Guides and FAQ4 min read

Premises vs generic property software: an honest comparison

There is a lot of property software. Most of it is built for American or European landlords and sold worldwide. Here is where a Philippine-built platform is actually better, where it is not, and what it deliberately does not do.

By the end of this pageYou will have a fair basis for comparing, including the cases where a generic product is the right choice.

On this page

Where Premises is better Where it is not What it lacks on purpose Five questions for any vendor When to choose something else

Where Premises is better

Philippine specifics: official receipts and the OR register, withholding and the 2307, RA 8792 e-signatures with evidence, RA 10173 duties built into documents, association dues and the HLURB/DHSUD shape of an HOA, GCash and Maya QR codes on every invoice, WhatsApp as a first-class channel. Generic products have none of these or bolt them on. The cleaner and the guard: a phone page for each that needs no training, because the platform was run on a building where the cleaner had to use it. One database per business: your data is a file you can take. Price: free for early users.

Where it is not

Scale. Built for one to a few hundred doors per workspace. A company with five thousand units across the country wants enterprise software with an API and an account manager; this is not that. Integrations. No channel sync yet, no accounting-system sync beyond the pack and the Sheet push, no bank feeds. Marketplace features. No listing syndication, no tenant screening service, no online applications. Track record. A young product from a small team; generic products have years of bug reports behind them.

What it lacks on purpose

A chat. Per-person form layouts. Custom roles. Automatic penalties. Guest names from channels. Location tracking of staff. Each was considered and left out because it makes the product worse for the buildings it serves, not because nobody asked.

Five questions for any vendor

Can I export everything — including the database — and leave in an afternoon?
Show me the cleaner's screen. Would my cleaner use it?
What happens to my data when you stop operating?
What is the price in three years, and who decides?
Who built this, and do they run a building with it?

When to choose something else

You manage thousands of units; you need listing syndication and screening; you need a vendor with a support contract and SLAs; you are outside the Philippines and the local specifics are noise to you. In each case a generic product is the right answer and we would rather say so than sell you the wrong thing.

Try both. The demo is a full copy of a 48-unit building. Most vendors offer a trial. Run the same month in each and see which one your reception actually keeps using.