Asset Management Software 101: Taking the plunge

As a multifamily owner or operator, you know it’s a problem that all your property data exists in filing cabinets, desk drawers or spreadsheets – or worse, hidden in people’s emails or just in their heads! The information that forms the lifeblood of your business is far too important and complex to be sitting in a binder, but the thought of changing to a new asset management system is daunting.

The answer is clear: you likely realize that you need to invest in asset management software – badly. But implementing and utilizing a solution is such a massive undertaking, and you’re not even sure exactly where to begin. What can asset management software do for your organization? What sort of information should you even be tracking? Will any of this actually be useful?

If these questions resonate with you, fear not. All of your concerns are valid, and there are answers to all of your questions.

Understanding how your organization uses asset data

Before taking on asset management software, it’s important to think about how your organization uses the asset data that it keeps. Are there metrics you’re currently tracking? Is your organization leveraging the data that it tracks to make better business decisions? If you’re still using basic, unwieldy spreadsheets to manage your asset data, the answer to that question is likely “no.” Establishing asset management software, however, allows you to track more data points, focus on the meaningful data, and access them more easily.

Even if you’re not entirely sure what kind of data your multifamily organization needs to be tracking, MRI Software has a solution that can help owners and operators who feel overwhelmed by the questions that would naturally accompany the introduction of a new asset management solution. Through TCAM advisory services, MRI can work with owners and operators to translate whatever unformed thoughts are in their head about what’s important to them and what’s been pushing them to consider implementing new software.

What data should you be tracking?

While this is a question you’ll need to know the answer to before moving forward with asset management software, it’s okay if you don’t know how to respond right away! An easy way to find out what data you want to track is to ask yourself about the needs of the end user. What can technology provide to the end user? What goals are they trying to accomplish, and how do you think inefficient processes are standing in the way of that?

You’ll also want to spend time thinking about what teams within your organization will benefit from a new system. A good way to assess this would be to gather one member from each team and get their feedback on some of the most difficult parts of their job and what kind of functionality would make it easier. Which aspects of the business would they like to know better? If this still feels overwhelming, TCAM has extensive experience working with owners and operators of multifamily housing to help really delineate where pain points are, what the actual drivers of value are, and what information would be most helpful to enable smarter decision-making.

The process is worth it

You might be thinking about how many questions you should be asking in order to switch over to new software. No matter how daunting the process may seem, asset management services can help you break down each step and stay focused on where you want to go. Get a better understanding of what your business needs, and see how an asset management solution can help each team across your organization make better decisions.

To learn more about asset management software, watch this webinar and see what a solution can do for you.