After a few months of vetting half a dozen Property Management Software providers, you finally decide on a platform. Success! However, soon after, a sense of panic overcomes you when you realize that you’re in charge of migrating EVERYTHING over to the new platform. Where do you start? Who should be involved?

I’m here to tell you, you can relax. If you chose to partner with the right software provider, then you have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if you chose to save a few bucks and go with the cheaper alternative, I suggest you stop reading here. You, my friend, don’t have time to read a blog.

WHAT’S INVOLVED

In any migration, there are three main components that you and your vendor will have to discuss.

• First, approximately how much data do you need to move over? Are you migrating one building with a half dozen users, or do you have 100+ properties with full tenant adoption?

• Second, which modules do you want functional at the go-live date? In other words, are you planning to roll everything out at once, or deploy groups of modules at set intervals?

• The last major element to consider is the training program. Some companies prefer predominately live sessions, while others choose to leverage on-demand videos and a support portal following their initial training.

DATA

“Failing to plan is planning to…” Well, you get it. The key to successfully transferring your data from one platform to another is careful planning. Again, going back to that reputable partner thing: Part of their job is to develop an understanding of your specific migration, and then build an action plan around it.

Things they’ll take into consideration:

• Which platform are you migrating from?
• Which reports will furnish the most useful data to build out the new platform?
• How many people plan to collect data?
• What is a realistic time-frame to complete the data collection?

The last thing to I want point out with regard to data is accuracy. I can’t stress enough how important good, clean data is to property management software. Everything valuable in the system hinges upon it.

MODULES TO DEPLOY

The next aspect to consider are the functional modules you plan to roll out at your go-live date. Some companies want to deploy the full suite at the initial go-live date, however, they are the exception. Instead, most companies have very finite available resources. Historically we have seen companies focus on the tenant-facing modules (work order, resource booking, visitor access), and shortly thereafter, deploy the maintenance modules (preventive maintenance, inspections, etc.). Each property management team has a unique set of priorities and resources that the project manager will assess when creating the migration plan.

TRAINING

The last major component to consider while creating the migration plan is training. Since each client has a different set circumstances, rarely will two companies have the same methodology. Some of the things your project manager will consider include:

• Number of people who need training
• Their system/usage roll (employees, tenants, vendors)
• Availability
• Training format (live, on-line, recorded webinar, user guides, etc)

READY, SET, GO!

So now that you’ve done the prep work and planning, migration should be a breeze.

Don’t forget: When assessing property management platforms, it’s important to review a provider’s approach to the migration and deployment. A reputable provider will not just tell you their migration protocol – they will discuss your priorities, available resources, training preferences, and the time-frame you have in mind before developing a plan.