Not all project management platforms are created equal.
There is project management software and there is real estate-specific project management software. While both are meant to help you streamline your business, industry-specific platforms are tailored more towards the way YOU work.
Commercial real estate project needs are significantly different than those of other industries’ projects. Yes, there are tools that exist that will tell you they can handle the “most complex” projects, but are they suited to handle the intricacies of commercial real estate project management?
The mistake many real estate companies make is to try to adapt generic tools, possibly piecing multiple platforms together to try to meet their needs. They often discover it’s difficult if not impossible to complete workflows that are unique to commercial real estate.
Because real estate requirements and tracking are incredibly intense and very specific, some areas where your current project management software might be lacking include:
Inadequate Site Tracking
You’d be hard-pressed to find a project management software that provides the resources to adequately track sites/properties the way commercial real estate was meant to be tracked.
Site investigation reports are thorough, specific, and crucial to determining the feasibility of a project. So, every detail, requirement, and approval needs to be tracked to the letter.
Simply put, relying on generic project management software likely won’t give you the specific, templated information you need to properly track and manage new real estate projects.
Scheduling that’s too broad
Broad platforms obviously let you track key dates and deadlines, that’s not where they miss the mark. It’s the complexity of dependencies and the real estate project management process that make this field hard to replicate in general software.
Many project management software platforms have scheduling features that are fairly linear.
The problem: the real estate management process can be anything but that. It may require running processes with schedule dates that are concurrent, subsequent, or independent on different timelines.
Having the ability to see a project on a high-level from various scheduling points is something that real estate professionals need and something that real estate-specific software can provide.
Missing Features
The problem with generic project management software is that it’s typically built broad enough to match a plethora of industries. And while customization is part of what makes so many platforms great, they can only offer so much.
For example, project bidding and vendor payments are critical to the real estate acquisitions and development process.
Using ill-suited software for these areas means real estate pros monumentally zap their productivity. Now you’re bouncing from platform to platform, looking for solutions to integrate information and collaborate across channels.
Upgrading your software, or (if you’re just starting out) implementing the right project management software can revolutionize your bidding process.
If you’re not using an industry-specific project management platform, you likely have numerous gaps in your company workflows.
At the end of the day, ask yourself, do I want to tailor a platform that somewhat meets my needs? Or, do I want a platform that truly understands my project needs, as a commercial real estate professional.
Bottom line: making the switch to (or adopting) specialized project management software can help you manage your workflows the way they were meant to be. And best of all, it equips you with the tools to increase productivity, improve collaboration, and boost your overall business functionality.
