The Critical Role of Smart Software in Residential Society Management

The need for serious software in the Residential Society Management segment has been neglected for long. While there was demand for specialized manpower, Management Committee members of many Housing Societies tried to make-do the management of their societies with various free software available in the market.

Urban Homes are now synonymous with Apartment living. These residential communities provide several amenities for an enhanced lifestyle, and technology continues to remain an integral component, making sure the residents are able to avail all of it in a convenient manner.

As Housing Society management software largely works behind the scenes, most Owners/Residents do not appreciate the need for spending money on it. Just like various corporate software like Zoho, Salesforce, Hubspot, etc work behind the scenes to ensure that a corporate keeps running in a flawless manner, meets compliances, etc, housing society management software plays an equally essential role. The right housing society management software ensures that residents are able enjoy an enhanced lifestyle, with easy access to information as well as community services and amenities.

Housing societies have similar compliances to adhere to like a corporate/hotel or resort, from accounting and facilities compliance point of view. While in a corporate setup there are full time specialists monitoring the accounts and upkeep of facilities, in a housing society this role is played by Management Committee members, who are volunteers and natural leaders, who come forward to manage their housing societies and raise the living standards of residents, juggling their busy professional and personal lives.

The need for serious software increases manifold in this setup, as the software plays a proactive role of suggesting best practices, drawing attention to anomalies, providing notifications on important dates, and adhering to compliance requirements etc.

The luxury housing sales in India is booming, with a 75% YoY growth in 2023-24. A vast majority of project launches in India’s major cities are also in the luxury segment. Developers in this segment provide various amenities, however to maintain this, to ensure appreciating value of the property, it is essential to have the right manpower and a serious software working in the background, powering a robust society management ecosystem.

Today thankfully, this awareness is increasing and more and more Committee members, especially of large scale communities, are shifting their operations on serious software that are 100% ad and spam free.

Like professionals working in the housing society management segment need to combine knowledge of global best practices along with local rules and compliances, similar is the case with housing society management software.

Best housing society management software builds in global-best practices along with local nuances. Management Committees evaluating the right housing society management software should look for software which is globally accepted, as well as has a large presence in India, and is backed by recommendations from local auditors and facility management professionals.

All large-scale residential communities employ services of facilities management companies, who are given responsibility of the upkeep of the society and facilities, taking care of resident queries and their service requests, taking care of collections and expenses through their accounting services. However, if a housing society does not invest in serious housing society software, then the effectiveness of this facility management team remains limited.

This is similar to a scenario where a company hires a great sales team, but refuses to invest in serious CRM software, thinking that a cheap or free CRM software will somehow give them the same effectiveness.

Another example of how technology can enhance the housing society management segment is that all gated communities have security guards, but further use of technology like CCTV cameras and Gatekeeping Apps add to the secured lifestyle of community residents.

Gatekeeping Apps, which do not bank on freebies or disguise to sell other offers, makes the gate connected and further adds convenience to residents, giving them real time information about visitors coming to their homes, their helpers coming into their community, their parcels being delivered at their community’s parcel collection center, etc.

Today, housing society management space in India is seeing a great transition. Over the past few years, some advertisement platforms, insurance brokers and real estate brokerage companies have been trying to make inroads into housing society residents’ data, for powering their business – in the garb of giving housing society management solutions for free. Many large scale communities realizing the multiple problems with such software, are now shifting to safer and secure solutions like us.

We have seen some extremely unfortunate incidents happening in the recent past, where children have lost their lives in common facilities like community swimming pools. Such incidents bring forth underlying risks in all the facilities in a housing society, and the need for serious processes around their maintenance. And this maintenance is not possible without requisite investment on manpower, mechanical, electrical gadgets and the right software.

A typical housing society of around 500-1,000 apartments has annual expenses to the tune of Rs 2 to 13 Crores (depending on the type of housing society). Again, handling finances of this magnitude needs both the right manpower and the right software. 

Overall, more and more urban dwellers choose to live in Housing Societies. Living in residential communities, which are connected through society management software, brings in several benefits. Residents are able to avail an enhanced lifestyle with easy access to several facilities - gym, sports facilities, etc. Pursuing interests and hobbies becomes easier in such an environment. Children grow up enjoying a more wholesome lifestyle. It is easier to keep the home maintained with availability of in house maintenance staff. It is easy to get neighborhood knowledge and help, as neighbors are connected.

However, all of this only becomes possible when residents as well as Committee members realize and act upon the need for serious 1.  manpower, 2. hardware (electrical and mechanical gadgets) and 3. software. This is the Trinity which ensures effective Housing Society Management.

Only when requisite importance is given to this trinity, with allocation of the right budget, can residents live their life in a safe environment, while enjoying the enhanced, secure and connected lifestyle of a residential society.

-By Krishanu Mukherjee, AVP - Growth (ADDA.io)