Empowering Fllat.com with a Custom Property Management Platform

About the Client: Fllat

Fllat.com is a fast-growing co-living and property rental company operating across major cities in the US and UK. It offers affordable, fully furnished rooms with flexible leases and all-inclusive rent, catering to young professionals and students seeking hassle-free housing. With dozens of properties and hundreds of tenants to manage, Fllat.com needed a robust digital solution to streamline daily operations. The company’s vision was to modernize property management—moving from basic listings and manual processes to an integrated platform that could handle everything from tenant onboarding to rent collection as it scaled.

Challenges for Fllat

As Fllat.com expanded, its existing tools became inadequate. The company’s website was initially limited to showcasing available rooms, lacking any operational backend. This made it difficult to manage property data, tenant communications, maintenance, and finances in one place. Critical tasks like lease management, rent tracking, and coordinating move-ins were handled via spreadsheets and disparate systems, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors. The leadership recognized the need for a comprehensive platform that could do more than just list properties, one that would make the team’s job easier, keep tenants satisfied, and support the business’s growth ambitions. Key pain points included:

• Disjointed Processes: No central system meant staff had to switch between multiple tools (or paper-based methods) for bookings, tenant info, and accounting. This fragmented approach wasted time and risked data inconsistencies.
• Manual Workload: Tasks like verifying documents, tracking rent payments, and sending reminders were done manually. These repetitive processes consumed staff hours that could be better spent on customer service and growth initiatives.
• Limited Tenant Experience: Without a tenant portal, renters had no easy way to make payments online, request maintenance, or view their lease details. Communications were largely via email/phone, lacking the convenience of a self-service portal.
• Scaling Difficulties: As the number of properties and tenants grew, the absence of automation made it hard to maintain quality service. The team feared that continuing without an integrated system would limit Fllat.com’s ability to scale further.

Solution Approach: Building a Custom MERN-Stack Platform

To tackle these challenges, we engineered a custom property management software tailored to Fllat.com’s needs. The platform was built on the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node.js) for its flexibility, scalability, and real-time capabilities. This end-to-end solution unified all aspects of Fllat’s operations into a single, user-friendly system accessible via web browser. The development was carried out in agile sprints over ~6 months, with continuous input from the Fllat.com team to ensure the software exactly matched their workflows.

Key aspects of the solution included a secure backend (Node/Express) with role-based API endpoints, a responsive React frontend for both admin and tenant-facing interfaces, and a MongoDB database to store all tenant, property, and transaction data. We hosted the system on a cloud server to ensure high availability and scalability as Fllat’s user base grows. The architecture emphasizes modularity—each feature module (booking, payments, etc.) is a component that interacts through a common database and authentication system, making the platform easy to maintain and extend.

Critically, we integrated several third-party services to enhance functionality without re-inventing the wheel:

• Stripe Integration: For credit/debit card payments (rent and deposit collection). This enabled secure, global payment processing and saved development time on payment workflows.
• GoCardless Integration: For direct debit bank payments, especially useful in the UK/EU markets. Tenants can set up automatic rent debits, and property managers get instant visibility on who has paid. This combination of Stripe and GoCardless provided a seamless payment experience while reducing admin overhead and late payments .
• Zoho Integration: We connected with Zoho’s tools (such as Zoho CRM/Booking, Desk) to sync customer data and financial records. This ensured Fllat’s accounting and customer management stayed in harmony with the new platform (e.g., invoices and tenant info can flow to their existing CRM or accounting system).
• Boom Integration (Document Verification): To automate tenant screening, we integrated with Boom’s verification services. The system can trigger ID verification, background checks, and rent history reports through Boom’s API, mitigating fraud and ensuring only qualified tenants are approved . This saved the team countless hours that were previously spent on manual document checks.

Our solution also included an easy-to-use Content Management System (CMS) for Fllat.com’s marketing site. Non-technical staff can now update property listings, add city pages, and edit content and FAQs, all through the admin interface, ensuring the customer-facing website stays up-to-date without developer intervention.

Key Features & Modules

We delivered a suite of interconnected modules designed to cover the entire tenant lifecycle and property management process. Some of the key features of Fllat.com’s new platform are:

Custom Booking Module: Prospective tenants can search available rooms, schedule tours, and book a room online. The system handles real-time availability and prevents double-booking. It also allows management to set flexible lease terms and promotions, reflecting Fllat’s value proposition of flexible living.

Tenant Management: A centralized tenant database stores all applicant and tenant information. Property managers can easily track each tenant’s lease details, documents, communication logs, and rent status in one profile. This CRM-like module ensures no detail falls through the cracks during a tenant’s stay.

Payment & Billing Module: The platform automates rent invoicing and collection. Tenants can pay rent (or deposits) through the portal via Stripe (card) or GoCardless (bank debit) and even set up recurring payments. The system sends automatic reminders before due dates and flags any rent arrears for follow-up. Managers have a real-time view of all transactions, and late fees can be automatically applied according to Fllat’s policies.

Move-In/Move-Out Workflow: We developed a guided workflow to manage tenant move-ins and move-outs. This includes generating digital lease agreements, move-in checklists, and scheduling of move-out inspections. It ensures a smooth transition for tenants and full visibility for staff on unit occupancy status (e.g., marking a room as vacant and ready to list as soon as a move-out is completed).

Document Verification Module: To streamline onboarding, the app lets tenants upload required documents (ID, proof of income, etc.) during application. These are then verified via the Boom integration or manual review in the admin panel. The module automatically marks verification status and alerts managers if any document is pending or fails verification, maintaining compliance and security.

Tenant Self-Service Portal: Each tenant has a personal login to a Tenant Portal where they can view their lease, pay rent, see payment receipts, submit maintenance requests, and communicate with Fllat support. This 24/7 self-service access greatly enhances the tenant experience, aligning with Fllat’s promise of hassle-free living. For instance, tenants can report an issue (leaky faucet, etc.) in seconds and track its resolution progress.

Maintenance & Ticketing System: Integrated with the tenant portal is a maintenance request tracker. Tenants can create support tickets for any issue, which are then routed to the appropriate property manager or maintenance vendor. Managers can prioritize requests, assign them to technicians, and update status (in-progress, completed) so tenants are always informed . This reduces turnaround time for repairs and keeps a clear record of maintenance history for each unit.

Cash Flow & Financial Reports: Fllat’s admin dashboard now includes robust financial reporting. It aggregates all rental income, deposits, and expenses (like maintenance costs) into easy-to-understand reports. Managers can generate monthly cash flow statements, track arrears and late fees collected, and even project future income based on current occupancy. Customizable analytics charts help in spotting trends, such as occupancy rate changes or revenue per property . These insights enable data-driven decisions to optimize operations.

Website Content Management: A built-in CMS allows the marketing team to manage the public website content without coding. They can add new property listings with photos, update rent prices, post blog articles or FAQs, and manage city pages. This module ensures the customer-facing side of Fllat.com stays fresh and accurate, which is crucial for attracting new tenants online.

User Access Management: Given the various roles (admins, property managers, leasing agents, etc.), we implemented granular user permissions. Administrators can define roles and access levels—for example, accountants can access financial data but not edit property details, while property managers can handle maintenance tickets for their assigned locations. This role-based access control secures sensitive information and prevents unauthorized actions, while enabling collaborative use of the platform across Fllat’s team.

Results & Impact

Implementing the custom platform has transformed Fllat.com’s operations and delivered significant business benefits. By unifying processes and introducing automation, the solution resolved the client’s pain points and created new opportunities for growth. Below are some of the notable impacts (using illustrative metrics that Fllat.com can replace with real data):

• Operational Efficiency: The platform has automated many manual tasks, effectively freeing up staff time equivalent to about 15 full-time employees, who can now focus on high-value activities. Tasks like rent collection and document verification run with minimal human intervention. In a similar case, a bespoke system freed up the work of four employees by eliminating manual data entry. Fllat.com’s team now spends far less time on paperwork and more on enhancing tenant relationships and portfolio growth.
• Faster Tenant Onboarding: The end-to-end digital workflow (from application to verification to e-signature of lease) cut the tenant onboarding time dramatically. What used to take days of back-and-forth emails now happens in hours. For example, ID verification and lease signing are often completed within 1 hour after a tenant applies, ensuring units don’t stay vacant for long.
• Improved Rent Collection & Cash Flow: With automated reminders and easy online payments, on-time rent payments have increased substantially. Fllat.com saw late payments drop by 40%, improving cash flow stability. Integrating direct debit (via GoCardless) with card payments gives tenants flexible options and has reduced the administrative burden of chasing payments . Managers can instantly see who has paid and identify delinquency, enabling proactive outreach on the Rent Arrears module.
• Higher Occupancy Rates: The seamless user experience for booking and the efficient management of leads have translated into higher occupancy. Within the first six months of launch, Fllat.com achieved roughly a 4% increase in occupancy  across its properties. By minimizing manual delays and improving tenant satisfaction, the system helped fill units faster and retain tenants longer.
• Enhanced Tenant Satisfaction: The introduction of the tenant portal and prompt maintenance handling boosted Fllat’s service quality. Tenant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; renters appreciate the transparency and convenience. Issues get resolved faster (average maintenance ticket resolution time fell to <48 hours, and tenants feel more in control with self-service tools. This is reflected in higher tenant retention and referral rates, strengthening Fllat.com’s community reputation.
• Data-Driven Decisions: With comprehensive reporting at their fingertips, Fllat’s management can now make informed decisions. They regularly review dashboards for occupancy trends, revenue per city, and expense breakdowns. The real-time analytics have essentially turned Fllat.com’s data into a strategic asset, guiding expansion plans

In summary, the custom MERN-stack solution became a mission-critical platform for Fllat.com. It not only solved the immediate operational issues but also provided a scalable foundation for future growth. The software’s modular design means new features (like perhaps an AI-powered pricing tool or IoT integration for smart locks) can be added down the line to further innovate Fllat’s offerings.