Property Management System: Architecture & Functionality

Are you an owner or manager of a business center? Then you definitely have heard about а PMS system. 

Property Management Software (PMS) - is a type of digital solution utilized in the commercial/hospitality industries aimed to handle the front- and back-office operations through system automation.

PMS provides businesses with such benefits like:

• Increasing a customer experience by making all interactions with clients smooth and convenient.
• Automation of business processes from low to high level 
• Making daily and administrative operations fast and simple

There are various ready-to-use PMS systems on the market, some of them - multifunctional highly loaded digital products. But the reality is that there is no readily available PMS able to adapt for your business model in 100%. Companies always have to conform to the requirements of the shelf systems. Sometimes they even should sacrifice such things, as integration with tools that are already in use, adaptation for specific business operations and so on.

On the other hand, such problems do not occur with the custom PMS system developed exclusively for your business. Let’s dive into the specifics of creating bespoke property management systems and must-have functionalities that should be added to your PMS. 

Learn More about Prop-Tech Development 

PMS systems: development specifics 

Choosing the right architecture

The development of a viable PMS that will be of assistance to you - is a quite sophisticated task but still possible. One of the primary roles in this process belongs to architecture planning. Your development team should build software architecture that enables you to cope with your existing struggles, as well as creating a basis for future growth. This is achieved through an evaluation of your IT infrastructure and building an architecture strategy that meets your business needs.

Functionality prioritizing

PMS systems are usually represented by massive software solutions. Developing the whole list of required functionality at a time might take extra resources. That’s why you need to prioritize the functionality list and cut the development process into smaller iterations. 

It could be easily performed through well-organized project management. In software development, we utilize the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - documents that allow you to be informed of the whole project scope and the exact features that will be delivered during the development stage.  

An example of WBS:

Commercial PMS system: must-have functionality 

Online booking system for conference rooms and halls

To optimize the space usage of a business center with meeting rooms you may want to utilize a booking feature. To make it maximally convenient, the PMS could be fitted with the booking calendars and customized dashboards so that users will be able to book a conference room in a few clicks.

An advantage of a custom PMS system is that every feature can be customized according to your specific needs. For example, an online booking functionality could be customized with the max and min bookings per user, booking blocks in order to avoid gaps in the schedule, and much more. 

Real-time visitors counting 

Another way to make a business center space work for you is by implementing a real-time visitors counting feature. Your bespoke PMS system could be fitted with the space utilization analytics dashboards to help managers make smarter decisions by leveraging data. 

Thus, companies could optimize the space in the business center they require. The PMS will monitor and improve space occupancy and use to ensure better capacity and work environment. 

However, when working with client data, don't forget to pay attention to securing clients' private information.

Air quality monitoring

Want to increase the customer experience in the business centers? Provide them with actionable air quality data. The premises of modern business centers are often equipped with air quality control sensors. You can make the most of them by integrating their data into the PMS system and providing business center visitors with it. 

Rental Payment Automation 

Rental payment automation simplifies the payment collection process for all parties involved. Renters interact with a payment portal and can typically automate their rent payments. This feature could process rent payments and deposit payments, as well as provide a communication tool to interact with renters. The rental payment feature will allow multiple payment types, from direct deposit to credit.

Automated tenant billing 

Automated tenant billing could also help you to eliminate manual data entry and weighty spreadsheets. Such settings, such as billing rates, schedules, monthly allowances, and peak demand charges for each tenant could be configured once and then generated automatically as much as required.  The PMS can include various invoice templates by providing the ability to customize the presented style and information.

Dive in the specifics of creating an excellent tenant experience app!

Custom Reporting 

Custom reporting allows you to easily manage huge data sets. This feature provides a schedule configuration of customized reports with specific dimensions and metrics for different stakeholders. Simply, set the rule for reports once and they will be automatically prepared for the planned date. 

You will no longer need to redo reports from scratch in case stakeholders’ priorities were changed. Adjusting rules takes only a few minutes in a program with an intuitively understandable interface exclusively elaborated by UI/UX design team.

Select a reliable technology partner for your property management project development who provides comprehensive, scalable solutions and industry expertise to streamline operations and enhance tenant satisfaction.