Hi all,
New member here, wanting to know how everyone tracks/measures & manages a multi-property portfolio or even a single asset portfolio. I know that many would use a property manager but I find their systems quite tedious and offer little value. Is everyone just working out of spreadsheets or is their a system out there that I am unaware of.
Thanks for the help.
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This topic was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
iboorer.
Hi Iboorer,
I found spreadsheets were my preference back in the day. The other thing I recommend is to meet up with other investors – on websites like this, look for the meetings that take place from time to time. Brisbane and its Coasts have a regular meeting taking place – other cities are “now and then”. Of course, you can ask on forum for others “in your area” so you can swap stories. And of course there are Facebook pages too, so check them out too.
Main thing is to increase your knowledge so that you know enough to keep YOUR property managers in line !! :)
Welcome aboard,
Benny
I can relate to your experience, managing even a modest portfolio across different platforms can become messy fast. I also started out with spreadsheets because they gave me a bit of control, but over time I found they couldn’t keep up with the demands of tracking multiple tenancies, rent cycles, and maintenance tasks, especially as the portfolio grew.
Like you, I found traditional property managers’ systems frustrating, often over-complicated or lacking transparency. What worked for me was switching to a more streamlined digital solution that was actually designed with landlords and portfolio holders in mind. One I’ve used recently is the Property Management CRM from Property Store. It’s built specifically for property owners and small-scale landlords who want to centralise everything without getting bogged down in admin.
It lets you track rent payments, manage maintenance schedules, store documents, and even communicate with tenants in one place. The interface is straightforward, much easier than the systems some agencies try to push and the automation has saved me hours each month.
If you’re looking to move away from spreadsheets but don’t want to go all-in with a traditional property manager, something like this might be a good in-between solution. Worth checking out to see if it fits your workflow.
Hope that helps!
This is a really common problem, so you’re asking the right question. In reality, most investors sit somewhere in the middle. Spreadsheets are usually the starting point because they’re flexible and cheap, but once you have more than one property they become time-consuming, error-prone, and hard to use for decision-making. On the other end, full property management software is often built for PMs, not owners, which is why it can feel bloated and tedious.
What I see working well is a layered approach. Many self-managing owners use accounting software (for clean financials and tax time) combined with a lightweight property system or dashboard to track leases, rent, maintenance, and performance across assets. Some tools also pull everything into one place so you can learn more about cash flow, yield, and portfolio health without digging through multiple spreadsheets.
There’s no perfect system, but if your goal is clarity and control rather than day-to-day PM workflows, avoiding “enterprise” PM software and using simpler, purpose-built tools usually delivers the most value.
Managing multiple properties definitely comes with challenges, especially keeping track of tenants, rent, and maintenance. Organising processes and having a clear system in place really helps streamline everything you can see an example of a practical setup on this website. Useful insights for anyone growing their property portfolio!
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This topic was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
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