Looking for mixed -use (residential and commercial) property management solution

Providence, Rhode Island
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Looking for mixed -use (residential and commercial) property management solution

Abe B.
Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 5 votes

I have a mix of residential and commercial properties. I'd like to be able to manage both in a single software. Right now, I'm just using Google spreadsheets and it's getting tiresome.... I've never used any software before.

Any advice or opinions?

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Ryan Stomel
Property Manager · Calabasas, CA · Member since 2026 · 141 posts · 67 votes
6mo

Innago is solid for the residential side — free, clean interface, good for smaller portfolios. The spreadsheet-for-commercial combo is a reasonable short-term call at 25 doors, especially if the commercial leases are relatively stable.

Just keep an eye on whether the spreadsheet starts adding friction as the commercial side grows or the lease terms get more complicated. The CAM/utility reimbursement piece is usually fine at first, but year-end reconciliation gets messy fast when you're trying to cross-reference two systems. If you hit that point, it's worth re-evaluating whether a single platform for the commercial piece makes more sense. Good luck with the buildout.

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  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    8mo
    Quote from @Abe B.:

    I have a mix of residential and commercial properties. I'd like to be able to manage both in a single software. Right now, I'm just using Google spreadsheets and it's getting tiresome.... I've never used any software before.

    Any advice or opinions?


     Most of the major PM softwares will allow this.

    You didn't state how many doors you have, but most PM softwares require 20+ doors to be cost-effective.

    [email protected]248-209-6824
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  • Lydia Winn
    Member since 2025 · 91 posts · 55 votes
    8mo

    @Abe B. Great question. I'm an AppFolio user for this and it works well but, yes, you'd need to be a medium-sized operation for it to make sense financially. 

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  • Abe B.
    OP
    Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 5 votes
    8mo

    Thanks both! 

    it'll be something like 25 doors soon, but both require some unique things. 

    Ie I have some residences where each roommate prefers to communicate with me on their own, and then I have some commercial spaces with unique terms (ie water and utility reimbursement)

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  • Ryan Stomel
    Property Manager · Calabasas, CA · Member since 2026 · 141 posts · 67 votes
    6mo

    The mixed-use challenge is genuinely tricky because most PM software picks a lane — either residential-first (AppFolio, Buildium, DoorLoop) or commercial-first — and the ones that claim to do both usually mean they can hold a commercial lease in the same database, not that they actually handle commercial lease structures well.

    The specific problem you mentioned — utility reimbursement and other pass-throughs on commercial spaces — is where most residential-first platforms fall apart. They're designed around simple rent collection and maintenance requests. When you add commercial tenants with water sub-metering, utility reimbursements, or any kind of NNN/CAM structure, you're usually back to a spreadsheet alongside the software anyway.

    For a portfolio your size with that mix, a few options worth evaluating:

    If the commercial side is small and simple (flat utility reimbursements, no reconciliation), a residential platform like Buildium or Rentec Direct might still work — just accept that the commercial pieces will require manual tracking outside the software.

    If the commercial side is going to grow or the lease terms are more complex, you want software built for commercial lease structures from the start. I built PigJet (pigjet.com) specifically for this — small CRE operators managing commercial leases with utility pass-throughs, NNN, and CAM. It handles the commercial piece natively and integrates with QuickBooks so you're not double-entering everything. The residential side is more limited, but if your commercial units are the harder problem to solve, it's worth looking at.

    At 25 doors with both sides, you may also end up running two systems — one residential-focused for the apartments, one commercial-focused for the commercial spaces — which is annoying but sometimes cleaner than forcing a single platform to do both badly. Depends on how much the two sides need to talk to each other.

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  • Abe B.
    OP
    Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 5 votes
    6mo

    Thanks! I'm plannning on using Innago + spreadsheets.

    1Reply
  • Ryan Stomel
    Property Manager · Calabasas, CA · Member since 2026 · 141 posts · 67 votes
    6mo

    Innago is solid for the residential side — free, clean interface, good for smaller portfolios. The spreadsheet-for-commercial combo is a reasonable short-term call at 25 doors, especially if the commercial leases are relatively stable.

    Just keep an eye on whether the spreadsheet starts adding friction as the commercial side grows or the lease terms get more complicated. The CAM/utility reimbursement piece is usually fine at first, but year-end reconciliation gets messy fast when you're trying to cross-reference two systems. If you hit that point, it's worth re-evaluating whether a single platform for the commercial piece makes more sense. Good luck with the buildout.

    1Reply
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