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FAQ

Product​

What is PMFriend in one sentence?​

An AI ops layer that sits beside your trust-accounting PMS (PropertyMe, PropertyTree, Console) and compresses the maintenance, compliance, and owner-comms work that drains a PM's week.

Does PMFriend replace PropertyMe / PropertyTree / Console?​

No. We explicitly do not touch trust accounting, statements, reconciliation, or rent ledger. Your PMS stays the source of truth for everything regulated. We sit beside it. See How it Works.

Do I need to migrate my data to use PMFriend?​

No full migration. You import properties, tenants, and contractors via the CSV Wizard — 10–15 minutes for a 150-door agency. Your PMS keeps its data. PropertyMe nightly one-way sync is planned but not required.

Does the pilot expire?​

Yes, 60 days, then it converts to paid at $7/property/month (min $299). We email reminders at day 50 and day 58. Cancel any time during or after the pilot; no lock-in.

Privacy​

What do you send to AI?​

Only the tenant's report text is sent to AI for triage; no other personal details are transmitted. That's verbatim our commitment. Details: AI Fallbacks & Privacy.

Which AI model?​

Anthropic Claude Haiku. Called directly from our Java backend (no SDK).

Can I turn AI off?​

Yes. Set ANTHROPIC_ENABLED=false for an on-prem / BYOK install, or ask us to flip the flag on a cloud-hosted agency. The product falls back to deterministic heuristic rules with capped confidence — less useful but 100% functional.

Where is my data stored?​

PostgreSQL on AWS RDS in Frankfurt (eu-central-1) today. Moving to Sydney (ap-southeast-2) is on the roadmap — see Product Roadmap — for agencies that require AU data residency.

Does Anthropic see my data?​

Only the data listed in AI Fallbacks & Privacy. Anthropic's commercial API is contractually configured not to train on our data. For agencies requiring AU data residency on AI, we're evaluating Anthropic via AWS Bedrock in ap-southeast-2 — see same page.

What about row-level security between agencies?​

PostgreSQL FORCE ROW LEVEL SECURITY on every tenant-scoped table. TenantContext binds app.agency_id per transaction. Even if a code bug tried to leak a row across agencies, the database rejects it.

AU state specifics​

Why Australia only?​

The compliance layer is meaningfully state-specific. A NSW smoke alarm rule is different from a VIC one. Generic global SaaS can't get this right without rebuilding per-state. We shipped with all 8 jurisdictions from day one.

Does it work in NZ?​

Not today. NZ compliance rules would need to be added — a week of work if a pilot agency asked.

Does PMFriend handle QLD Form 11 / NSW Notice to Remedy / VIC Form 2?​

Not yet. The state-specific legal notice generator is on the AI Roadmap as Tier-1 commercial priority. Today we remind you a task is due; the legal drafting is still on your side.

Technical​

Is there a mobile app?​

  • PM app: no dedicated mobile app; the web admin is mobile-responsive.
  • Tenant app: planned (React Native / Expo), but the 30-second /report/{token} QR flow is the primary tenant channel. See Public Report Page.
  • Contractor app: no app — tradies use the magic link on whatever browser they already have. See Magic-Link Dispatch.

Can I self-host?​

Yes. The backend is a single Docker image, database is Postgres 16. Send a note to hello@pmfriend.com and we'll share the self-host runbook. Self-hosting gives you full data residency control but you lose our upgrade cadence.

Is there an API?​

Yes — see API Reference.

Does PMFriend sign anything legally?​

No. We are a reminder and workflow tool. We don't certify compliance, we don't sign tribunal documents, we don't represent you. You remain the authorised property manager. This is deliberate — it keeps us out of regulated territory and means adopting us doesn't require updating your agent's authority.

Billing​

How is billing calculated?​

Count of active properties × $7 AUD × 30 days. Active = "has a lease, or had one in the last 60 days". Vacant properties are free.

GST?​

10% GST added, itemised on invoice.

Any discounts?​

  • 20% off for bundled pre-pay (annual commit)
  • Volume above 500 properties — talk to us

Other​

Who built this?​

Solo founder, Melbourne-based. The product is at pilot-scale today. Design partners + early adopters are welcome — email hello@pmfriend.com.

What's next on the roadmap?​

See AI Roadmap and Product Roadmap. TL;DR: state-specific legal notice drafter, routine inspection report writer, owner churn early-warning.