Topic: Management Software

Hello everybody,

I work for a fairly large property management company. We about 4000 units, mostly rental, and Co-Ops in NYC, with a few condos. We rolled over to Yardi from BJ Murray in the beginning of last year. We are currently on Voyager 7S, and we are having a horrible experience: poor customer service, very stupidly designed layouts and processes, and inflexibility. Their Co-Op products lag far behind the residential, and we've recently been experiencing server outages on their end. We're ready to cut our losses and find something else.

Any suggestions are welcome, especially from those with NYC experience.

You might want to take a look at PropertyBoss. It's pretty extensive and covers the needs of the different property management realms.

www.propertyboss.com/

I recently started working at PropertyBoss (Not in sales, so I get no commission), & I'm impressed with the capabilities of the software. Keep in mind, the capabilities, the more there is to learn. But, the payoff is that it'll grow with you into the future.

They have customers all over the world (even in NYC).

If you like, I can arrange for a solutions consultant to talk with you about the software's capabilities.

Kostas
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Zory, would you like only testimonials from others using property management software, or are you open to the property management software companies themselves chiming in? We generally restrict the latter unless the original person says its ok for companies to talk about their own product, but with your post, I wasn't really sure...

I'm also interested in hearing people's input. We are currently debating between Appfolio, Yardi Voyager (may be too expensive), or waiting for Yardi Genesis 2. There is a webinar March 3rd, if anyone is interested in learning more about Genesis 2. We have met with both Appfolio and Yardi, and though Yardi quotes at a much higher price, they have offered us a highly discounted price. We have been on a super old version of Yardi for years, and most of the people we hire/work with were using it before they came here. We have 3 partners in our company, one of whom was really sold on Appfolio. The other 2 are convinced that switching from a program we know, and that the majority of the property management personnel we hire are trained on, would be a huge mistake. I would be really interested to hear new user feedback from either of these companies, as the other feedback I found on this site was dated 2-3 years ago.

Quick note, Michael, about older posts. Some of the conversations we have on Multifamily Insiders started several years ago, but if you skip to the later posts in the thread, you will find more up-to-date posts on the topic. For example, this post was started 2+ years ago, but has comments from just a few months ago: www.multifamilyinsiders.com/apartment-id...vs-yardi-vs-realpage

I would highly recommend just checking out one of the newest property management software companies out there - ResMan. Many property management companies have moved to ResMan from some of the biggest software companies in the business due to many reasons, but mainly cost and ease of use. I would direct you to check out their website and watch the videos they have available there. They are a newer company but definitely growing and always enhancing the software based on user feedback. www.resmancloud.com

I wouldn't mind hearing from either. Obviously I would rather have actual users from NY chime in as their views are more relevant and objective. Still sticking with Yardi for now, but we are looking at MDS right now, as they are based in NY and provide something akin to what we're looking for.
Thank you

We just converted to Yardi Voyager and it is painful - but I'm sure it would be true no matter what system we switched to. Prior to Yardi we had our internal team build a system in Access that catered to our various programs (and 82 floor plans!). Our issue now is figuring out ways to sidestep roadblocks in the system.

Of the major PM software packages I have used (Yardi, OneSite, and Appfolio); I really like Appfolio as it does so much and gives users a lot of help. Check their website.

I have not used Appfolio, but they are one of the companies we are looking at. I've spoken with numerous people regarding both Appfolio, and Yardi. The one thing that every person mentions about Appfolio, is that the accounting side of the program is extremely weak. So I think the choice really depends on the size of your company, and the usage you want to get out of your program. For us, accounting is extremely important, and it's the biggest thing holding us back from going with Appfolio. Yardi has really been trying to cater to medium/large companies. They feel like that is their bread and butter. So many of the additional functions they provide, may not be useful to smaller sized companies.

I don't find Appfolio weak at all; in fact, I find it the MOST easy to use and functional in terms of the following:

Marketing: it can create posts to craigslist and dozens of other sites for you with a single click.
Traffic: it can track all pieces of traffic and follow ups.
Applicant screening: it can include that without having to enter the information elsewhere.
Resident relationship: It can track move ins/move outs, work requests, you have the ability to upload a scanned copy of the signed lease and pictures documenting the unit condition at move in, you can track lease renewals by month, you can document any conversation that you may have with a resident when you have it.
Accounts receivable: you can track resident payments, accept online and cash payments (through external fee based sources), create monthly reports showing what resident ledgers are not in balance (either your favor or theirs), create move out charges.
Accounts payable: You can initiate payments to vendors.
Resident communcations: you can generate any kind of notice you need for all residents, or specific residents and document when notification was made.

If you get stuck and need help, you can find a number of step by step videos as well as online help on demand.

At $1/month/door, it is very reasonable to have; plus since it is web based, any stake holder can be given access to day to day activity from anywhere, on most any device (I do not think they support WindowsPhone at this time and that is all that is left, there are Android and Iphone/Ipad apps available. Go try their demo.

I'm not knocking Appfolio, it's a great choice for many companies. We have narrowed it down to them and Yardi, so we definitely have respect for them. It's great for tenant related functionality. But comparatively with Yardi, it is lacking on the accounting side. I agree, at $1 a unit, it's a great deal. The three principals of our company have been in property management for over 25 years. One is for Appfolio, the other two are for Yardi right now. The majority of the industry is familiar with Yardi, & has been trained at some point on Yardi, which is also something to consider.

Today we met with an IT consulting firm to discuss our transfer to several new pieces of software, including the logistics of moving to a new property management software. The owner worked in property management before starting his IT firm, so he's very familiar with what we need. He gave us an unbiased opinion regarding Appfolio and Yardi and said that he has clients who use both, and both seem to be happy. But he mentioned the same concern that we keep hearing regarding the accounting side of Appfolio.

At $1 a unit, you are right, Appfolio provides some very useful tools. Had Yardi not offered us an extremely discounted rate, we would not be considering it. But since it's been offered, it's made it much more attractive.

I am not knocking Yardi either, okay, maybe I am a little.... Yardi doesn't do NEAR as much as Appfolio; or have near as much available help, and I have seen the Yardi Manual... can be very daunting for a new team member with no prior experience AND what Yardi does, it does in such a convoluted way it's maddening.

Hi Everyone,
Feel free to visit our website and contact us if you would like more information on our system and everything we offer. We have a lot of properties that do business with us that don't necessarily use one company for all of their management software needs and perhaps that is something that will be more beneficial to some of you. We can integrate with almost anyone (Yardi, Realpage, etc.) Thanks and I hope you find management software to fit your needs.

www.apartments247.com

How do Appfolio translate into the specific NY market. NY is a pretty unique market when it comes to rent stabilization and regulation. How well does it handle Co-Op functionality, accounting, communication, and presentation? One of the main complaints we have about Yardi is that the Co-Op functionality significantly lags behind their regular residential functionality.

I would like to also know how Appfolio handles affordable housing (either in HUD Project Based Section 8, Section 42 Tax Credit, or any of the other affordable programs). There are specific requirements for each that must be met for the government.

Hi Zory.

Thanks for giving we suppliers an opportunity to opine. My name is Dave Bateman, and I'm the CEO of Property Solutions. Our Platform as a Service (PaaS), called Entrata, is the fastest growing software product in the apartment industry. We have over 3 million apartments using the platform, host nearly 30,000 apartment community websites, and process more than $1 billion per month in rent transactions. We are the most comprehensive management software platform available in the industry, and every component was developed by us, and resides behind a single log in.

The reason you've had challenges finding a solution is because the type of system you need, frankly, hasn't been available in the industry. 4,000 unit companies are too small to run Voyager, and too big to run an Appfolio product (or Genesis). Voyager is highly complex to configure, implement, and support. It's built on an architecture designed in the 1980's, before the Internet existed, and is consequently not optimized for the web. You can only run it in IE, loaded up with active x controls. You need a whole team of internal project managers to implement, and maintain the Voyager product. Yardi people are smart & capable, but run in circles trying to figure out how to implement medium-size companies with smaller IT-services budgets.

Appfolio is a cool company. I like their product for a 250-unit porfolio. While I'm sure that Appfolio will disagree with me, the Appfolio solution addresses the needs of much smaller companies (far less than 2,000 units). I'm sure they have a few larger clients, but their platform just isn't robust enough to scale for a company your size--especially as you grow. I'd be happy to them debate the Appfolio CEO on a publicly hosted webinar if they want to challenge my position on this. I extend the same invitation to Mr. Anant Yardi.

Entrata was built from the ground up as a single solution, behind a single log in. Even though we're still in beta, we have several of the 50 largest operators in the country either partially or completely rolled out on the solution already. Our system is openly available for third parties to integrate with; we don't hold your data hostage. The whole suite is priced less than either Yardi or Real Page (top tier solution providers), and our accounting software component is actually free (besides a small set up fee). It's browser agnostic, device agnostic, is easy to implement and support.

I'll personally demo the Entrata solution to you if you'd agree to come back and post your impression of our system (either good or bad). If not, I genuinely wish you the best of luck with your search.

Warm Regards, Dave

Thank you David for your reply. Can you please just elaborate on the specifics as they pertain to what I am asking. How do you handle Co-Ops and New York specific Co-Op subleases, Rent stabilized and rent controlled tenants and buildings.

Zory, Entrata is the newest property management software product out there. We're very close to completing our beta process, and will soon make the software generally available.

We've partnered with great firms to customize the product for both student housing & conventional markets. We are currently working on commercial and affordable housing customization. We're looking for a development partner to help us customize the product for the rent-stabilization areas, and would love to collaborate with you. We have 20 full-time engineers available that we can allocate to this project, and don't expect the customization to take more than 2-3 months (if you can wait that long).

We're bullish about Entrata PaaS being the future of property management software, and would love to have your input and collaboration in the initiative. Check out our video page, to see why we're building Entrata PaaS, www.propertysolutions.com/videos. You can reach me personally at dave at propertysolutions.com.

Best, Dave

Stay away from yardi Genesis2. We just converted over in the beginning of January from and old professional version of Yardi. Sadly we are leaving G2 after 2 months of utter frustration. We have selected Appfolio as our new software program.

Yardi G2 is a newer product and quirks are NOT all worked out. Implementation person often times didn't have answers and then took forever to get back with us and some things have NEVER been resolved.

We're currently on Yardi Genesis and looking to change either to Yardi Genesis2 or appfolio. Can anyone shed any light on either one that they've had experiences with? How did the conversion go to either one? What do they love/hate?

I've used Yardi Genesis, Appfolio and RentManager recently.... RealPage a few years ago. Yardi and RealPage have everything, but aren't as user friendly. And they are certainly far more expensive. Appfolio is a much more affordable solution, but isn't as robust on the accounting side. Take a look at RentManager. Also very affordable, but the accounting functionality is better than Appfolio. Both are a little lacking on the maintenance side, as well, but definitely workable.

Hi KLev,

My name is Kari and I am the Digital Marketing Coordinator with Rent Manager Property Management Software.

Rent Manager is a completely integrated property management, accounting, contact manager, and facility maintenance software suite. You get the sophistication your back office personnel require and the simplicity your managers need to be more productive and efficient.

One thing we like to point out is how customizable our software is to fit your needs. We're more than willing to help you get the most out of your property management software and tailor it to your business.

We would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have regarding Rent Manager or property management software in general. Contact us at any time at 800-669-0871, via email at salesinfo @ rentmanager.com, or schedule a free demo here .

Thank you Amanda for mentioning us!

-Kari

we too switched to Yardi but the genesis 2 platform....same as the voyager but for less units.....we formerly had bj murray......yardi lasted 8 months.....we have since switched back to bj murray and have never been happier since we can now transfer all files to pdf or excel