Where To Begin Choosing Software

[Dorraine S.]

I've worked as a court reporter, but work is very slow in my neck of the woods, so I've accepted a property management position with a small real estate company. We currently manage the owner/agents property only, as I am not certified in property management, which is a whole 'nother set of questions I hope to have for you in the future. Presently, we manage 80 homes.

We plan to open our doors to managing property for others, perhaps in a year or two. In preparation for expansion, we need to consider new software. We are currently using QuickBooks. I have only been working for this company for one month, and I can already tell that QuickBooks does not suit our needs.

I've Googled "property management software" till I'm blue in the face. I know the frustrations I deal with in using QuickBooks for property management, but I have no clue what features are available in true property management software, nor do I have any idea of the price ranges. I did learn, though, that there is "online" software. I didn't realize that existed. As you can see, I have a very, very long way to go.

I have taken a glance at the "Online Property Management Software" link that Joshua provided in another post, but I've not looked at them thoroughly yet, as I'm not sure what I should keep an eye out for.

I do not want to buy software to only discover at a later time that I should have purchased more extensive software. My question is: Can anyone provide me with tips for software hunting, such as what to avoid, what to seek out, which features are vital, etc.? And I apologize in advance for my dumb questions. As you can tell, I have a long way to go. :lol:

[Joshua Dorkin]

Dorraine - Be wary of ANY reviews from websites that derive affiliate income from talking about different software/websites that they are reviewing. It appears that the one you mention above does this -- in checking 2 of the reviews, I noted that I was redirected through an income-producing affiliate link.

Just something to consider.....