Azure Property and Re-Leased
Azure Property Scales Service and Efficiency with Re-Leased and Credia Plus
Azure Property is an independent, boutique property management firm based in Auckland, New Zealand, known for its hands-on approach and commitment to personalised client relationships.
Founded seven years ago with just four properties, Azure has rapidly grown its portfolio to over 75 properties, including a diverse mix of office, retail, industrial warehouses, and suburban retail centres. The tight-knit team of five manages a complex, multi-tenanted portfolio while maintaining a high standard of service and direct client engagement.
Sara Sheldon | Director & Property Manager
Embracing Growth While Staying True to a Hands-On Ethos
Azure Property was founded with a clear vision: to offer a boutique, highly personal property management experience. As demand for their approach grew, so did the scale and complexity of their portfolio.
Beginning with four properties and a two-person team, Azure Property has scaled to 75 properties supported by a team of five. The firm remains deliberately hands-on, maintaining smaller portfolios to enable frequent client meetings and strong relationships.
With growth accelerating, Azure’s small team faced the challenge of managing increasing administrative workloads without sacrificing their service standards or overburdening staff.
The Challenge: Managing Scale, Complexity, and Admin Overload
From day one, Azure Property managed operations manually, relying on spreadsheets to track leases, tenant communications, and property details. As their portfolio diversified, spanning mixed use buildings, retail centres, and industrial sites. The administrative burden quickly outpaced what manual processes could support.
Azure Property was growing fast, playing catch-up after a sharp increase in the past year. Complexity rose with multi-tenanted buildings, varied asset types, and geographically dispersed clients. Manual data entry heightened compliance risk and slowed critical processes. To stay truly client-focused, the team needed to spend less time on admin and more time nurturing relationships.
Solution: Unlocking Efficiency and Insight with Re-Leased
With prior experience recommending and implementing Re-Leased in other roles, Sara recognised the potential to transform Azure’s operations. Sara had previously used Re-Leased and knew it could deliver the reporting, visibility, and efficiency the team needed.
Re-Leased immediately addressed Azure’s most pressing pain points:
- Centralised Data and Reporting: Critical dates, arrears, and portfolio insights became visible in real time.
- Automated Workflows: Chasing arrears, rent reviews, and renewals became streamlined, even through the challenges of COVID-19.
- Integrated Trust Accounting: Self-taught and supported by Re-Leased’s tools, the team quickly adopted trust accounting functions to ensure compliance and financial accuracy.
“Re-Leased won us over from day one because it’s so easy to use. From tenant visibility and arrears tracking to seamless owner payments, it puts us in control. We lean on the Trust Accounting functions heavily, and it’s been a great fit.”
More Time for Clients, Less Time on Admin
Adopting Re-Leased enabled Azure Property to shift their focus from manual processes to client service and strategic growth.
Routine admin shrank, data entry reduced, maintenance work orders were raised and dispatched in minutes, and invoicing became faster and more accurate. The platform proved approachable for staff at all levels, helping the whole team move faster and deliver consistent service.
It also strengthened client trust: “We tell our clients we use Re-Leased and they feel comfortable that we’re using a software brand that’s well known.”
“Our accounts person loves the invoicing function. For me, if I need to add a last-minute invoice, it’s really easy. I just drag and drop, check a couple of things, and it’s done.”
Feature Spotlight: Embracing AI and Automation with Credia Plus
To cut manual admin and improve accuracy, the team enabled the Credia Plus suite - combining Credia Extract and Credia Advise.
With Credia Extract, key details from insurance records, invoices, leases and compliance files are captured automatically, improving accuracy and freeing capacity.
Credia Advise then provides immediate, source-linked answers to lease and tenancy questions, along with proactive recommendations, so decisions happen faster and with confidence.
Results? Less admin, fewer errors, quicker decisions.
“It’s fast and efficient, saving us from the tedious task of manually entering insurance policies and dates, allowing us to focus on core property management tasks.”
To further streamline operations, Azure Property explored the Credia Suite, Re-Leased’s AI-powered automation suite, from work order management, automated document extraction, and chat with lease.
Work order management became faster and more consistent after the team set preferred contractors on every property: “We use Credia’s work order maintenance function and have set up preferred contractors on every property. It’s made maintenance requests far more efficient.”
Credia Plus amplified the impact. Automated document extraction means insurance policies and invoices load quickly: “Credia Extract is really good for loading insurance policies and invoices. It cuts out so much admin.”
And AI is becoming a trusted assistant: “We’re starting to use Credia Advise. For example, when we ask ‘when are the next four rent reviews,’ it provides the right details and good to have that in the background.”
While the team values control and oversight, they see immense potential in automating more routine admin to do the heavy lifting of all the manual work. Credia Plus takes care of the manual grind, freeing the team to focus on high-value clients.
Streamlining Compliance and Task Management
Re-Leased and Credia have helped Azure Property systematise compliance.
- Automated reminders: The team now receives timely prompts for insurance renewals, health and safety checks, and other compliance deadlines.
- Centralised document storage: Policies, BWOFs, and key documents are easily uploaded and accessed, reducing the risk of missing critical dates
- Improved accuracy: “It’s a bit more accurate as well, because you’re checking as it loads.”
Azure continues to explore features like email integration and is keen to deepen their use of available tools. While some workflows such as maintenance requests, are already benefiting from seamless integration, the team is eager to unlock further efficiencies with ongoing training and feature discovery.
Human Impact: Technology That Enables Real Connections
For Azure Property, technology is a means to an end: delivering better outcomes for clients and a more balanced workload for their team.
“If we didn’t have the software, I don’t think we’d be able to manage it. We’re a super small business and we run lean and mean. To have software behind us it means we can focus on what matters most – our clients and tenants.”
The result? A small team that can deliver large-scale service without losing its unique, hands-on touch.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Property Management with AI
Azure Property is optimistic about the role of AI and automation in shaping their future for continuous improvement.
“We need to be more efficient, and to do that we need to embrace software and any efficiencies that we can.” Sara states.
Their vision is pragmatic: “Eventually, AI could do a health check of a building - remind you when health and safety is due, when the BWOF is up, or if there’s asbestos. Then the property manager can focus on negotiations, inspections, and building relationships.” To realise that vision, the team invests in ongoing learning and training to maximise the value of Re-Leased and Credia as the business grows.
“I’d say property managers should use it - it’s only going to get better. With AI tools like ChatGPT becoming part of everyday life, it’s important to embrace the technology. Credia Plus has saved us valuable time enabling us to dedicate more attention to managing properties, rather than data administration.”
