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🏘️ Built for property managers

AI tools for property managers.

Multi-unit maintenance invoicing. Per-property tracking. Recurring monthly management fees. Coordinating sub-contractors across 5, 10, 50 doors. Operaite is the back-office layer that fits between your tenant portal and your accountant — without paying Buildium or AppFolio prices.

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Sample invoice. Real PM work.

Cardinal Property Services
PM & maintenance · (555) 555-0211 · billing@cardinalpm.com
Invoice
#INV-2026-218
May 2026 — Maintenance recap
Net 15
From
Cardinal Property Services
PO Box 4421 Charlotte, NC 28204 billing@cardinalpm.com
Bill to
M. Rodriguez (Birchwood Apartments)
Property: 412 Birchwood Ave 6 units · monthly billing
DescriptionQtyRateAmount
Unit 1A — kitchen faucet replacement (Moen)1$145.00$145.00
Unit 2B — garbage disposal install (1/2 HP)1$185.00$185.00
Unit 3C — HVAC filter swap (annual) all 6 units6$22.00$132.00
Unit 4A — interior door rehang + paint touch-up1$215.00$215.00
Common area — exterior light bulb replacement (8 fixtures)8$28.00$224.00
Monthly management fee (8% of $4,950 rents)1$396.00$396.00
Maintenance subtotal$901.00
Management fee$396.00
Total Due$1,297.00
Maintenance ledger and unit-by-unit photos in shared Google Drive folder. Net rents deposited via ACH on the 5th. Next monthly recap: June 12, 2026.
Real Operaite invoice rendering · “Classic” template · download as a vector PDF

Six tools property managers come back to.

🔁
Recurring management fee invoices
Monthly 8-12% of rents collected, or flat per-unit. Set once, auto-bills owners. Learn more →
📄
Multi-unit invoice line items
Per-unit charges on a single owner invoice. Cleaner than separate per-unit billing for portfolios under 20 doors. Try free →
👥
Customer database per owner
Property owner with their properties, units, and addresses. Notes track lease-end dates, owner preferences, contractor relationships. Learn more →
AI review replies
Reply to Google/Yelp reviews from tenants. PM businesses live and die by reputation — replies signal you’re a real PM, not an absent landlord. Learn more →
📊
Marketing audit
Score your PM company’s online presence. Owner-side leads come from Google + referrals — Google ranking matters. Learn more →
💰
Income tracking by property
See which properties are profitable after maintenance costs. Some properties bleed; the data tells you which. Learn more →

Property management pricing in 2026.

Industry-typical 2026 fee structures. Management fees vary widely by market and unit count; maintenance pass-through is universal.

ServiceTypical range (2026)Notes
Monthly management fee (residential)8-12% of rents collectedOr $75-$150 per unit per month flat
Lease-up / placement fee50-100% of one month’s rentMarketing, showing, screening, lease signing
Lease renewal fee$200-$500Or 25% of one month’s rent
Maintenance coordination markup10-20% of contractor costOr flat $25-$50 per work order
Setup / onboarding (per property)$100-$300Property inspection, system setup, owner contract
Eviction handling fee$200-$500Plus legal fees pass-through
Inspection fee (periodic)$75-$150 per visitQuarterly or annual; sometimes included
Vacancy fee (when unit is empty)$0-$50/moSome PMs charge; many waive to keep owner happy

How small PMs actually use Operaite.

Property management is a coordination business. The actual work is done by sub-contractors (plumbers, HVAC, landscapers, painters) — your job is matching the right contractor to the right unit on the right day, then making sure the owner gets a clean monthly recap with management fees folded in.

Operaite is the back-office layer. Tenants submit requests through your portal (Buildium, RentRedi, or just email). You schedule the contractor visit in Operaite’s scheduling tab. When the work’s done, you mark it complete and Operaite adds the line item to the property owner’s monthly invoice. End of month, owners get a clean breakdown showing every unit, every line item, the management fee, and the net due. ACH the deposit, send the recap, move on to next month.

The hidden win: AI review replies. PM companies live or die by online reviews from tenants. A 2-star "they took 3 days to fix my leak" stays at the top of your Google Business Profile until you reply. The AI drafts a professional, non-defensive response in 12 seconds that signals to future tenants (and Google’s algorithm) that you’re actively managing the business. Compounds over years.

Frequently asked.

Can I invoice maintenance work across multiple units on one bill?
Yes. Operaite’s invoice line items handle per-unit charges (Unit 2B faucet repair, Unit 3A garbage disposal, Unit 4C interior paint touch-up). Property owners get one consolidated monthly invoice with each unit broken out. Or generate separate invoices per unit if the owner prefers that format.
Does Operaite handle recurring management fees?
Yes. Set up recurring monthly management fee invoices per property owner — 8-12% of rents collected, or flat per-unit fee structures. Operaite auto-generates and emails on the same day each month. Separate from one-off maintenance invoices.
How do I track which tenant or unit is which when invoicing the owner?
Two approaches: (1) customer database stores the property owner; line items reference specific units (Unit 2B, Unit 3A) in the description. (2) Add a separate customer per property if the owner wants property-by-property accounting. Most PMs use option 1 for owners with under 10 units and option 2 for larger portfolios.
Does Operaite replace Buildium or AppFolio?
No. Buildium and AppFolio are full property management platforms with tenant portals, rent collection, lease tracking, and tenant screening. Operaite doesn’t do those. Many small PM operators run Buildium for tenant-side work and Operaite for the maintenance contractor + owner invoicing side, saving Buildium’s mid-tier fees.
What’s the cheapest setup for a 1-2 person PM company?
Operaite $29/mo + free tenant portal (RentRedi free tier) + QuickBooks Simple Start $35/mo for tax filing = $64/mo total. Beats Buildium Essentials at $58/mo + per-unit fees, or AppFolio’s $1.40+/unit/mo plus minimums. Best fit for PMs managing under 50 units.
Can I track maintenance request status?
Operaite’s scheduling tab tracks pending/in-progress/completed maintenance visits. Mark a request done, generate the invoice. For tenant-facing request submission (where tenants log into a portal), pair Operaite with a tool like RentRedi or Avail.

Built for the 1-2 person PM company.

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