Profit margins are down. Staff turnover is high. Owner expectations keep rising. And the average strata management business is now running 5.1 different technology tools, most of which don’t talk to each other. In last week’s LookUpStrata webinar, Leya Wall from Town Square stated this isn’t a people problem. It’s a systems problem. And it’s one that the right technology, chosen and implemented well, can actually fix.
NAT: The role of strata technology in delivering great customer experience
The answer is not working harder
It’s hard to ignore the numbers from the 2026 Macquarie Bank benchmarking report. Although revenue per lot has increased, the strata management profit margins have dropped from 33% to 19% since 2012. The gap is being eaten up by wages, admin, and operational drag. Staff turnover, while improving on 2022’s 33%, is still sitting at 24%.
Leya made the point that in the next few years, thriving businesses won’t be the ones working the longest hours. They’ll be the ones that take stock now and build smarter, more connected systems. She argues that technology should stop being treated as an expense to minimise and start being considered as the foundation on which everything else is built.
Choosing the right tools, not the most tools
One of the most practical frameworks Leya shared was the distinction between strata-specific and general-purpose tools. General-purpose tools like monday.com, Outlook, and ClickUp are polished, intuitive, and your team may already know how to use them. But they weren’t built for strata, so someone in your business needs to invest time to customise them. When something goes wrong, the support team probably won’t know what a body corporate or owners corporation is or what your real needs are.
Strata-specific tools, on the other hand, have compliance workflows built in, integrate with trust accounting systems, and come with support teams that understand the industry. The honest answer, Leya said, is that most businesses will need a mix of both. The key is knowing which problem category you’re trying to solve before you go looking for a solution.
AI is already here, but we need to use it wisely
While AI featured heavily in the session. Leya mentioned practical applications that are real and available right now, such as triaging and drafting owner correspondence, transcribing meetings, flagging reporting anomalies, and automating routine workflows. Her recommendation for anyone not yet using AI was simple. Strat experimenting now. Sign up for a paid model like ChatGPT or Claude and start draft owner correspondence. Review everything before it goes out, but try it out.
The limitations are just as real, though. AI makes mistakes. It’s only as good as the data you put into it. And if you’re using a generic AI tool across multiple schemes, cross-contamination of owner data is a genuine risk. Privacy matters, and strata-specific AI tools with proper guardrails offer meaningful protection that generic tools don’t.
Technology only works if people use it
Perhaps the most useful part of the session was Leya’s framework for getting both your team and your owners on board with new tools. When presenting change to teams, Leya was clear. Instead of leading with the technology, companies should lead with the problem it solves. Seek out those who love tech? They will become the go-to for everyone else’s questions. Start small, show wins fast, and make it safe to be a beginner.
For owners, the mindset shift matters just as much. The goal isn’t to get every owner onto an app. It’s to make every owner feel looked after, through whichever channel works for them. Prioritise omnichannel solutions. Match the communication channel to the moment. And remember that tech should handle the volume, so your managers can handle the relationship.
The businesses that are going to come out ahead aren’t necessarily the ones with the most sophisticated tech stack. They’re the ones making deliberate choices about what they use, getting their teams genuinely on board, and using the time they free up to do the work that actually matters.
Download the presentation from the session
This article is based on the LookUpStrata webinar “The Role of Strata Technology in Great Customer Experience” presented by Leya Wall, Co-Founder and Head of Clients at Town Square. You can download the presentation from the session here: The Role of Strata Technology in Great Customer Experience
Presenter
Leya Wall
Town Square
E: Leya.Wall@townsquare.au
This post appears in Strata News #788.
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