Which is the best property management software: Buildium vs. RAAMP

If you’re looking for a great property management software, you’ve come to the right place. This review breaks down the differences and similarities of the leading property management software, RAAMP and Buildium. Which is the best choice?

What is Buildium?

Buildium is a cloud-based property management software designed for residential property use. It was founded in 2004 and is based in Boston, Mass. While it is a fairly comprehensive software when handling residential units, it is not very useful for commercial property management.

Best for

Residential property managers and landlords that are looking to streamline processes, process payments, and consolidate files.

Pros

• Intuitive user interface

The software itself is easy to understand and simple to use. Buildium also offers “Buildium Academy,” which is a knowledge hub to learn how to use the software.

• Useful features for residential property management

The software allows for accepting cash and online payments, tenant screening, listing properties for rent, 1099 filing, a “community billboard” to communicate with tenants, and monitoring of bank accounts and business accounting.

• Cloud-Based 

The software is cloud-based, which means it can be used anywhere there is a wifi connection.

Cons

• No rent rolls

The software doesn’t allow for the import or export of rent rolls.

• No lease abstraction

There is no lease abstraction, so property managers must go through each lease individually.

• No CRM

Due to not having a CRM, Buildium places more work on the property manager than what is necessary.

• Not built for commercial property management

Buildium is tailored specifically for residential property management and would not work well if there is also commercial property in the portfolio.

Buildium Pricing

$50-$460 a month, plus additional costs for other features.

Software	Lease Abstract	Dynamic Rent Rolls	CRM	File Mgmt.	Notebook & Task mgmt.	Unlimited Users	Tenant Portal	Property Analytics	Accounting	Insurance Compliance
Buildium	-	-	-	-

What is RAAMP?

RAAMP is a lease-centered operational suite for property management, accounting, customer relationship management (CRM), lease abstracts, rent rolls, accounting, and insurance compliance. Those are just a few functions of this amazing software. RAAMP can be a valuable tool for those who manage multiple properties and want to keep all of their information in one place. Having software such as RAAMP is extremely important, especially when managing leases, because leases are the source of revenue in commercial real estate. 

RAAMP is the only software solution built around this key revenue driver to help meet customer needs. By integrating RAAMP in the day-to-day operations of your property management business, you will see how the software acts as a vehicle to drive revenue. All of these program options help RAAMP stand out among competitors. 

Best for

Commercial real estate (CRE) professionals who want to increase the profitability of their business and decrease time wasted on repetitive and inefficient tasks.

Pros

• Dynamic lease abstraction

Dynamic lease abstraction is an important part of what RAAMP has to offer. Lease abstraction allows a space for leases to be reviewed and uploaded. Leases can take up a lot of time when it comes to completing day-to-day tasks, so the lease abstractions feature can save you hours. Leases are the driving force behind increasing revenue making it critical that space is provided for these important documents.

• Comprehensive property management

Property management is a very critical tool that can be helpful when looking for software. RAAMP’s property management software is extremely useful. The property management feature on RAAMP’s software can be used to manage documents such as maintenance requests or when rent was last collected from a tenant.

• File management

File management can be very useful when one is managing multiple properties. The file management feature that RAAMP offers allows for all files to be stored in a way that makes them accessible and easy to locate.

• Customer relationship management (CRM) 

CRM is another important feature that RAAMP offers. CRM is what helps drive revenue for the business. Maintaining relationships with tenants is a critical piece of driving revenue for those who manage properties.

• Accounting integration

The accounting feature on the RAAMP provides users with a valuable asset when a business is looking to drive revenue. This feature will not replace a company’s accountant, but will allow accountants to focus their attention on other day-to-day tasks. When it comes to the day-to-day tasks, RAAMP also provides a task management feature. This feature allows your team to stay on task when it comes to working with clients.

• Notifications and reminders

Smart notifications and reminders can be very helpful when looking for property management software. These notifications and reminders can be beneficial for the whole property management team when it comes to things such as remembering to turn in a lease agreement or paperwork.

• Property analytics 

Analytics play a critical role in property management so it is great that RAAMP makes having a space for property analytics a priority. Property analytics allows the property management team to see how each property is doing when it comes to paying rent, lease agreements, or even making sure their property is insured.

Cons

The one con of RAAMP is that the program is not well-suited for short-term lease agreements, such as those for vacation rentals or storage units. With that being said, RAAMP would be a great software to revisit in the future if you begin to expand your property management business. 

RAAMP pricing

RAAMP believes in being fully transparent with its customer base when it comes to pricing. RAAMP’s pricing starts at $98 a month for unlimited users. RAAMP does not require businesses to pay for each user, meaning that a business with 50 people could all use the software and still only pay $98 a month. RAAMP is also different from its competitors because they do not apply any additional fees for installation, etc. RAAMP stands out among competitors when it comes to offering the best service for the best price. 

Which property management software is best?

This depends on your business goals, but for companies interested in maximizing their profitability, RAAMP is the only solution built to solve the key issues surrounding revenue.

RAAMP offers key insights about leases, option periods, property analytics, and dynamic rent rolls to name just a few of the key features that are tied directly to revenue. Additionally, there are savings in the form of reduced payroll costs through increased staff productivity and overall increased job satisfaction for team members in the ease of completing their day-to-day tasks.

Buildium functions well when managing residential properties, but has limited usage for commercial properties. If you are a commercial property manager, have commercial & residential properties, or are looking to boost profitability, then RAAMP is right for you.