PMS (Property Management System)
A property management system (PMS) is the software operators use to run day-to-day property operations: tenancy management, bookings, rent collection, maintenance, and financial reporting. In PBSA and BTR, it is the operational system of record. Common platforms in the sector include StarRez, Concurrent, and Lavanda.
What does a property management system actually do?
A PMS centralises the core operational workflows that keep a property running: lease creation and tracking, rent billing and collection, tenant communications, maintenance request logging, and financial reporting. Many modern platforms are cloud-based SaaS products, so staff can manage multiple buildings from one interface. In PBSA, the PMS also handles room allocation, contract signing, guarantor management, and arrears tracking. In BTR it extends to longer assured tenancies, void management, and flexible lease-up tools. The PMS owns operational truth: who lives where, what they pay, and what needs fixing.
Why do PBSA and BTR operators use sector-specific PMS platforms?
Generic letting software is not built for the volume or complexity of multi-site student or build-to-rent portfolios. Sector-specific platforms handle PBSA-specific workflows like group bookings, summer void fills, and digital contract signing for domestic and international students. StarRez is widely used in higher-education and private PBSA; it describes itself as a full accounts receivable and property payable platform and integrates with financial systems including Xero and Oracle. Concurrent serves student, BTR, and co-living operators across the UK and includes rent reconciliation, compliance checks, and a branded tenant app; it is part of the StuRents Group and has facilitated over £3.5 billion in tenancies signed. Lavanda is used by BTR operators who need to blend long-term leases with short and mid-term stays from a single platform.
What is the gap between a PMS and a CRM?
A PMS records what happens operationally; a CRM records who enquired, how, and what was said to them. By default, the two systems do not talk to each other. Marketing drives enquiries into a CRM like HubSpot. Bookings are completed in the PMS. Without integration, leasing teams cannot see which CRM contacts converted, cannot attribute bookings to campaigns, and must re-enter data manually across both systems. This data silo creates duplicate entry and inconsistent records, and makes it very difficult to measure marketing return on investment or automate post-booking communications.
How does PMS data flow into HubSpot?
When a PMS is connected to HubSpot via an integration layer, tenancy data flows into the CRM as deal and contact records. Fields such as tenancy stage, lease start and end dates, room type, and building information update automatically, keeping the CRM aligned with operational reality. This means leasing and marketing teams always see current occupancy and booking status without switching between systems. Automated workflows in HubSpot can then trigger based on tenancy milestones, such as sending a renewal prompt 90 days before lease expiry or re-engaging a past resident when a matching unit becomes available.
Key takeaways
- A PMS centralises the operational workflows that keep a property running: lease tracking, rent collection, maintenance, and financial reporting.
- Sector-specific platforms such as StarRez, Concurrent, and Lavanda are built for the volume and complexity of multi-site PBSA and BTR portfolios.
- Without integration, the PMS and CRM hold separate, diverging data, creating duplicate entry, inconsistent records, and no visibility of the marketing-to-booking journey.
- When the PMS is connected to HubSpot, tenancy data updates automatically in the CRM, enabling automated workflows tied to real tenancy milestones.
- For operators running Concurrent, StaySynced connects the PMS to HubSpot with no developer required.
How Cloudfox Helps With PMS
Cloudfox integrates the PMS into HubSpot so leasing teams and marketing work from a single source of truth. For operators running Concurrent, StaySynced is our self-serve SaaS product that syncs tenancy data into HubSpot automatically: contacts, deal records, tenancy stages, room types, and building information flow without manual entry. That sync removes spreadsheet exports, eliminates duplicate data entry, and makes it possible to attribute bookings to the marketing activity that drove them. For operators on other PMS platforms, Cloudfox designs and builds a bespoke integration layer as part of a HubSpot implementation project. The result is a CRM that reflects live operational data and a commercial team that can finally see the full journey from first enquiry to signed lease. Find out more at /what-we-do.
Frequently Asked Questions About PMS
Does our PMS replace the need for a CRM?
No. A PMS manages operations: leases, payments, maintenance, and reporting. A CRM manages relationships: enquiries, communications, pipeline, and marketing. They serve different teams and different purposes. Running only a PMS means your commercial and marketing activity has no structured home, and you lose visibility of the full journey from prospect to resident.
Which PMS platforms do PBSA and BTR operators most commonly use in the UK?
Concurrent is widely used across student, BTR, and co-living operators in the UK. StarRez is common in higher-education and private PBSA. Lavanda is used by BTR operators who manage a mix of long, short, and mid-term tenancies. Other platforms in the sector include Spike and legacy systems such as Yardi.
Can we connect our existing PMS to HubSpot without a developer?
For operators running Concurrent, yes. StaySynced is a self-serve SaaS product from Cloudfox that connects Concurrent to HubSpot with no developer required. For other PMS platforms, a custom integration is needed; Cloudfox builds these as part of a HubSpot implementation project.
What data typically flows from the PMS into HubSpot?
The core fields are contact details, tenancy stage, lease start and end dates, room type, building, and booking source. With the right integration in place, HubSpot deal records update automatically as tenancy status changes in the PMS, so leasing managers always see a live view of the pipeline without switching between systems.
What happens if we run HubSpot and our PMS separately with no integration?
Without integration, the two systems diverge immediately. Marketing and leasing data sits in HubSpot; operational data sits in the PMS. Staff manually copy information between the two, which takes time and introduces errors. It also means you cannot attribute bookings to the campaigns or contacts that generated them, and post-booking automation in HubSpot cannot trigger from real tenancy events.