Premises — property operations platform
SupportStart free
Why Premises5 min read

Why property management software in the Philippines usually fails small landlords — and what we did differently

If you have tried property software before and gone back to a notebook, you were not the problem. Most of it was never built for a building like yours.

By the end of this pageYou will understand the four design choices behind Premises and be able to judge whether they fit the way you run your property.
On this pageIt was built somewhere elseIt was priced per doorIt needed an accountant before it needed a tenantIt was an app — several apps
Why it usually fails — and the other choiceAnimated
What usually shipsWhat we shippedBuilt for the USDollars, credit checks, ACH — then a peso sign pasted on topBuilt on a Philippine buildingBIR, e-wallets, water bands, the guard downstairsPriced per unit, per monthA 12-door building pays like a 120-door oneFree for early usersThen priced for the size of business you actually areNeeds an accountant to set upChart of accounts before the first invoiceInvoices first, books laterYour accountant gets a pack; you get on with the monthAn app per roleOwner app, tenant app, vendor app — three stores to updateOne address for everyoneOwner, cleaner, guard, tenant — same site, different doors

It was built somewhere else

The large products come from markets where tenants pay by bank transfer on a contract, credit scores exist, and a property manager is a licensed profession. Change the currency symbol and you still have software that does not know what a water band is, why a guard keeps a logbook, or that an official receipt is a physical booklet with serial numbers the BIR cares about. Premises was written on a real building in Pampanga, for the people who actually run it: an owner who is also the manager, two cleaners, a guard, a part-time accountant.

It was priced per door

Per-unit-per-month pricing is how the industry charges, and it makes a twelve-unit building subsidise the software's enterprise customers. Premises is free for early users, and when pricing arrives it will be set for the size of business you are, with a free tier that stays free.

It needed an accountant before it needed a tenant

Open most products and the first screen is a chart of accounts. You wanted to send an invoice; you are being asked to set up double-entry bookkeeping. Premises starts with the invoice, because that is where the month starts, and produces a clean monthly pack for whoever keeps your books. It is not an accounting system and does not pretend to be — your accountant keeps that job and gets better raw material.

It was an app — several apps

An owner app, a tenant app, a vendor app, each in two stores, each needing updates, each a separate login. Premises is one web address with different doors: your staff sign in at the front, your tenants at the portal, your cleaner lands on a page built for a phone. Nothing to install, nothing to update, and a new staff member starts with nothing but the address. Why a web platform is the right shape goes into the trade-offs.

What we did not do differently. We did not try to be everything. There is no chat, no bank integration, no AI that promises to run your building. There is a tight set of things a building does every month, done properly. The roadmap says what is coming and what is not.

Related

Why Premises · 4 minFree for early usersRead the article →Why Premises · 3 minBuilt by a landlordRead the article →Why Premises · 4 minSpreadsheet vs PremisesRead the article →
Fast on a 2019 phone: performance as a featurePremises vs generic property software: an honest comparison
Free for early users  →

Describes the platform as it is today. Something out of date? Tell us. · help 0.12.3