How Access Foundation went from disorganized notes to managing hundreds of units with DoorLoop

When good intentions outgrow Microsoft Teams

Access Foundation began with a simple idea that worked: recovery housing with employment requirements. What started as one house quickly grew into more than 120 units serving people in recovery and individuals with disabilities. But their systems didn’t keep up.

"We were keeping track of rent in a note field in Teams and that began to be unmanageable for us."

Rent collection was only part of the problem. In recovery housing, late payments require coordination, not eviction. Managing dozens of payment plans at once stretched their setup past its limits.

Maintenance requests increased, compliance requirements piled on, and the team needed software that could handle both operational complexity and nonprofit realities. Alan evaluated five or six options, but most were either too rigid or too expensive to scale with them.

Finding the perfect fit thanks a competitor's fear

Alan found DoorLoop in an unexpected way—through a competitor.

"We looked closely at competitors and one of them was really kind of bashing DoorLoop—that's what got my interest in DoorLoop actually. I thought, 'Well, they must be afraid of DoorLoop or something.' So I went to DoorLoop."

After testing multiple platforms, DoorLoop immediately stood out.

"We really liked the graphic tools on the dashboard. We really enjoyed how easy it is to input rent, and how easy it is to manage the ledger. That was very important to us."

The initial plan was simple: use DoorLoop as a rent ledger. Nothing more. But once implemented, new use cases surfaced quickly. Maintenance issues flowed directly to the right people. Tasks replaced ad-hoc coordination. The software started adapting to their reality.

From rent ledger to total operations

What began as a simple ledger quickly became central to daily operations. Alan began using maintenance tracking, documentation, and mass communication too. During an emergency inspection, the value became undeniable.

"We just shot out some announcements because we had an emergency inspection going on in one of our houses. Boy, that was sweet and slick. And when everyone got it, we were able to see who opened it and who didn't. It was great. Yeah, we're being wowed right now by DoorLoop."

For a highly regulated organization, that clarity matters.

"Well, our industry's a tough one. We're highly regulated by the state, by the city, by the Department of Health and Human Services, so we do a lot with compliance and DoorLoop helps us manage so many pieces of the puzzle. Our workload has benefited."

Today, Access Foundation operates 120 units with 150 on the horizon; the software helps them run a complex mission with structure and confidence. And when others ask Alan about DoorLoop, his answer is straightforward: you’ll be sold.