How to build a single source of truth across Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI, and AppFolio
Connect to each PMS API, land every system in one warehouse you own, and line the schemas up where you can see them. Here is how multifamily operators do it.
A single source of truth across several property management systems is one warehouse where every unit, lease, resident, and work order from every PMS lands and is modeled to one schema. Getting there takes three things: a connector to each PMS, a warehouse you own, and a step that lines the schemas up. Connect does the first two. The third is yours, and it is smaller than the first two used to be.
Most multifamily operators run more than one PMS. A portfolio might have Yardi at its original communities, RealPage at newer acquisitions, Entrata at a recently acquired management company, MRI Software on the commercial and mixed-use assets, and AppFolio at a small third-party managed portfolio. Every one of those systems stores its data in a proprietary schema, so no single report crosses all of them without someone reconciling spreadsheets.
Connect is built for that stack. It syncs data from Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, AppFolio, and 125+ other systems into your data warehouse, with pre-built connectors that generic ELT tools do not carry.
Build it, buy generic ELT, or use Connect?
The three routes operators actually take, on the dimensions that decide the outcome. Every route leaves the schema modeling with you; they differ on who builds and maintains the connectors.
Setup time
- DIY
- 3 to 6 engineer-months per PMS
- Generic ELT
- 4 to 8 weeks per custom connector, plus the transform work
- Connect
- Days to first sync
Engineering effort
- DIY
- High. Build and maintain every connector in-house
- Generic ELT
- Medium. Generic connectors plus custom dbt transforms
- Connect
- Low. Pre-built connectors handle extraction; schema modeling is downstream
Lining up schemas across PMS platforms
- DIY
- Manual. You write the mapping logic for each PMS
- Generic ELT
- Manual. Generic ELT delivers raw tables; the mapping is on you
- Connect
- Downstream. Connect lands raw tables; model with dbt, or read the supported PMS platforms through the Unified API
PMS API maintenance (auth, rate limits, schema drift)
- DIY
- Fully on your engineering team
- Generic ELT
- Partial. Auth handled; schema drift and rate limits still need custom work
- Connect
- Fully managed by Propexo
Time to first query in the warehouse
- DIY
- Months
- Generic ELT
- Weeks to months
- Connect
- Days
Ongoing cost
- DIY
- High. Ongoing engineering time for maintenance
- Generic ELT
- Medium. Tool subscription plus continued transform engineering
- Connect
- Predictable subscription; maintenance included
What does a single source of truth mean for a multifamily operator?
A warehouse table, or a set of them, where every unit, lease, resident, and work order from every PMS is present, deduplicated, and modeled to one schema. It is not a dashboard and it is not a manual export. It is a live dataset that BI tools, data teams, and product engineers all query without first negotiating with the source systems.
For an operator running Yardi at 40 properties and RealPage at 20 others, it means one query returns occupancy across all 60, instead of a spreadsheet reconciliation across two reporting portals. Add an MRI Software portfolio from an acquisition and the query still returns one answer.
The warehouse is the right home for it because it works with any BI tool, supports any analyst workflow, and does not lock you into one vendor's reporting format. You own the data there in a way you do not inside the PMS.
Why don't Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI, and AppFolio data line up?
Because each PMS was built independently and reflects its own data model. A unit in Yardi is a unit. In RealPage it may be a space. In Entrata it is a unit again, with different sub-fields. MRI Software and AppFolio each bring their own lease status codes, charge codes, and work order priority fields. None of these systems were designed to talk to each other.
So every integration project faces two distinct problems: the extraction problem (getting data out of each PMS API and keeping it flowing) and the schema problem (making that data mean the same thing once it lands). Generic ELT tools solve the first partially and the second not at all. A DIY build solves both from scratch, per PMS, with ongoing maintenance as the APIs change.
What does each route cost you?
Mostly engineering time, and the difference between the routes is whose. Building your own puts every connector and every API change on your team. Generic ELT moves some of the plumbing to a vendor but leaves the PMS connectors, which the vendor does not have, with you. Connect moves the connectors and their maintenance to Propexo and leaves you the modeling.
Option 1: Build your own connectors
Some engineering teams build direct integrations with each PMS API. This gives full control and carries a steep cost: each connector takes 3 to 6 engineer-months to build, and every API change (authentication updates, schema drift, rate limit changes) needs ongoing maintenance. A three-PMS project becomes an 18-month engineering commitment before a stable cross-PMS query is possible, and it needs a roadmap slot that most data teams do not have.
Option 2: Generic ELT (Fivetran, Airbyte) with custom transforms
Generic ELT platforms list no native connectors for Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, or AppFolio. Teams that go this route build custom connectors on top of the platform, which inherits the authentication and maintenance burden of the DIY approach, and then add a transformation layer (typically dbt) to line up the schemas. It is the most common middle path, and it still needs significant engineering. The schema work in particular needs PMS domain knowledge that most data engineering teams do not have.
Option 3: Connect
Connect is built for property management. It syncs data from Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, AppFolio, and 125+ other systems into your data warehouse, with pre-built connectors that handle authentication, pagination, rate limits, and schema drift. Your PMS data lands raw, in each system's own shape. Lining up the schemas is downstream work you own with dbt, or, for the PMS platforms it supports, available through the Unified API.
How do you centralize Entrata, RealPage, AppFolio, and MRI data in one warehouse?
One managed pipeline per system, all landing in the same warehouse, then one modeling pass on top. The five steps below are the order that avoids discovering a sixth system in month three.
- 1
Inventory your PMS systems
List which properties run Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, AppFolio, or another platform. Note which version each is on and who holds the API credentials. Portfolios that grew by acquisition usually find more systems on this list than anyone expected.
- 2
Choose the warehouse the data lands in
Pick the destination your team already queries: Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Amazon RDS, or Postgres. This becomes the one place every system lands, and owning it is what keeps the reporting layer yours rather than any one vendor's.
- 3
Connect each PMS with Connect
Connect's pre-built connectors handle authentication, pagination, rate limits, and schema drift for Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, AppFolio, and the other systems in the catalog. Each one runs as its own managed pipeline; nothing is built or maintained on your side.
- 4
Line up the schemas downstream
Each system lands in its own shape: a Yardi unit arrives looking like a Yardi unit. Map the proprietary field names to one property-operations model with dbt or plain SQL in your warehouse. Where the need is specifically a consistent schema across PMS platforms, the Unified API returns one for the systems it supports, and Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, and AppFolio are all on that list. Everything else in the catalog lands raw and is modeled in the warehouse.
- 5
Run your first cross-PMS query
Once the systems are modeled to one schema, a single SQL statement returns occupancy, leases, residents, work orders, and leasing funnel data across every property, instead of someone reconciling separate reporting portals in a spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a single source of truth across Yardi, RealPage, and Entrata?
Three things: a connector to each PMS API, one warehouse for the data to land in, and a step that lines the schemas up. Connect handles the first two, with pre-built connectors for each PMS and direct loading into Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Amazon RDS, or Postgres. Lining up the schemas is downstream work you own with dbt, or you read the supported PMS platforms through the Unified API. Most operators have every PMS landing in one warehouse in days rather than quarters.
How to centralize Entrata, RealPage, and AppFolio data?
Run one managed pipeline per system into a single warehouse you own. Connect extracts Entrata, RealPage, and AppFolio separately and loads each into the destination you pick, each in its own shape. You then join and model them on your own schema, so the portfolio view belongs to you rather than to whichever vendor's reporting portal you happened to open. The five steps on this page are that process.
How can operators connect every property management system together?
Not to each other, and that is the useful answer. Connect does not make Yardi talk to Entrata; it lands both, and everything else you run, in the same warehouse, where they are joined. Pre-built connectors cover Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, AppFolio, Buildium, ResMan, and Rent Manager, part of 125 source systems across the operational stack. Portfolios running several PMS platforms after acquisitions are the case this is built for.
What are the best tools to sync property management data?
It depends on which systems you are syncing from. Horizontal ELT platforms such as Fivetran and Airbyte are the established choice for mainstream SaaS and databases, and their public catalogs list no native connectors for Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, or AppFolio. For the property management systems themselves, Connect is the managed option built for that catalog. Most large operators run one of each, both writing to the same warehouse.
Can Fivetran connect to Yardi and RealPage?
Fivetran and Airbyte list no native connectors for Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, or AppFolio. Building custom connectors on those platforms means handling each PMS's proprietary authentication, rate limits, and schema quirks, and the maintenance stays with your team as the APIs change. Generic ELT tools are designed for SaaS data such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and databases; PMS systems need domain knowledge those tools do not carry.
What PMS data can Connect land in my warehouse?
Units, leases, residents, charges, work orders, leasing funnel activity, and payment data from Yardi, RealPage, Entrata, MRI Software, AppFolio, and the other PMS platforms in the catalog. Each source lands in its native structure. To make a unit from Yardi and a unit from Entrata line up, model them downstream with dbt, or read the supported platforms through the Unified API.
How long does it take to build a unified PMS dataset?
With Connect, most operators have their first connector syncing within days and a full multi-PMS rollout complete within weeks. Building custom connectors in-house typically takes 3 to 6 engineer-months per PMS, so a three-PMS project can consume an engineering quarter before a single query runs. Generic ELT platforms reduce some of that, but with no native PMS connectors the extraction work still lands on your team.
Which warehouses does Propexo support?
Connect loads data into Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Amazon RDS, and Postgres. Once your PMS data lands in the warehouse you chose, you can connect any BI tool, data science environment, or custom application on top of it.