Improvement. It’s what we all strive for, but it’s nearly impossible if we don’t have a starting point and baseline. This applies to everything from physical fitness to commercial lease databases. You can’t accurately measure how far you’ve come unless you know where you began.
That’s the focus of today’s post, with our goal being to help commercial real estate professionals and investors gain better market understanding and avenues for maximizing efficiency. Let’s take a look at some best practices for lease databases in an effort to answer the question, “can your lease database be improved?”
Lease Databases and Commercial Real Estate
For starters, why is it so important to improve your lease database? It helps to understand the pivotal role they play in your CRE operations. As you may know (or not), the lease database serves as a centralized source for all information related to your portfolio, from lease terms and tenant details to rent rates, expirations and so much more. The benefits of a robust lease database include:
- Data-driven decision making, where stakeholders can make informed decisions based on accurate, up-to-date information (as opposed to guesses and less-reliable sources).
- Better lease management, since you can track dates and identify errors sooner, improving your ability to negotiate lease terms, rental rates and so forth.
- Improved market analysis, with aggregated lease data that makes it easier to identify trends, opportunities and potential risks.
- Enhanced tenant relationship, with more efficient communication and maintenance management features.
Common Lease Database Challenges
While robust lease databases have benefits, databases that are lacking come with several drawbacks for CRE professionals. These include:
- Data fragmentation: it’s difficult to maintain accuracy and accessibility if your information is scattered across multiple spreadsheets, emails and documents.
- Lack of standardization: there can be confusion, errors and inconsistent formatting or terminology if there isn’t some form of standard input.
- Limited analytics: the more basic your database is, the less value you’ll be able to extract from it.
- Poor integrations: there’s less of a likelihood that your database will be compatible with other systems and dolls, causing a higher likelihood of data discrepancies.
Ways to Improve Your Lease Database
Now, for the good news. You can address the challenges above and full potential of your lease database if you implement some best practices. Here are strategies and techniques to consider if you’re looking to make the most of your CRE lease database:
- Centralize your data: Choose a commercial real estate tool or platform like Quarem, which lets you consolidate all lease-related information into a single, easy-to-organize database that ensures integrity and accessibility for all stakeholders/investors.
- Standardize entries: Establish clear guidelines for entering dates, currency, terminology and so forth. The more consistent and accurate you are, the better. This is why Quarem automates many of the data entry tasks that could only be done manually in the past.
- Get more in-depth with your analytics: Don’t settle for basic lease information. Get more valuable analytic info like predictive modeling, scenario analysis and data visualization. Quarem does all this and more.
- Choose a tool that integrates easily: Minimize the risk of data silos by choosing a platform that integrates seamlessly with other systems and tools used in your CRE operations. Quarem, for example, combines property management software with accounting systems, market research and so much more. It’s your all-in-one tool.
- Update and maintain it regularly: Whether it’s a lease term change, rental rate update or new tenant information, ensure your data is updated and accurate. A CRE property management software’s UX will give you a good idea of how feasible this is for you.
- Leverage AI when it makes sense: Consider tools that leverage automation and artificial intelligence to maximize efficiency and help you better identify patterns, as well as predict future trends. In fact, AI could be the one advantage you need to gain an edge on your competition.
Better Lease Management with Quarem
As you’ve probably picked up on, our commercial real estate management software includes many of the best practices mentioned above already—and then some. With Quarem, the details of your leases come alive, letting you easily track changes, obligations, risks, opportunities and other data that may be hidden away in fragmented databases. The best part? You’ll have access to a team of CRE software professionals who will ensure you’re getting the most you can out of both the tool and your lease database itself.
Ready to see how Quarem can help take your commercial real estate database (and your portfolio) to the next level? We’d love to show you what hands-on lease management software looks like—not just one that gives you more control, but makes your life easier with its abundance of convenient and efficiency-improving features. Request a demo today and we think you’ll be impressed with the tool’s CRE data capabilities.
