Anybody who runs a property rental agency would want things to be both effective and efficient – in fact, that is something you would want to achieve in any kind of business, for that matter. To that end, such effectiveness and efficiency can be achieved by choosing the right software, but how? When interviewing software suppliers, ask the following questions to help you in your data gathering and research:

Can you let me try this for free?

A free trial would be de rigeur if a company is known for its high-quality software and is confident in backing up the results. The benefits of a free trial are numerous, such as being able to see for yourself whether the software would be compatible with your business needs without paying any money down (yet), and being able to compare the software to similar programs you have previously used or tried out. Software is not a small investment, so you want to see how well it works before purchasing the license.

Would staff training be an issue?

Using software can be challenging as well for your staff, who may not be used to operating a brand new package, or maybe not used to operating computers, for that matter. Everybody who will be using the system, from the top (meaning yourself) to the bottom (the rest of your staff) would need to be trained accordingly by the property rental software company. That way, the company can be sure that the software is being used in the right way, and the letting agents are confident that staff are happy using the system.

How flexible is the software?

The standard software package may have some elements that your agency wouldn’t need, or conversely, you may have some required elements that you cannot find in the package. If the answer is no, then one interview question you will have to ask would be whether the company can customize the software package accordingly so it meets your needs and the company’s as well.

Do you provide software support?

Most software packages have times when they don’t do what the users expect them to. That is why as the Big Kahuna of a bustling, fast-paced agency, you will want to make sure that the software provider offers customer service via phone and email, preferably on a 24/7 basis. There may be some cases where you will be charged a nominal fee for support, otherwise it would come for free. Find this out and make your decision accordingly.

A new software solution is an expensive commitment for any agency. Considering everything we discussed above, the right questions can lead to the right purchase of software for you and your agency.

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