Fear of migration keeps agencies in bad software
The most common reason an agency stays on a platform it no longer likes is not price, it is the fear of moving. "We have 900 properties and ten years of history, we are never moving that." In reality, a well-prepared migration takes days rather than months, and most of the work is cleaning rather than technical.
Step 1: decide what actually moves
- Mandatory: active properties, working contacts, transactions in progress, valid contracts.
- Useful: properties sold in the last two years, for comparables and valuations, plus the history of recurring clients.
- Archive: everything else. Export it once, keep the file, do not import it. There is no reason to fill a new platform with data you never open.
Step 2: request the export
Your data is yours. Ask for an open format, preferably CSV or Excel, separated into properties, contacts and activities. Then check three things immediately: whether diacritics survived, whether prices and surfaces arrived as numbers rather than text, and whether photos are included as files or only as web addresses.
Photos are the most commonly missed part. If the export contains only links, they work exactly until the day you close the old subscription. Download them locally first.
Step 3: clean before importing
Migration is the only moment when everyone agrees to tidy up. Use it:
- Remove duplicate properties created by repeated listings.
- Merge contacts that appear three times with phone numbers written differently.
- Standardise localities and neighbourhoods, otherwise search in the new system will be just as chaotic.
- Mark clearly what is sold, active or suspended.
The rule is simple: bad data is not repaired by importing, only relocated.
Step 4: import in the right order
- Users and roles — agents must exist before properties can be assigned to them.
- Contacts — owners, buyers, collaborators.
- Properties — linked to owner and responsible agent.
- Photos — attached to properties that already exist.
- Transactions and activities — last, when there is something to attach them to.
Step 5: verify on a sample, not on the total
After import, do not only check record counts. Pick ten representative properties, including one complicated case, and verify each: price, surface, rooms, floor, area, attached owner, photos in the right order, description with intact characters. If those ten are correct, the rest almost certainly are.
Step 6: run in parallel, but briefly
One to two weeks of parallel running is healthy. Longer is dangerous: the team starts working in both systems and the data splits into two truths. Set a clear date after which the old system becomes a read-only archive.
Step 7: republishing on portals
The most sensitive practical point. Active portal listings are tied to your accounts, not to the CRM. Before moving, record what is published and where; after import, reconnect the portal accounts and verify synchronisation on a few listings rather than all at once. The full workflow is in the publishing guide.
Step 8: the first week with the team
- One short session, on the agency's real data, not on a generic demo.
- One workflow explained very well: from lead to viewing. The rest is learned along the way.
- One person designated as the contact point for questions.
- A firm rule: from Monday, nothing is recorded anywhere else.
Common mistakes
- Migrating in peak season. Choose a quieter period.
- Importing without cleaning, to save a day and lose a year of bad searches.
- Forgetting the photos until after the old account is closed.
- No owner. If the migration belongs to everyone, it belongs to no one.
Conclusion
A CRM migration is a project of days, provided you follow the order: choose what moves, export, clean, import in layers, verify on a sample, and cut the old system on a clear date. If you are evaluating a move, read the selection criteria or see the Lukian platform.
