Is Entrata the Product of a Trojan Horse?

Two words – Trojan Horse

Brilliant Word of Mouth

No doubt the word of mouth marketing campaign that Entrata (Property Solutions) is using to bring about awareness is brilliant. It is off the charts – cool.

Check this video out – it’s one of four that are uber-cool.

Trojan Horse

All the brilliance aside, I can’t help but to call a trojan horse on this one. Full disclosure, we are a client of Property Solutions. And, for the record there are very few occasions where I would call a spade a spade publicly. This one just has my gut screaming. It seems that our partner entered into a relationship with Yardi in part (or, it evolved into that) to get a good look at the back office. Not unlike Steve Jobs did when he bought his way into looking at what Xerox was up to years ago before graphical user interfaces entered the mainstream. While Steve spun that to be an okay thing –

I am just not buying it from Property Solutions. One does not have to look to far to get what I mean – take the definition of Entrata for instance:

entrata

  1. (nautical) to board (to capture an enemy ship by going alongside and then invading her)
  2. (slang) to improve

To capture a Property Management Software System by going alongside (inside) and then invading Yardi… Sorry, improve is likely what they were going for.

Every Property Management System is Lacking

In all fairness – I think every property management software platform is terrible. They all cater to accountants (not to discount accountants – I have some great friends from that world). But, accountants don’t run properties. Sales people, psychologists and craftsman do. There is no Apple about Yardi, MRI, RealPage or any other system out there. They are all complicated, stodgy, aesthetically limp, expensive, slow and they hold your data hostage to a mind numbing degree.

Baseball Jersey

Last week I received a package in the mail. Contents: A baseball Jersey from Property Solutions with Entrata stamped across the chest and the number 1 stamped on the back. And, a letter dripping with edifices and endorsements aimed at juicing me up to write about this new property management software offering.

#gameoff – I was jazzed until the curtain was pulled back and it became apparent that Entrata was in fact a product of Property Solutions. Likely not the post they had in mind and I am borderline apologetic for that. Excepting that the relationship has not been without pain.

Service

Would I endorse this product? Not even on it’s best day. For two reasons. It’s intellectually disingenuous. And, it speaks volumes to the reason our service experience has been less than just bad. It would suffice to say that all hands have been on deck to include some brilliant marketing efforts to get this product to market and the ask for forgiveness machine has been in full affect. That experience is to include an email I sent six days ago asking for some clarification that has gone unanswered.

I can’t help but to use the over-used and abused #fail hashtag for this one. There is a huge difference between being shrewd and just swindling.

Your hoping I am completely misplaced in my remarks so much so that I eat crow for this post but thinking I am not alone in my thoughts multifamily maniac,

M

0 Responses

  1. Mr. Brewer.
    I would like to address your comment in this blog regarding all property management softwares are catered to accountants.
    1) No accountants are not in the mix of the sale, etc, but how would you get the anlaytic data you need if you did not have accountants, or a software that could provdie the data the accountants need to give you the information.
    2)You can have the best sales person in the world on a site and if they don’t understand the bottom line, where the property is headed in the future, then you are in for a world of hurt. In my personal experience the true rockstar property managers have both knowledge in the financial side as well as the sales side. I have seem property managers and regional managers make terrible mistakes overspending money that was not necesssary before they understood what the impact was going to be to the property, because they simply did NOT understand how to read an accounitng report because the software could not give them clear and concise data to use.
    I beleive that everyone should work together (shame on you for making the very typical accounting vs. operations mentality statement in this blog) a property management software should be easily used from both sides to make everyones life easier, not just one.
    Frankly, if that it too hard in the world of the people who create Property Management software to do then it SHOULD error on the side of being catered to the accounting side. I say that because in my experience 9 times out of 10 the people in the mix of the sales and such cannot understand financial data unless it is in a software that “caters to the accounting side”. If the accounting side is built properly and correctly it allows the property manager’s to be able to gather clear and concise data to make decisions instead of trying to wade through numbers upon numbers and not really understand what they are looking at because the system cannot give them clear concise data.

    1. Carin

      I can not believe what my eyes are reading. It really is you! Thank you for taking time out of your day to join in the conversation. 😉

      Note to self – rant on accountants and they will come at you full force. 😉

      All kidding aside – I am truly aware and if full agreement that without a brilliant accounting team – operations are for not. What I was trying to imply (and, did a poor job of doing so) was that the day to day operations of the asset from an on-site perspective demands a ton. And, innately knowing that the majority of property managers and assistant managers are not accountants, it is fair to say that the platforms are terrible. From an accountants perspective, I get, they are brilliant.

      That said, I think there is a fair middle ground whereby a better platform can be created. One that serves the non-accounting types and one that serves the accounting type. And, makes us all better in the end.

      Really hope you come back soon and remark on the other 267 budget/accounting related posts we have out there.

      Have a great 4th.

      M

  2. Boom. Brilliantly played. We are not customers of PS but have heard complaints that the level of service has taken a nose dive. We can speculate further as to why. I’m not going to say I DON’T want to see the new software but agree wholeheartedly with you that PM software IS terrible for the very reasons you describe. Most are an accounting system first and a Property Management system second.

    By the way .. I have my jersey too. I’m wearing it right now. Believe me?

    1. Thank you for chiming in. I’m all for a better forward facing property management software. Just skeptical.

      I have to see a pic of you wearing that jersey. Not that I don’t believe you – I am just a visual sort of person.

  3. Having worked at Property Solutions a number of years, and having recently left due to concerns of their strategic direction, there is a lot of validity to what you’re saying.

  4. We started using the full-boat of products from Property Solutions about a year ago and have been thoroughly impressed since the beginning. We have Property Solutions sitting on top of Yardi for our on-site sales team to utilize because it is more agile, easier to use as a “Sales Force” type follow-up & response system and just plain not as bulky as Yardi. Our corporate accounting department uses Yardi and Yardi is a great accounting software (no doubt), however they don’t come close to the sales interface that Property Solutions has created. Our business is about residents and rent, Property Solutions addresses both of these areas very thoughtfully from the well designed user- friendly websites to the easy to use Lead management portal. You can say what you want about Property Solutions but at the heart of the topic Property Solutions is currently the best Property Management – Sales Oriented software available in the market today. Please name a better more effecient system focused on leasing/sales, I would love to check it out with all seriousness. Sure it has had it’s hiccups from time to time and believe me we have experienced some, but honestly they have always been addressed in a timely manner and free of charge I might add. Yardi charges you units (Yardi’s billing terminology) everytime you speak with them. Not sure why everyone is being so hard on Property Solutions, if anything hopefully they will make Yardi & Real Page open their eyes that they need to be more agile and faster at making their operating systems more user friendly and up-to date. Just my ten cents. Thanks for letting me chime in.

    1. Micah

      My apologies for the long delayed acknowledgement of your comment.

      I really appreciate you chiming in – you make some relevant points. Especially on the subject of pushing Yardi and Real Page in the areas of customer service and innovation.

      I agree that PSI looks and feels pretty but the hiccups are too numerous to count at this point. And, while they do get fixed in a timely manner. The frequency and similarity of problems is tough to digest.

      Again, really appreciate you taking the time to chime in.

      Hope the balance of your week rocks.

      M

  5. Isn’t market research the key to every company who enters a market? As long as nothing illegal occurred, I don’t see the complaint. If entrepreneurs did not analyze market players, see what they could improve, and then enter the market with their own version (which forces the other person to innovate and/or improve), our quality of living and every product you use would be a whole lot worse than it is today. Sounds like you are against competition, capitalism, and other things that makes America great in this post.

    1. Hi there Disappointed reaader –

      Really do appreciate your point of view.

      My point in the post was no so much about competition as it was about ethics. I love competition and would never want to mar that as it relates to doing business. It’s beautiful.

      I do think becoming a client with of your soon to be competitor so as to understand their inner workings is crossing into a gray area that I think (one guy’s opinion) is disingenuous and borderline shady.

      Add to that – you are out building a network of clients knowing that one day you are going to put them in the compromising position of having to choose.

      Don’t get me wrong – I like what they have done in the way of providing me leverage to press Yardi. I thank them for that. But, I still think the way they went about it smells.

      And, the service has been less than wonderful all the while they were building out this platform.

      And, just to get it out there – I really like the people I deal with at Property Solutions.

      Thanks again for stopping by – appreciate the feedback.

      M

    2. Hi there Disappointed reaader –

      Really do appreciate your point of view.

      My point in the post was no so much about competition as it was about ethics. I love competition and would never want to mar that as it relates to doing business. It’s beautiful.

      I do think becoming a client with of your soon to be competitor so as to understand their inner workings is crossing into a gray area that I think (one guy’s opinion) is disingenuous and borderline shady.

      Add to that – you are out building a network of clients knowing that one day you are going to put them in the compromising position of having to choose.

      Don’t get me wrong – I like what they have done in the way of providing me leverage to press Yardi. I thank them for that. But, I still think the way they went about it smells.

      And, the service has been less than wonderful all the while they were building out this platform.

      And, just to get it out there – I really like the people I deal with at Property Solutions.

      Thanks again for stopping by – appreciate the feedback.

      M

      1. I see your point, but let’s be honest though, companies are always copying/gaining inspiration from their competitors. The worst that can happen is that Yardi and others wake up and improve the functionality, usability, and price of their services. Pretty much exactly what Apple did to Microsoft (except the price thing).

        Let’s see if Yardi can do better than Microsoft though and make changes more quickly and stay more dominant. From my experience with PSI, the bugs alone due to overly-expedited launches will allow Yardi to continue to flourish.

        I do agree with one point though, the people I deal with at Property Solutions are great and I hope the service does not slip (more than some have stated that it already has, although I have not seen it).

  6. Entata is terrible!!!!!!!! I hate this system with a passion and wouldn’t wish this system upon my rudest comp!

  7. This is exactly what PSI does and continues to do. I should know, I work for the company and watch it happening on a daily basis. Dave Bateman told us client executives to get our clients to open their Yardi/ASMI software in front of us so we can see what they’re doing. Legal had to come in and put a stop to it because the CEO continued to push for more information. The only reason I work here is because I need a paycheck…this company is broken. In fact, they’re broke – operating in the red for about a year now. They just laid off a bunch of people because we couldn’t afford to pay them. So, when they go out of business because they have no money, what will all of you do? I realize this puts me out of a job but at least you’ll all understand that PSI is NOT innovative – they’re HACKS! They mimic, copy, and steal ideas from everyone else…including employees. Once Dave gets what he wants from those employees, he fires them…

    Put an end the misery and deceit…find a new company to do business with!! Keep your ears open…there’s more to come.

    1. PSI Disgust

      Thank you for your candor. It’s an interesting and disheartening story. We moved on to a different vendor and while it’s not perfect – I think it was the right decision for us.

      Have a great weekend.

      M

    2. Um, wow – that’s a load of … stuff! I work at the company too. PSI Digust, you are obviously on your way out and are pretty bitter about something. The company isn’t broke – quite the opposite. Innovation is what we do every day in the Entrata product and from what I can see, the company as a whole. Frankly, I’m having more fun than I’ve had in years having the freedom to innovate – something I didn’t get to do at the competition because they were focused on milking the cash cow, not innovating for the future. So please – move your depressing attitude to another company while we take the industry by innovation storm. Oh, by the way – Entrata does mean “to capture an enemy ship by going alongside and then invading her”. You have no imagination if you have a problem with a little tongue-in-cheek humor! Lighten up… and game on.

    3. PSI Disgust, A lot of what you say is very substantial. I’m curious why are you still working with such a company? How long have you been putting up with these shinanigans? If what you say is true and I worked for a similar company, I would have jumped ship a long time ago because I would realize my skills are better elsewhere, somewhere else I feel my paycheck is deserving. Wouldn’t I be a part of the problem if I stayed?

      1. Follow-up comment to my own, I would worry about an employee who would feel this way at my own company. I understand that employees need their paychecks and how they may be impacted by what transpires within a company. At the same time, pay is a form of compensation for their contribution to the work they provide for the company. If my employee was getting paid to slander my own company (obviously not directly, like in this case), myself and, I’m sure, fellow employees would not want that particular individual plaguing the atmosphere with such negativity. A ship may be going down but you don’t have to be a reason for it going down as well. Whether you’re still an employee of this Entrata or anywhere else, you should probably be wary of what impact this has where ever you work(ed) because (maybe this is just my view on my profession) I want to be proud of the work I do in my line of work. It’s unfortunate to hear both this company’s dealings/circumstances and those that are disheartened by the product (such as this employee) as it is very unprofessional. Good luck in your endeavors.

    4. I have worked at PSI for almost 2 years now and the entire time I have been working as a Client Executive. I have never been asked by anyone in the company, and that includes our CEO Dave Bateman, to log in to any clients PM Software. On the contrary we have been asked not to log in to those softwares. We are striving to change the industry and are working to provide all of our clients a better way to do business. For a long time we have worked with other vendors to make sure that we are sending and receiving the information that our clients need to manage all of their properties. @ PSI Disgust, I don’t know who you are but you either don’t work here anymore or you are completely misinformed about where things stand with PSI. This is a great place to work and I love coming to work every day. If you truly feel the way you do, you should do yourself and PSI a favor and find a job where you will be happy.

  8. PSI’s “ethics” is what prompted Yardi’s recent lawsuit against them. Regardless of that though, one thing this thread has proved is continued widespread, subjective opinion on vendors in this industry. Makes it hard to rely on information when seeking to implement some of these systems.

    1. RicoSuave

      Thanks for taking the time to chime in. I will say – I really like the products they are creating and I have never been at odds with that piece. I do hold to my opinion as it relates to their path to progress. Just seems a bit amiss to me.

      Hope your week is off to a great start.

      M

  9. I also worked at Property Solutions. It’s a good company, with a lot of good people and good ideas. However, It’s not wholly innocent with regards to the development of Entrata (taken from the Spanish ‘entrada’, meaning ‘entry’ or ‘portal’). Yes, at one point, the CEO did send out an email asking employees not to view or log into competitors software. However, that does not mean it didn’t take place, nor that, in some cases, it was not encouraged by senior leadership. I highly doubt PSI’s practices are worse than their competitors, but they have been sufficiently uncomfortable and continuous for me to seek other employment.

  10. Hi Mike,

    It could be fair to say that in years past, many of the big property management platforms did indeed cater to accountants only. Reason being, every good property manager is backed up by an accountant. Ultimately, at the end of the year if the accountant doesn’t get what they want, they tell the property manager to switch platforms and the property manager will 9 times out of 10. That said, I’ve been using Rentec Direct for our properties for the past 5 years and what they do that the other players here you’ve mentioned don’t is provide a property manager interface for us landlords that don’t know squat about accounting, and then on the back-end they provide the reports and data downloads necessary for the accountants to be happy at the end of the year. Recently they even released a plug-in to sync all the data to quickbooks and I know my accountant loves quickbooks format. I think the trends are changing, at least with the newer apps. The legacy guys cater to massive property managers (50k+ units), but anyone with less than a few thousand units have real options these days.

    – Nate

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