AppFolio Property Manager vs. Entrata

We have 6 apartment buildings that we manage. Every month we were having to drive to each location to collect rent checks. Since using appfolio, we only have a couple of renters that still send in a paper check, the rest pay online, so we are ensuring that our renters are paying on time. Once we have an applicant apply, the old way was to take their scanned application, review, and then pay to have a background check conducted. Now, with appfolio, we are able to have them apply, sign off on the background check, and pay their deposit all in one shot. It has allowed our property managers to focus on other property items rather than conducting background checks.

Incentivized

As an all-in-one solution (website, email marketing, SMS, online inventory management, leasing data, renter management), Entrata is very effective and provides solid integration with ILS (internet leasing services like Apartments.com and Zillow) for pushing out data updates. However, Entrata's website solution is turnkey, and lacks customization features standard in any generic CMS, requiring a redesign and new site template to just add new content.

Incentivized

• Multi-entity accounting management
• Checking printing: We have multiple bank accounts tied to our account and utilize blank check stock. Appfolio automatically prints the routing numbers and account numbers at the bottom of the blank checks based on which property we are paying a bill from.
• Tie-in with their Investment Management tool gives our investors a great resource while keeping our investments in sync with our accounting software.

Incentivized

• I send customer communications almost exclusively through Entrata because everything ports into a customer activity log. It's simple and great for record keeping.
• Invoices and payments can be handled from start to finish within Entrata. Expenses port directly into the property budget, allowing users to make informed buying decisions.
• Within Entrata, a prospective customer can move from expressing initial interest to applying, signing a lease, and eventually renewing a lease. All documents and activity are housed within that customer's profile. It is the cleanest and most efficient method of leasing that I've encountered.

Incentivized

• Only a few very technical items that wouldn't necessarily make sense to non-users and I haven't even cared enough to submit requests on the issues. It'd be nice if parking was easier to keep track of on the system. Right now, if you run a report it doesn't show all the information our company requires for the vehicles and therefore we have to keep track of it elsewhere.
• Another obstacle we've encountered is that the program charges "by door" so if you have multiple units and properties you can really rack up pricing. That's especially true for large multi-unit buildings with parking.

Incentivized

• Website editing and content customization.
• The user interface could be much more user-friendly and intuitive. Tools are disjointed, and some reports and integrations are several click-layers deep and not as accessible as they should be.
• The integration with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for event tracking on-site is severely limited and lacking.

Incentivized

The system is so intuitive and easy to use. There’s almost nothing in the system that can’t be undone if you make a mistake. Important things also have their own tabs. It’s also easy to use from the resident side which is helpful for in a world where everyone is not tech-savvy.

Incentivized

In our experience, customer support consists of submitting questions to a bot. When the bot can't answer the question it repeats your question back to you. When you ask for customer support, someone says they will email you with an answer. The answer never comes and then your question is closed out. In my experience, customer service reps then direct you to go to the suggestion boards where you realize there are thousands of frustrated AppFolio Property Manager users who are receiving no help. On our particular hot-spot issue, other customers have submitted requests for help since 2015, but no help is forthcoming

Incentivized

I've used Entrata with three companies, all of whom have had an in-house liaison to the company. Consequently, I haven't had to work directly with Entrata support on very many occasions. However, I have personally seen feature requests added to the platform in a timely manner. That kind of service is rare in this industry.

Incentivized

Before we used AppFolio Property Manager we used Skyline. Skyline Property Management was super outdated. The tenants did not have access to that program so we had to purchase another program for them to make their payments through. We would then have to manually enter every single payment. Onboarding and transferring data to AppFolio from Skyline was a nightmare and took us several months. AppFolio is so much easier for tenant use.

Incentivized

The one competitor with whom I have significant experience is OneSite. Simply put, Entrata is better at every single thing. It has a cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing interface. It is more intuitive. It functions better in more browsers. It has more property management tools and more functions available to customers.

Incentivized

• Wonderful to see how much rent we are drawing in, so we can base budgets off of that. It is a great way to retain that rent and put towards future improvements.
• Wonderful way for tenants to pay their rent without us using a separate payment system or ACH payment. They can set up an account with a credit or debit card, or checking account and it drastically helps us with time management!
• The help that the AppFolio staff is willing to do, saves time on us trying to troubleshoot.

Incentivized

• Entrata has helped keep our budgeting in order and has made it simple to generate financial reports.

Incentivized