Moving from Excel to residential compound management software means setting a cut-over date, closing the books in Excel up to that date, and transferring only the position as of that day into the new system (units, people, brought-forward arrears, cash and bank balances). A tidy 40-unit apartment building can be up and running in a few days; a compound with several hundred units takes a few weeks. Two things make the migration safe: opening balances that reconcile to the last cent, and running both systems side by side for the first month.
How do you know it is time to move from Excel to software?
Excel works for years in a small apartment building. If two or three of these signs appear together, it is time to switch:
- You keep separate files for maintenance fees, collections and expenses, and at month-end they don't add up.
- You read every incoming transfer on the statement and post it manually to the relevant unit.
- When residents call to ask “how much do I owe?”, you have to open the file to answer.
- When the person handling the file goes on holiday or the management changes, nobody knows how the file is put together.
- Managing late-payment compensation, utility meter allocation or separate accounts for multiple blocks with formulas becomes difficult.
We covered what to look for when choosing software in our article on choosing property management software. This article looks at the next step after the decision: moving your data.
When is the best time to migrate?
The cleanest cutover point is right before the monthly service-charge billing run. At month end you post the last collections from Excel and close the file, then create the new month's service charge in the new system — so no month is ever split across two systems. The start of the financial year, the period right after the owners' general meeting approves the new operating budget, or a change of property manager are also good starting points. Avoid switching mid-winter, in the middle of the heating-season meter readings.
What data do you need to prepare?
Before migrating, gather the list below item by item. Assign each line to one person and set a deadline.
| Data | Where to buy | Points to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Block, building and unit list | Title deeds, management plan, current service-charge list | Unit numbers must be written the same way everywhere (merge variants such as A-12 and Block A 12) |
| Land share and m² | Title deeds, the list annexed to the management plan | Required for expenses shared by land share; the shares must be checked to total 100% |
| Owner and tenant details | Maintenance fee ledger, resident registration forms | Record the owner and the occupant separately; note the tenant's move-in date |
| Phone and email | Resident forms, communication groups | Phone numbers should be written consistently with the country code |
| Opening arrears and advances | Maintenance fee tracking file | By period and line item rather than a single total (e.g. September service charge, fuel advance) |
| Cash and bank balances | Cash count, bank statement for the cutover day | Must match the balance on the statement exactly |
| Suppliers and open invoices | Contracts, unpaid invoices | Tax number, IBAN, payments not yet due |
| Latest meter readings | Latest reading list | Together with the reading date; the first allocation starts from this value |
| Operating budget and service-charge rules | General meeting resolution, operating budget | Which expenses are split equally and which by land share; late-payment compensation rules |
| Legal and enforcement files | Lawyer and enforcement office records | File number and amount under collection |
Contact details are personal data under Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK). Keep the lists with a single person instead of circulating them in email threads, and delete old copies once the migration is complete.
How are opening balances and the cut-over date determined?
The most critical decision is the cutover date. Every transaction before that date stays in Excel; every transaction after it is kept in the new system. You do not need to carry over every collection line from previous years — the position as at that date is enough.
Example: Let the cut-over date be 1 November 2026. As of the evening of 31 October:
| Item | Current setup in Excel (example) | How do I get into the new system? |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 4 | September and October service charges unpaid, 2 × 2,500 TL | Two separate opening balances, due in September and October |
| Unit 9 | Paid November service charge in advance, 2,500 TL | 2,500 TL advance (credit); offset against the November billing run |
| Unit 15 | Fuel debt of 6,200 TL from last year, in enforcement proceedings | Opening arrears + legal case record |
| Cash on hand | 3,450 TL in the count | Cash opening balance 3,450 TL |
| Bank account | 31 October statement: 184,300 TL | Bank opening balance 184,300 TL |
Why carry debts over period by period? Article 20 of the Condominium Law No. 634 provides for late-payment compensation (gecikme tazminatı) of five percent per month for each day a unit owner is late paying. Because that compensation accrues by due date, a single line such as “Unit 4: 5,000 TL” loses track of which amount has been overdue since when — and your aged debtors report becomes meaningless. We cover the late-payment and collection process in detail in our article on service-charge debt collection.
When the transfer is complete, run three checks: the total opening arrears across units must match the total receivables in Excel, the total advances must match the advances in Excel, and the cash and bank balances must match the physical count and the statement. Even a one-cent difference signals an error that will be hard to find later.
How does data migration work, step by step?
- Set the cut-over date and the person responsible. Agree the date at the board meeting or together with the auditor.
- Set up the structure. Define the compound, blocks, units, land shares and square metres.
- Import your people. Link owners and tenants to their units; clean up duplicate records at this stage.
- Define your maintenance fee rules. Enter the amounts from the operating budget, the equal-share vs. land-share split, and the late-payment rule.
- Enter opening balances. Unit arrears and advances, cash, bank and supplier balances.
- Run your checks. Compare the totals against Excel and the bank statement.
- Enter the latest meter readings. The first allocation will start from these values.
- Run the first month in parallel. While billing and collecting in the new system, also keep the same month in Excel.
- Invite residents. Once balances are verified, announce the app to residents.
- Archive the Excel file. If the parallel month closed without issues, keep the file as read-only.
Why is a parallel-run period needed?
For the first month, record the same billing and collections in both the new system and Excel. At month end, compare unit balances on both sides. If there's a difference, it's usually a period entered incorrectly in the opening balance, a duplicate person, or an advance payment missed in Excel. One billing period is usually enough; if differences persist in the second month, don't switch off Excel until the issue is resolved. Extending the parallel run isn't good either: if two systems are kept side by side for too long, arguments start over which one is right.
How do you announce the switch to residents?
Invite residents after their balances have been verified. If a resident opens the app and sees an incorrect balance, trust is damaged from day one. Your announcement should cover: the switchover date, where to download the app, which phone number or email to sign in with, why old balances appear as “brought forward”, and who to contact with a dispute. For older residents who don't use a smartphone, keep issuing receipts and statements on paper for a while.
What are the most common migration mistakes?
- Duplicate people: The same owner gets entered twice as “Ahmet Yılmaz” and “A. Yılmaz”, and the debt is split in two. An owner with two units should be recorded once and linked to both units.
- Missing or invalid phone number: Numbers without a country code, with spaces, or outdated numbers stop notifications and app logins from working.
- Incorrect opening balances: Forgetting prepayments, failing to deduct partial payments from arrears, or entering cash on hand without counting it.
- Confusing owners with tenants: Under the Condominium Law (Kat Mülkiyeti Kanunu), the unit owner is liable for shared expenses. Even if the charge is billed to the tenant, the owner record must be complete.
- Trying to rewrite history: Migrating five years of collection history line by line takes weeks and creates new errors. The history can stay archived in Excel.
- Posting to Excel after the cut-over date: Only the new system should be used after the cut-over date; the parallel month is the sole exception.
How do I switch to Çözüm Hanem?
In Çözüm Hanem, data is migrated using the Excel template the system provides. The template separates entities such as compounds, buildings, units, people, opening balances, cash, banks and suppliers onto individual sheets. You place your own data into this template; the import and checks are carried out with support from our team. Don't expect an arbitrarily formatted Excel file to be imported on its own; the template is the intermediate step that makes sure data lands in the right field. Setup and data migration support, training and support are included in the quote.
A 13-step compound and building setup wizard gets your structure in place; you can check the block and unit layout on a visual map. Compounds with up to 500 units can open an account and start right away with Get Started, no quote needed; for larger or multi-site portfolios, request a quote via the contact page. After migration, residents see their balances and receipts in the free resident app and pay their service charges by card.
Summary
- Choose a cut-over date; everything before it stays in Excel, everything after it is kept in the new system.
- Transfer opening arrears by period and line item, not as a single lump sum.
- Reconcile unit debts, cash and bank totals against Excel and your bank statements to verify them.
- Run the first billing period in parallel in both systems; once there are no differences, archive Excel.
- Invite residents to the app only after their balances have been verified.