From Migration to Mastery: Best Practices for a Seamless Entrata Go-Live

For anyone seeking insights on how to onboard the Entrata system, Misty Maxwell is the one to ask. 

Maxwell, the Director of Organizational Development for Vesta Realty, has migrated more than 200 properties to Entrata. That includes all three types of migrations—external software to Entrata, E2E (Entrata to Entrata) and SIM (or self) migration. 

According to Maxwell, an 11-year industry veteran and seven-year Entrata client, the go-live process may differ by migration type, but her best practices apply across them all. . . At the 2025 Entrata Summit session From Migration to Mastery: Best Practices for a Seamless Entrata Go-Live, Maxwell imparted ways to ensure a smooth transition and eliminate common pitfalls of implementation.

“When we communicate with our team about the change, we set the tone, but we also share the excitement about what’s coming,” Maxwell said. “If you’re excited in your first communication to the team and you maintain that, they’ll be excited, as well.”

According to  data, projects with excellent change management are seven times more likely to achieve their objectives. 

Maxwell shared examples of communications that operators can send to teams ahead of the go-live, including those urging payment of outstanding invoices  as possible, completion of all financial move-outs, entering all resident emails and sending notices to residents informing them of the change. Another key objective for teams amidst a changeover is to perform a full audit to ensure all data is correct in the existing system before transitioning it to the new one. 

It is crucial to make sure rent roll records are accurate to avoid unsettling any residents, she said. If any such disruptions can be minimized during the transition period, it will boost trust from onsite teams and residents alike. 

“We created a notice from the corporate office that the managers sent to the residents, so the messaging was consistent for every one of our properties,” Maxwell said. “Consistency in communication is huge, and we want to make sure the residents share the excitement we have because of this change.”

Training, of course, is a key component regardless of the type of migration. From Vesta Realty’s experience, , they have seen adoption rates can climb from 30% to 85% with thorough training. Teams adopting the system must complete 10 Entrata trainings prior to the go-live date, which are available in several different mediums. That includes live webinars, which are often more engaging than standard training videos, according to Kim Hollowood, Customer Success Manager for Entrata. 

Maxwell and Hollowood also touted the use of Entrata’s Message Center during the implementation process. 

“Message Center is one of our original communication products, and in my opinion, a little bit slept on,” Hollowood said. “You can do a lot with it, and it’s pretty efficient. The great thing about it is that we have our layered intelligence built into the Message Center, so if you’re struggling to come up with a clever way to build excitement, just let the generative AI do it. It will save you a lot of time in the long run, as well.”

Maxwell has communication protocols in place for her Vesta teams for all stages of the adoption process, including a detailed go-live checklist. But when it comes time to go live at one of her properties, she wants to be there to see it. 

“We are living in a world today where a lot of things are handled by things like Google Meet and video conferences,” Maxwell said. “Honestly, my approach is that I want to be onsite, feet on the ground with the team the day of go-live. I like that’s a huge part of the success that we’ve had.”