Why only PayProp and Reapit made the cut in Distinct Property Consultants’ rigorous tech selection process

When Sarka Wilde launched Distinct Property Consultants in 2013, her vision was to create an estate agency built on exceptional service and authentic client relationships.

Fast-forward to today, and what started life as a boutique operation has grown into a multi-service estate agency, offering lettings, property management, sales, investment advice and business consulting, operating out of the Cotswolds.

But as the agency expanded, so did Sarka’s to-do list. She cops to being an exceptionally hands-on owner and director, always moving between meetings, viewings, client calls, and much more. Despite having a reliable team behind her, she knew they needed an efficiency boost that could only be provided with a degree of automation – a platform powerful enough to help them manage growing workloads, but flexible enough to accommodate and support her unique business needs.

That’s when she came across PayProp, a platform that ticked every box.

Visibility worth switching for

Sarka approaches every business decision with painstaking research and careful consideration – she took all the time she needed to review all available options on the market to find the perfect fit for her agency.

One of the biggest priorities in her search for new tech was visibility, not just into the numbers, but also the work activities of her team. As a believer in the power of genuine relationships, Sarka wanted a platform that would empower her team to understand each client on an even deeper level – at scale.

PayProp stood out because it offered a level of business performance visibility she hadn’t seen elsewhere. The main dashboard gives the whole team a quick, high-level view of cashflow and key metrics, and with a click they can drill down into any property, landlord, tenant, or transaction.

With that level of insight, staff can confidently and knowledgeably resolve client queries, strengthening relationships and trust while maintaining the friendly, people-first culture Distinct Properties Consultants is known for.

For Sarka, this was the major factor in her decision to finally make the leap with a platform that had her every confidence. In fact, she says that she wishes she “had onboarded onto PayProp much sooner than I did."

A full client accounting team, in one platform

Now firmly up and running on PayProp, Sarka effectively gained an entire client accounting department, operating seamlessly behind the scenes, for a fraction of what she used to spend on overhead.

“For me personally, PayProp is absolutely a no-brainer. It’s efficient, it's speedy, it's flexible, you can do so much with it, and you can take it anywhere.”

That mobility is huge for someone like Sarka, who is constantly on the move. Whether she’s standing in a queue or waiting at an airport, she can reconcile payments or handle queries just as easily as she can from her desk, in literal seconds.

“What I really like is the automated reconciliation. When the money is in, you just check that everything is correct, click the button, and off you go. It's seconds, and it’s just amazing. I love doing payments on PayProp. It's like it’s become my hobby.”

Benefits that ripple out to clients

It isn’t just the team at Distinct Property Consultants who appreciates the speed and convenience that PayProp offers.

Landlords can get their rent payouts as soon as the agency receives the funds – a major improvement over the previously standard seven-day turnaround. Tenants benefit too, because the team now spends less time processing payments and more time addressing maintenance and queries quickly and thoroughly.

And through it all, PayProp provides peace of mind with account and banking security built into every layer of the platform. Transactions are encrypted end-to-end, client funds are ring-fenced, and sensitive actions require two-factor authentication. Role-based permissions ensure the right people have access to the right information, and behind the scenes, every click is date- and time-stamped to create an evidentiary audit trail you can trust. Nothing slips through the cracks. That level of protection has, in Sarka’s words, helped her sleep better at night – quite justifiably.

Compliance without the headache

That robust security also has other benefits. As Propertymark members, Distinct Property Consultants must meet strict client accounting rules and pass annual audits.

Before PayProp, that meant having an external accountant onsite for a full day, poring over every document – a slow, disruptive and expensive process.

Now, thanks to PayProp’s partnership with Propertymark, their compliance team can complete the audit remotely at no extra cost. For Sarka, this change alone is “worth gold”.

PropTech that delivers more than software

With her agency’s client accounting now fully handled by PayProp, Sarka has been able to focus more on growing the business and developing her team. And her journey with PropTech didn’t stop there.

When PayProp merged with Reapit, the CRM naturally caught Sarka’s attention. She put it through the same rigorous decision-making process, and Reapit passed quickly. Sarka immediately saw the benefits of uniting her sales, lettings and property management departments under one system, as well as the cost and time savings that would follow.

Besides loving Reapit’s end-to-end value proposition, Sarka was also impressed by Reapit’s commitment to being more than just a software provider – in fact, she sees it as a knowledge partner. Sarka attends Reapit's webinars regularly, especially those covering legislative updates like the upcoming Renters' Rights Act, and appreciates how Reapit shares knowledge and adapts their system quickly. It’s something she hadn’t seen any other CRM provider do before, and it proved decisive in making Reapit the main CRM of Distinct Property Consultants.

The right tools for the right goals

Today, PayProp and Reapit give Distinct Property Consultants the efficiency boost Sarka had been looking for all along. But while she’s as deeply involved in the agency as ever and values the personal relationships she builds with clients, she’s looking forward to using some of her reclaimed time to enjoy hiking and other outdoor pursuits.

And despite seeing many advertisements for other PropTech over the years, none has ever given her the same sense that every box is truly ticked.

“When I choose to work with a supplier, I always look to see if they align with my values, my ethics. When people share your values and your ethics, they become your team. For me, PayProp is an extension of our team