A card source simply explains how a card was created and where it originated. Every card on any board in Aptly has a source—whether it came from your Property Management System (PMS), a form submission, an email, an integration, or another board’s workflow.
You can view the card source on any card by clicking the Integrations icon (🔌). This appears on all boards and in all Location items.
Types of Integrations/Card Sources
Cards can enter a board in several ways. Below are all supported source types in Aptly and how they function within property management workflows.
1. Property Management System (PMS) Integration
For most teams, this is the primary and most powerful source of cards.
Your PMS syncs key data into Aptly, including:
- Portfolios
- Buildings
- Units
- Leases
- Contacts (owners, residents, vendors)
These synced items appear in the Locations section of Aptly, and they are considered “source of truth” data. Because they sync with your PMS, they can:
- Automatically start processes
- Trigger automations
- Update back to your PMS when changes occur (Propertyware, Rent Manager, Rentvine)
Cards created from PMS data are foundational to many Aptly workflows—such as leasing, renewals, onboarding, turns, and more.
See: Integrations
2. Board-to-Board
Cards can also originate from another board. This typically happens through:
- Automations that copy a card to another board
- Automations that move a card into a downstream workflow
Board-to-board flows are usually one-directional to keep processes clean and predictable.
Example:
The leasing and renewals workflow uses multiple boards:
- A lease synced from the PMS appears on the Leases board.
- When it enters the renewal phase, an automation copies it onto the Owner Renewals board.
- Once the owner approves, another automation copies it to the Tenant Renewals board.
- After the final decision is made, the card is archived.
This ensures each team sees only the step of the process that matters to them.
3. Email Parser
Aptly’s Email Parsers extract structured data from incoming emails and turn it into actionable cards. This reduces manual data entry and ensures leads and requests never get missed.
Common examples:
- A renter lead inquiry email → parsed into a card with contact info + property of interest
- A maintenance request email → parsed into a card containing issue details, tenant info, and unit
- Owner inquiries → automatically routed to the correct pipeline
Every email sent to a parser follows the rules you configure—so your boards stay organized and consistent.
See: Email Parsers
4. Board Email Address
Every board in Aptly can have its own dedicated email address.
When an email is sent to that board’s address:
- Aptly runs the email through all Email Parsers.
- If a parser matches, the card is created with parsed data.
- If no parser matches, the email still becomes a card—just without parsed fields.
This is perfect for:
- Maintenance inboxes
- Leasing inquiry inboxes
- General support or communication channels
5. Aptly Forms
Aptly Forms allow you to collect information and turn submissions directly into cards.
Common uses include:
- Owner leads intake forms
- New resident onboarding forms
- Vendor information forms
- Internal team request forms
When a form is submitted:
- A card is created on the board you selected
- Submitted fields map to card fields
- The card’s source will show as Form
Forms can also be embedded into your website or linked in emails.
See: Forms
6. API
With the Aptly API, developers can create cards from any third-party system. Available with Premium subscriptions.
Typical uses:
- Custom work order systems
- Marketing tools that generate leads
- External CRMs
- In-house systems your company uses
If your team needs a custom integration or wants automated card creation from non-standard tools, the API is the best route.
7. Zapier
Zapier provides a no-code way to send data from other apps into Aptly.
Popular examples:
- Create a card in Aptly when a Google Form is submitted
- Send work orders from a maintenance platform into a board
- Log calls or inquiries from communication apps
- Sync certain PMS events that aren’t directly supported
Zapier is especially helpful for teams that want automation without custom development.
You have to click the invite link in the Zapier article in order to use Aptly with Zapier.