Yardi’s property management software was mentioned almost 4 times as often as any other software in response to a question posted on one of the property management groups ("Property Management Professionals") on LINKEDIN. The question someone asked was, "What property management / accounting software is everyone using?". Hundreds of property managers responded to this question.
Here is what was said about Yardi’s software based on an analysis of the first 350+ responses:
SUMMARY for Yardi Software:
The majority of those who mentioned Yardi were very complimentary of the product.
Most felt that Yardi is very user friendly, easy to use, has great functionality, and that the company provides great customer service. However, there were several who indicated they felt the software was too expensive. Of those comparing products with Yardi, a number of them preferred Yardi over AMSI, MRI, OneSite, Peachtree, and Spectra. And some preferred Appfolio, Caliber, OASYS, Peoplesoft, Property Clerk, QuickBooks, and Rent Magic over Yardi.
And if you missed it, be sure to read:
What Property Management software is everyone using? (Part 1)
An analysis & review of: AppFolio (Part 3)
An analysis & review of: MRI (Part 4)
An analysis & review of: OneSite (Part 5)
An analysis & review of: QuickBooks (Part 6)
An analysis & review of: Buildium (Part 7)
An analysis & review of: Rent Manager ( Part 8 )
An analysis & review of: Propertyware (Part 9)
An analysis & review of: Tenant Pro (Part 10)
An analysis & review of: Timberline (Part 11)
An analysis & review of: AMSI (Part 12)
An analysis & review of: PROMAS, Skyline, Tenant File, Tops, & Property Boss (Part 13)
An analysis & review of: Spectra, JD Edwards, & Home Grown solutions (Part 14)
An analysis & review of: Instant Software Property Plus, Peachtree, Caliber, & Jenark (Part 15)
DETAILED ANALYSIS of Yardi Software:
PROS for Yardi Software:
GENERAL COMMENTS:
- Do Yardi and be free of issues!
- It’s the standard; if you have Voyager, that’s as good as it gets.
- My favorite property management program.
- We love it – very good software package.
- Very effective and efficient.
- Very detailed.
- It’s fine for small companies.
USER FRIENDLY:
- User friendly (9 mentions).
EASE OF USE:
- Easy to use (6 mentions).
- Browser-based access is great for remote property access.
- Easy to drop screens right into Excel for analysis or PDF.
CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT:
- Great customer service (6 mentions).
- Excellent understanding of their customers’ needs.
GENERAL FUNCTIONALITY:
- Has everything you need and if you can afford it you should use it (6 mentions).
- Real-time posting of transactions.
- Good for large complex management.
- Good for Tax Credit Properties.
- It even has construction, maintenance, fixed assets and investor accounting.
TRAINING:
- Easy to learn & train staff (5 mentions).
AFFORDABILITY:
- Reasonably priced and worth every dollar (5 mentions).
ANALYSIS & REPORTING CAPABILITIES:
- Produces many useful reports (5 mentions).
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Reports are well liked by Board Members and easy to read.
ACCOUNTING FUNCTIONALITY:
- Accounting functions are solid (4 mentions).
COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONALITY:
- Works well for commercial property management (3 mentions).
RESIDENTIAL FUNCTIONALITY:
- Works well for residential property management (2 mentions).
CONS for Yardi Software:
COST:
- Expensive (7 mentions).
- Support is costly.
FUNCTIONALITY:
- Has a long way to go for Conventional/Student Housing needs.
- It does not have email capability.
- Report scheduler function is quite cumbersome.
- Takes a lot longer to post journal entries.
- Very limited when it comes to addressing the needs of operations and facilities management. Their add-ons are costly and since accounting is their core business, operations functions do not provide the in depth analysis and visibility most organizations need when managing a portfolio.
- The more square footage you have, the more complicated a system you need.
- Seemed to have forgotten about their smaller clients and opted for the larger clients.
- Has a lot of ‘additions’ needed on their ‘canned reports’ to manage the sales process properly i.e. demographics don’t pull all the detail without customization (missing email addresses and 2nd phone numbers, Corporate Outreach reports non-existent to pull employment information from existing residents; follow up attempts only pull on the Traffic Detail Report rather than the Box Score Summary [forcing you to pull 2 reports weekly to manage the sales activity]…and the Leasing Consultant conversions are skewed by the 1st contact entry).
CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT:
- Poor customer service – unwillingness to address problems, and the sour attitude of the East Coast servicing department located in Virginia.
- Level of customer service provided. Everything has a cost and a fee.
- There are many Yardi consultants in the market that can get you up and running faster than using their support.
COMPARISONS: Yardi Software versus other property management software packages:
Of those comparing other products with Yardi, some preferred Yardi over AMSI, MRI, OneSite, Peachtree, and Spectra. And some preferred Appfolio, Caliber, OASYS, Peoplesoft, Property Clerk, QuickBooks, and Rent Magic over Yardi.
Versus AMSI:
MAJORITY: Prefer Yardi
- Recommend Yardi over AMSI.
- Miss some of the reports I had in AMSI that I don’t currently have in Yardi.
- With respect to MRI, Yardi and AMSI – AMSI is the least powerful and most time-consuming.
Versus Appfolio:
MAJORITY: Prefer Appfolio
- For 500+ units use YARDI, if under 500 units use Appfolio.
- Switched to Appfolio – customer support was excellent in the data migration from Yardi. We are just getting our arms wrapped around the new program but so far so good. Many other NARPM members are making the same switch it seems.
- For residential houses and small complexes I recommend Appfolio (very user friendly).
- Unless Yardi steps up to the plate with lower prices, Appfolio will take over their business in 5 years. Because Appfolio can directly update from a Yardi base. For now, Yardi Voyager is the best choice.
- Switched from Yardi to Appfolio, it has been the best business decision we could have ever made. I am able to work anywhere. My staff can also access and complete tasks from outside the office. It has brought streamline, organization and we are on way to becoming a more green office. We currently manage 300 single family homes. The Appfolio staff has been very helpful, responsive which made it a smooth transition.
Versus Caliber:
MAJORITY: Prefer Caliber
- Caliber does a lot that Yardi does not do.
Versus MRI:
MAJORITY: Prefer Yardi
- From an accounting perspective, I prefer Yardi Voyager over MRI.
- Yardi & MRI are considered the best in the business and used my most large investment groups & large property management groups. MRI can roll up to the investor level by fund type.
- MRI has a longer learning curve but works well with Rainmaker/LRO and other yield-management programs.
Versus OASYS (formally CONSTAR):
MAJORITY: Prefer OASYS
- Versus Yardi, we use OASYS (formally known as Constar) and find that is the best program for us.
Versus OneSite:
MAJORITY: Prefer Yardi
- Yardi for small properties under 50 units and OneSite for 50+ units.
- Yardi’s accounts payable are easier than OneSite.
- I prefer Yardi over OneSite.
- OneSite didn’t give me accurate property information.
- Yardi vs. OneSite: very comparable – both are great; Yardi is easier to read, quick reference and a little more organized. OneSite is better on the accounting side and offers a vast assortment of reporting options but, slows you down a bit when needing to advance property dates.
Versus Peachtree:
MAJORITY: Prefer Yardi
- We use Yardi Classic on the properties and Peachtree at the corporate office.
Versus Peoplesoft:
MAJORITY: Prefer Peoplesoft
- We are currently use both Yardi and Peoplesoft, however we are going to be dropping Yardi shortly. Over the years we have been able to customize Yardi, however it can be temperamental.
Versus Property Clerk:
MAJORITY: Prefer Property Clerk
- Property Clerk is better – very intuitive and user friendly. Allowed for web access by residents and Trustees. Good looking and informative reports. Property Clerk allows you to see most everything with clicks of the mouse.
Versus QuickBooks:
MAJORITY: Prefer QuickBooks
- For a small company use QuickBooks.
Versus Rent Magic:
MAJORITY: Prefer Rent Magic
- The best value I came across was Rent Magic (versus Yardi).
Versus Spectra:
MAJORITY: Prefer Yardi
- Spectra is better for managing residential properties.
- Prefer Yardi over Spectra (2 mentions).
Versus Tenant Pro:
MAJORITY: Inconclusive
- For managing smaller rental units, look at Tenant Pro — it is less expensive.
- Tenant Pro is good for rentals, but prefer Yardi for Condo’s.
- For a small company use Tenant Pro.
- Recommend Yardi over Tenant Pro and AMSI.
Versus Timberline:
MAJORITY: Inconclusive
- Timberline is much more sophisticated. You need to be an accountant sometimes to navigate through the ledgers.
Versus Tops:
MAJORITY: Inconclusive
- We are currently using YARDI for our Residential and Affordable assets, and Tops for our small CAM units.
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