How to replace Excel spreadsheets with a smarter property management tool?

Why property managers rely on Excel?

Excel has been a go-to tool for property managers for years. It’s widely available, used in other parts of your life and job and easy to customize. At first it seems like a perfect cost-effective solution. And it often is, but for very small portfolios.

As your property related tasks increase, so do the limitations of Excel. What starts as a well-organized spreadsheet can quickly turn into a manual, time-consuming headache. Here are some reasons why:

1. Data overload & human errors

More properties, means more data – starting with leases and expenses to maintenance requests. One small mistake in a formula, can throw off your entire financial tracking, leading to miscalculations, late fees or even legal issues.

2. No automation

Excel requires constant manual updates. You can’t set up automatic payment reminders or lease related alerts. Everything relies on you remembering things.  

Read about automation benefits in property management here.

3. Limited scalability

The more your business grows, the more grows your spreadsheet. A lot of data makes it slow and navigating it becomes time-consuming.  

Read more thoroughly about scaling your operations here.

4. No tenant communication features

Tenants expect quick responses. With Excel you still need to rely on email, phone and other messaging possibilities. With property management software you can gather all information under one platform.

Hausing user Mikk explained, why Excel didn’t work for them anymore:

“We have 100+ tenants and eventually it got too confusing to manage it all in Excel. Each month we had to keep an eye that all the formulas were correct, the arrival and departure dates were included correctly in cost sharing etc. Also there were no reminders of the contract deadlines or rental price changes, so a lot of manual work had to be done.”

What a smart property management tool can do?

While being used to spreadsheets, you might ask what’s the alternative? A dedicated property management tool like Hausing can automate your workflows, reduce errors and keep data and communications in one place.

Here are some of the functions a good property management software offers:

Optimized maintenance requests workflow

Tenants can submit request directly to your system via email that is connected to it or through tenant app. Your job is to assign, track and update the tasks. You can view all the issues on one platform, assign them to external contractors and analyze them to make your decisions on how to further improve your workflows.

With Hausing, you will have:

• A convenient kanban view your maintenance tasks,
• Regular maintenance calendar,
• Tenant portal,
• External contractor portal etc.

Centralized tenant & lease management

Store all lease agreements, contact details and tenant history in one place. Set up automatic indexations and lease endings/changes, so that you don’t have to remember things for yourself.

With Hausing you have a quick overview of all the leases, and everything is automated. You job is to insert initial data and update when needed.

Cost tracking & utility calculations

Instead of creating calculation rules in Excel and keeping in mind to make no mistakes in formulas, use a variation of predefined rules in property management software to share costs among tenants. And create invoices in just one click. Also track maintenance expenses to plan your budget.  

Use Hausing’s cost sharing module to insert meter readings, share costs and quickly generate and send out utility invoices.

Automated reminders & alerts

Expiring leased. Lease indexations. Overdue maintenance tasks. Regular maintenance. Debt notifications. All this should be done automatically by a smart software. Setting up these notifications for yourself in calendar takes up unnecessary time.

With Hausing you have all the reminders listed above.

“Everything is much faster and clearer, compared to Excel. What must be highlighted is the customer support - it's just super, always very fast and specific solutions,”

said Mikk who transferred from using Excel to Hausing.

How to transition from Excel to a property management software?

The switch may seem like a big step at first, but if you plan well and choose your new software partner wisely, then it doesn’t have to be.

1. Assess your current data

Before migrating to a new system, take a look at how you’re using Excel. Identify the key data you’re tracking, such as:

• Lease agreements (tenant names, contract dates, rent amounts)
• Rent payments (due dates, paid/unpaid status, overdue amounts)
• Maintenance records (issues reported, status, resolution dates)
• Expenses & invoices (utility costs, service fees, repairs)

Having a clear overview of what needs to be transferred will make the process much easier.

2. Choose the right property management tool

Not all systems are the same. Look for a software that matches your needs. List the things you had before and what are essential to make the switch. Compare softwares’ websites, look for free trials and don’t be afraid to book demos and openly discuss your needs.

You can try Hausing for free here or book a demo here.

Don’t forget to ask about onboarding process and how is the best way to transfer data from one system to another. At Hausing, we always help new customers with data import. They send us their old spreadsheets, and we convert them into an importable format - so they don’t have to worry about it.

3. Migrate your data and set up your portfolio

Many property management platforms allow you to import Excel data directly to avoid manual entry. If needed, clean up your spreadsheet beforehand—remove duplicates, fix formatting issues, and ensure data consistency.

Some platforms offer data migration assistance, so check if support is available to help make the process even smoother

4. Train your team & tenants

If you work with a team, ensure they understand how to use the new system. Most property management platforms offer tutorials or customer support to help with onboarding.

For tenants, consider sending a simple guide or email introduction explaining how they can submit maintenance requests, check invoices, or communicate through the system.

5. Monitor & adjust

Start actively using the system to understand it and make adjustments. If issues arise turn to instructions or customer support, to get your platform up and running.

Conclusion – time to leave spreadsheets behind

Excel has served property managers well for years, but as portfolios grow, so do its limitations. Manual updates, error-prone calculations, and lack of automation make managing properties more complicated than it should be. A specialised property management tool offers a smarter way to streamline operations, improve accuracy, and save valuable time.

By switching to a system like Hausing, you can automate rent invoicing, centralize tenant communication, track maintenance effortlessly, and gain real-time insights into your finances.

If you’re spending more time fixing Excel formulas than managing your properties, it’s time for a change.

Contact us at Hausing to understand if we are a suitable fit for your or try it out yourself. The trial is free of charge.