For Deborah, it's not just about numbers and investments. Building a successful business is about building lasting relationships with clients based on trust, understanding – and customisation.

But legacy property management systems weren’t built to allow property managers to be everything to everyone all the time. So when Deborah learnt about Ailo, she was intrigued. Finally, a platform that allows property managers to deliver deeply-customised and personal service without the burnout!

With more than a decade in real estate, Deborah now owns a growing boutique property management business called Resident Property just outside of Perth, WA.

I love all of the aspects of Ailo! I love that there's no daily trust accounting, and I love the projects. I have been looking for a software that has an in-built checklist for forever, and I love that.

I have seen quite a few different software systems in my time, and the benefits from Ailo from a cost perspective and a time perspective, are just invaluable.

I have a background in managing large teams, and Projects would just solve so many problems for people that are trying to manage and oversee large teams. It's just fabulous.

When I was working with a larger team, I always used to say to my PMs, “We need to plan for you!” How am I going to know where this maintenance project is up to? I need to be able to know exactly where we're up to.

But having a piece of paper checklist on your desk doesn't help!

Having it in your software where you've gone in and you can see the email that was sent to the owner asking for the repair to be done. And, you can see the confirmation coming back from the owner saying that she's doing it… that allows anybody to jump into anybody's seat and run with things. So Projects are so important for that reason.

Even though I have only got a smaller portfolio at the moment, I still need reminding. I'm so busy working on my business that I may forget where that lease renewal process is up to. I won't forget now! I work on my tasks for the day, and I know exactly where I'm up to.

I send landlords a listing kit to show them exactly what Ailo can do and how they can have access to the app, set up their preferences, see where their tenants are paid to, and just the benefits of being able to draw on that money whenever they need it.

It's always interesting to see those landlords who love to jump in and pay themselves! It's funny to see how different people like to work differently. Some are more traditional and will just transfer the money at the end of the month, and others log in at all different times. It's their money, and they have access to it when they want.

I got a call from one of my investors recently and he is not very happy with his property manager in Brisbane and wanted to source a new one. He asked me what Brisbane agents use Ailo, because he loves the software so much that he wants to find another agent for his investment property in Brisbane that is using Ailo. So, that was quite exciting for me to hear that because I love that my landlords are enjoying the app as much as I am!

The benefits for him having the two properties in two different states is that he can log in and see both of the properties in his Ailo app, instead of having to log into two different systems. He has it all there!

I have another landlord who's in New South Wales who has an investment there. And she was so excited when she found me and then found out that I was using Ailo, too!

It's almost like, I want to share this knowledge with everyone, but on the other hand, I'd also like to keep it as a little bit of a secret for me because I am using that in my sales pitch to potential landlords!

The biggest thing was probably the paperless PCRs – the inspections are great! They're really easy to do, and when I tell tenants that I'm going to be sending out the paperless PCR and that they can all work on it simultaneously, they're loving that, because, you know, divide and conquer! It's always great to have help to do that report and not have to just rely on one person going through every room. Tenants are loving it.

They're also just loving the fact that they can just log on and see where they're paid to. Some have noted that they're really enjoying the fact that they can pay their rent by credit card, too. If something has happened that week or that month, and they need to make a payment by credit card, that facility is there for them to do that. So that's great as well.