Are you adapting with new technology or falling behind the competition? Successful real estate investment management firms are capitalizing on the opportunity to integrate technology into their business. With the right real estate software in place, commercial real estate investment managers are in a better position for growth and agility.
Why Use Investment Management Software?
Companies in most industries today need technology in order to thrive.
Today’s investors need the ability to track their real estate investments at will. New generations of investors have grown up with on-demand technology, such as banking, payments, data collection, and more. They’re looking for a personalized experience that gives them 24/7 access and real-time visibility to their portfolio, documents, and communications.
For real estate asset management firms, investment details can mean the difference between high margins and loss. Investment management software helps provide a comprehensive view of properties, improve data analysis, and reduce human errors. An investment manager with the right technology can increase credibility and build stronger relationships with investors.
With modern investment management software, you can run your entire portfolio on one platform with a user-friendly interface. A solid investment management software should offer many benefits, including:
- Streamlined workflow with automation
- Deeper insights and key data
- Easy access to a self-serve portal
- Increased accuracy and security
- Flexibility to scale with your business
One of the biggest barriers for real estate investors integrating new software is the shopping process. Business leaders and owners are afraid the process of choosing the right software is too time-consuming and nuanced. However, the lost opportunities and expenses from inefficiencies are too high a price to pay. It’s time to choose the right investment management software for your business.
Choosing the Right Investment Management Software for Your Commercial Real Estate
While the process of finding the right software might feel daunting, it’s important to get started. Large firm real estate investment management businesses should want to begin the software evaluation process and select the right technology partner to help them.
At the end of the process, you should be rewarded with a tool that helps you streamline your workflow and offer clarity for your clients.
Here are some crucial steps you should take when choosing a platform for your firm.
Ask the Right Questions
You need to ask the right questions to find the right software for your firm. For example, how the company supports its customers or handles negative feedback will play into the kind of platform capabilities you need. If you want help asking the right questions, download our CRE Software Buying Guide.
You also should know quite a bit about the company selling the software, making sure their values align with yours. You want to make sure your partner is going to continue to innovate and focus on things that are priorities for your company.
Look at the Benefits and Features
There are many features to consider when selecting investment management software. But some features are better than others.
Here are a few of the key factors that might help set one software above the competitors.
- Advanced performance insights
- Robust corporate accounting
- Real-time reporting and auditing center
- Smart bill entry
- Convenient online maintenance requests
- Fast online payment capabilities
- Supported integrations
- AI-driven capabilities
- Awesome customer support
- Regular updates and improvements
While standard features are important, you also want software that will easily mirror your unique processes. You should have the power to customize the workflows to better support your team, clients, and existing processes.
Find Speed and Accuracy
A new tool is only valuable if it actually saves your company time. A great platform will be fast and accurate for improved reporting and insights. If your software is slow, you will waste time waiting for information to load or update. If a platform isn’t designed for smart use, you could be looking at a lot of wasted manual effort with basic data entry and formatting tasks that could be avoided.
You want software with streamlined capabilities to help offer a faster and more convenient experience to the users.
Choose a Trusted Partner
The software you choose should be from a company with a solid track record for support and platform development. A company that is well-established in the industry will help ensure your clients are in good hands.
Case studies and client testimonials can help you see how the product was able to perform in real life. You should be able to evaluate the specific benefits customers experience while using the product. And you should make sure the software is designed for the commercial real estate industry.
Get a Consultation
When you find a company that seems like a good fit, it’s time to schedule a consultation. A free consultation might be designed to sell you on the product, but you will learn a lot about the team and their process during the call. A consultation will also help you decide if the software is going to offer a beneficial return on your investment.
AppFolio Investment Manager is a cloud-based technology designed for real estate investment firms to better manage their investor relationships by increasing transparency and accessibility with investors while streamlining fundraising and reporting. Modern and intuitive, AppFolio Investment Manager gives you and your team modern tools for business continuity in any environment.
Learn how you can provide a personalized experience for your investors with self-service and online access that keeps them informed about their investments and performance.
A complimentary ROI consultation with one of our product experts will help you evaluate the major costs incurred in your business and calculate the potential savings you can gain through technology adoption. For your free demo, get started here.
You can also download the eBook with more information about how to choose the right partner for your commercial real estate investment management firm.
