and notice period
- Open repair jobs by contractor and age
- Deposits held per tenancy, with proposed deductions beside the move-in photos
- Letting fees and negotiator commission
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Online rent payments
- Bank statement import
- Accounting export
- Listing portals
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is this for sales or for lettings?
- Can one tenant pay rent in parts?
- How are landlord payouts worked out?
- Can tenants report a repair by message?
- Does it keep inspection photos?
- Will it remind us about renewals?
- How do we move our current portfolio in?
- Who owns the portfolio data?
- What does it cost?
- Does a small agency need this?
- How long before lettings staff run a tenancy on it?
- What does the agency need to have to hand?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Rent due dates are chased from a sheet
- Landlord statements take a day to build
- Repair requests have no owner
- Deposits are disputed at move-out
- Renewals are missed
Prefer to talk it through? See the property rental agencies page.