Is a spreadsheet enough to keep track of tenant maintenance issues?

Often, yes. If a few issues come up each month and you can remember who reported what, a spreadsheet does the job. But if three shops are reporting the same leak, or tenants keep ringing to ask whether anyone has looked at it yet, you may want to look at tenant reporting software like CentreOS, where tenants send in problems themselves and can see when they've been picked up.

What a spreadsheet already does well

A spreadsheet keeps your tenant list and rent numbers together. You already know how to use it, and everyone on the team can open it without learning another system.

If you only hear about the occasional issue, your spreadsheet, email and phone may be enough. Keep using them while you can find each report and remember what happened next. There is no need to change a process that is working for you.

Where the gaps show up

A tenant emails about a blocked drain near the food court. Two days later, someone else calls about the same drain. A third person mentions it in the car park. You now have three conversations to remember, even though they are all about one problem.

With a spreadsheet and separate messages, the photo, the report and your update can end up in different places. The tenant cannot check the spreadsheet to see whether you have seen their email or call. You may also have to work out for yourself that the three reports describe the same fault.

That is where a spreadsheet stops helping. It keeps the list of shops and figures, but the conversations still need somewhere to go.

Why the big property systems are more than you need

Search for property management software and you will find plenty of products aimed at companies managing many properties. They can include trust accounting and lease administration, and some ask you to book a sales call before you see a price.

Those tools can suit a landlord with a portfolio. If you manage one centre, you may have to pay for features you do not use or spend time looking through a system that covers far more than tenant reports. A sales call can also be a lot of effort when you are trying to solve one clear problem.

A short checklist before you decide

• If you hear about few problems and can keep track of them in email or a spreadsheet, those tools may be enough for now.
• If the same issue comes through several times, or you spend time checking messages to see whether it has been handled, one shared place for reports may help.
• If you manage a group of properties and need lease or trust-account features, look at software that covers those jobs too.

What we saw at Kingscliff Shopping Village

I'm Max. My family owns a shopping centre and a professional centre in Kingscliff. At the shopping centre, reports have come in by phone and text. Two things kept happening. Shops couldn't tell whether someone had already reported the same broken light, so it came in more than once. And once they'd reported it, they couldn't see whether anyone had picked it up, so they asked again, often on the manager's mobile after hours.

So I created CentreOS. Each shop gets a printed card with a QR code and a PIN, or a sign-in link sent by email. Tenants scan it, describe the problem and add a photo if it helps. Every report lands on one board, management updates its progress, and the tenant can check it without ringing. If another shop has already reported the same thing, they tap "Me too" instead of sending it again. There's nothing for tenants to install or sign up for. See how CentreOS works

Plans start at $99 a month per centre. See pricing

In short

Keep using your spreadsheet for rent figures and the shop list if it works for you. When issues arrive through several channels and tenants keep asking for updates, you may want to look at tenant reporting software like CentreOS.