6 Best Property Management CRM Software
This article is part of a larger series on CRM.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software for property managers lets users easily manage projects around their premises and keep track of information about their residents. Additionally, a robust property management CRM helps property managers communicate with their tenants and property owners individually as well as with mass messaging. We evaluated dozens of CRM products ideal for property managers and identified the top six options:
- Freshsales: Best overall property management CRM—great for managers who want a built-in phone system
- Zoho CRM: Excellent CRM system for multichannel communication with tenants or residents
- Really Simple Systems: Easiest-to-use CRM for property managers
- Pipedrive: Solid pick for sales-centric teams wanting great lease and document management
- Insightly: Good choice for rental property managers that create a lot of newsletters
- Bitrix24: Best CRM system for businesses needing to manage large maintenance projects or multiproperty events
Provider | Free Plan | Starting Price for Paid Plans* | Free Trial for Paid Plans | Key CRM Features for Property Management | Customer Support |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes, for up to 3 users | $15 per user, per month | 21 days | Built-in telephone, custom modules, and mass email | 24/5 phone, live chat, and email support | |
Yes, up to 3 users | $14 per user, per month | 15 days | Robust communication and customer support tools | Support via email (24/7), phone, and live chat (24/5) | |
Yes, up to 2 users | $14 per user, per month | 14 days | System customization and contact management tools | Email, chat, and phone support during business hours | |
No free plan | $14.90 per user, per month | 14 days | SmartDocs, e-signature, and pipeline management | 24/7 live chat and email support | |
Yes, up to 2 users | $29 per user, per month | 14 days | Project management and email designer tools | Email and phone support from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Time | |
Yes, unlimited users | $39, includes 5 user seats | 30 days | Project and task management capabilities | Live chat and email support for all paid plans | |
*Based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at slightly higher rates.
Benefits of Using a Property Management CRM
Having a platform applicable to a property manager’s operations and providing CRM functions relevant to their work lets them centralize their day-to-day operation into one system. Therefore, it’s essential to find an industry-specific CRM system that also offers features useful and easy to use for property management like project management modules, resident support tools, and options for system customization.
Freshsales: Best Overall Property Management System
What We Like
- Free built-in phone system
- Custom modules and data fields
- Robust process automation capabilities including auto-lead assignment, chatbots for customer conversions, and record updating
What's Missing
- Plans get expensive in Pro and Enterprise plans
- No project management tools
- Bulk emailing not available on free plan
Freshsales Pricing at a Glance*
- Growth: $15 per user, per month (free up to 3 users)
- Pro: $39 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $69 per user, per month
- Free trial: 21 days
Add-ons
- Configure, Price, Quote: $19 per user, per month for quote document templates, invoicing synced to deals, and document activity tracking
- Additional Bot Sessions: $75 for 1,000 bot sessions per month for automated customer or lead support
*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at a higher cost.
Freshsales is an excellent, cost-effective property management CRM option with many relevant CRM tools available, such as a built-in phone, task management, appointment setting, and note-taking. Additionally, this platform receives high praise for system usability with easy-to-use features and a clean interface for navigation.
The features and usability make it our pick for the best CRM for property management. Furthermore, users can customize modules and data fields to tailor their CRM to use terms and processes applicable to a property management firm, real estate firm, residential complex, or homeowners association. There are also email features like a team inbox for multiple managers to respond to a resident issue as well as mass email communication options.
Since managing maintenance or event projects is critical for property management firms, it’s important to note that Freshsales does not offer those capabilities. Bitrix24 and Insightly are solid alternatives for users who want project management modules built into their CRM system.
Freshsales Plan Summary
Growth | Pro | Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|
Lead, Contact, Deal & Account Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Activity Timelines with Tasks, Appointments & Notes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Modules | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Built-in Telephone | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Google Maps Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Team Inbox | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Data Fields | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Record Tagging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Time-based Workflows | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Auto-assignment of Contacts, Accounts & Deals | ✕ | 50 per module | 100 per module |
Freshsales Key Features
- Built-in telephone: Module for placing and receiving calls directly from the CRM as well as being able to route, transfer, log, and record calls.
- Google maps integration: Feature that allows users to find a contact’s location on Google Maps directly from the mobile CRM app, which is useful for property managers who oversee properties in various locations.
- Tasks, appointments, and notes: Ability to create and track tasks, set appointments with residents, and document notes on contact records and calls.
- Lead assignment: Manual or automated option to assign and route potential resident leads to reps in bulk or individually based on preset criteria.
Freshsales built-in phone (Source: Freshworks)
Freshsales tasks and appointments (Source: Freshsales)
Freshsales Customer Support
Freshsales offers 24/5 phone, live chat, and email support. There are also online resources like a blog, product updates page, tours, and video tutorials. Users can also read published case studies or utilize a community forum for questions and answers.
Check out our in-depth Freshsales review for detailed information on pricing, features, and what users say about the product.
Zoho CRM: Most Communication-friendly Property Management Software
What We Like
- Cost-friendly and free plan for up to 3 users
- Tons of integration capabilities for third-party finance, email marketing, operations, and productivity applications
- Robust communication features such as mass email, social media integrations, and customer support
What's Missing
- Project management features require integration with Zoho Projects software
- Limits free plan access to 3 users with limited features
- Customer case management features only available on paid plans
Zoho CRM Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Up to 3 users
- Standard: $14 per user, per month
- Professional: $23 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $40 per user, per month
- Ultimate: $52 per user, per month
- Free trial: 30 days
Add-ons and Native Software:
- Bigin: Free or $7 per user, per month
- Zoho CRM Plus: $57 per user, per month
*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at a higher cost.
Zoho CRM is an advanced, full-service platform with no shortage of automation and artificial intelligence features based on the subscription option you choose. There are also many capabilities both through native Zoho software options as well as third-party ones such as Google Workspace, Slack, and Zapier.
In terms of property management, much of a manager’s job is staying in touch with residents. Zoho CRM is a great solution for these needs as it lets users send mass emails, stay connected on social media, and even manage customer support cases that may come in as tenants, landlords, and property owners experience issues. The support tools even let you set escalation rules to assign cases to certain people based on the priority and scope of the problem.
Unfortunately, many essential property management features are not available on Zoho’s free-forever plan for users who prioritize that attribute. Bitrix24 is an excellent alternative for free tools relevant to a property manager and even allows an unlimited number of users.
Zoho CRM Plan Summary
Free | Standard | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lead, Account & Contact Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Standard Reports | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Team Direct Messaging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Tasks, Events, Call Log & Notes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Web-to-Lead Form | 1 per module | 5 per module | 10 per module | 20 per module | 100 per module |
Email Notifications | 50 per user or 150 per day (whichever is lower) | 100 per user or 5,000 per day (whichever is lower) | 200 per user or 10,000 per day (whichever is lower) | 500 per user or 25,000 per day (whichever is lower) | 1,000 per user or 50,000 per day (whichever is lower) |
Custom Data Fields | ✕ | 10 per module | 155 per module | 300 per module | 500 per module |
Contact Tagging | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Customer Case Management | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assignment Rules | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Modules | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | 100 modules | 500 modules |
Case Escalation Rules | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Zoho CRM Key Features
- Custom data fields and modules: Options for designing the CRM system to meet the needs of a property management operation through comprehensive customization.
- Social media integration: Ability to generate leads, interact with contacts, and monitor activity on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
- Email campaigns: Mass email campaign management with recipient opt-out options, templates, customer segmentation, and automated deployment.
- Customer case management: Module for managing customer or residential cases, setting escalation rules, and collaborating with other users on case solutions.
Zoho CRM setting case escalation rule (Source: Zoho)
Zoho CRM customizing module (Source: Zoho)
Zoho CRM creating mass email (Source: Zoho)
Zoho CRM Customer Support
Zoho offers users 24/7 email support as well as 24/5 live chat and phone support. Their online resources include training modules, FAQ pages, webinars, video tutorials, e-books, release notes, and product documentation.
Read our Zoho CRM review to explore additional information on this platform’s features, plans, usability, and integrations.
Really Simple Systems: Easiest-to-Use Software for Property Management
What We Like
- Relatively inexpensive and free for up to 2 users
- Many customization options to create system for property managers
- High product usability ratings for setting up, operating, and navigating the platform
What's Missing
- Email and automated marketing tools requires add-on
- Case and service management requires add-on
- No project management tools
Really Simple Systems Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Up to 2 users
- Starter: $14 per user, per month
- Professional: $30 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $46 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
Add-ons
- Simple Marketing: Included on Enterprise plan or $22 per month
- Advanced Marketing: $46 per month
- Service Desk: Included on Enterprise plan or $46 per month
*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at a higher cost.
Really Simple Systems[/fitlink] is an inexpensive CRM solution with useful features like contact management, record filtering, task management, and the ability to link accounts. Property managers also like the simple, yet robust customization options to design their data fields, tables, lists, pages, and dashboards to their liking.
Since CRMs are built primarily for salespeople who typically have plenty of experience using them, some property managers may prefer an option that is very simple to use. Really Simple Systems shines in this regard due to its clean interface, easy-to-use features, and intuitive navigation characteristics that use minimal buttons and tabs on each page.
Though it has sales-related tools as well as marketing and customer service add-ons, Really Simple Systems does not have project management modules. If you’re looking for a CRM with robust management capabilities and similar usability characteristics, we recommend Insightly as a good alternative.
Really Simple Systems Plan Summary
Free | Starter | Professional | Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Unlimited Contacts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Task, Events & Calendars | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Data Fields | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Linked Accounts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Timelines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
One-page Contact View | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Record Search & Filtering | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Google Maps Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Email Integration | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
VoIP Telephone Integration | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Charts | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Really Simple Systems Key Features
- Custom tables, lists, dashboards, and data fields: Customizable fields and modules within the CRM can be tailored to the needs of property managers.
- Timelines: Collaborative view of notes, emails, and completed tasks related to a specific contact or residential records.
- One-page contact view: 360-degree view of a contact or resident showing identifiable information, source, notes, and timelines.
- Google integrations: Free integration options with Google Contacts to sync data across platforms and Maps to display Google Map location in the contact record.
Really Simple Systems System customization (Source: Really Simple Systems)
Really Simple Systems Google Maps (Source: Really Simple Systems)
Really Simple Systems Customer Support
During standard business hours for North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia, users have access to live chat, email, and phone support. There’s also an online blog, webinars, tutorial videos, and a self-service support hub that explains how to use certain features.
See how else this platform can be an excellent solution for you and your business by reading our Really Simple Systems review to learn more about its usability and feature set.
Pipedrive: Best Property Management CRM for Lease Management
What We Like
- Advanced sales features including AI sales assistant
- Customizable fields and pipelines
- Document sharing and management capabilities including Smart Docs
What's Missing
- No free plan and relatively expensive paid plans
- No project management features
- System can be challenging to set up
Pipedrive Pricing at a Glance*
- Essential: $14.90 per user, per month
- Advanced: $24.90 per user, per month
- Professional: $49.90 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at a higher cost.
Pipedrive is considered a sales-focused CRM with features for prospecting and developing direct relationships with potential customers—or in the case of property management, tenants. There’s also plenty of system customization that lets managers design their data fields and pipelines for their sales process.
This CRM system is particularly useful for property managers responsible for the sales and leasing side of the business. Users can schedule meetings and video conference calls with prospective residents, track their progress on a custom pipeline, and store templates and customizable documents in the SmartDocs module when someone is ready to sign a lease. They can also obtain signatures on those leases with the built-in e-signature tools.
Simplicity is an essential attribute for property managers as many of them may not be used to using a CRM. Pipedrive tends to be more difficult than other systems when setting up the features and getting custom fields created. Really Simple Systems is an easy alternative to set up, operate, and navigate.
Pipedrive Summary
Essential | Advanced | Professional | Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lead & Deal Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Data Fields | Up to 30 | Up to 100 | Up to 1,000 | Unlimited |
Custom Pipelines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
File Attachments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
AI Sales Assistant | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Meeting & Video Call Scheduler | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Reporting With Recurring Revenue Tracking | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Smart Docs | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Document Management & E-signature | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pipedrive Key Features
- SmartDocs: Module for easily sending and tracking tailorable proposals and contracts to leads or prospective residents.
- E-signature features: Feature for signing and obtaining signatures on documents directly from the CRM.
- Meeting and video call scheduler: Meeting availability system with video calling options through Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.
- Recurring revenue tracking: Revenue forecasting and reporting, which includes recurring revenue models, such as tenant rent.
Pipedrive SmartDocs template (Source: Pipedrive)
Pipedrive video meeting scheduling (Source: Pipedrive)
Pipedrive Customer Support
Pipedrive offers 24/7 support through live chat and email. Additionally, their website contains other resources such as a help center, blog, tutorials, a community forum, and an academy dedicated to enhancing CRM and sales skills.
Check out our in-depth Pipedrive review covering pricing, usability, and best-for scenarios.
Insightly: Best CRM for Property Management With Content Creation Features
What We Like
- Built-in project management features that sync with Google Workspace and Office 365 applications
- Excellent lead management tools that include automated lead assignment, profile enrichment, and duplicate detection
- Easy-to-use content creation tools for newsletters and emails
What's Missing
- Free plan limited to 2 users
- No service or customer management features
- Does not have built-in document storage or e-signature features
Insightly Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Up to 2 users
- Plus: $29 per user, per month
- Professional: $49 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pricing based on annual billing. Monthly billing is also available at a higher cost.
Insightly is a popular CRM with solid features included in its free plan, such as project management, contact management, custom reporting, and limited emailing capabilities. As you upgrade, you gain access to more advanced tools, e.g., relationship linking in records as well as workflow automation and quoting features.
One of its useful standout features for property managers is the newsletter and email designing modules. Many condo and homeowners associations use monthly newsletters to update residents on events and news that the property manager or the management firm is responsible for creating. Insightly lets you easily design this kind of content with premade templates and then deploy it to the recipients from the CRM system.
Customer or service support features help track and assists with issues reported by residents. While Insightly doesn’t provide these CRM tools, Zoho CRM is a good alternative for property managers who prioritize those functions.
Insightly Plan Summary
Free | Plus | Professional | Enterprise | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Contact, Opportunity & Project Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Mass Emailing With Email & Newsletter Templates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Project Milestone & Task Tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Task & Event Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Relationship Linking | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Web-to-Lead Capture | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Scheduled Outbound Emails | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Workflow Automation | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Products, Price, Books & Quotes | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Insightly Key Features
- Integrated project management: Project, milestones, and task organization with calendar sync, configurable processes, and ability to convert opportunities to projects.
- Email templates and newsletter designer: Easy-to-use tools for designing emails and newsletters which include drag-and-drop functionality and premade templates.
- Workflow automation: Ability to automate task assignments, email sends, record updates, and other customizable workflows based on preconfigured rules.
- Web form-to-contact capture: Automated lead and contact record generation from an online web form submission.
Insightly project and task management (Source: Insightly)
Insightly email designer (Source: Insightly)
Insightly Customer Support
Insightly offers customers email and phone support from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Time. Additional online resources, like a help center, community forums, webinars, e-books, and blogs, are also available to users.
Learn more about this platform to decide if it’s the best fit for your business by reading our in-depth Insightly review.
Bitrix24: Best for Large-scale Project Management Features
What We Like
- Free version for unlimited users
- Built-in project and task management features
- Solid all-in-one CRM, project management, and human resource management platform
What's Missing
- Email features unavailable on the free plan and mass emailing only available on higher-cost plans
- No free phone options
- Modules for managing events require paid and higher-priced plans
Bitrix24 Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Free for unlimited users
- Basic: $39 per month for up to 5 users
- Standard: $79 per month for up to 50 users
- Professional: $159 per month for unlimited users
- Free trial: 30 days
*Pricing based on annual billing, reflecting a 20% discount compared to monthly pricing. Monthly billing is available at a higher cost or save 40% off monthly pricing by committing to a two-year subscription.
As a CRM, contact center, project management tool, human resource management system, and document storage system, Bitrix24 is a powerful, all-in-one solution that serves many needs. It offers a free plan for unlimited users and is not too expensive per user if you have many team members using the platform.
Maintenance, events, and renovation projects can often be the biggest burden on property managers. With that said, Bitrix24 is the best option for overseeing and tracking large-scale projects as well as the dependent tasks associated with them. The system even lets you save project templates for recurring ones you know are challenging, such as reserve studies, brick upgrades, and insurance procurement.
Though it has built-in and integrative telephone options, users cannot access them without a paid subscription. For property managers who want free phone capabilities in their CRM, we recommend Freshsales as a better alternative.
Bitrix24 Plan Summary
Free | Basic | Standard | Professional | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Users | Unlimited | Up to 5 | Up to 50 | Unlimited |
Custom Data Fields | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
One-page Contact Profiles | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Timelines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Video Conferencing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
CRM Webforms | Up to 100 forms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Searchable/Filterable Contacts | Up to 1,000 | Up to 100,000 | Up to 200,000 | Unlimited |
Telephone & Email Contact Center | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Built-in Telephone | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Google Maps Integration | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Events Management | ✕ | Invitation & calendar sync only | Invitation & calendar sync plus planner | Invitation & calendar sync plus planner |
Recurring Invoices | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Bulk Segment-based Emailing | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Bitrix24 Key Features
- Project and task management: Project and task management features include project owners, start and end dates, templates, planners, deadlines, and task dependencies.
- Google Maps integration: Allows users to add Google Maps location into contact records.
- Custom data fields: Free, fully customizable data fields in contact records to tailor for your property management business’ needs.
- Client profile view: Full contact and customer view with general information and tab organization for deals, invoices, orders, quotes, and activity history.
Bitrix24 project management Kanban view (Source: GetApp)
Bitrix24 timeline tasks view (Source: Crestline IT Services)
Bitrix24 Customer Support
All paid plans provide live chat and email support options from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time. There are also online tools like a help desk and online training options.
Check out our comprehensive Bitrix24 review for an in-depth analysis of its pricing, features, and usability.
How We Evaluated the Best Property Management CRMs
To determine the best CRM systems for property managers, we evaluated the software features relevant to managing properties, their residents, and associations. For instance, project management modules are useful for handling maintenance and events. Additionally, mass communication tools let you stay in touch with occupants for news and updates. We also evaluated general product characteristics such as price, ease of use, and customer support.
We found Freshsales to be the best property management CRM as it offers cost-friendly subscription options, including a robust system customization so managers can adapt to their operational needs—saving them time and money. Its CRM features relevant to a property manager include a built-in telephone system and solutions for managing tasks, setting appointments, and logging calls with residents.
The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process:
25% of Overall Score
We looked at overall features we feel are necessities, such as CRM integration options, analytics tools, and a mobile app. We also evaluated features specific to property managers, like project management modules, email template designer tools, and features for managing service tickets for when tenants, landlords, and association members have issues that need to be resolved.
20% of Overall Score
The solutions were also evaluated on platform usability. This was analyzed in terms of the expertise required to set up an account, the ease of integrating with native or third-party applications, and the skill needed to use the features specific to property management businesses. We also reviewed the overall intuitiveness of navigating the system’s interface.
15% of Overall Score
Pricing took into account free plan availability and various scalable pricing options that a user could purchase affordably. We also looked at availability for a subscriber to either pay monthly or save by paying annually.
15% of Overall Score
Extensive support and service help prevent poor user experiences and outcomes users may encounter while using any of these CRM systems. Help and support were evaluated in terms of customer service hours and the availability of support via phone, live chat, and email.
25% of Overall Score
In addition to firsthand experience with these software systems, we evaluated what users say about each product. These criteria consider how customers feel, based on their reviews, to gain insight into platform popularity, ease of use, and overall value for the price.