OurAreaQuestions, answered.
Five categories. The things property owners, managers and IT teams ask before signing up. If your question isn't here, email hello@ourareahq.com — every message gets a real human within 24 hours.
Getting started
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How fast can we go live?
Hours, not weeks. Self-serve setup is straightforward — name your site, define your fee structures, import residents (CSV or invite-by-link), assign staff to roles. Most properties are live the same day. We'll do a free 30-minute onboarding call if you want it.
Do residents need to download an app?
No. OurArea works in any browser on any phone — residents tap a link, log in, and they're in. A native app is available on iOS and Android for sites that want it, but it's never required. The PWA experience covers 95% of use cases.
Can we import data from our current system?
Yes. We accept CSV imports for residents, units, leases and historical service charge records. For larger portfolios we'll help migrate from Yardi, Buildium, AppFolio, or — most commonly — a tangle of Excel sheets.
What devices does it work on?
Any modern browser on any device. iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, ChromeOS. The minimum requirement is a browser released in the last 3 years and a 2G or better connection. We optimize aggressively for low-bandwidth.
Is there a setup fee?
No setup fees, ever. On any plan. Free onboarding assistance is included. We genuinely believe a property OS should not require a consultant to install.
Plans, pricing & payments
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What does it cost?
Plans start free for small sites (under 25 units, single site) and scale by unit count and site count from there. Professional starts at ₦20k/site/month, Business at ₦55k/site/month, Enterprise is custom. See the pricing page for full details.
What's included in the 14-day trial?
Every feature, every site, every user account on the plan you pick. No credit card required to start. At the end of 14 days we ask if you'd like to continue — we don't auto-charge.
Can we pay annually?
Yes — 15% off if you pay annually. Common request from finance teams who want to lock pricing for a budgeting cycle.
What currencies do you support?
Pricing and billing in NGN, KES, GHS, USD. Service charges can be issued and collected in any currency you want — including multiple currencies within one site if you have international tenants.
What payment methods?
Bank transfer, card payments (Paystack, Flutterwave), USSD, M-Pesa for Kenya. Invoiced billing for Business and Enterprise customers.
How does the 30% waitlist discount work?
Join the waitlist before our May 2026 launch and your year-one pricing on Professional or Business is locked at 30% off the published rate. Forever. The discount survives plan upgrades and renewals.
Data & security
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Is my data safe?
Encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). Role-based access. Full audit logs of every action. Independent penetration testing annually. We treat property data like the financial data it is.
Where is data stored?
Frankfurt-region by default for global low-latency. Lagos-region available on Enterprise for Nigerian customers who need local residency. Other African regions on the roadmap.
Can I export my data?
Any time. One-click CSV, JSON or PDF export. The full dataset, including audit history. We are quit-friendly by design — your data is yours.
Who can see my data?
Only people you explicitly invite, in the roles you give them. We have strict internal access controls — most engineers cannot see customer data, and any access by support staff is logged and visible to you.
Do you sell or share data?
No. Never. Not anonymized, not aggregated, not for 'improving our service.' We make money from subscriptions and that's the only business model that doesn't involve selling your customers.
Day-to-day operations
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What if a resident doesn't want to use it?
OurArea complements, not replaces, the way you talk to residents. Critical comms auto-fall-back to SMS. We've not seen a resident who'd rather get rent reminders by paper letter — but if one exists, the manager can keep them on whatever channel they prefer.
Can OurArea integrate with our accounting software?
Yes. Native exports to QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho. CSV exports for everything else. Direct API access on Business and Enterprise plans for custom integrations.
What about offline access?
OurArea is offline-aware — logged tickets, draft notices, and visitor pre-registrations sync when you're back online. Crucial for power outages and patchy connectivity.
How do you handle different fee structures across blocks?
Each block can have its own fee structure — different service charge amounts, different billing cycles, different late fee rules. Define once, applied automatically.
Can multiple managers work on the same site?
Yes — unlimited staff accounts on Professional and up. Role-based permissions ensure people only see what they should.
Pre-launch & timeline
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When does Community launch?
May 2026. Early access is open now via the waitlist. Customers on the waitlist get prioritized onboarding, 30% off year-one, and direct input into the product roadmap.
What's already built?
The core platform — tickets, service charges, visitor management, communications, role-based access — is in active development. Closed alpha customers are using it now. Public launch May 2026.
What's next after Community?
OurArea Short (short-stay apartments) is targeted for Q2 2027. OurArea Listings (verified property discovery) is planned for Q2 2028. See the Short and Listings pages for detail.
Can I influence the roadmap?
Yes — waitlist customers and early adopters get monthly product calls where we walk through what's coming and ask what's most useful. We have a public roadmap with vote-to-prioritize.
What's your support response time?
Every request acknowledged within 24 hours, from day one, even before paying. Once you're a customer, response times scale with plan — Professional 24h, Business 4h, Enterprise 1h.
Didn't find your answer?
Send us anything — a sales question, a technical query, a feature request, a complaint. Every message gets a real human within 24 hours. We mean it.