The Future of Property Management Requires More Than Spreadsheets

Michael Vinocur is the founder and President of Building Equity Management (BEM). He entered real estate investment and management in 2000, using proceeds from the sale of a successful technology conference business. Previously, he worked at Hewlett Packard after several years trading physical commodities and commodity futures in New York City and Stamford, CT.

Vinocur’s NYC real estate career began with the redevelopment of Harlem townhouses into rehabbed rentals, then expanded into Washington Heights multifamily properties — drawn by “cheap bricks” and a long-term, hands-on investment approach. In 2012, BEM launched by combining his own portfolio with two third-party accounts seeking professional management, later adding a sister brokerage, Building Equity Real Estate.

Today, BEM manages a portfolio of over 125 buildings and 3,000 units, and has become one of NYC’s top-rated management companies, with double-digit growth every year since Covid. Vinocur holds a BA in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Yale University.

For decades, property management has been viewed primarily as a people business — and it still is. In New York City multifamily, condominium, and cooperative management, success ultimately depends on the quality of the people managing the assets, communicating with residents, and responding to problems in real time. However, the operational complexity of today’s environment increasingly requires management firms to rethink the systems that support those people.

At Building Equity Management, we view the property management business as resting on three core pillars: financial management, physical building maintenance, and regulatory compliance. Each area presents different operational challenges, and each requires a different technological approach.

Modernizing Financial Operations Through Digital Workflows

On the financial side, the industry has made enormous progress over the last decade. Modern property management software platforms have significantly improved accounting functionality, reporting, budgeting, accounts payable, and receivables management. While software alone does not guarantee success — training, oversight, and experienced personnel remain critical — the financial component of the business is increasingly standardized and efficient.

One of the most important changes has been the industry-wide movement toward digital payments. Our goal is to move as many incoming payments as possible from tenants and unit owners onto secure online portals capable of processing ACH transactions. This improves cash flow visibility, reduces administrative burden, and minimizes the delays and errors associated with paper checks.

We have taken the same approach with vendor payments. Historically, paper checks created a surprising number of operational inefficiencies and risks, including lost checks, delayed deposits, and growing concerns regarding check fraud. By encouraging vendors to accept ACH payments directly through our management software systems, we have streamlined the payment process while improving security and transparency for both building ownership and vendors.

Moving Beyond Spreadsheets to Connected Operations

Where the industry still faces significant operational limitations, however, is in the management of maintenance workflows and regulatory compliance.
For years, many firms have relied heavily on spreadsheets to track everything from inspections and violations to insurance renewals and internal task assignments. While spreadsheets can be useful organizational tools, they are ultimately static documents attempting to manage highly dynamic processes. As portfolios grow and regulatory obligations become more complex, spreadsheets increasingly create information silos, duplicate work, and operational blind spots.

We believe the future of property management operations requires a database-driven approach rather than a spreadsheet-driven one.

At Building Equity Management, we are currently developing a comprehensive operational platform using Airtable as its foundation. The goal is not simply to digitize information, but to create interconnected operational systems that allow teams to collaborate more effectively and access critical information in real time.

The platform is being designed to track a broad range of operational functions, including compliance filings, internal task assignments, building inspections and visits, insurance policy expirations, vendor coordination, legal matters, accountant assignments, and tenant-related cases. Over time, the possibilities become almost limitless because the information is no longer isolated within individual spreadsheets or employees’ institutional memory.

Perhaps most importantly, this approach allows organizations to become significantly more responsive. Team members across departments can selectively access the operational data they need to solve problems quickly, improve accountability, and better serve boards, owners, and residents.

In an increasingly regulated and operationally demanding environment like New York City, property management firms can no longer rely solely on legacy workflows. The firms that will lead the industry over the next decade will be those that successfully combine experienced personnel with integrated operational systems capable of supporting smarter, faster, and more transparent management practices.

Technology alone is not the solution. But when properly implemented, it can allow talented management professionals to operate at a much higher level — ultimately delivering better outcomes for the buildings and communities they serve.