The 9 Best Commercial Real Estate Apps Every Broker Needs
There’s no question that commercial real estate is becoming an increasingly mobile industry — brokers are constantly on the move and they need to run their leasing businesses from their phones. Different commercial real estate apps have different tools to help you stay connected even while you’re away from the office:
- Property listing apps can help you list a commercial property or search for a listing
- Planning apps can help you organize notes, tasks, to-do lists, and strategies
- Client relationship management (CRM) apps can help you organize transactions
- Administrative apps can help you get documents signed, submitted, and filed
- Due diligence apps can help you manage tasks like property inspection and underwriting
- Tenant experience apps can help you showcase a building’s best features when giving in-person tours
Here’s a list of go-to apps for commercial real estate brokers.
1. DocuSign
DocuSign allows for fast, easy, and totally secure electronic signatures. The process is completely legal – and life-changing. Once a client is ready to sign, you don’t have to waste a single minute getting the contract in their hand. You can also store and send documents within the app. DocuSign has specific plans designed for real estate professionals, so it’s customized to exactly what you need.
2. Evernote Scannable
If you’re into proptech, you probably have a digital system for everything — but not everyone in the commercial real estate industry is tech-savvy. Scannable by Evernote is a great way to turn paper into digital and lighten your load when you’re on the go. Scannable recognizes documents and can make sure they’re straight, cropped, and clear when capturing them. It can also capture text from a business card and add names and contact info to your contacts on your phone.
3. VTS
You know that saying, “a meeting that could’ve been an email”? In commercial real estate, there’s an app for that: VTS’ mobile app. Rather than spending an hour stuck in a conference room updating your colleagues on the status of every lease in your portfolio, VTS puts all of your leasing data at your fingertips in real-time so that when the next leasing meeting comes up, everyone is already in the loop. With everyone on the same page, you can use your meeting time to strategize using VTS’ tenant management features, and use the app’s site plans and stacking features to find the properties and spaces that best fit tenants’ needs. The platform is intuitive and collaborative and increases visibility, productivity, and results.
4. Google Workspace
The next best thing to a personal assistant, Google Workspace puts all your favorite Google tools in one place so you can streamline your day-to-day operations. Use Google Calendar and Gmail to ensure you never miss an important email or double book a meeting. Use Meet and Chat to connect with clients and your team, use Docs, Slides, and Sheets to access data while you’re on the go.
5. VTS Activate
VTS Activate is a tenant experience app that helps brokers give prospective tenants a thorough overview of a VTS Activate building’s features, tenants, and management. The app’s verified mobile credentials make building access more convenient for both tenants and visitors. Tenants can also use the app to access shared spaces and make service requests, and property managers can see it all in real-time. The building newsfeed lets property managers broadcast important messages to tenants, conduct surveys, and stay connected with what’s happening in the building and the surrounding area.
6. Visual Lease
It can be tricky to understand how an investment property or lease is impacting your bottom line. Visual Lease is an accounting app for your lease portfolio designed to give you a birds-eye view of your financials. You can use it to track the impact of property management decisions and find ways to lower costs. Visual Lease uses cloud-based storage and can be accessed by multiple team members working on the same properties. The commercial real estate app also includes a scheduling feature to make sure you don’t miss important deadlines.
7. DealCalc
This handy free deal calculator app from VTS lets you quickly and easily calculate the terms of a leasing deal. Change the fields to see different deal options and how they’ll affect the bottom line. Fields include square footage, length of the lease, starting rent per square foot, percent annual increase, number of rent-free months, type of lease, taxes, discounts, and more. DealCalc lets you play with the numbers until you find a deal that works for everyone involved.
8. PropertyCapsule
Powered by VTS, PropertyCapsule is an app geared toward retail spaces that lets you access your portfolio on your phone or iPad. The cloud-based platform lets you make client presentations on the go, complete with tour books and floor plans, and even helps you customize presentations based on your client’s needs. When you upload new info, it syncs across all your devices. You can then use your info and the app’s tools to produce high-quality marketing material.
9. Social Media Apps
Commercial real estate is all about networking, and these days most networking takes place in the digital realm on social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Short-form sites like Instagram and Twitter are great platforms for keeping your business in front of potential clients — the more frequently they see your content on their feeds, the more likely they’ll be to contact you for their CRE needs. Facebook has more room for storytelling and marketing, allowing you to create a stronger digital presence, while LinkedIn is ideal for cultivating essential B2B relationships that can net long-term gains and further networking opportunities.
To stay on top of the needs of brokers, technology for mobile devices is continually changing. Staying current with the latest mobile commercial real estate apps can help you improve your productivity, impress your clients, and gain a competitive edge.
For more, read our Guide to Running Productive Leasing Meetings or Guide to Working More Efficiently with Brokers.
