In the post-pandemic times, hybrid work culture has become the preferred way of working for many. Since people have fallen in love with the time and location freedom perks that come with working remotely, it can be hard to go back to the ways of the past.
To some, the idea of being forced back into a traditional corporate office environment may even feel like downgrading from a Ferrari to a consumer-grade vehicle. After all, the way you work should be a lifestyle choice - thus, it’s important to place yourself in a stimulating environment that keeps your mind focused and takes you to the next milestone in your success story.
An act of rebellion against the norm
Diving deeper, the development of hybrid work culture can be seen as an act of rebellion against the conventional norms of what life “should” be. Realizing how great and fulfilling life can be on the other side, coworking spaces have become the go-to shelter for many who consider themselves hard-working and entrepreneurial, but are looking for a change of pace and an environment that suits their needs better.
At this rate, it won’t take long for everyone to realize that coworking spaces are the future of work. Thanks to modern coworking space software, it’s easy to see how many desks are available without even visiting, not to mention the entire forthcoming schedule so you’ll know exactly whether the conference room is available or not and at what time you should be planning your arrival. And this is just to name one example.
What the numbers say about the coworking boom
According to Ergonomictrends.com, the following trends have been observed in the post-covid era:
- 68% of American workers now prefer a hybrid workplace model
- 89% of coworking space members feel happier since joining and 83% report feeling less lonely as a result
- 82% members report this type of working arrangement has allowed them to expand their professional network and 51% have landed new career opportunities because of it
- The post-covid era has led to an increase in spending and coworking space owners report a 41% increase in marketing expenditures
- 79% of members have expanded their social circles as a direct result of spending time in a coworking space environment
- 77% of those surveyed list a conveniently placed office as a requirement when looking for their new job
- On average, coworking spaces help workers save 1.5 hours of commute time per day and allow for $7000 yearly savings in mileage and travel costs
Automate the technicalities with the top coworking space software
From a business owner’s perspective, coworking space management software is nothing but a game-changer as well. It makes your life easier in so many ways with features like automated billing, managing memberships and customer relationships, white label apps, announcements, third-party services integration, booking, 24/7 support, and other features that make running your business an absolute breeze.
But with so many coworking apps and software to choose from, how to separate the wheat from the chaff?
15 Best Coworking Space Management Software and Apps
To aid you in your quest to find the top coworking space software for your business, we've narrowed down the list to the industry’s top-rated choices:
1. Engage Apps
Engage Apps is the best coworking space software on our list and a comprehensive one-stop digital solution for desk allocation, seamless billing, invoicing, and all the other cutting-edge features you’d expect from a modern digital Swiss Army Knife for anything coworking related. Thanks to its modern take on problem-solving, both employee and customer management worries will become a thing of the past, and the built-in analytics and reporting will show you how well your business is doing in real time. Its user-friendly design shouldn’t give you any trouble, but just in case, a responsive customer support agent is always just a click away. With Engage Apps, you can book a meeting room or schedule an event with ease. In case you’d like to hop on a video call with another member, you can do that too, all from a neat birds-eye view comprehensive feature-packed dashboard.
Pros:
- The most feature-packed software that supports touchless visitor management, announcements, ticketing, and other features
- White label benefits for seamless promotion and branding
- Multiple location support with integrated billing, invoicing, accounting and tax
- Third-party integration support
- Full mobile support
- Intuitive and responsive
- Free trial
Cons:
- Multiple location support costs more
2. Andcards
Andcards, although a relative newcomer to the scene, has been knocking it out of the park ever since 2018, the year of its inception. Among its features, you’ll find built-in payment automation, the option to book meeting rooms in advance, access control, and others. This is known as a very user-friendly coworking app with an intuitive interface.
Pros:
- 24/7 support
- Mobile and tablet apps
Cons:
- No free trial
3. Coworkify
Coworkify is best known for its simplicity and hassle-free interface. Inside, you will find all the essential tools you need for running your coworking space business, including marketing, booking, invoicing, security, membership control, etc. If you want to dive into it a bit more, you’ll discover it offers several customizability options.
Pros:
- Multiple platforms supported
- Simplicity
Cons:
- No mobile app
4. Optix
Optix is one of the white label apps that you can put your own brand onto. It also gives you plenty of ways to customize it as per your needs. Apart from that, you will find standard features such as CRM, analytics, desk and meeting room booking, invoicing, etc. There is even a built-in communications system that allows members to message each other.
Pros:
- Splendid customer support
- Plenty of freedom when it comes to customization
Cons:
- The desktop experience is lagging behind the mobile one
- Pulling transactional reports is needlessly complicated
5. Coherent
Alongside a modernly designed interface you’ll get all the industry-standard features like community, booking, check-in and access control, lead and membership management, analytics, report generation, invoicing, and more. It’s also possible to integrate Coherent with third-party services like Eventbrite, Slack, and Mailchimp.
Pros:
- Third-party integration
- Efficiency-focused dashboard
Cons:
- No free trial
6. Satellite Deskworks
Satellite Deskworks is one of the top coworking space software if you like the concept of cloud-based solutions. In case you run into any roadblocks while using it, their support and consultation is just a click away. Other than that, it features live reports, automated billing, interactive calendar for reservations, and third-party integration. And yes, it’s one of the white label apps you can slap your brand name on.
Pros:
- Third-party integration and customizability
- Mobile app and member portal
Cons:
- No free trial
- No live support
7. Archie
Archie is a tool that’s built around giving you the smoothest workflow possible. From its elegant interface, you can access billing, ticketing, analytics, community, multi-location management, lead management, desk booking, interactive floorplan, and other features. User-friendliness was one of the top priorities in its design.
Pros:
- Gorgeous-looking interface
- Responsive support
- Cloud-based
Cons:
- No free trial (only a live demo account)
8. Nexudus
Nexudus aims to be the one-stop solution for your coworking space management needs from where you can manage your newsletters, events, memberships, CRM, booking, community, visitors, etc. It also lets you view the entire floor plan and see exactly which desks are occupied. It’s also one of the top coworking apps for those who want to customize everything (including photos, content, and logo).
Pros:
- Free up to five members
- Highly customizable
Cons:
- No free trial
- Documentation is a bit lacking
9. Cobot
With Cobot, you’ll get every commonly requested feature, including automated billing, invoicing, meeting room booking, membership management, software, RFID, and API integration, analytics, etc. Since it comes in multiple languages, you won’t have any trouble finding your way around. Its intuitive dashboard gives you full control over the situation at all times.
Pros:
- Flexible membership tiers make it suitable for coworking spaces of any size
- Top-notch booking and scheduling features
Cons:
- Calendars could be more unified
10. Dovetail
Being a cloud-based platform, you’ll have no trouble accessing Dovetail from any operating system of your choosing. From one place, you’ll be able to access analytics, manage workspaces, monitor statistics in real-time, segregate data, and so forth. The interface might not be the most intuitive of all, but those with a technical background should find their way around fairly quickly (there are multiple tutorials published on Youtube to help you get started).
Pros:
- Affordable pricing model
- Free trial
Cons:
- Not purposely built for coworking in mind
11. Office RnD
The design philosophy behind Office RnD is to simplify and streamline your day-to-day coworking space management operations. It comes with features like CRM, membership management, location management, billing, invoicing, meeting room booking, and similar.
Pros:
- Responsive and helpful customer support
- Streamlined and simple
- Works on Apple
Cons:
- Android and Amazon Fire experience can be a bit iffy
12. DropDesk
Although a relative newcomer to the world of coworking space management software, DropDesk has demonstrated immense potential. With it, managing your membership database will be effortless, no matter what size it is. Its app works across all platforms and managing multiple locations is a breeze.
Pros:
- Affordable membership tiers
- Flexibility and ease of use
Cons:
- No free trial
13. Yardi Kube
What began as property management software is now one of the top coworking space management apps. Among its features you’ll find real-time reporting, marketing, lead generation, booking, billing, visitor management, and many others. Its open API allows you to hook it up to other third-party software and services. Most users find it simple to use.
Pros:
- Excellent customer support response times
- Open API
Cons:
- No free trial
- Exporting to PDF can be tricky
14. Omnify
Apart from standard coworking space management functionality, Omnify also has a built-in affiliate program that allows you to promote it and earn a little bit extra on the side. Other than that, you will find it offers all the bells and whistles of coworking space management software, including meeting room booking, calendar for scheduling, analytics, team and customer management, integrated payments, and more. Although the design looks rather bland, it contains everything you’ll ever need.
Pros:
- Android and iOS support
- Priority support
- Free trial
Cons:
- Priority support costs extra
15. Habu
Being both intuitive and easy to learn, Habu is the hassle-free choice that allows you to integrate virtually every payment processor in existence. Its core features are CRM, billing and invoicing, desk booking, accounting, membership management, and others. Its open API allows for all the integrations you could possibly think of.
Pros:
- Incredibly flexible and customizable
- One of the most affordable solutions
Cons:
- A lack of 24/7 support
FAQ section
In the section below, we will address some of the most commonly asked questions people have about coworking space management apps and the nature of remote work in general.
What are coworking apps and why do they play such a crucial role in coworking spaces?
Without coworking apps, managing coworking spaces would be next to impossible. The best coworking space software allows you to see how much space you have available and see how the desks fill up in real time. Not only does this allow you to see what areas are the most popular among your customers (useful data for making improvements), but also gives you better insights into your day to day schedule (for example how often someone books the conference room and at what hours).
The capacity to book a desk ahead of time gives your customers the transparency they need to plan ahead. If someone is planning to bring a whole group of friends or coworkers over, the ability to guarantee enough space for each of them is crucial to having a positive experience. After all, no one wants to feel stuffed like in a can of sardines. Thanks to modern technology built into the industry’s best coworking space software, avoidable scenarios like these will never occur again.
Then, there’s integrated billing and invoicing. Without coworking space software, you’d have to manually track which members have paid their invoices, how much they owe, when the next billing cycle comes around, etc. And that’s not even taking into account the technical aspects of charging credit cards while remaining compliant with all the standards, laws, and regulations. Since your returning customers are likely to request automatic billing, trying to offer functionality like this without the help of professional coworking apps would be nothing short of a hassle for everyone involved.
What are some of the key features for the top coworking apps to include?
To live up to the scrutiny, the top coworking apps should support:
- Booking. To book a desk or a meeting room in advance, a customer needs to see your coworking space’s availability schedule. This effectively eliminates the need to do it at the reception or over the phone where it's hard to visualize the calendar and any empty gaps in the schedule.
- Social features. Most people are social creatures, so the coworking app should support Instagram and social media integration. This will make it easier for them to leave comments and likes, which will in turn boost the popularity of your coworking space and entice new members to sign up. Also, social media makes it easy for the provider to keep in touch with everyone.
- Upcoming events display. Organizing fun and educational special events is an effective strategy to incentivize new and repeat customers to visit your coworking and flex spaces. This feature will help you organize things better and easily upload photos, display a RSVP list of invited guests, set restrictions, send out notifications, set an entry fee, etc.
- Access control and visitor management. Track your client relationships from a single place. See who’s inside your coworking space right now and where they’re located. In case they’ve paid for their membership in advance, this allows you to streamline the check-in process. Members should be allowed to invite outsiders for an interview or meeting. The invitation can automatically include a unique code they can show to the security at check-in, thus making the process easier for everyone involved.
- Billing and invoicing. Paying at the reception is one option, but your customers should also have a way to pay online. The top coworking apps also feature automated reminders and built-in support if they are unable to pay their bills due to a technical issue.
- Membership perks. To reward your customers’ loyalty or incentivize them to upgrade to a higher level of membership, a good strategy is to offer membership perks, and the easiest way to do it is from the coworking app itself. This could be free meeting room bookings, discounts on drinks and snacks, but you can also partner with the relevant companies to distribute free coupons.
- Marketing and CRM. To grow your coworking space business, establishing a relationship with your clients is crucial. But without coworking space management software, you’d have to manually track what you’ve already shared with a certain person, what their reservations are, whether your marketing campaigns are working out for you, etc. Instead of introducing extra work, it’s better to have everything in one place.
- Analytics. Unless you’re tracking and analyzing your coworking space’s performance, you’ll never know where you stand in terms of your company goals. By identifying common patterns, you can determine the busiest hours and optimize your offerings accordingly. For instance, you can offer free drinks during rush hours to incentivize your customers to stay longer and invite their friends.
- Report generation. Generate detailed occupancy and financial reports at the tap of a button. This allows you to see how well your coworking space business is doing and identify where there’s still some room for improvement.
- Third-party integrations. This allows you to expand beyond the coworking app’s core functionality by connecting it to another app or online service. If you’re looking for ways to customize your coworking app and hook it up with custom features, third-party integrations are a must-have.
- Support. In case you happen to run into any kind of technical issues, ideally you should have a customer support agent waiting on the line to answer your queries and offer assistance 24/7.
- etc.
Based on what criteria have we evaluated our top coworking space software picks?
The best coworking space software we’ve recommended should have most if not all the features listed above. We’ve given preference to those who offer a stellar user experience, simplicity, Android and iOS compatibility, ongoing support, affordability, a tiered pricing structure, and those that keep receiving excellent ratings from the user base. This should allow you to pick the top coworking space software for your needs.
How much does coworking space management software typically cost?
Most coworking space management software utilizes a tiered pricing model, meaning the monthly membership you’ll have to pay depends on the total amount of member slots you wish to have. If you’re at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, this allows you to start small and upgrade your membership level as your coworking space business grows over time.
Keep in mind that every software provider might have a different pricing scheme. For example, some may charge you extra if you’re looking to integrate specific features. The good news is that most will be very transparent about it, so you can choose a pricing model that suits your needs.
To give you a rough idea, coworking space software memberships start at roughly $50 per month (this typically gives you around 10-20 member slots). For larger coworking spaces that have the capacity to accept 500+ people at the same time, expect to pay upwards of $1000 per month.
What is the concept of white label apps?
White label apps for coworking that allow you to slap your brand on them will make a massive contribution towards growing your brand awareness and making the right impression in front of your customers. This allows you to confidently say that your in-house team is behind the app’s continued development, and white label apps allow you to do that 100% legally. In essence, it’s a win-win arrangement between you and the software provider.
Is hybrid work culture truly the future of work?
Ever since experiencing the luxury and the comfort of working from home, many find it unimaginably hard to give up the lifestyle they’ve enjoyed while social distancing was in effect and return to the office just like that.
In a nutshell, hybrid work culture is all about upping your productive and creative output while surrounding yourself with like-minded people who often tend to be similarly entrepreneurially-driven. It’s having the freedom to choose your own working hours and the environment in which you know you’ll thrive in, both professionally as well as in terms of your mental wellbeing.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an independent contractor, or a traditional employee with remote work benefits, having the means and the capacity to work under your own terms is not only refreshing, it also significantly reduces your chances of experiencing burnout.
Since more and more people are realizing this, what used to be a benefit has slowly transitioned into a soft demand. Whether they like it or not, employers who do offer either fully remote or hybrid work benefits are at a competitive advantage in the labor market and thus have a higher chance of attracting top talent.
So to answer the question, the concept of hybrid work has been embraced by the masses, and they won’t be willing to let go quite easily. But as in all things in life, balance is key - thus the word “hybrid”.
There is a legitimate argument that a certain portion of the overall workload is best done in the traditional office. But for all the remaining hours, people should have the freedom to choose where they want to take it. At the end of the day, getting the job done is the only thing that matters.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, remote work is here to stay. With the help of our tips, you should now have everything you need to pick the best coworking space software for your needs and equip yourself with the tools necessary to run your coworking business like never before.
This article was written in cooperation with eFlair Webtech