Reports2Go

Why Landlords should embrace Technology

As a landlord, there are several ways in which you can use technology to help your business. Rather than leaving everything to a manual system that’s time-consuming and takes you away from other aspects of your business or free time, technology can help.Here are three suggestions for technology you can embrace:

Project Management Systems

If you want help keeping track of viewings, tenancy expiry dates, and meetings with tenants and/or agents, a simple project management tool may help. For example, Google Calendar or Asana, the former is free to use, and Asana also has a free plan. Both are simple to use to help you avoid missing important deadlines.

Accounting Software

Let’s be honest. No one enjoys filing a tax return or managing their business income and expenditure. However, keeping abreast of your property’s maintenance costs and tenant deposits is essential if you want to stay organized.

Consider using accounting software. Plenty of available options are suitable for small-scale or larger-scale landlords, and it’s worth researching them before you commit to spending any money. Some business bank accounts now come with a free licence for accounting software. Of course, there are always Excel spreadsheets if you prefer something basic.

In addition, the National Residential Landlord Association (NRLA) runs affordable online courses for anyone interested in learning more about tax and finance as a landlord. Alternatively, if you’re a new landlord, there's a simple-to-understand guide to paying tax and National Insurance on the UK government website.

Use an End-of-Tenancy App

An end-of-tenancy app is precisely what you’d imagine. It can help you manage all aspects of your tenant’s end of tenancy with ease. The app should guide you through all the procedures you need to follow in a structured and straightforward way when it’s time for your tenant to leave the property.

Whether you or an inventory clerk managing this process, an end-of-tenancy app will help you note the condition of all the rooms, fixtures, and fittings in the property when the tenancy ends.

The beauty of using such a tool is that aside from its obvious time-saving benefits, you can log differences between how your property looked at the start of the tenancy and how it looks at the end, including the condition of any appliances you provide. In addition, it gives you the benefit of knowing how much you may need to spend to make repairs before renting the property to someone new.

It also means you have evidence to show the tenant who has left should there be any dispute over the return of their deposit, bearing in mind you have to allow for reasonable wear and tear.

In addition, you can record the condition pf fixtures and fittings not only at the end of the tenancy but also during mid-term inspections.

Reports2Go has a free end-of-tenancy app available to download via the Apple Appstore or Google Play. To use it, you can either use the entirely free version or a Pay-as-You-Go plan. The free version of the tenancy app includes the following features:

• Attractive downloadable PDF format end-of-tenancy reports
• Attractive downloadable PDF format end-of-tenancy reports
• Access to the Appliances Survey Section

Dan, 02 December 2022