What is block management software?

What is the role of a block manager?

Block managers are in charge of maintaining the communal areas in buildings. They work on behalf of the tenants to oversee various tasks from a faulty front door or broken lift to the ongoing maintenance of the property.

Typical tasks include -

• Site inspections and follow ups
• Service charge for building
• Health and safety compliance
• Property insurance
• Contractor management
• Ongoing maintenance (cleaning, windows, gardeners)
• Neighbourhood issues - managing disputes
• Understanding leases
• Legislative changes/major case law

What challenges do block manager’s face?

Block managers face a wide range of challenges in their work which are largely related to providing a great level of customer service.

More complex customer demands

With tighter regulations and an increase of customer demands, block managers are facing a more complex level of customer questions and expectations. 

5 star customer service

Happy clients are the most valuable asset to your business. Not only will they reduce the ongoing strain on resources, they become a powerful referral marketing tool. A great CRM ensures that your team are able to provide quick and accurate data on demand.

Tighter regulations

Keeping up with the latest legislation is an important part of block management. Additionally, having access to the relevant documents at the touch of a button is important not only to your clients but for your staff too. Advanced property management tools can provide reminders when certification or insurance runs.

How to grow a block management business

With the demand for more new homes higher than ever, there is a real opportunity for block managers to harness this growth. But first, ensuring that you have the right tools and processes in place is the most important step.

To cope with the workload, firms may look to bring on more staff, pushing running costs up further. It seems an intractable problem. Fortunately, block managers can now achieve sustained growth and keep costs under control by basing their approach on automated technology that integrates financial and property management, conserving resources and driving enhanced profitability. Have a read through our blog on overcoming the challenge of scalability in block management here.

Using property management software to improve productivity in your business

The most common objective for block management companies is to increase productivity. There are many ways in which block managers are using tech to grow their business which you can read about here. One option being property management software that is designed to streamline different areas in your business. So, what software features should you look out for?

Automation

One of the hottest topics now is automation. For block managers, being able to streamline timely processes and reduce the number of manual processes means that businesses can work smarter and, most importantly, create time to focus on growing the business. Therefore, having the right property management system in place can make or break a company. We have created a blog discussing four ways automation can take block management to the next level here.

Contractor Management

Being able to rely upon contractors for certain jobs can take a while. In a traditionally set up company it often goes on word of mouth internally or can be slow to source. With property management software you can associate contractors with jobs, job types, buildings, and invoices. Propman sends notifications when your insurance is up and stores previous job notes. The software also suggests a supplier to users dependent on the properties’ postcode and job type.

WebUI

Access on an on the go and a straightforward web user interface will enable your users to access and update information, logs jobs and action follow-up tasks quicker.

Benefits of block management software

So, what benefits can you expect from property management software?

As mentioned above, streamlining manual processes such as online authorisation of invoices will save users valuable time.

Keeping costs down

Block management software enables scalability for managers who don’t want to keep taking on additional staff to perform routine data management and accounting tasks.

Accountability

Resolving complicated issues can become more difficult to solve when your information and records and stored in multiple places. Successful block managers utilize software to store their communication records and important documents such as tenancy or lease agreements in one place.

Flexible reporting

As a result of the previous points, storing all your information on the one software system enables you to produce great flexible reporting. For block managers specifically this means they can create tailored reports and comply with the latest legislation.

For a full list of benefits, please visit our dedicated page here.

Block management software in action

Trinity Estates are a national property management company bringing expertise, innovation, and knowledge to their clients on a local and personal level. Trinity needed to find a system that supported their growth and enabled them to provide the best service to their residents. Prior to installing Propman, a lot of their business processes were completed manually, taking up a large amount of valuable time. Trinity was taking on more and more properties to manage so looked for a software solution that could help them work better and streamline important and often time-consuming business processes. Trinity first started using Propman Software in 2002. It was the first specialist system they had used, and they now have over 100 users who actively use the software. Grosvenor Systems continues to work closely with Trinity to ensure Propman continually meets their business needs.

Kinleigh Folkard and Hayward (KFH) are firmly at the heart of London property. Co-founded in 1977 as a specialist property management company by Philip King and Lee Watts, they’ve grown into one of the Capital’s most successful property services groups. KFH reached a point in 2012 when there was a commercial need to move from their previous property management and accounting system to one that was more reliable with a robust accounting functionality. KFH are now able to provide an excellent service to their tenants by using the communications function within Propman.

Block managers have a complicated and demanding job, so investing in a software system is crucial to business success. Find out if Propman is the right system for you here.