Excel or Specialized Software: What to Choose for Efficient Property Management?

Introduction
Excel is a faithful companion for many property management companies and real estate owners. It's simple, familiar, and initially seems like a universal solution. But as the business grows—with more properties and employees—spreadsheets turn into chaotic piles of data. Routine operations like payment reconciliation, invoice creation, or sending payment reminders start consuming the lion's share of time.
When can Excel still manage, and when is it time to switch to professional tools? Let's figure it out!

The Problems with Excel in Property Management
1. Lack of Change History
It's problematic to track which employee made changes to a property record and when. While Google Sheets allows viewing edit history for a spreadsheet, as the number of employees, properties, and operations grows, this becomes increasingly difficult to do.

2. Manual Labor: Endless Hours of Monotonous Work

• All notifications to tenants must be sent manually. For example: informing about the need to renew a lease or power of attorney, reminding of a payment deadline, or alerting about an overdue payment.
• Invoices are created individually for each client.
• There's no integration with banking systems or accounting software, so an employee can spend up to 60 hours a month just reconciling payments.

3. Document Chaos

• Leases, acts, and equipment warranties are stored in different places. Some are electronic files on Google Drive, others are on an employee's work computer or with the owner, and some documents only exist in paper form.
• There is no document version control system.
• High risk of losing important files. For instance, a departing employee might delete or take the client database. Or, if files are only stored on an employee's PC, it could malfunction or get lost.

4. Collaboration Issues

• It's inconvenient to provide tenants and landlords with access to information—you have to create separate spreadsheets or grant access to records for all properties.
• Limited access rights for employees. For example, allowing a manager to see only their properties, and an accountant to see only issued invoices and payment history.
• Version conflicts when multiple users work simultaneously, unless a cloud version is used.

5. Limited Analytics

• No visualization of space occupancy displayed on a map.
• Summary reports must be prepared manually.
• Lack of tools for analyzing employee performance.

Advantages of Specialized Software for Property Management Companies

1. Full Control Over Changes

• The system logs all user actions.
• A complete change history is available for each property.

2. Process Automation

• Automatic generation and distribution of invoices.
• Reminders for payments and scheduled inspections.
• Integration with payment systems and accounting software.

3. Organized Document Storage

• All files are stored in a single database.
• Document version control.
• Quick search by key parameters (e.g., "leases expiring soon").

4. Effective Collaboration

• Personal accounts for tenants, landlords, and company employees.
• Flexible access rights system.
• Ability for simultaneous work without conflicts.

5. Powerful Analytics

• Interactive property maps.
• Ready-made reports and dashboards: space occupancy, accounts receivable, property yield, overdue payments, etc.
• Forecasting rental income based on historical data.

When Can Excel Still Be Used?
Spreadsheets remain a good solution for:

• Small portfolios (10-20 properties).
• Companies without a need for automation.
• The initial stage of business development.

However, as the number of properties increases or the need for strict accounting arises, Excel's shortcomings become critical.


Alternative Solutions
Among professional tools, we can highlight:

1. Estate Logic — A comprehensive tool for commercial real estate with powerful analytics.
2. RentMaster — Convenient for small property management companies focused on automation.
3. PropertyBase — Suitable for large portfolios with international tenants. Cost from $79 per user/month.

Conclusion
Excel is a good tool for getting started, but professional property management requires specialized solutions. They provide:

• Complete control over all changes.
• Automation of routine operations.
• Secure document storage.
• Convenient analytics tools.

If your portfolio exceeds 20-30 properties or you require strict accounting of all changes, it's worth considering a switch to professional software. Modern solutions pay for themselves through time savings and reduced operational risks.