Are you running a coworking space? Silly question - you probably are. If so, you already know the deal: your coworking space management software is either your secret weapon or your silent cash drain - and I'm willing to bet it's the latter. Pick the wrong one and you're not just dealing with clunky interfaces…you're bleeding time, money and sanity on fixes that shouldn't have been issues in the first place.

I've been there. We at Deskie own and operate coworking spaces ourselves, so when we built Deskie it wasn't just some boardroom concept. It was us starting down the mss of fragmented tools and realizing "this has to be made simpler."

In this post, we'll unpack the real hidden costs of bad coworking software choices, why they hit harder than you think, and how opting for something built by owners - like Deskie - flips the script.

Time Sinks: The Admin Black Hole

Let me paint a picture for you: It's 2 o'clock, and a member texts you about a billing glitch. You login to whatever portal you use only to spend the next hour wrangling data from three different tabs. Sound familiar?

That's not bad luck, and it's not an operational issue on your part - it's bad design.

The hidden cost here? Your time and your sanity. Research revealed that small business owners lose up to 20 hours per week on admin drudgery…but in the coworking industry it's actually worse because everything is interconnected:

• Bookings feed billing

• Billing ties to member profiles

• Member profiles link to access control

If your software forces you into manual exports or endless connections, you're not managing a space, you're babysitting someone else's SAAS spaghetti.

Worse, it trickles down to your members. Poor user experience mean frustrated customers…which ultimately means occupancy and revenue dips. This isn't a doom-and-gloom worst case scenario - this is reality for literally thousands of coworking spaces across the globe.

At Deskie, we get this because we've lived it. Our workflow? It just…flows.

The "Integration" Trap

Here's a stat that'll make you wince: Coworking owners shell out $400-$900 per month on a patchwork of tools to keep their space running.

• Billing here

• Task management there

• Door access over yonder

• Virtual mail…somewhere

And don't get me started on clunky (and expensive) Zapier integrations. Those convoluted zaps that promise magic really just deliver $50/month in fees and hours of debugging a hobbled together workflow. If your car only drove you half of the way to your destination that would be an enormous problem. Why should your coworking space software feel any different?

The truth is these add-ons aren't built for your workflow. They're generic, which means you end up bending your operations around them! Why pay extra for core coworking operational functionality?

Take for example: virtual mail. People drop $150/month on standalone services just to scan mail. Or task management - another $20/user just for something as simple as assigning tickets.

Stack em up and you're not saving any money, you're subsidizing someone else's enterprise dreams.

We crunched the numbers and were shocked with the results. So instead, we rebuilt it all in-house, at no extra cost:

• Virtual mail: Baked right in. No extra login. Just scan and notify your members via the portal.

• Task management: Drag-and-drop task boards that sync with your calendar.

• Document signing: Ditch the third-party fees: Get membership agreements signed directly in-app.

• File storage: Easily searchable, easily sharable. No extra tabs.

…and that's just the start. At our Deskie Forward keynote in October, we unveiled even more of these instances releasing soon:

• Built in newsletters for community updates

• A simple website builder to showcase your space

• Point-of-sale for events, merch and front-desk

• Digital signage that ties directly in to your system.
  
  

The point? These require no clunky third-party integrations. They're all native, so your tech stack feels like one smooth tool.

Oh, and while we're talking about it…we've got an unannounced integration-killer that every coworking space on the planet will want to use. Stay tuned to learn more.

Locked-In Workflows: When Software Dictates Your Business

Ever feel like your software is running you?

• "Upgrade to premium for custom billing"

• "Sure! Let me enable this add-on. It'll only increase your price by $50/month"

• "Oh, it doesn't really work that way"

• "Let me add that idea to the backlog"

It's sneaky! It starts with small corners, but ends with you reshaping your entire model around their limits. And the cost? Lost revenue.

The software you choose shouldn't determine what you can or can't do with your business. It shouldn't slow you down. It shouldn't annoy your customers. Software should come to you, wherever you are.

Even worse, it shouldn't hold you hostage. Most coworking space software out there require you to sign long-term contracts, locking you in to a tool that is actively jeopardizing your business.

We at Deskie believe that if the software is solid, it'll stand on its own. No contracts, no nonsense.

Deskie's aggressive development cycle and roadmap means your feedback turns into features fast.

We're committed to buildilng the best coworking space management software we possibly can.

Ready to ditch the headache? Sign up for Deskie today! See how it feels when software bends to your workflow, not the other way around.