How to choose marina software for a lake marina.

Start with how your year actually runs

Write down where the work goes. For most lake marinas it’s renewals, insurance cards, chasing balances, pontoon bookings and keeping the website current. The right software takes the biggest of those off your plate first. The wrong one is great at something you rarely do.

Ten questions to ask every company

1. What does it cost, all in? Monthly price, setup, payment fees and anything charged to your tenants or renters. Get it in writing.
2. Where does my money go? Straight to your account, or held by the software company first?
3. How do renewals work? Do reminders go out on their own? Can tenants renew and pay without calling? Is the new lease written for you?
4. What do my tenants see? Can they upload insurance, see what they owe and get their lease without calling the office?
5. Does it handle boat rentals? Online booking at night, holiday pricing, extras and a calendar for the whole fleet?
6. How do my records get in? Who moves your slips, tenants and leases, and how long does it take?
7. Who helps when something goes wrong? The people who built it, or a ticket queue? How fast do they answer?
8. Does it fit my docks? Houseboat slips, covered slips, dry storage, visiting boaters?
9. What doesn’t it do? A good company will tell you before you sign.
10. Can I leave with my data? Can you download everything, any time?

Watch for these

• Prices that only come after a sales call, or that are listed per module so the real total is hard to see.
• Fees added to every booking, paid by you or by your renters.
• Software built for boats passing through, with seasonal leases bolted on.
• A long switch with no one moving your records for you.

Try before you decide

Ask to click around a working demo, not just watch slides. Book a pontoon on it as a renter would. Sign in as a tenant. Run a renewal from start to finish. You’ll learn more in ten minutes of clicking than in an hour of slides.