There are a few things that can be massive time sinks when it comes to management rental property.

But perhaps none of them are more challenging than keeping up with property maintenance.

Whether planned maintenance of an HVAC system or a sudden, unexpected request to fix a toilet, managing maintenance is always time-consuming and rarely glamorous.

Property management maintenance software seeks to lend a hand by simplifying things and even automating some processes along the way.

Let’s first look at what property management software can do to get an idea of the kind of features you can expect to be able to take advantage of. 

Maintenance Management Software

When talking about property management maintenance software, we’re really talking about two different types of software:

• Property management software, and
• Maintenance management-specific software

Think of it a little like property management software vs. a dedicated accounting software like QuickBooks.

If you’re unfamiliar with property management software, it’s designed to give you tools to manage every aspect of your properties (depending on the tool, some have more/less features). 

That can include:

• Rent collection
• Accounting
• Leasing & screening
• Listing
• Maintenance management
• Tenant communications
• And more

While QuickBooks generally offers more accounting features than even the best property management software, it’s not designed specifically for property management.

As a result, it can feel limited in many ways.

In a similar way, property management software like DoorLoop is designed to help you with all your property maintenance management needs, while a maintenance management software will be more general. 

Both will do the job, but if you rather have a tool that can do more for you than just maintenance and is specifically designed for property management, property management software is likely a better choice.

Notable features

Before we get to some of the best options for property management maintenance software, let’s talk about what features you should be looking for.

These are seven maintenance management features to look for in any kind of property maintenance tool:

• Work order creation: You should be able to create and edit work orders.
• Tenant maintenance requests: One of the best features of a property management tool like DoorLoop, tenants can send in maintenance requests themselves conveniently from the app. 
• Tenant communication: In addition, tools to communicate with tenants on those maintenance orders (such as SMS messaging) is key. 
• Vendor assignment: You should be able to assign that work order to a vendor. 
• Vendor payment: You should also be able to pay out to that vendor once the job is complete. 
• Word order history: Once a job is complete, you should be able to view it and all previous completed work orders from one central place. 
• View work orders on mobile: You should also be able to view all of the above on mobile, so you can handle work orders and maintenance requests on the go, wherever you are.

With all of these features together, you have a full suite of maintenance management tools designed to streamline your entire work order system. 

Our top picks

Below are five of the top property management maintenance tools available.

Each software includes:

• A quick summary highlighting their unique pros and cons
• Notable features
• And pricing

Together, they should give you a clear idea of whether that tool does what you need and want it to and is worth looking into.

The top 5 are: 

1. DoorLoop

DoorLoop is an all-in-one property management software with a robust set of maintenance management tools.

You not only get access to major property maintenance features such as:

• Create and manage work orders with a complete order history
• Easily allow tenants to send in maintenance requests
• Communicate with tenants in real-time on those requests
• Assign to a vendor and issue the payment when they complete the order
• And track it all via a convenient mobile app

You also get access to other great property management features including:

• Automatic rent payments
• A complete property CRM for managing all your leads and tenants
• A robust suite of property accounting tools
• Tenant portal and owner portal
• Automatic listings
• And much more

Pricing

DoorLoop is just $49 per month for up to your first 20 units, and $2 per unit per month after that.

Check out DoorLoop today.

2. ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan is a maintenance management solution designed for service professionals dealing in large-scale property management.

Users report high satisfaction ratings as well as good useability of the software itself.

However, being a maintenance-specific software, it doesn’t offer any of the typical features you’d expect from a full property management tool.

Features include:

• Work order creation
• Order database
• Scheduling
• Work quotes
• Recurring maintenance appointments

Pricing

ServiceTitan doesn’t list their pricing publicly, so you’ll have to contact their sales team for more information. 

3. Service Fusion

ServiceFusion is a maintenance management solution designed for small to mid-sized businesses.

They serve everyone from property management companies to appliance maintenance specialists, so they’re not designed specifically for property management (nor do they have other property management features). However, users report high ease-of-use.

Features include:

• Work order creation
• Order and customer database
• Contract management
• Quotes
• Scheduling

Pricing

Service Fusion starts at $99 per month and goes up to $349 per month for their premium-tier plan. They offer a free trial for getting started. 

4. FMX

FMX is a dedicated maintenance management software with a large list of features as well as strong scheduling features.

It boasts high ease-of-use, but being a maintenance management-specific platform not designed specifically for property management, it lacks other property-related features such as online rent payments, leasing, and screening.

Features include:

• Work order creation
• Preventative scheduling
• Recurring appointments
• Quotes

Pricing

FMX doesn’t list their pricing online, so you’ll need to contact them directly to get a demo and find out more about their pricing model.

5. UpKeep

UpKeep is an enterprise-level maintenance management solution for those looking for something with more robust maintenance management features.

It isn’t designed for property management so you’re missing many useful features, but it does offer unique maintenance-related features such as assigning a priority level to work orders and automatic work order delivery.

Features include:

• Work order creation
• Automated workflows
• Real-time work order tracking
• Work order analytics

Pricing

UpKeep’s basic plan starts at $40 per user per month, with their premium Business Plus plan coming in at $100 per user per month for a minimum of 5 users.

DoorLoop

Do you want to learn about preventative maintenance and how it can help you cut costs in the long-run? If so, give this article a read!

The best maintenance management tool is the one that does what you need without complicating your existing software stack.

So, think about not only what a software can do but also how it will affect your business’ overall process.

A dedicated maintenance management software may have a few powerful features you want, but if it’s yet another software it could just end up complicating things.

A dedicated property management software like DoorLoop can not only help you handle all your maintenance needs, it simultaneously can streamline your: 

• Leasing
• Rent collection
• Accounting
• Listing, and
• Communication processes.

 So, schedule a free demo to try DoorLoop out and see how it can help you optimize your maintenance management.

Try DoorLoop today.