New user of SimplifyEm

As a long time Property Manager opening my own firm I was looking for an affordable Property Management software system that can grow with me, yet have all the functionality that I need now and later handle many properties as my business grows. I need user friendly for me and my owners and tenants. With good and understandable reports and statements for myself and my owners.

Pros

Very easy to use...user friendly. Does everything I need. Not alot of extraneousness.

Cons

It would be nice if the Security Deposits were not shown in the tenant balance. It needs to be a separate item when shown with the tenant info. Late fee needs to be able to be a fixed amount OR a % of the rent since leases allow for a % of rent amount.

SimplifyEm met all my property management needs

As a vendor that offers free training and also support through the phone and via email, SimplifyEm support is very easy to contact. It has helped me get organized and automated right away to fit my specific needs.

Pros

SimplifyEm has been the answer for managing my residential rental properties. Because it is a web-based application via the Internet, I can access it from anywhere, anytime. As a property manager, I have automated tracking income and expenses on each of my properties, charging fees, handling tenant balances, collecting payments online, and communicating with tenants through tenant portals and notices. I no longer have to keep track of my information manually for each property and have saved time by automating statements, notices, and fees. I do not have to deal with piles of paper anymore, and I have eliminated spending time on repetitive activities. When a tenant sends a maintenance request, I track work orders and repairs via the calendar so I know when to buy equipment, schedule my maintenance personnel, and see the history for each tenant/apartment. The task center has all of my information as a single place to track all communication history with vendors, owners, and tenants. I attach supporting documents. I create invoices, track deadlines, store lease agreements, monitor insurance, and capture tenant details all in one place. When I need to, I send group emails/notices for site visits, maintenance alerts, rent reminders, and any other news that needs to be shared with all tenants.

Cons

SimplifyEm’s accounting module manages accounts payable and receivable and monitors any recurring charges along with a complete transaction history. I use QuickBooks for payroll and can easily export other transactions. I use the banking feature so I can print checks, access bank accounts, perform reconciliations, view bank balances. I had to adjust the margins.

You get what you pay for

Pros

The price is phenomenal. If you are an owner with a few properties, this is ideal.

Cons

No customization, very limited reporting, doesn't have bank reconciliation reports, extremely limited GL codes. Also, they will tell you their software supports functions, then try to walk you through a "work-around" to get it to do what you want. Not sufficient. If you get audited by the state (very common in WA), good luck with this software!! It's too simplified, limited functionality and not intuitive in the least. Once you get in and start using it, you can figure it out, but it just never feels smooth. Also, some things are too easy to enter, and therefore, too easy to mess up. Dog walked on my keyboard one day....... To say the accounting is robust, I think that's a misunderstanding of the definition of that word.

SimplifyEm Simplified My Life

I am an accidental owner of rental property, and SimplifyEm has truly made it easy.  The ability to easily track all of the information and being able to generate a tax report at the end of the year has taken the fear of failing a tax audit.  It has reduced my paperwork significantly, and there are fewer errors as SimplifyEm keeps track of every aspect of the management of our property. 

Pros

SimplifyEm allows property managers and landlords to keep track of a multitude of their responsibilities including work orders and repairs, rent/lease payments, lease documents, create invoices, track deadlines, and many more features.  SimplifyEm also allowed me to send emails, rent reminders, rent receipts, and notices.  SimplifyEm’s ease of use is one of its best features.  The interface makes it intuitive to use to even those like me who aren’t experts in technology.  The software seamlessly works with Excel and QuickBooks, so you can export to those programs easily if necessary.

Cons

Initially, when I started using the software, I had to call support couple of times. They were quick in answering my questions or responding to me on weekends. I wish they would add phone support over the weekend as some of us like to catch on some work on weekends.  SimplifyEm has many features such as work orders that are not of value to a property owner like me. If there is a way to hide these features, it will make the application even more easy to use.

Easily manage properties with no hassle

The core benefit for me is the automation – Instead of having to do the same things over and over again on a monthly basis, SimplifyEm helps me do the things that I had to manually do before.

Pros

The software minimize issues with the burdensome and time eating tedium of tracking income and expenses on every single one of my properties. One of the best things is being able to view the dashboard and be able to not just be a passive recipient of information but also being able to actively charges fees, keep up with the balances of tenants. I've found that communication with tenants is usually difficult when reaching out and keeping track of who did this, who needed extra time to pay, etc. With SE, I have been able to streamline a lot of it and minimize communication on my end and those who help me. Me and my team can pick up where the other has left off.

Cons

Another major concern I had was being able to adapt to the software, we've had experiences in the past where it took months to adjust and I was even more confused after trying to use something that is supposed to help me out and MINIMIZE my time spent on this. The experience with SimplifyEm was much better, no issues in how to use the platform, it was much more intuitive. I was able to pick up the app and run with it. I wish the company adds even more FAQs as I had to call support few times.