January 13th, 2010
I know from the feedback that we get that migrating data from v2.1 to v3.1 or Property Intellect has caused some confusion. I did previously write up a summary of why the system work the way they do and the design decisions behind them – you can find that blog post here - but I think some practical advice is in order. I’m posting this here as my personal take on this as there is no ‘official recommendations’ on this as it does depend so much on what you start with and what data you want to pull in.
Firstly, some frequent questions
- v2.1 and 3.1 can co-exist on the same PC
- you do NOT need to have v2.1 installed to use the import tool to pull in your old data – you need only the 2.1 data file (its usually called pi.mdb)
- v2.1 is not Vista or Windows7 compatible (it was written way before they existed). It may or may not install. It may or may not work. Or it might work, but do some really weird things. v3.x was written for Vista (and Windows 7 follows from that – I run my 3.1 installation on Windows 7 and it works extremely well)
- The import tool will make duplicate data if you run it twice (it cannot check for duplication very easily), so if you want to re-import (perhaps you didn’t like the results), then you need either to reset the system (Admin Tool->System Reset button), or simply make a backup before you do the first import (i.e. straight after the initial install) and use that to roll back if needed.
- All contractors/suppliers in your 2.1 data must have the ‘Contractor’ tickbox set.
- Rent receipts much have a category of Rent.
- Ensure there are no duplicate owner contacts (i.e. 2.1 allows 2 ‘John Doe’ contacts with the same name – 3.1 will not)
Will all my data import OK?
Mostly, yes, but it does depend on a few factors. The importer can only import data that fits the idea of what it expects to find in the 2.1 data. Missing or incomplete data will also get thrown out by the importer as v3.1 is strict on validation of data.
In practice, you will probably find that your properties come in OK, as will most of the tenancy agreements (assuming they are correctly entered in 2.1). Contacts, journal entries, tasks etc should come in fine.
Accounts can present more of a challenge due to the different ways of representing things in 2.1. Although you can import this data, I really believe the best way to handle this is simply to use 2.1 as a historic data, and set an ’opening balance’ for each tenancy in 3.1 (if the tenants are up to date, then you don’t need to do this). Then go forward from there in 3.1 – the old 2.1 data will effectively fade away in relevance over time, but is still there if you need it.
Practical Steps to Importing
When people ask me what the best way to import data is, I almost always give the following advice:
- Install v3.1 with a blank database
- Make a backup so that you can roll back to an empty 3.1 database if the import is not to your liking.
- Check that the 2.1 data is sensible (see the bullet points int he FAQ bit above)
- Run the 2.1 to 3.1 import tool. You can find this in windows Start->Programs->Property Intellect 3.1->Tools. There is also a help PDF in there as well.
- If you already have 2.1 installed and working on the PC then the importer will automatically pick up the path to the 2.1 data file. If not, you’ll need to point it to the correct location (NOTE: if you have a .zip backup file then you will need to extract the pi.mdb file from that first)
- Accept the defaults and let it start. Note that it can take quite a while to import (hours in some cases).
- When it’s done, start v3.1. The importer will have placed all your tenancy agreements in a ‘pending’ state, so you will need to open each one, fill in any missing data and make it active manually.
Top Tips
- Allow yourself time to learn v3.1. It is a very different beast from v2.1. You might want to consider running both in parallel for a while as an easier way forward.
- Implement 3.1 before the start of the next tax year!
- If you have a small number of properties/tenancies, then you should give consideration to just re-entering them into 3.1 – it’s probably quicker in the long run. 3.1 has tools to retrospectively fill in rent receipts from the start of the tenancy so this is not as bad as it sounds.
- Do not try to make 3.1 an update for your 2.1 data – transactions are no longer king in 3.1 and you need to make time to get your head around how 3.1 works!
Tags: 2.1, 3.1, data, import, Software
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January 12th, 2010
Later than normal after the Xmas break, a general bug fix and maintenance release. New functionality planned for early this year 
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October 29th, 2009
We just announced that we formally support Property Intellect on Windows 7 from the 3.1.8 build (i.e the current build at time of writing). I’ve been playing with a ‘Release Candidate’ version for a little while now, but decided to go out and buy a copy and upgrade my Dell laptop (which had Vista on it, which I was not keen on). I wiped the disk and reinstalled from scratch to give it the best possible shot, and I’m glad I did! Initial reaction: installed quickly and easily and starts up/shuts down much quicker. The responsiveness of the laptop is also very noticeably better.
I’m impressed. Effortless install, big performance boost and zero crashes thus far. It recognised and installed all required drivers (I might just have been lucky on that front though). It’s hard to see how one can ask for more really.
Next step – upgrade my main working PC…could be much more challenging…let you know how it goes
Posted in Miscellaneous, Software | 2 Comments »
October 21st, 2009
Just a quick reminder to say that we’ll be at the Property Investor Show at London Excel tomorrow (Thursday) to Saturday.
http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/
Hope to see you there!
Tags: Show
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October 19th, 2009
A reminder that I’ll be at the Property Investor & OPP Show this weekend at Excel in London. I’ll be on the Property Intellect Software stand – please do drop by and say hello!
http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/london/
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October 5th, 2009
Well, that one was really to the wire. It takes a huge effort to get a new build of Property Intellect out – a lot more than people realize. It’s complicated enough to build and test the system. Then we’ve got the updates … and for multiple versions!
v3.1.8 is quite a landmark for us in what has been a system that has been growing almost daily for the last six months. 3.1.8 is notable as it includes a shiny new commercial property option. You see, the system was built for this kind of things, but we just never had enough development time to make it a reality – until now. Hopefully it should make life a lot easier for those of you with a mixed bag of residential and commercial units.
When we did the research we could see that most of the other systems simply claim that you can enter commercial properties by pretending that they are residential units in disguise. Those who actually run commercial units know better of course. There are some subtle differences in the way they are managed and treating them the same as residential units just does not ‘cut it’.
So there we are. Enjoy 
Tags: Software
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October 2nd, 2009
Interesting comments from the Nationwide today. House prices (by their measure) have returned to 2008 levels with the average now standing at £161,816. Digging a little deeper, we see this interesting point:
“The surge in so-called ‘accidental landlords’ has limited the supply of property in the sales market and increased the stock of homes available to let. These differing supply trends have led to diverging price trends between the sales and lettings markets. Whereas house prices have risen by 4.1% year to date, the available evidence suggests that rents are currently lower than where they started the year, thus putting downward pressure on rental yields. Although the drop in yields has been offset by large declines in interest rates over the last year, one cannot expect rents and house prices to move in opposite directions indefinitely.”
They imply that the underlying upward pressure is due people changing their minds and selling their properties rather than letting them any more. My immediate thought on this is that there is a pretty finite supply of these ‘accidential’ landlords so this upward effect must be limited in duration. The same limitation that constrain the market are still in existence – namely the absence of proper financing funds (yes, I’m aware that there is still finance out there, but it can be tricky to get a deal that makes sense for most landlords at the moment).
Now, back to my main theme – has the market already bottomed out? The shift to sales does indicate confidence returning, which is a pillar of any market. Supply is still limited and there is likely to be significant pent-up demand amongst potential purchasers. Could it be that expecting things to return to the ‘old ways’ is unrealistic – is it simply that we’ve entered a new era, and the current level of funding restrictions will be the norm for the foreseeable future? If that is indeed the case, then perhaps this is as good as its going to get…
Posted in Markets, Mortgages, Property | 4 Comments »
October 1st, 2009
Excited as we’ll be making an announcement later on about some new stuff that is being released. Stay tuned!
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September 14th, 2009
We’ve had several positive signs floating from the press recently about rises in property prices. These seem to fit what one would expect to see in a tentative recovery…but that does not mean they are! I read an article this morning which contained some interesting figures from a well known economic think tank.
Apparently 56% of property owners have a mortgage, which makes them reliant on the state of the mortgage markets which themselves have stubbornly refused to recover at anything like the same rate. Without funding or overseas investment, it’s hard to see how the market can sustain any consistent price rises, even if the demand is there.
So why are prices increasing? Well the idea put forward is that a relatively small pool of cash buyers in conjunction with limited supply of properties for sale (we’re all waiting for prices to recover!) is pushing prices up. This may well be true, and if it is this signals trouble because it cannot last.
I don’t see much other than sideways movement for the moment.
Posted in Property, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 8th, 2009
A few people have asked the same (good) questions about what is new/updated with Property Intellect so I thought I’d give you all an update on what we’ve been up to over the last few months.
Some of you might have downloaded a little while ago, possibly even stretching back into last year so you will have missed out on changes that really will have made a big difference. At the end of last year we undertook a mini project of reviewing and collating user feedback on the product, and sparing you the gory details, this gave rise to the next major revision – version 3.1. This spots a brand new, and very unique interface interface which was designed specifically to make doing the things you need to do much, much easier. The feedback to those changes has been overwhelmingly positive and we have been rolling in new functions and refining the product in a series of updates since then. We’re currently running at a rate of one major upgrade per month!
You can look back at the last few changes (although many more before then) here: http://www.propertyintellect.com/html/changelogs.html
There are always new features and things to do with the product, so look out for more changes very soon…
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