How to Choose Block Management Software for Your RTM Company

Winning the Right to Manage gives your company control over the day-to-day running of the block. What it doesn't give you is a system. Most newly formed RTM companies inherit a mess: emails buried in personal inboxes, service charge records held by the previous agent, and no structured way to track which maintenance jobs are open, overdue, or disputed.

The right block management software changes that from day one.

What does block management software actually do?

Block management software is the operational layer that sits between your RTM company and everything that happens to the building. At its core, it gives you four things: a place to log and track maintenance issues, a way to monitor service charge budgets and invoices, an archive of your managing agent's communications, and a shared workspace where directors, leaseholders, and agents can collaborate without everything ending up in someone's personal inbox.

It is worth being clear about what it is not. Block management software is not property accounting software - it won't prepare your service charge accounts or submit your annual returns to Companies House. It is not tenancy management software, which is designed for landlords tracking AST tenants, rental payments, and deposit schemes. And it is not a company secretarial service. These are separate tools for separate needs. What block management software does is handle the operational reality of running a building - the work orders, the paper trail, the communications, and the spend visibility that directors need to do their job well.

The five things that actually matter for RTM companies

1. Issue tracking with an audit trail

Not just a list of jobs, but a searchable record of who reported what, when, what was agreed, and what happened. This is critical for RTM companies in a way it simply isn't for a professional managing agent with a full office. When your directors change - and they will - the incoming director needs to be able to pick up where the last one left off without a three-hour handover meeting. When a leaseholder disputes a repair decision made two years ago, you need to be able to show the decision trail.

An issue tracker without an audit trail is just a to-do list. Look for software that timestamps every status change, captures comments and decisions in context, and lets you search across the full history of the building.

2. Service charge monitoring

RTM companies are legally responsible for service charge administration under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Getting it wrong - overcharging, failing to consult on major works, holding funds in the wrong type of account - has real consequences. Leaseholders can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to challenge charges they consider unreasonable, and the RTM company bears the burden of justifying every line item.

Good block management software gives you budget vs actuals visibility in real time, the ability to link invoices to specific issues or contracts, and flags when something doesn't add up - a duplicate invoice, a charge that significantly exceeds the budgeted amount, or a payment that hasn't been reconciled against a work order. You don't need full accounting software at this layer; you need enough visibility to ask the right questions of your managing agent or accountant.

3. Email archiving

Your managing agent's communications are your primary evidence trail. Every time a contractor is instructed, every time a leaseholder raises a complaint, every time a decision is made about a piece of major works - it happens by email. If those emails live only in one director's Gmail account, they are invisible to everyone else and gone the moment that director steps down.

A block management platform that captures and links every email thread to the relevant issue or invoice is invaluable when a decision gets disputed. It means any director can see the full context of any issue, regardless of when they joined the board. It means you can search for every email related to a specific contractor or a specific flat. It turns a chaotic inbox into a structured record.

4. Role-based access

Not everyone on your platform needs to see everything. Fellow directors need full visibility of issues, budgets, and communications. Leaseholders may need a read-only view of open maintenance issues relevant to their flat or the building generally. Your managing agent - if you appoint one - should be able to update issue status and add notes without having access to director-level budget discussions or sensitive correspondence.

Look for a platform with clear, configurable roles that you can set up without a developer. If you have to contact support to change someone's access level, it will never get done.

5. Simplicity

RTM directors are volunteers, not property professionals. You have a day job. You are managing a building in your spare time, out of a sense of responsibility to your community. Software that requires an onboarding call, an IT team, or a week of configuration is not the right tool for this job.

You need something you can set up in an afternoon, that your co-directors can log into without a tutorial, and that you can hand over to the next director without a transition plan. If it takes more effort to maintain the system than it saves you in organisation, you will stop using it within three months - and you'll be back to the spreadsheet and the email chain.

What to avoid

• Platforms built for professional managing agents, not volunteer directors. Many of the established block management systems on the market are designed for firms managing hundreds of properties with full-time staff. They are powerful, complex, and expensive - and completely unsuited to a single RTM company run by three volunteer directors. Feature bloat that assumes full-time staff will slow you down, not help you.
• Vendor lock-in. Your data - the issue history, the email archive, the invoices - belongs to your RTM company, not your software provider. Before committing to any platform, confirm that you can export your data in a standard, portable format. If the answer is unclear or qualified, treat it as a red flag.
• Pricing that starts cheap and escalates. RTM budgets are tight. Service charge funds are held in trust for leaseholders, not for spending on software subscriptions. Know exactly what you will pay as the block grows, and be wary of per-unit pricing that increases steeply beyond your current size. A free tier with honest upgrade pricing is far better than a loss-leader introductory rate.
• Non-GDPR-compliant data storage. As an RTM company, you are a data controller. You process personal data - names, flat numbers, contact details, repair histories - for every leaseholder in your block. Storing that data with a provider that doesn't meet GDPR requirements creates legal liability. Check where data is stored, whether the provider is ICO-registered, and whether they offer a Data Processing Agreement.

How to evaluate your options

Before committing to any platform, work through this checklist. If you can't answer yes to most of these, keep looking.

• Does it have a free plan or trial you can explore without a sales call?
• Can you import or forward your existing email history into the platform?
• Does it cover UK-specific features - service charges, Section 20 consultation, leasehold terminology?
• Is data stored in Europe, with GDPR-compliant infrastructure?
• Can you invite your managing agent with limited, role-scoped access?
• Is there a usable mobile interface for checking in on the move?
• Is the pricing transparent and predictable as your usage grows?
• Can you export your data if you decide to leave?

Getting started with Marklet

Marklet is purpose-built for UK RMC and RTM directors. It combines an issue tracker, service charge monitoring, and email archiving in a single platform designed around the realities of volunteer-run blocks - not the workflows of a professional managing agent's office.

Marklet has a free forever plan covering up to 20 units, which means most small and medium blocks can run on it indefinitely without paying anything. Setup takes under two minutes. There's no onboarding call, no IT configuration, and no contract. You create your organisation, invite your co-directors, and start logging issues.

It's specifically designed for the RTM scenario: self-managed or with an agent, small block, volunteer directors who need a reliable system without the overhead of enterprise software. Your managing agent can be invited with their own access level, so they can update issues and add notes without seeing everything. Your leaseholders can be given read access to see the status of open maintenance issues. And your service charge records stay linked to the invoices and work orders that generated them.

Choosing the right block management software isn't about finding the most feature-rich platform. It's about finding something your directors will actually use, that keeps your block's history intact through handovers, and that gives you the evidence you need when service charge disputes arise. Start simple. Start free. And start on day one of your RTM.

References and further reading

• LEASE - Right to Manage guide - free guidance on the RTM process from the Leasehold Advisory Service
• RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code (4th edition) - the professional standard your block management platform should help you comply with
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 - Section 21 (inspection rights) - your statutory right to inspect service charge accounts, receipts, and supporting documents
• ICO - UK GDPR guidance - relevant if your software stores personal data about leaseholders and residents