Why Data Migration Is the Hardest Part
Switching property management software is a significant undertaking, and data migration is the step that most often goes wrong. Your property management database contains years of tenant history, financial records, lease documents, maintenance logs, and trust account transactions. Moving all of this accurately to a new system requires careful planning and execution.
The consequences of a poor migration are serious: incorrect owner statements, missing maintenance history, inaccurate trust account balances, and tenant records that do not match reality. These errors erode trust with owners and tenants and can create compliance problems.
This guide covers how to approach data migration methodically to minimise risk.
What Data Needs to Migrate
Before starting any migration, audit exactly what data you have and what needs to move to the new system.
Core Data (Must Migrate)
- Property records — address, property type, unit configuration, ownership details
- Owner records — contact details, bank account details, ownership percentages
- Tenant records — contact details, lease start and end dates, rent amounts, bond details
- Active lease agreements — current lease terms, special conditions, rent review dates
- Outstanding balances — rent arrears, bond held, owner funds held in trust
- Scheduled transactions — upcoming rent payments, owner disbursements, recurring charges
Historical Data (Migrate if Possible)
- Financial transaction history — rent receipts, owner disbursements, maintenance invoices
- Maintenance history — completed work orders, contractor invoices, property condition notes
- Inspection reports — entry, routine, and exit inspection records and photos
- Correspondence history — emails and letters sent to tenants and owners
Documents (Requires Special Handling)
- Lease documents — signed lease agreements for active and recently ended tenancies
- Inspection report PDFs — archived inspection records
- Owner statements — historical owner financial statements
- Compliance documents — certificates, licences, and compliance records per property
The Cut-Off Date Approach
For most migrations, the cleanest approach is a financial cut-off date rather than attempting to migrate all historical data.
How it works:
- Choose a cut-off date, typically end of month
- Migrate all active records as at the cut-off date (properties, owners, tenants, current balances)
- Start processing new transactions in the new system from the cut-off date forward
- Keep the old system accessible for historical reference for at least twelve months
- Manually enter any critical historical data that is needed for ongoing operations
This approach is faster, lower risk, and more accurate than attempting a full historical migration. The trade-off is that historical reports need to be run from the old system for the period before the cut-off.
Data Cleaning: Do This Before Migration
A data migration is an opportunity to clean up years of accumulated data quality issues. Do not migrate dirty data into your new system.
Before migrating, review and clean:
- Duplicate records — merge any duplicate owner, tenant, or property records
- Missing contact details — fill in missing phone numbers and email addresses
- Incorrect lease dates — verify lease start and end dates are accurate
- Stale records — archive or remove records for properties no longer under management
- Incorrect balances — reconcile any trust account discrepancies before migration
- Inconsistent formatting — standardise address formats, phone number formats, and naming conventions
Budget at least one to two weeks for data cleaning depending on portfolio size and data quality.
Export Formats and Compatibility
Most property management platforms export data in CSV or Excel format. Before committing to a new platform, confirm:
- What export formats does your current platform support?
- What import formats does the new platform accept?
- Does the new platform provide a data migration template showing the exact column structure required?
- Can the new vendor assist with data mapping between old and new field structures?
Some platforms offer assisted migration services where their team handles the data mapping and import. For larger portfolios this is worth paying for.
Testing Your Migration
Never go live without testing the migration first. Follow this process:
Step 1: Test import Import a small sample of data, perhaps ten properties with their associated owners, tenants, and recent transactions. Verify every field imported correctly.
Step 2: Reconcile balances Compare the trust account balance in the new system against the old system for your test sample. Any discrepancy indicates a mapping error that needs to be resolved before full migration.
Step 3: Run test reports Generate owner statements and trust account reports in the new system for your test sample. Compare against the same reports in the old system. They should match exactly.
Step 4: Full import Once the test import is accurate, proceed with the full data migration.
Step 5: Final reconciliation After the full import, reconcile all trust account balances before going live. This is non-negotiable. Do not go live with an unreconciled trust account.
Documents and Attachments
Document migration is often the most time-consuming part. Most platforms do not support bulk document import and attachments need to be uploaded manually or via a bulk upload tool.
Practical approaches:
- Prioritise active documents — migrate current lease agreements and recent inspection reports first
- Archive historical documents — store older documents in a shared drive accessible to staff
- Use naming conventions — name documents clearly so they can be found without being in the new system
- Do not delay go-live for documents — go live on the financial data and migrate documents progressively after go-live
After Migration: The First Month
The first month after migration is the highest-risk period. Monitor closely:
- Verify the first rent payment cycle processes correctly in the new system
- Check the first owner disbursement run produces accurate statements
- Confirm trust account reconciliation balances after the first month
- Address any tenant or owner queries about the new portal promptly
- Keep the old system accessible for staff who need to reference historical data
Use Our Decision Wizard
If you are evaluating platforms before a migration, use our decision wizard to confirm the new platform is the right fit for your portfolio size, property types, and geography before committing to the migration work.