• News
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
  • Marketing
  • Tech
  • OTAs
  • Customer Service
  • Regulations
  • Business
  • Housekeeping
  • Subscribe
  • More
    • Calendar of Events
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
VRM Intel
  • News
    • Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Pregame Prep Campaign
      Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Hosts Super Bowl Preparedness Campaign for Vacation Rental Operators
    • vacation-rentals-housing-vrm-intel
      Carrots and sticks: Vacation rentals and the creation of affordable, workforce housing
    • Woman dropping off a ballot
      2022 Election Results of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • 2022 Vacation Rental acquisitions from AvantStay, VTrips, Vacasa, Meredith, and more
      Who Sold? Here’s What We Know: 2022 Vacation Rental Management Acquisitions
    • 2021/2022 Ski Destinations Showing Big Performance Gains in ADR and RevPAR for Vacation Homes and Condos
    • “It’s like a short-term rental regulation pandemic.” 2022 Spring Vacation Rental Regulatory Trends + Fall Outlook
    • HR 2022: Attracting Today’s New Workforce after the Resignation Tsunami and the Great Renegotiation
  • Marketing
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    • board meeting in presentation room
      Tourism Boards and DMOs Offer Seat at the Table for Vacation Rentals
    • Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More
    • All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle
  • Tech
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More
    • All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle
    • PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners
    • Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting
  • OTAs
    • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    • Blue Star Acquires Majority Stake in TravelNet Solutions
    • Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management Conference, DARM 2022, Nashville
      Sessions Details for Upcoming Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management (DARM) Conference: Livestream/Video Tickets Available
    • Vacasa (VCSA) Stock Falls as Lock-up Period Expires
    • 4 Ways to Stand Out in a Crowded Market: Get Your Brand & Listings in Front of Potential Guests
  • Customer Service
    • Why Not A Hotel? A Guest and Homeowner’s Perspective: There’s No Place Like Home … Or Is There?
    • Leading Proptech Company Guesty Appoints David Aber as CFO
    • Meredith Hospitality Brands Inc. Expands to Mt Hood with Acquisition of Mt Hood Vacation Rentals
    • View of Waikiki from Diamond Head Park, Honolulu, Hawaii
      Honolulu City Council Bans Stays Under 90 Days Across Oahu
    • Are you a Visionary without an Integrator at Your Vacation Rental Management Company?
  • Regulations
    • vacation-rentals-housing-vrm-intel
      Carrots and sticks: Vacation rentals and the creation of affordable, workforce housing
    • Woman dropping off a ballot
      2022 Election Results of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures
    • voters at a polling center voting
      Dozens of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures Heading to Voters this November
    • board meeting in presentation room
      Tourism Boards and DMOs Offer Seat at the Table for Vacation Rentals
    • Arizona state flag outside the legislature buildings at the state capitol
      Arizona Legislature Passes Measure to Restore Some Power to Cities
  • Business
    • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    • Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More
    • All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle
    • PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners
    • Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting
  • Housekeeping
    • Why Not A Hotel? A Guest and Homeowner’s Perspective: There’s No Place Like Home … Or Is There?
    • Analysis: “Reinventing” Vacation Rental Management by Alex Nigg
    • HR 2022: Attracting Today’s New Workforce after the Resignation Tsunami and the Great Renegotiation
    • Safety First: Evaluating and Addressing Safety Risks at Your Vacation Rentals
    • The Importance of the Guest Experience within Vacation Rental Operations: From the Back of the House to the Front
  • Subscribe
  • More
    • Calendar of Events
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • RSS

Business

Scared about Changing Your Property Management Software?

Scared about Changing Your Property Management Software?
mm
Carlos Corzo
October 29, 2017

As business owners and property managers, we are all accustomed to making difficult decisions. Some may just be choosing which team member needs to work on the upcoming holiday weekend, while others fundamentally change how you manage your properties and business. Changing your property management software (PMS), of course, falls into the latter category. 

Changing your PMS is a huge undertaking that comes with built-in fears. From accounting worries to fears of losing historical data, long-term relationships, or change itself, there are many reasons why you might find it difficult to peel off that Band–Aid and finally make the switch. But as technology improves and the needs of the modern property manager grow, it becomes more and more crucial to take the leap and face any fears you may have. Fortunately, we’re here to help—so you can stop holding back and provide your company with the PMS it needs. Trust me: upgrading may not be as scary as you think. 

 

Accounting 

Accounting may be the biggest fear in this industry. Making sure you stay “in trust” is making sure you stay in business, and choosing a PMS that doesn’t have compatible accounting can be a death knell. After years of imports, I have seen many clients go live without attempting to replicate and match a month-end close from their previous software—you don’t want any part of that. 

Yes, this is a daunting task, but the right PMS team can help you avoid compatibility issues with your current accounting processes. In fact, Streamline includes accounting as a key process for verification prior to taking a client live. 

 

Historical Data 

Historically, it has been a struggle to obtain data easily from other software systems. Many property managers often find themselves arguing with PMS providers about who owns their data. To us, it is obvious that the owner is you. 

It is equally clear that you may import that data to future software. That’s why we have devised techniques that allow us to import reservations, historical disbursements, users, owners, owner statements, units, and closed work orders to create checks and balances. We work with each client to review any data available, define relationships across the data sets, and rebuild their historical data. We understand that you need to look at prior-year history, occupancy, and pricing so you can make informed decisions on how to run your business. 

Don’t ever let a vacation-rental software company hold you hostage. 

 

Websites 

Many software companies in the property-management industry like to control their clients’ data as well as their websites. While Streamline provides clients with free websites when they purchase our software, we provide an open API that allows them to work with any web-development company they choose. Like your data, you own your domain. We work closely with exceptional website development companies such as BizCor, ICND, Bluetent, and Blizzard. These companies are on the cutting edge of web development, and if you are already working with one of them, you won’t skip a beat. 

 

Long Term Relationships 

We are here to stay. Having been in the vacation rental space for over sixteen years and working with Streamline for thirteen of them, this is what I know and love. I am extremely passionate about making my clients successful. This market seems to be changing every day. We boast the best retention rate in the industry because we treat our clients like family. 

 

Change 

The fear of changing software is a valid fear. Many larger companies struggle with making software changes because their staffs are so accustomed to their daily routines. Throwing one monkey wrench such as a software change into the cog can bring the whole operation down, or at least slow you down for a few months while everyone gets up to speed. 

It all comes down to planning. Defining the right checkpoints throughout the go-live process is critical. These points include: 

On-site Evaluations: This allows us to tailor your training to your day-to-day operations. 

Imports: For imports to be successful, you need to introduce them at the right time during the training process. You cannot train without having the necessary information in your system. 

Accounting Audit: This is a step that is often overlooked, and it is possibly the most important in the transition from one system to another. You have to prove and justify that your accounting actually works and aligns exactly with your current software. You can accomplish this by mapping out your imports so you can simulate the close of a month in both systems. This will allow you to identify any shortcomings and fix them. Until this audit is perfect, you should never jump the gun and go live. 

Soft Launch: Tell the company you are going live and ask it to do double entry for a day or two. Use this as a way to identify problems and challenges and address any fears from your team. It is imperative that you have a trainer on-site to help everyone work through their issues. 

Go Live: For those of you who remember Love Connection, “We’ll be back in 2 and 2.” You need someone on-site a minimum of two days before and two days after you go live. Making your employees comfortable is a big part of a successful transition. 

If you already have a thriving business, a smooth transition to a new, modern system with features to help increase revenues is key. Change is not easy, but if you are well prepared, it can make a world of a difference. 

 

3 Ways PMS Providers Can Be Misleading 

Many PMS providers say all they can to get your business—including making impossible promises they will not be able to keep. Don’t be misled by these common “above and beyond” promises. 

1) Pretty vs. Functional 

It is easy to paint a pretty picture. It is even easier to show a pretty interface. But you must evaluate the underlying technology running your operation. While we understand that “pretty” is important, you should never make that a deciding factor when you choose your software. “Pretty” is not going to make you more bookings. Data is king in this industry. Make sure that all the critical aspects of your day-to-day operation are in place—especially your trust accounting. 

 

2) Access to Historical Information 

Don’t be misled by companies telling you that if you leave, you will lose all your historical information. That is just not true, and companies often use it as a tactic to get you to stay. Everyone has the ability to run reports, and these reports can be reverse engineered to rebuild the data in your system. I see this mistake a lot. Companies that have ten to twenty years of data simply leave it behind because they are told it is impossible to bring it with them. Keeping your data is imperative. 

 

3) Stale Technology vs. Companies Focused on Research and Development 

I have seen a major shift over the years into stale solutions. These companies scale back on resources—especially development—because they have reached comfortable client bases. As mentioned above, this industry is constantly changing. Don’t be left behind. 

Just because you’re ready to make the change to a new PMS doesn’t mean you should believe everything you hear. Do your research and understand what every PMS can and can’t do—your business will thank you for it. 

Related Itemsaltair capitalbusinessdataproperty managementproperty management softwaretechnologyvacation rental technologywebsite development
Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business
October 29, 2017
mm
Carlos Corzo

Carlos is the CEO of Streamline Vacation Rental Software. Visit his website at www.streamlinevrs.com.

Related Itemsaltair capitalbusinessdataproperty managementproperty management softwaretechnologyvacation rental technologywebsite development

More in Business

Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business

Sarah DuPreOctober 18, 2022
Read More

Geotargeting & SEM: A How-To Guide on Spending Less & Getting More

Jill Highsmith McGeeAugust 18, 2022
Read More

All About the Data: Predictive Indicators with Jason Sprenkle

Rebecca LombardoAugust 16, 2022
Read More

PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners

VRM Intel StaffAugust 5, 2022
Read More

Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting

VRM Intel StaffAugust 4, 2022
Read More

Blue Star Acquires Majority Stake in TravelNet Solutions

Amy HinoteJuly 26, 2022
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Sponsor News

  • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    BusinessOctober 18, 2022
  • How to Increase Your Occupancy in a Competitive Market through Monthly Rentals
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersSeptember 16, 2022
  • PriceLabs Announces $30 Million Investment from Summit Partners
    BusinessAugust 5, 2022
  • Ximplifi Adds Owner Portal to Automation Suite for Short Term Rental Accounting
    BusinessAugust 4, 2022
VRM Intel
Calendar of Events
Videos & Whitepapers
VRMintel Magazine
Subscribe
Advertise
About Us
Authors
Contact Us

Recent News

  • Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Pregame Prep Campaign
    Arizonans for Responsible Tourism Hosts Super Bowl Preparedness Campaign for Vacation Rental Operators
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersJanuary 18, 2023
  • vacation-rentals-housing-vrm-intel
    Carrots and sticks: Vacation rentals and the creation of affordable, workforce housing
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersDecember 6, 2022
  • Woman dropping off a ballot
    2022 Election Results of Vacation Rental Ballot Measures
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersNovember 11, 2022
  • Recession-Proofing Your Vacation Rental Business
    BusinessOctober 18, 2022

View Current Issue

VRMintel Copyright © 2016-17 | Click HERE to Subscribe | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright | Jobs | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Successfully Navigating Changing Your VRM Software
The State of Vacation Rental Software 2018

xxx videos

  • mamadas
  • redwap
  • free porn
  • porno gratis