Property Management Technology Stack: How to Build and Integrate Your System

The phrase tech stack is fairly new in property management, and it means more than a collection of software. What matters is how the tools work together toward an operational goal and how they affect a property manager's daily workflow. Five factors decide whether a stack helps or gets in the way.

• Integration capabilities. Look for software that connects to your accounting solution and to other core tools such as package management, payment solutions, and building access systems. BuildingLink's integration partners include accounting, payment, package management, building access, and smart home providers.
• User-friendly interface. Choose intuitive designs that need little training, so your team uses them.
• Mobile accessibility. Staff and residents should be able to reach key features from a phone.
• Data security. Ask how the system protects sensitive resident and staff information, for example with multi-factor authentication.
• Room to grow. Pick systems that can adapt as your community's needs change.

Your stack needs tools matched to the challenges you face. The parts below are the ones most onsite teams need, along with what BuildingLink offers for each.

Accounting. Accounting means managing and reconciling a community's payables and receivables. Many property managers connect their accounting software to their property management software to keep resident and account data accurate in both. BuildingLink does not include an in-house accounting solution. It connects to the accounting systems you already use, and the integration syncs move-in and move-out data, account balances, transactions, and contact information. If the missing accounting module kept you from considering BuildingLink, the integration is worth a second look. Check the accounting partners to see whether your system is listed.

Communication tools. Residents stay informed when they hear from you through more than one channel. BuildingLink announcements can go out by email and appear on the public display, the resident app, and the resident site. Picture a water leak in your building. With emergency broadcasts, authorized staff send a voice message, an SMS message, or both to residents' phones, so everyone knows what is happening and can take precautions. By default, only security officer level users can send them, and you can give other users permission. The same tools carry maintenance schedules, community event announcements, and policy updates, and residents read them in whichever place suits them. See our communications solutions.

Package management. Package volume is one of the hardest operational problems, especially during the holidays. Deliveries pile up, residents wait in long lines at the front desk, packages go missing, and limited storage turns mailrooms, hallways, and lobbies into overflow space. A package management system should log each package on arrival, record where it is stored, and notify the resident. In BuildingLink, front desk staff record packages in the event log, residents receive an email notification (depending on your property's settings), and staff can send email reminders for unclaimed packages. BuildingLink also integrates with package management partners, so delivery records stay in one database. Read more about our package management system.

Maintenance management. A maintenance management system lets you track and assign tasks, monitor progress, and keep records. In BuildingLink, the maintenance module lets staff schedule recurring tasks, which generate new maintenance requests at the intervals you set, and search requests, including by equipment item. See our maintenance solutions.

Multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a second check after the password, so a stolen or guessed password alone is not enough to sign in. BuildingLink supports MFA, and users can verify with a code from an authenticator app or a one-time code sent by email. If MFA is not enabled for your property, a security officer level user can email BuildingLink support to turn it on.

Mobile applications. Desktop software handles detailed management work, and mobile access handles tasks on the go. Both should be easy to use. Front desk and maintenance staff use the GEO by BuildingLink app for daily operations, and authorized staff can send emergency broadcasts and email from it. Residents use the free BuildingLink resident app, available for Apple and Android devices.

A connected stack is more than a set of programs that each solve one problem. It is a group of tools where communication, maintenance, accounting, and resident services share information and are easy to use.

Without one, operations split into fragmented processes. Communication suffers, maintenance gets delayed, and accounting data sits apart from everything else. Managers sign in to several platforms and learn each one, which adds frustration. That gap leads to errors and manual work.

Here is what a connected Monday can look like. Sam, a property manager, logs into BuildingLink to prepare the weekly maintenance check-in, set the agenda, and run reports. The reports show a new request a resident submitted in the resident app. The front desk also reports that another resident hired a new dog walker.

Maintenance requests. In the meeting, Sam and the maintenance team go through open requests, completed work orders, and upcoming recurring tasks. Sam decides the clogged sink in the gym bathroom gets fixed before the party room's broken ice dispenser.

Resident communication and records. Afterward, Sam uses email templates and distribution tools to tell residents about the scheduled repairs. She checks that the dog walker is entered in the resident's front desk instructions. She also sees that the accounting integration has updated a resident's balance in BuildingLink, so she sends that resident a quick email from a template. The resident can view the balance in BuildingLink.

BuildingLink has more than 20 years of experience in multifamily and serves HOAs, co-ops, condominiums, and multifamily properties.

• Experience. The platform has grown with its customers' needs and now includes more than 60 modules.
• Training and implementation. Implementation consultants set up the platform around your property's settings and train staff by role, such as security officer or manager, front desk, and maintenance.
• Features. From record-keeping and administration to maintenance and front desk operations, the platform covers the daily work of property management for managers and residents.
• Customer support. BuildingLink includes unlimited customer support and ongoing training, and the support team answers phone calls and emails.