When "good enough for testing" stops being good enough
After the first few weeks of development, I had a working system. It could handle properties, photos, basic workflows. I could have kept adding features—landlords, tenancies, inspections, maintenance tracking.
But something was nagging at me.
The system wasn't ready for real agencies to trust their business with it. Not really.
It worked for one agency (mine), but what happens when ten agencies want to use it? How do they integrate with Rightmove automatically? What happens when I add a new feature—will it break existing features? Is the system fast enough for staff using it all day, every day?
This week was about stopping myself from building shiny new features and instead building the boring infrastructure that separates a side project from actual software people can trust.
The Week in Five Improvements
Monday: Your Data Stays Private
What we built: Database-level data isolation for multi-agency support
What that means for you: Even if you share software with 50 other agencies, your data is architecturally separated from theirs. Not just hidden behind login screens—actually separated at the database level.
Why it matters: You can trust shared software without worrying about competitors accessing your property listings, tenant data, or financial records. Lower costs, instant updates, zero risk.
Read more: Your Agency Data Stays Private
Tuesday: Stop Manually Uploading to Rightmove
What we built: Automatic property portal integration (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket)
What that means for you: Add a property once in LetAdmin, click "Publish to Portals," and it appears on Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket, and your website automatically. Update price? Sync to all portals with one click.
Why it matters: Save 54 minutes per property (9 hours per month for 10 properties). No more manual data entry to multiple portals. No more copy-paste errors. No more forgetting to update one portal.
Read more: Stop Manually Uploading Properties to Rightmove
Wednesday: Property Pages Load in Under 1 Second
What we built: Performance optimizations (68% faster page loads)
What that means for you: Property pages load in under 1 second (previously 2.5 seconds). Mobile browsing works properly (1.2 seconds on 4G vs 4-5 seconds before). No more awkward silences on phone calls waiting for pages to load.
Why it matters: Save 10-15 minutes per day per person just waiting for pages (65 hours per year for a 5-person team). Fast software feels professional. Slow software feels broken.
Read more: Property Pages That Load in Under 1 Second
Thursday: Reorder Photos in Seconds
What we built: Drag-and-drop photo reordering
What that means for you: Click and drag property photos into the optimal order. Living room first (not the back garden). Takes 30 seconds. Syncs to portals automatically.
Why it matters: First photo determines click-through rate on Rightmove/Zoopla. Before, fixing photo order meant deleting and re-uploading all photos (20 minutes). Now it takes 30 seconds, so you actually do it for every property.
Read more: Reorder Property Photos in Seconds
Friday: Software That Doesn't Break
What we built: 100% automated test coverage
What that means for you: Before any update deploys, 300+ automated tests verify nothing broke. If tests fail, deployment is blocked. You never experience "Monday morning the system's broken" scenarios.
Why it matters: You can trust the software to work every day. Updates add features without breaking existing workflows. Peace of mind.
Read more: Software That Doesn't Break When We Add Features
What Changed This Week
Before Week 35:
- LetAdmin worked for single-agency testing
- Manual portal uploads required
- Property pages took 2-3 seconds to load
- Photo management was clunky (delete and re-upload to reorder)
- No automated testing (hope nothing breaks when adding features)
After Week 35:
- LetAdmin supports multiple agencies with complete data isolation
- Automatic Rightmove/Zoopla/OnTheMarket integration
- Property pages load in under 1 second
- Drag-and-drop photo reordering in 30 seconds
- 300+ automated tests prevent bugs from reaching production
The difference: Week 35 is when LetAdmin became production-ready software, not just a prototype.
What Agencies Actually Gain
If you're running a letting agency, this week probably sounds incredibly boring. Data isolation? Automated testing? Performance optimization? Who cares?
Here's why you should:
Your data is safe: Even on shared software, your property listings, tenant details, and financial data remain completely private—architecturally separated from other agencies.
Your time is saved: 54 minutes saved per property listing (no manual portal uploads). 10-15 minutes saved per day from faster page loads. 20 minutes saved per property from quick photo reordering.
Your software works: Automated testing means updates don't break features you rely on. Monday mornings don't bring surprises—the software works the same way it did Friday.
Your integrations work: Connect to Rightmove, Zoopla, accounting software—updates happen automatically, no need to hire developers for custom integrations.
What This Enables
With these foundations in place, we can now build:
Tenant application forms: Auto-sync to referencing providers (Homelet, Vouch)
Maintenance management: Tenant reports issue, creates job in maintenance software automatically
Email marketing integration: New property triggers automatic email to subscriber list
Accounting sync: Rent transactions push to Xero/QuickBooks automatically
Mobile apps: iOS/Android apps with same security and performance as web
These features weren't possible before Week 35. Now they are.
The Hardest Part: Discipline
The hardest part of this week wasn't the technical implementation. It was discipline.
I wanted to build landlord management. I wanted to add inspection forms. I wanted to implement automated email templates.
But I didn't. Instead, I built the infrastructure that means when I do build those features, they'll actually work reliably for agencies running real businesses.
Sometimes the most productive week is the one where you ship nothing users can see, but everything that means what they can see will actually work.
What's Next
Now that the foundations are solid:
Week 36: Landlord management (properties belong to landlords, track landlord details, landlord statements)
Week 37: Tenancy management (track tenancies, move-in dates, rent amounts, notice periods)
Week 38: Rent tracking (record rent payments, track arrears, landlord remittances)
Week 39: Document storage (EPCs, Gas Safety Certificates, inventory reports)
But now—thanks to Week 35—these features will:
- Work for multiple agencies (data isolation)
- Sync to external systems automatically (API integrations)
- Load quickly (performance optimizations)
- Not break existing features (automated testing)
That's the difference Week 35 made.
We'd Love to Hear from You
Are you frustrated with unreliable letting agent software? Updates that break features? Slow page loads? Manual portal uploads?
What would make you trust new software with your agency's operations? What needs to work perfectly from day one?
If you're interested in LetAdmin, we'd love to hear about your agency's needs and challenges.
Get in touch: paul@letadmin.com
LetAdmin is in active development, built by letting agents for letting agents. Week 35's improvements are being used daily at Phillip James (370+ properties) where reliability, security, and performance are critical for business operations.