Property management data migration guide

Migrate enough history to operate and answer questions, typically 12 to 24 months of transactions, plus all open items such as balances, deposits and open work orders. Older history can be archived as read-only exports or kept in a data warehouse for audits, disputes and lookups, without slowing the new system.

Usually not. Stored card and bank tokens belong to the old payment processor and rarely transfer to a new one. Plan clear communications so residents re-enrol in autopay on the new portal before the first rent date, with reminders and help for anyone who struggles to set it up.

Prove the migration by comparing control totals for every data set, such as unit counts, rent roll, aged receivables and deposits held, between the old and new systems at the cut-off date, then sampling individual tenants line by line. Finance signs off the reconciliation before go-live.

Your own team should clean the data, because it knows which tenants, leases and balances are right. The implementation team provides templates, validation rules and reports of issues found in each trial load, so cleansing effort goes where errors actually are rather than across every record.

If your old system's data is poor, clean what matters for operations and accounting first: active leases, open balances and deposits. Use trial loads to surface problems early, fix them at the source before the final extract, and archive messy history rather than migrating it.

Yes. Spreadsheet data follows the same mapping, trial load and validation steps as data from another property system. Extra cleansing time is usually needed, because spreadsheets often lack consistent unit identifiers, lease dates and charge codes, and balances must be tied out to the general ledger.

Documents such as signed lease PDFs, addenda and move-in inspections can be attached to the matching lease or tenant records during migration, so staff find them in context after cutover. Name files with a consistent lease or unit identifier to make bulk attachment reliable.

Deposits are loaded by lease as liabilities, with the amount held, date received and any interest owed. The total is reconciled to the deposit liability on the balance sheet before go-live, so every deposit can be refunded or applied correctly when that resident moves out.

Prepaid rent is loaded at cutover as a customer credit on each tenant's balance, so it applies automatically to the next invoices billed from the lease schedule. The total of credits is tied out to prepaid rent on the old system's balance sheet before go-live.

Yes. Open work orders can be loaded with their status, priority, assigned vendor or technician and notes, so maintenance continues after cutover without residents re-reporting issues. Closed work orders are usually archived rather than migrated, unless you need the history for assets or warranties.

When source data conflicts with signed leases, the signed lease wins. Correct the record during cleansing, and note the correction and its reason so the audit trail explains why migrated balances or rent amounts differ from the old system. Review recurring conflicts for a systemic cause.