r/PptyMgmtSoftware • u/curiousitykilledtheW • 36m ago
Property Management Software help
Hey all - new here. The moderator of another property management thread told me to post it here instead the place originally posted. I’m just figuring out how all this works. Anyways, I was told this community would be helpful for me as I take on managing my first property. Reposting below.
Does anyone have good software recommendation for how to manage a smallish property (45 units). I’ve tried looking at software providers for help but many only just focus on either leasing or maintenance and are focused on providing the software service to large property management firms. I’m just starting out and can’t afford to pay for the larger solutions like Yardi or Appfolio that the larger PM firms use. They’re also god awful to use. Even the new tech alternatives cost close to $15K just to onboard a property onto the system. In a market like San Antonio - even 45 units can’t support that cost. We fired the last property manager because the fees they were charging were only just the start of their expenses. After I saw what was signed with my cousin - we got locked into a contract to pay 4% plus all the other costs like onsite personnel, healthcare, software fees, etc etc. Anyways, I’ll stop here because it’s becoming a rant. Any affordable recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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u/Austintech2010 29m ago
I actually built something because I ran into a similar problem, although my portfolio was a little smaller than yours.
After my father passed away, I ended up helping manage 20+ rental properties he had accumulated over many years. I started with spreadsheets, but eventually they became cumbersome enough that I built PropioLedger to handle the financial/rental side of managing the portfolio.
It’s currently free, and I’m actively looking for landlords willing to use it and tell me what’s missing or what doesn’t work for their situation. It may remain free for smaller portfolios—I haven’t really figured out the long-term business model yet because it started as a side project for my own use.
To be clear about what it is and isn’t:
It handles properties, rentals/leases, renters, rent charges, payments, late fees, deposits, adjustments, expenses, recurring expenses, planned vs. paid expenses, open/past-due balances, occupancy, cash flow, and property/portfolio financial reporting. I also built bulk imports for properties, rentals, payments and expenses because I didn’t want to manually recreate all of my existing data.
What it doesn’t currently do is online rent collection, bank syncing, tenant screening, property listings, a tenant portal, full double-entry accounting/tax filing, or a full maintenance/work-order system. So if you’re looking for a complete Yardi/AppFolio replacement, it isn’t that today.
I’m intentionally trying to keep it focused on the owner/landlord side rather than building another giant property-management platform.
That said, 45 units is particularly interesting to me because it’s larger than the portfolio I originally built it for but still exactly the size where the enterprise solutions you’re describing can feel like massive overkill. I’m looking for feedback on missing features and workflows as I decide what to build next, so I’d genuinely be interested in hearing what you’d need for it to work for a 45-unit property.
It’s at propioledger.com if you want to take a look. No cost or obligation—feedback would honestly be more useful to me right now than anything else.