Buildium is a propert management software solution that claims to know exactly what property managers want from their software, because the founders and creators also happen to be property managers themselves.

Dimitrus Georgakopoulos and Michael Montiero snapped up their first investment property together in Providence, Rhode Island, back in 2000. Within two years they’d bought two more properties, and it was then that they realized just how difficult it is to keep track of all the paperwork and other details.

It was this that led them to create Buildium back in 2004, and the platform slowly but surely gained traction. By the end of 2008 Buildium boasted of having 500 customers, and by 2012 it had 5,000.

Buildium is a platform that’s designed to streamline the property management business, and can be used on the desktop, tablets or smartphones. It comes with accounting features such as financial reporting and online payments, while business operations cover things like maintenance requests, document storage and communications with renters. Buildium also recently began a partnership with HappyCo that enables property managers to inspect units from their mobile devices.

Buildium enables much of the property manager’s work to be done online, including managing rental listings, completing leases with eSignatures, screening tenants and more.

It also lets property managers build free branded and customizable websites to post their listings on.

Another useful feature is the cost-savings calculator, which managers can use to predict potential savings. It works by asking property managers questions such as “What is your hourly property management labor cost?” and “On average, how many phone calls do you have with tenants, vendors and property owners each day?”. Using your answers, Buildium is able to help calculate monthly and hourly cost savings.

The good thing about Buildium is its claims are not unsubstantiated. The company recently completed a case study with Peter Cook of Annapolis Property Services, which found that using its software helped to reduce non- sales-related call volume by 35 percent, and maintenance response times by 80 percent.

Meanwhile, Buildium user Bobby Russon, owner of Impulse Property Management, said the platform also helped him to repair often volatile relationships with angry tenants. He said that within one month of implementing the platform, he’d managed to increase on-time payments by 98 percent, and was consequently able to improve his relationships with both tenants and property owners.

Buildium’s website claims the platform is currently being used by 12,500 property managers, 175,000 property owners, and a staggering one million residents in 46 nations.

Buildium offers provides an onboarding team to help you switch your software, as well as a customer care line. The site features a library of guides and reports for property managers, including a guide to social media, what it takes to create a perfect lease, how to write listings, and the five steps necessary for tenant verification.