Every property platform demos well, because demos run on clean data with a friendly presenter. The differences appear in month three. A handful of questions surface them early.
Can I get my data back out?
Ask for a full export of units, tenancies, transactions and documents in an open format, and ask whether it costs anything. A vendor confident in the product will not hesitate.
Who does the migration, and what does complete mean?
Migrating a unit list is not the same as migrating open works, historical transactions and stored certificates. Agree the definition of done in writing before you sign anything.
What happens on the day a tenant reports a leak?
Walk the exact path: report, triage, assign, complete, invoice, close. Count the clicks and the systems involved. Anything requiring a second product is a cost you will pay every day.
How does it handle the awkward cases?
Part-month rents, shared meters, a unit changing owner mid-tenancy, a contractor invoicing across three properties. Ordinary cases work everywhere; the awkward ones are where the software either helps or does not.
What does support look like at 5pm on a Friday?
Response time commitments matter far more than feature lists once you are live. Ask for the actual figures, not the target.
