To improve profitability, some people may elect to increase revenue sources by introducing additional products or services to their offering. To ensure revenue translates to true profitability, organizations must additionally reduce costs. Essentially, this process comes down to a careful evaluation of which business expenses must be incurred versus those that can be eliminated. In an effort to cut costs, organizations often leverage an ERP to reduce costs across their operations.

An estimated 50% of companies are planning on acquiring, upgrading, or implementing an ERP system in the near future. Operational costs property management companies typically incur include energy, communication, accounting, maintenance and more – here are 7 areas an ERP can be the perfect technology solution for profitability.

Infrastructure Technology

Many businesses are subscribed to multiple software systems typically including basic accounting software, spreadsheets, maintenance management software, and more to get tools to manage the distinctly different departments of the business. However, running multiple platforms can run up your expenses for subscription prices, upgrades, installation, training, support, and even admin or data entry between systems. By opting for a single vendor ERP, property management companies can significantly minimize costs by using one integrated platform equipped with all the tools to run their operation in one space at a fraction of the costs.

Accounting

Accounting software can streamline manual and redundant accounts payable and receivable processes that can be tedious. In leveraging automation, accounting teams can minimize processing times for monthly billing and payments. Automated payments minimize the number of steps bookkeepers have to take to get to their end result improving accuracy without sacrificing quality. This means staff can be more productive, saving time as well as the costs of hiring additional staff.

Communication

Internal or external, liaising with different people in your network is a demanding element of property management, whether it’s getting the maintenance team to an urgent repair or sending out notices of arrears. Online property management systems can eliminate manual, paper-based communication and replace those older more costly methods with digital alternatives that eliminate dependency on paper and time-consuming processes by filling out templates and sending notices electronically. This can eliminate the costs of labor, paper, printing, and distribution.

Travel

If you have sites across a wide geographical region or many sites in one small area, business travel can run up costs like gas, lodging, and maintenance. Integrated technology can minimize the time your team spends moving between sites and the office. Mobile apps or remotely accessible portals allow property managers to access tools and functionality to directly enter information while on site, so they don’t have to travel to the office to enter handwritten notes.

Materials

An integrated inventory database can keep track of purchased resources easily and efficiently. By leveraging an organized system, available on an integrated platform, every employee will be able to track inventory levels and minimize lost or misplaced stock.

Maintenance

An ERP that is equipped with a robust maintenance module allows property managers to create detailed maintenance schedules well in advance to avoid increasing costs of repairs and minimize reactive maintenance. Carefully scheduled inspections and repairs will keep your properties in tip-top shape, and more agile to easily tackle the inevitable emergency repair without increasing costs. By investing in proactive maintenance, instead of reactive, organizations can increase profits by 12%-18%.

An ERP system offers huge benefits to profitability, approximately 53% of organizations consider it a priority investment because of its return on investment.