On January 7th, Rent Manager—our property management software that started it all—celebrated its 37th birthday. True to LCS tradition, we threw a birthday bash in the office, complete with delicious cakes and a lot of fun.
The past 37 years have been a remarkable journey—from our humble beginnings as a program designed to help manage a family property to a software solution supporting over 10,000 property management companies across various industries. With more than 500 dedicated employees, we’re proud of how far we’ve come. As we look toward another year of growth, development, and innovation, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the history of both Rent Manager and LCS.
1982
The LCS story began over 37 years ago, when Dave Hegemann, our CEO and President, developed the first version of Rent Manager on an Apple computer. His goal was simple: to make managing his family’s mixed-use property easier.
1988
After six years of development, Rent Manager’s alpha version was officially released. Distributed on the leading technology of the time—a floppy disk—this version marked the beginning of the software and the newly-incorporated company, London Computer Systems (LCS). Happy birthday to LCS and Rent Manager!
1997
After nearly a decade as a home office operation, LCS made a significant leap, moving into its first office and hiring a small team to assist with software sales, coding, and customer support.
1998
The release of Rent Manager 6.3 was the first major update to the software. With a host of new features—and a nod to the Y2K phenomenon—it helped solidify Rent Manager as a leader in the industry as the new millennium approached.
1999
Rent Manager takes to the internet with the release of Rent Manager Online (RMO). This version allowed users to access the software via a remote desktop connection (RDP), and included features like tenant organization, General Ledger access, word processing, advanced metered utilities, and more.
2002
As technology continued to evolve, LCS released Rent Manager XP—another significant upgrade to enhance functionality and improve user experience.
2003
With a growing team and customer base, LCS moved into a new, larger office in Loveland, Ohio, marking a new chapter in the company’s expansion.
2005
Rent Manager Xi was released, offering a more robust version of the software. With enhanced features and a reputation for reliability, this version became a favorite among users.
2007
LCS made a big splash in the industry by hosting the first-ever Rent Manager User Conference (RMUC), welcoming 200+ attendees to the Belterra Casino Resort & Spa in Florence, Indiana.
2008
Extending our reach, Rent Manager introduced its first Built-In Partner—AmRent. This partnership between property management software and resident screening services laid the foundation for the Rent Manager Integrations Program.
2009
LCS launched its first ancillary product—Net Dial Tone VoIP Phone Systems (NDT). A hosted telephone system that employs state-of-the-art equipment to route voice and data traffic, some of NDT’s core functionalities at launch included call recording, voicemail-to-email, and seamless integration with Rent Manager.
2012
Rent Manager went mobile with the release of mobileRM, allowing users to access their Rent Manager data via an Internet browser or remote desktop connection from their mobile device.
2013
With the rise of mobile technology, Rent Manager launched its first Android and iOS apps—rmPayment, rmInspection, rmService, and rmCapture—giving property managers the ability to manage tenants, payments, inspections, and more while on the go.
2014
The launch of Rent Manager 12 introduced even more intuitive features, streamlined workflows, API access, and much more. This was the most advanced version of the software to date.
2015
Rent Manager officially launched its Integrations Program, allowing PropTech companies to offer their products and services directly to Rent Manager customers through the software.
2016
By this point, LCS’ employee count outpaced our office on Cottonwood Drive, so it was time to relocate. The company built a bespoke technology campus on Waterstone Boulevard in Cincinnati, Ohio. A modern, high-tech, and welcoming space, the Waterstone office invites and inspires productivity, creativity, and camaraderie.
2017
Dave Hegemann was named one of Commercial Real Estate’s Best Bosses and received a C-Suite Award for being one of Cincinnati’s standout CEOs.
2019
The rmAppSuite Pro app was launched, offering users a comprehensive tool to process payments, complete inspections, view tenant information, manage service issues, and communicate via rmVoIP. That same year, RMUC won its first-ever American Business Awards Stevie Award in the Live Event category, a testament to the success and impact of our user conference.
2020
LCS was named Tech Company of the Year by the Cincinnati Business Courier, recognizing our innovation and growth within the tech space. Ohio Business magazine also awarded LCS the Ohio Success Award for 2020 for having demonstrated growth in revenue and employees and for showing exemplary involvement in their communities and industry.
2021
The rmResident app became available to renters across the U.S. Leveraging the power of Rent Manager’s Tenant Web Access (TWA) portal, renters can use the app to make and view payments, submit work orders, review the status of maintenance requests, and more.
2022
Rent Manager Express, the browser-based version of the software, was introduced. Allowing users to access advanced capabilities from any Internet-enabled device, Rent Manager Express is our most intuitive, powerful, and customizable resource yet.
As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, we’re looking forward to many more years of innovation, creativity, passion, and fun at work. We have been on a remarkable journey, and we can’t wait to see where the future takes us. As we continue to grow as a company and develop our products and services, we hope you’ll follow along to see all the exciting changes that are sure to come in the next 37 years.
