How to Transfer Your Data to Property Management Software

Traditional data management has many inefficiencies for landlords. 

Loose spreadsheets or physical files are easily misplaced and may disappear forever if your computer dies or is stolen. 

What’s more, these methods aren’t integrated with the rest of your rental management, leading to much more work for you. You must calculate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), revenue, profit/loss reports, and other critical metrics by hand.

Instead of wasting time logging and storing data manually, use a cloud-based data storage method. For example, property management software helps you centralize online payments, company performance metrics, and ledger accounting on one platform.

Your data might currently be in several different places. You might be looking to transfer data from another platform, an accounting application, or paper files.

No matter where you currently store your data, there are quick and logical ways to transfer it to your new platform. Here are a few tips for transferring your data to a new property management software platform.

From Another Property Management Software Platform

1. Time the Transition and Give Tenants a Heads Up

Before you switch to your new platform, choose a convenient time. The day rent is due probably isn’t the best day to disable your old platform’s online payment system. 

Next, give your tenants proper advance notice of the transition. Your tenants will also need to make new accounts on the software and reset their preferences. Neglecting to keep tenants in the know can cause them to feel ignored or overlooked.

Inform your tenants of the date of the planned transition. Assure them that the new platform will include all the same features and provide instructions for creating their new accounts. Also, remind tenants to disable AutoPay on the old platform and re-establish it on the new one.

2. Seek Paid Onboarding or a Customer Service Specialist

When it’s time to make the transition, you’ll probably need some assistance. Many property management software platforms offer paid onboarding. If you opt for this feature, you’ll pay an extra fee to be assigned a personal onboarding specialist who will assist you in transferring your data. They’ll also walk you through account setup and answer any questions you may have.

Even if you don’t pay extra for onboarding support, you can still contact a customer service specialist to receive additional help. This person has expert knowledge of the software and will instruct you on the fastest way to transfer your data.

3. Export and Upload Your Data

Once you’ve contacted support, follow their instructions for exporting data from your old platform and uploading it to your new one. Depending on how your new platform operates, you may need to export raw data as an independent file to be reuploaded, or you may use a different method.

From An Accounting Application 

Let’s say you’ve been using a different management platform, but you also use a separate application like QuickBooks for your business’s accounting. What should you do in this case?

If Your New Platform Integrates with QuickBooks

If you already use QuickBooks and are looking for a property management software platform that integrates with this application, you’re in luck—many do. Rentec Direct, DoorLoop, SimplifyEM, and Innago each integrate with QuickBooks.

If your new platform integrates with QuickBooks, you can use this integration to access and manipulate data directly. There’s no need to transfer accounting details separately, but you’ll likely still need to enter tenant and payment information on your new platform.

If You Prefer the Advanced Accounting Features on Your New Platform

If you use QuickBooks or another accounting application but simply want to consolidate your data on your new platform, this is also possible. You can either customize an integration with your current application or export data as a .csv file and upload it to your new platform. 

Contact support if you have questions during this process.

From Paper

If you’re transferring to property management software for the first time from paper, there are several ways to transfer your data.

Upload a .csv or Excel File

Like the above options, if your data is stored in a digital file, you can export and upload it to your new platform.

Scan a Photo

If your data is on paper, try scanning the documents and using OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert them into digital files. Many downloadable apps offer text capture or handwriting/image-to-text services. This way, you don’t have to manually type in data you’ve already written down.

Manual Entry

If all else fails, you can always manually type in your data to your new platform.

Transitioning to Property Management Success

Transitioning to new software doesn’t have to be challenging or stressful. No matter how you do it, you can quickly transfer your data and start benefiting from your new platform.

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