What to ask a lettings software vendor

Start with money flows. How are rent invoices created? Who holds the payment credentials? Does the vendor take a percentage of rent? If they do, model that against your management fee before you fall for a low monthly seat price.

Ask whose system it is. Is your agency one record in a shared box, or do you get your own — with your name on the portals and the statements? That matters for brand, for leaving, and for how the office feels to landlords.

Ask whether you must replace your public website. Many agencies already have a site that works; the bottleneck is the office. Vendors that force a front-end rebuild add risk you may not need on day one.

Then pressure-test UK specifics: Tenant Fees Act disclosures, deposit workflows, Rightmove and OnTheMarket feeds, complaints versus day-to-day tickets. Polished overseas platforms often look fine until those questions land.