How to Choose the Right Lease Management Software: A Guide for Growing Teams

Thinking of Switching Lease Management Software? Here’s What to Consider First

Switching lease management software isn’t just about finding a better UI, it’s about simplifying how your team works, staying compliant, and gaining better control over your lease portfolio. Whether you’ve outgrown your current system or are just starting to explore alternatives, here’s what to look for (and what to avoid) when making the switch.

Signs You’re Using Outdated or Hard-to-Use Lease Software

Not all lease platforms are built for today’s workflows or today’s compliance standards. If any of the following sound familiar, it might be time to consider a better option:

• You can’t customize reports. You're stuck with pre-set formats that don’t match what your team actually needs.
• It’s hard to get support. You’re stuck in a help center loop or waiting days for a real response.
• The interface feels 10 years old. Confusing menus, cluttered dashboards, and no clear way to find what you need.
• It doesn’t support ASC 842, IFRS 16, or GASB 87. Or if it does, it still feels like a workaround.
• You rely on spreadsheets for things the software should handle. Like rent schedules, amortization, or journal entries.
• Integrations are limited (or nonexistent). You can’t easily connect your lease data with your ERP, accounting tools, or reporting systems.
• Making updates feels risky. Simple changes (like a lease modification) take too many clicks or you’re worried you’ll break something.
• Your audit trail falls short. The activity log isn’t detailed enough to meet SOC requirements or internal reporting standards.
• Your team avoids using it. People export data just to work around the system.
• There’s no admin visibility or control. You can’t see who’s made changes, manage user roles, or enforce security with SSO.

If your current software is causing more problems than it solves, switching might be easier — and more worthwhile — than you think.

What to Ask When You’re Evaluating New Lease Software

Once you’ve decided to explore alternatives, the next step is making sure your next system actually solves the problems your current one creates. Here are the questions we recommend asking every provider:

• Does it combine lease management and lease accounting in one place?
  Switching between tools to manage payments, compliance, and reporting creates room for error. A single system keeps everything aligned.

• How easy is onboarding and implementation?
  Do they handle setup? Will they help migrate your lease data? How long does it actually take?

• Can it scale with your portfolio?
  You want a platform that works whether you manage 10 leases or 10,000 and one that adapts as your business grows.

• What accounting standards does it support?
  Make sure it’s fully built for ASC 842, IFRS 16, and GASB 87, not just partially compliant.

• What reporting options are available?
  Look for flexibility. Can you generate subledgers, custom journal entries, or reporting that reflects unusual payment structures, like partial payments, CAM reconciliations, or free rent periods? Does it align with your accounting close process?

• How well does it integrate?
  Ask about native integrations or API access to connect your lease data with your other systems (AP, GL, FP&A, etc.).

• How does it handle team access and security?
  Look for features like single sign-on (SSO), role-based permissions, and audit logs. Admins should have full visibility into who’s doing what and be able to control access without relying on IT.

• What is customer support actually like?
  Do you get a real person when you need help? Will someone walk you through the setup and answer accounting questions?

The answers to these questions will quickly reveal whether a provider is built for enterprise-level needs or just another basic platform with a modern skin.

What a Smooth Transition Looks Like

Switching lease software doesn’t have to mean chaos. With the right provider, implementation should feel more like support than stress. Here’s what to expect from a well-run transition:

• A clear implementation plan
  You should know what’s happening, when, and who’s responsible from kickoff through implementation.

• Support with data migration
  Whether your lease data lives in Excel, another platform, or a custom internal system, your provider should help clean, import, and validate it.

• Custom setup for your workflows
  That includes your chart of accounts, reporting formats, cost centers, and approval structures, not generic defaults.

• Audit-ready activity logs and records
  Every change should be tracked, time-stamped, and exportable, meeting both internal audit and external reporting needs.

• Secure team setup and access controls
  Admins should be able to easily configure who has access to which leases, locations, or accounting features, with SSO and permissions management built in from day one.

• Parallel run options
  If you’re transitioning from another system, running both in parallel for a short period can help you verify accuracy without disrupting operations.

• Hands-on support; not just a help doc
  You should have a dedicated onboarding specialist (ideally with lease accounting experience), not a chatbot or email queue.

When switching software is done right, your team ends up saving time from day one, not scrambling to adjust.

Ready for Lease Software That Doesn’t Feel Like It Was Built in the '90s?

Spacebase was built for modern teams that are tired of clunky systems, limited reporting, and never-ending workarounds. We combine powerful lease management and accounting tools in one platform — designed to simplify your workflow and give you more control, not less.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Personalized onboarding with hands-on data migration support
• Custom reporting from journal entries to subledgers to one-off payment scenarios
• Enterprise-grade compliance with ASC 842, IFRS 16, and GASB 87
• Real human support, not a chatbot
• $0 implementation fees and no hidden costs
• Flexible integrations with your ERP, AP systems, and reporting tools
• Full admin control with role-based access, SSO, and detailed user activity logs

We make switching easy, and managing leases feels a whole lot better.

Ready to see the difference?

Book a demo and we’ll walk you through how Spacebase can simplify lease management for your team.

Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager