Guide

How to switch property management software (without breaking anything)

Migrations fail without a cutover plan. Ledger continuity, resident portal migration, and pending work orders are where breakage lives.

The short answer

Switch by exporting everything first, importing in dependency order, running both systems in parallel for one full billing cycle, and only then turning off the old one's resident-facing messages.

Overview

Migrations fail without a cutover plan. Ledger continuity, resident portal migration, and pending work orders are where breakage lives.

Why it works this way

The dangerous window is the overlap. Two systems both sending reminders, both holding a balance, and residents receiving contradictory numbers is what turns a migration into a support crisis.

One clean parallel cycle — charges generated in both, compared line by line — surfaces the mapping mistakes while the old system is still authoritative.

Do it in this order

1. Pick a cutover date one month out. 2. Export everything from the current system. 3. Import to the new system. 4. Reconcile against the cutover date. 5. Notify residents of the portal change. 6. Retire the old system after 60 days of parallel.

Common mistakes

  • Cancelling the old subscription before you have your own export in hand.
  • Letting both systems message residents at once.
  • Switching mid-month rather than at a period boundary.

Checklist

  • Pick a cutover date one month out.
  • Export everything from the current system.
  • Import to the new system.
  • Reconcile against the cutover date.
  • Notify residents of the portal change.
  • Retire the old system after 60 days of parallel.
FAQ

Frequently asked

When in the month should the cutover happen?

At a period boundary, after the month's rent has been collected and reconciled, so the first cycle in the new system starts from a settled balance.

Related resources

Keep exploring

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