Salesforce for Property Management: Top 5 CRM Software Comparison

According to GrandViewResearch, the worldwide property management software market will hit $14 million by 2028. It means that more and more companies are going to invest in residential and commercial real estate technology and  CRM consulting. In our blog post you’ll learn:

• Why companies choose Salesforce for property management,
• Advantages and disadvantages of three approaches to tailoring Salesforce for property management,
• Top 5 Salesforce property management solutions.

What Features the Best CRM for Property Management Should Have

Besides that, Property Management Industry Report by Buildium mentions the most popular features real estate management software users look for:

• Online rental listings (77%),
• Rental applications (63%),
• Lease signing (52%),
• Virtual showings, 3D video tours (25%),
• Self-service showings (15%).

How Property Managers Use CRM

Most property rent managers also look for other features in the CRM software for property management:

• Enhanced visibility of property portfolios and unit cataloging,
• Extended lease tracking,
• Top-tier system security and data protection,
• Automated lease management with renewals and reminders,
• Automated inquiry data capture into CRM from platforms like LoopNet/CREXi
• Integration with daily sales platforms and data systems,
• Automated payment reminders for clients and tenants,
• Real-time business analytics on customizable dashboards,
• Easy property/unit search functionality,
• Centralized tracking for new and renewal leases,
• Integration with e-signature and document apps,
• Integration with tools for mass emailing like Mailchimp
• Advanced data encryption and recovery,
• Streamlined fundraising and property acquisition,
• In-built analytics for precise reporting and forecasting.

Why Property and Facility Managers Love Salesforce

Using the cloud-based real estate property management software, managers can streamline interactions with tenants, foster these connections, and monitor vital details in residential and commercial sectors.

Benefits of Salesforce for Property Management | Ascendix

Salesforce property management doesn’t offer a CRM suite for real estate management needs, but it can be a robust technology foundation for property managers thanks to its core functionality that helps:

• Access real-time reports and dashboards,
• Centralize database for accounts, properties, tenants, and listings,
• Organize leads, opportunities, and contacts,
• Simplify document sharing,
• Boost communication tools,
• Receive reminders for events, emails, and calls,
• Sync calendar, tasks, and emails with property management CRM,
• Connect digital ads with client-management functionality,
• Centralize contract and unit data management,
• Track client communications and rent admin activities,
• Sync email tracking and activity management,
• Automate approvals and workflows.

Salesforce’s infinite flexibility allows building genuinely unique real estate management software that can reflect every tiny specific of your business, scale along with your growing needs and seamlessly integrate with over 4,500 other apps for document management, email marketing, and sales enablement available on AppExchange.

This cloud-based property management software also attracts customers thanks to its enhanced platform security with regular updates and streamlined lead management and nurturing.

With additional customization of Salesforce CRM for property management, or by purchasing the property management application using Salesforce, professionals can:

• Manage lease and sale inquiries,
• Simplify lease and renewal management in Salesforce real estate,
• Send automated tenant notifications,
• Effectively manage maintenance tasks,
• Organize inventory by unit, floor, or building,
• Integrate the website with a customer portal for client requests,
• Simplify data import/export,
• Easily create invoices and customize installment plans,
• Automate payment and tenant notifications,
• Categorize properties by size,
• Generate detailed reporting & analytics on property status, market trends, and more,
• Simplify rent collection within Salesforce property management CRM,
• Generate documents like offers and reservation forms,
• Automate follow-ups for referral conversions,
• Streamline tenant onboarding and administrative info creation,
• Use SMS, emails, and social messaging for lead conversion and customer relationship nurturing.

3 Approaches to Adjusting Salesforce for Property Management

Salesforce property management CRM helps real estate managers monitor key details about financial and residential properties, including cash flow, main tenants, and occupancy rates.

However, Salesforce doesn’t offer ready-made commercial or residential property management software. Instead, you can:

• Modify core Salesforce Clouds,
• Build a custom app using the Force.com platform,
• Purchase a pre-set solution from Salesforce partners.

Each option has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s begin by discussing customization.

How to Adjust Salesforce for Property Management Needs | Ascendix

Customization of Salesforce for Property Management Needs

A main benefit of Salesforce is its vast network of CRM customization experts. AppExchange lists over 1,700 certified consultants, and there are thousands of freelancers globally.

You can find out more about each option in our post: Salesforce Implementation Guide from A to Z.

Salesforce Customization Pros

• Ability to tailor Salesforce for property management style of your business, rather than changing your processes to fit the new property lease management system, leading to higher user adoption rates.
• Easy integration of all real estate management systems with Salesforce without the risk of disrupting the pre-built features.
• Almost infinite scalability of the solution exactly when you need it.
• Ability to make the system interface as user-friendly as possible to simplify the transfer to a new system. Especially, if you migrate from another CRM system that your users have got accustomed to.
• Possibility to get your Salesforce rental management system issues resolved faster and get in-time support from your Salesforce consultant and developer.

Salesforce Customization Cons

• Lack of specialists that have a deep understanding of property management business and its priorities.
• Higher price if you look not only for technical skills but for industry expertise, especially in specific niches like property management.
• Need for continuous platform improvement and maintenance with each Salesforce release to ensure that all custom features work as it has been planned.
• Creation of custom user training material and workshops.
• Documentation of every important product customization milestone.

Development of a Custom Property Management App on Top of Salesforce

If you have a groundbreaking idea for a Salesforce real estate management platform or a commercial property management software that complements and integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, this is the ideal choice for you.

Pros of  Custom Development

• An opportunity to create a unique Salesforce facility management or property management software not only for internal use but to successfully sell it to other companies.
• A chance to elevate the business to a new, more digitalized level and dominate the real estate market.
• A possibility to create a true one-stop-shop solution and unify multiple business directions within a user-friendly interface.
• A shorter custom development cycle thanks to using Salesforce click-not-code tools.
• Improved user experience thanks to designing the most intuitive system powered by Salesforce platform benefits.

Cons of Custom Development

• The necessity to have a dedicated team that will develop, maintain, and improve the system release by release.
• Need for continuous improvement to meet Salesforce’s security requirements and prove market fitness.
• Substantial time and money investment.

As a Crest Salesforce consulting partner, Ascendix can enhance the benefits and reduce the downsides of the mentioned options. We’ve been in the CRE Tech industry for over 15 years, offering both consulting and custom software development services.

For this time, we have successfully implemented and customized Salesforce for various real estate verticals.

We prioritize delivering high-quality services to global clients, emphasizing client satisfaction over profits. Our team is dedicated to offering customer-focused services and CRM products.

Additionally, as a certified AppExchange development partner, we’ve developed 17 software products, including our standout commercial real estate tools: AscendixRE, Ascendix Search, Composer, and Marketspace.

AscendixRE CRM is a cutting-edge solution that combines Salesforce robustness with features designed for commercial real estate companies, agents, investors, and property managers.

Ascendix Search is an app with advanced geo-mapping and property search features.

Composer is an application for a fast and creative generation of branded CRE flyers, tour books, and brochures.

Marketspace is an innovative portal for the secure collaboration of brokers, clients, and partners.

With our experience, we know how to develop the best property management apps, craft effective marketing strategies, pass AppExchange security reviews, and continuously update property management software to satisfy client needs.

Salesforce Property Management Apps on AppExchange

There is no shortage of pre-built CRM software for any real estate domain on the market. But not all of them are created equal. Especially if you search for the one that will reflect your business operations. But all of them have several things in common:

Pros of Buying a Pre-Built CRM System

• A possibility to know the exact pricing without surprises and unexpected payments.
• You don’t have to reinvent the wheel and think about the realization of the features and their relationships. You can start leveraging out-of-the-box functionality right from the start.
• Saved time and money on adjusting and building your system.
• All system maintenance and support activities are performed by the vendor.
• An opportunity to leverage video tutorials, troubleshooting material, or FAQs created by real experts and get help as soon as you need it.

Cons of Buying a Pre-Built CRM System

• The lengthy process to find the best solution.
• High reliance on customer support for assistance.
• Can’t use third-party consultants for bug fixes; must wait for support resolution.
• Key features might be in pricier plans, costing more for essential functions.
• For new system features, must wait for approval and release.

5 Best Property Management Software Comparison: Top CRM Overview

Best Property Management CRM on Top of Salesforce

1. AscendixRE CRM

AscendixRE CRM provides essential customer relationship management tools, including:

• Lead, deal, and contact management,
• Email marketing,
• Automated follow-ups,
• Listing/document management,
• Business reporting.

It helps to manage your workflow through a mess of ineffective spreadsheets, paperwork, and record-keeping. It enables automation of your processes to ensure your business can maximize all rental owner leads from beginning to end.

The navigation in a property management CRM is intuitive and clear. You can quickly switch from reporting spreadsheets to stacking plans, sync/import/export relevant data in a few clicks.

As real estate becomes more tech-oriented, Ascendix supports property professionals in adapting to digital changes. With our main software, AscendixRE CRM, we assist your firm in focusing on customers and maximizing the Salesforce platform’s advantages.

Also, we’ll help you with adjusting your Salesforce platform property management needs.

As your CRM partner, we’ll customize Salesforce products to streamline your commercial space leasing and management tasks.

We’ll modify your Salesforce CRM to support real estate management cycles as well as coordinate the participants of these complex projects. Our team can create the best building management software using Salesforce tools or create a specialized real estate app on this leading platform.

Ascendix has deep experience in both Salesforce CRM consulting and the real estate industry. For 21 years, we’ve helped commercial and residential REITs and real estate firms simplify their property and lease management processes.

AscendixRE Key Features:

• Contact and Lead management,
• Prospecting tools & listings management,
• Bulk emailing & campaign management,
• Dashboards & reporting,
• Mass records update & editing,
• Data deduplication & management,
• Custom fields,
• Customizable property listing portal & property alerts,
• Automated workflows/processes,
• Map search,
• Third-party integrations,
• Enhanced drip campaigns,
• Branded report & flyer generation tool integration,
• Secure virtual collaboration & deal rooms,
• Broker commission tracking.

Watch how AscendixRE CRM helps with lease management and tracking in the video:

AscendixRE CRM Pros:

• The customizability of CRM for property management.
• The extensive skillset of the Ascendix team and years of experience.
• Good post-launch CRM support.

AscendixRE CRM Cons:

• AscendixRE CRM is a perfect fit for commercial real estate management but needs additional customization for residential real estate management needs.
• It takes a lot of time to learn.
• It can be not very easy to use.

2. BReal Estate

BREal Real Asset Management CRM

BReal is one of the top property management software that offers property managers a versatile solution for sales, lease, and condominium management. It is built for estate agents, shopping malls, investors, and tenant companies.

BReal Estate Key Features:

• Property sales, lease, and owner management,
• Automated property capturing and listing,
• Rent collection and service charge control,
• Notifications and work orders automation,
• Property search feature,
• Payment and legal document management,
• Tracking of objections, land registries, and commissions,
• Lease management for property owners,
• Price readjustment for inflation,
• Streamlined property tour organization,
• Tenant portal and GoPlaceIt portal integration,
• Automated contract generation and E-signature,
• Repair documentation and tracking,
• Broker commission tracking,
• Control of sales and leasing commission payments.

3. Agent Hub Property CRM & MLS

AgentHub Property Administration CRM

Agent Hub Property CRM is a UK-based property management CRM software built on Salesforce, featuring integrated multiple property listing (MLS) capabilities.

Agent Hub Property Key Features:

• Contacts, properties/projects, sales pipeline, communications, and to-do lists management,
• Marketing campaigns management,
• Task & event management,
• Built-in MLS,
• Residential and commercial letting/leasing, unit and block management,
• Rental payments, rental renewals, work orders, offers, deals agreed, viewings, or finance deals management,
• Centralized company communication,
• Integration of calls, emails, and WhatsApp or SMS messages.

4. Rethink CRM

Rethink Real Estate Administration CRM

Rethink CRM (Now a part of the Bildout product family) is another best property management system, for investors, commercial brokerages, and independent agents. It helps them buy, sell, lease, and manage properties.

Rethink CRM Key Features Include:

• Management of properties, contacts, prospects, companies, comps, tasks, and activities,
• Email campaigns,
• Automated workflows and reporting,
• Search for properties, comps, and spaces,
• Integrated map feature,
• Create marketing materials and agreements,
• Customizability,
• Tracking of deal progress,
• Stacking plans.

Rethink CRM Pros:

• This one of the best commercial property management software allows the transparency of data.
• Rethink CRM gives the ability to maintain private records of deals, listings, and contact notes.
• It provides better visibility into the deal pipeline and reporting across any number of objects.

Rethink CRM Cons:

• It requires so much third-party work
• Rethink CRM doesn’t have a user-friendly interface.
• CRM doesn’t really seem to be fully supported by the company
• This one of the top property management systems requires great learning and adoption curve.

5. PropertyBase CRM

Propertybase CRM Property Rent Management CRM

Propertybase is another property management platform designed for companies that want to connect with more clients and help agents close deals faster.

PropertyBase CRM Key Features:

• IDX and MLS-integrated websites
• Lead generation, capturing, and nurturing
• Drip campaigns
• Reports & dashboards
• Transaction management
• Integrated forms and E-signatures.

PropertyBase CRM Pros:

• PropertyBase’s support goes above and beyond just “fixing issues” and educates users in the process.
• The property management CRM system is highly customizable
• It has a huge amount of storage for everything from contact data to photos and documents.

PropertyBase CRM Cons:

• PropertyBase’s customer service can be not supportive 
• The integration of the properties function may not work
• The property management CRM can be glitchy, with new tools being added, but many existing ones don’t function properly.
• The workflow and sales pipeline can be cumbersome when working through a deal.

Ultimately, the best CRM for property management depends on specific business needs. While choosing from existing options of CRM for property management, pay attention to such features for managing rental properties as rent payment, lease tracking, accounting integration, reporting capabilities, scalability, customization and integration options. Salesforce is a worthwhile CRM for property management due to its highly customizable nature, extensive feature set, and great integration capabilities.

Why Salesforce Property Management Consulting

Salesforce offers a wide range of benefits that can seem overwhelming but are incredibly useful for property managers. Its adaptability lets each property management company use it differently.

But even if you don’t want to spend time tuning the standard functionality of Salesforce, you can leverage its advantages with pre-configured Salesforce solutions for property management.

Once you are ready to welcome Salesforce CRM as a leading property management tool into your real estate agency and simplify the process of its implementation, then our Salesforce consulting services will be the best fit for you. We’ll help you:

• Automate day-to-day tasks related to tenant communication, maintenance requests, and rent collection tracking within your Salesforce solution
• Integrate multiple property management tools like tenant portals for smoother operations and data flow between systems and Salesforce CRM.
• Customize your Salesforce solution to cater to your unique needs.
• Expand your clientele to Salesforce users by building property management applications using the Salesforce platform and listing it on the AppExchange app store.
• Set up custom analytics and reporting helping property managers make informed decisions.
• Build a custom tenant portal powered by Salesforce and much more.

Book a free CRM call and share your project challenges with us.