Introduction

With education on the rise and infrastructure across the globe being more technologically oriented, there is no surprise that people worldwide are willing to move for education. When or if they decide to move for that purpose, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is “What about accommodation?”. If we analyse current trends we can see a major rise in “student housing properties” especially in many big cities. 

But even these student housing properties often struggle to maintain the flow of their operations from onboarding the new students, providing amenities, managing shared facilities, etc. This is what student management software solves.  

What is a ”Student management software”? 

Student management software put in simple terms works towards optimising the day-to-day operations of what a student housing operator does. There are a lot of mundane and time-consuming tasks that a coliving operator executes,  the operator has to be multifaceted and be capable of dealing with multiple people, from tenants to vendors and even guests. A PMS helps manage and reduce the time spent on these tasks and accelerates the whole process. 

👀Features to keep an eye out for 👀

Before you go scouring the web for the next property management software, you should consider a couple of key features when making that decision for your student housing facility. 

1. 1.
   Tenant and lease management: In a coliving space an operator has to draft a contract with the tenant and ensure all the details are well specified. A student housing property management software simplifies the whole process from its creation to its execution. Which would expedite the whole process and make it paperless.  

2. 2.
   Maintenance management: Property management softwares traditionally allow their users to easily track the maintenance activities that need to be conducted within the premises. It also helps them monitor the real-time status of the task. 

3. 3.
   Financial Management: In a student housing apartment there are a lot of assets that have the potential to get damaged. In such a situation the cost is usually borne by the tenant. A property management softwares can help digitally send quotes. Subsequently, convert them into receipts if they are accepted by the tenant.  

4. 4.
   Community engagement tools: A student housing apartment is a social setting at the very base of it, the software should work in such a manner that it can help promote a community among the students. Your property management software should have chat features and a marketplace that would facilitate communication between your tenants. 

5. 5.
   Roommate Matching: It's quite common for students to submit a simple survey and application to most coliving spaces. The main purpose of this is so that the PMS can analyse which combinations of students would result in the best possible outcome. 

6. 6.
   Move-In/Move-Out Management: Any good PMS software should have the ability to manage the check-in and check-outs of their rooms. This is usually a manual task but can be digitised to save them a significant portion of their time. 

7. 7.
   Amenity Booking: A good student housing would have some amenities, A PMS would help avoid confusion with mandate booking, and help monetise the facilities available in the premises. 

8. 8.
   Security and Access Control - It is a major plus point if the PMS you are shortlisting also has security and access control features to safeguard your property and tenants from unwanted guests and thieves. 

9. 9.
   Integration Capabilities: It's important to note that student property management software does not solve all the issues that student housing might have. In fact, they may vary from place to place. This is why you must clarify that your potential software has the capacity for multiple integrations upon request. 

10. 10.
    Data Analytics: With much of the operations being digitised it offers the opportunity for people to capitalize on the abundance of data. This allows the operator to leverage trends and also make preventative plans for the same.  

Types of Student Housing Software

MonkSpaces.Ai: Monkspaces.Ai  is one of the most cohesive student management software in the market. They have a multitude of features ranging from rent collection, ticket registration, lease registration and maintenance management to name a few. With their robust software, they are capable of providing new features while constantly looking into various ways they can improve their tenant satisfaction. 

StarRez: With over 1300 customers worldwide, coupled with over 3 million tenants under management, they have set themselves firm in the student housing software market. They strive to provide software that not only meets all their customer's and tenants' needs but also facilitates wellness, connection, great experiences and financial success among many others. 

TCAS: TCAS was founded in 1998 in Ireland, their main goal is to help facilitate market leads and generate market growth for their clients. They seek to imbibe an environment that fosters growth and ultimately encourages the industry to flourish. With plans to expand to Asia, Africa and Europe you can expect to hear a lot more about them.  

Yardi: A vast range of features and functions, including lease management, accounting software, tenant management, space management, and maintenance management, are available in Yardi's extremely feature-rich property management software. 

Rent Manager: Rent manager promises to deliver customisable tools designed to help with the day-to-day operations of a student housing operator. With features from resident portals, roommate-management flexibility, texting functionality, and more, you can count on Rent Manager to maximize your student-housing potential.

Conclusion

Student housing is on the rise. It has been gaining traction since pre-pandemic levels and doesn't show any signs of stopping. With the help of student housing software, we can see operators consider the prospect of expanding their operations because of the efficiency that PMS provides to their customers.