Valuations, viewings and completions do not wait for a system to come back online. Northern Star provides IT support for estate agents across the UK, keeping branch networks, property software and mobile negotiators working from the first appointment of the day to the last. We have supported growing businesses for more than sixteen years, and we act as part of your team rather than an anonymous supplier sitting behind a ticket queue.
Support shaped around how an estate agency really works
Few agencies are one office and one server. You might run a high street branch, a lettings department, a mortgage adviser, staff on the road with tablets and a head office that needs sight of all of it. A slow logon before a nine o’clock valuation run matters far more than a monthly uptime chart, so we prioritise the faults that stop your team earning and plan the rest around where the business is heading, with IT consulting available when bigger decisions come up.
What our IT support for estate agents covers
A UK helpdesk your negotiators will actually use
Staff can speak to an engineer rather than shouting into a ticket form. Most problems are solved remotely within minutes, from a locked account or a printer that has stopped talking to the window display, to a laptop that refuses to connect from a client’s kitchen table.
Property software and CRM support
We support the platforms agencies genuinely run on, including Reapit, Alto, Jupix, Dezrez and Street, along with the portal feeds and referencing tools that sit around them. Failed syncs, sluggish databases and integration faults are handled by engineers who understand what the software is supposed to do, so you are not left translating between two suppliers.
Cyber security and client data
Agencies hold identity documents, bank details and anti money laundering records, which makes them a target for conveyancing fraud and invoice interception. We layer endpoint protection, multi factor authentication, continuous monitoring and staff awareness training so one convincing message cannot cost a client their deposit.
Connectivity and phone systems across branches
Missed calls are missed instructions. We look after broadband, failover, VoIP and call routing between offices so enquiries reach the right negotiator, whether that is a lettings query at eight in the morning or a vendor calling back after a Saturday viewing.
Cloud, Microsoft 365 and mobile working
Negotiators work from cars, coffee shops and empty properties, so their tools have to travel with them. We configure secure remote access, managed devices and Microsoft 365 so calendars, valuations and contracts behave the same on a phone in a driveway as they do on a desktop in branch. Backups and recovery testing sit underneath all of it, because a lettings ledger is not something you want to rebuild from memory.
Why estate agencies choose Northern Star
Our client satisfaction score sits at 95.4 across recent reviews. Agencies stay with us because transitions are handled quietly, account managers know the business rather than the ticket, and international coverage means a Dubai or European office is not treated as an afterthought. Fixed monthly pricing keeps budgets predictable, and onboarding usually completes within two to four weeks.
How we take over your IT
We begin with a review of your devices, accounts, property software, security posture and supplier contracts. From there we agree a sequence of fixes, deploy protection such as email security and multi factor authentication in controlled stages, then move into ongoing support with quarterly reviews. Nothing is switched off during a busy weekend of viewings without a plan agreed with you first.
Speak to Northern Star
Tell us where your IT is letting the agency down and we will tell you honestly what needs fixing first. Book a call with an experienced engineer, not a sales script.
FAQs
How quickly does Northern Star respond when a branch loses access to its CRM?
Response times matter more in an agency than in most offices, because a negotiator who cannot open the CRM cannot book viewings.
Northern Star operates a UK based service desk where your team speaks to an engineer directly rather than leaving a message with a call centre. Branch wide faults, such as a lost internet connection, a failed server or a CRM that will not load for anyone, are treated as priority one and picked up immediately.
Individual issues like a locked account or a printer fault are usually resolved remotely within minutes. Our client satisfaction score currently sits at 95.4 across recent reviews, which reflects how the desk is run day to day rather than how it is described in a contract. Where a fault genuinely needs someone on site, an engineer is dispatched, and multi branch agencies get an agreed schedule of visits rather than ad hoc call outs.
Does IT support for estate agents cover software such as Reapit, Alto and Jupix?
Yes, and sector experience is the main reason agencies move away from a general provider. Our engineers work with Reapit, Alto, Jupix, Dezrez, Street and the portal feeds, referencing platforms, e signature tools and property management add ons that sit alongside them.
That means we can diagnose whether a failing listing upload is a software bug, a permissions problem, a broken integration or a local network issue, rather than passing you back and forth between suppliers.
We also manage the relationship with your software vendors on your behalf, logging cases, chasing progress and translating the response into plain English. If you are migrating from one platform to another, we will plan the data export, user setup, training logistics and rollback position before anything is switched over, so the move happens outside your busiest trading hours.
How does IT support for estate agents help with GDPR and anti money laundering obligations?
Estate agents sit under both UK GDPR and anti money laundering regulations, which means identity documents, proof of funds, bank details and tenancy records all need controlled storage, restricted access and a clear retention position.
Good IT support for estate agents turns those obligations into practical settings rather than paperwork. We help by encrypting devices, enforcing multi factor authentication, tightening permissions so junior staff cannot browse everything, configuring secure file sharing instead of email attachments, and keeping tested backups that would let you recover after ransomware.
We can also align your environment with Cyber Essentials, which is increasingly requested by lenders, corporate landlords and franchise networks. Staff behaviour matters just as much, so phishing simulations and short training sessions are included, because most breaches in the property sector begin with a convincing email rather than a technical flaw.
Can Northern Star provide IT support for estate agents with several branches or overseas offices?
Yes. Northern Star has supported growing businesses for over sixteen years and works with companies from around five to two hundred and fifty users, including those with international offices. Multi branch agencies usually want three things: consistent setups so a negotiator can work from any office, central visibility of security and licensing, and a single point of contact instead of separate providers per site.
We deliver that through standardised device builds, centrally managed cloud identity, monitored connectivity between offices and shared telephony so calls route sensibly across the group. When you acquire another agency or open a new branch, we handle the technical side of the integration, from merging mailboxes and CRM records to setting up broadband and phones before the doors open. Overseas offices, including our work in the Middle East, are supported under the same agreement.
How much does IT support for estate agents typically cost?
Pricing is normally per user per month, so it scales with the size of your agency rather than the number of problems you have. What you pay depends on user numbers, how many branches you run, whether you still have on site servers, the level of security you need, and whether you want out of hours cover for weekend viewings.
Fixed monthly pricing is the norm for good reason: it makes budgeting predictable and removes any incentive for a provider to leave faults unresolved. When comparing quotes, check what counts as unlimited, whether on site visits are charged separately, whether project work such as migrations is included, and who owns your licences and backups.
Northern Star will review your current setup and contracts first, then quote against what your agency actually needs rather than a standard package.
What happens if our agency already has someone handling IT in house?
Plenty of agencies have an office manager, a technically minded director or a small internal team who keeps things running, and we work either way.
Where there is an internal resource, we usually take on the specialist and out of hours work, such as security monitoring, backup verification, server maintenance, migrations and vendor escalation, while your colleague continues to handle quick fixes and floor walking. That removes the risk of everything depending on one person who might be on holiday during a busy bank holiday weekend.
Where a business is moving from an existing provider, we manage the handover ourselves, gathering documentation, licences, domain records and passwords so you are not left chasing your outgoing supplier. Onboarding typically takes two to four weeks and is planned around your trading calendar.
