Isn't Google Drive or Dropbox enough for property documents?

For storage, yes — cloud drives are reliable and cheap. The difference is reading versus storing. A drive keeps the file and makes it findable by name; Proppi reads the file on upload, extracts the dates, amounts, and parties inside it, tracks the deadlines, and answers questions with a citation to the source page. The break-even is when you start asking questions across documents rather than just retrieving them.

Can I keep using Google Drive alongside Proppi?

Yes. Proppi does not require you to abandon your drive. Many landlords keep their cloud drive as the raw archive and upload the property documents into Proppi as the reading and tracking layer on top. You bring the documents in; Proppi handles the classification, extraction, and deadline tracking.

What does Proppi do that a Google Drive search cannot?

Drive search matches text inside files, but it does not extract structured dates into a tracked deadline, answer cross-property questions like 'which properties are missing a current insurance certificate', or attach a source-page citation to every answer. Proppi reads each document and turns it into searchable, dated, cited evidence rather than a stored file.

Positioning

Proppi vs Google Drive for property documents

A cloud drive is where most landlords keep their property documents — a folder per property, the lease and insurance certificate inside. It stores them well. Here is exactly where Proppi is different, and where a drive on its own is still fine.

8 jobs compared Free for first three properties

Job	In a cloud drive	In Proppi
Storing a document	Drop the file into a folder. It is saved and backed up, but the only thing the drive knows about it is its filename and where you put it.	Proppi reads the file on upload — the lease, insurance certificate, inspection report — and indexes the dates, parties, and clauses inside it, not just the filename.
Finding a specific fact	Open the folder, open the PDF, scan for the clause or date. Drive search matches some in-file text, but you still read the document to get the answer.	Ask in plain English. 'When does the lease at 42 Queen Street expire?' returns the answer with a citation to the page that says so.
Knowing a date is coming	Nothing tells you an insurance certificate expires next month. You have to remember to open the file and check.	Proppi extracts every expiry and renewal on upload — lease end, insurance renewal, Healthy Homes deadline, compliance certificate — and tracks them across the portfolio ahead of the date.
Cross-property questions	Search matches filenames and some text, but it cannot answer 'which of my properties has no current insurance certificate on file?'	Because Proppi has read every document, it answers portfolio-wide questions — what is missing, what is expiring, what a clause says — in one query.
Proving the source	You find a file and trust it is the current version. The version that proved compliance two years ago may have been overwritten.	Every answer links to the exact source page. Superseded documents are kept, so the tax or compliance position you took two years ago is still recoverable.
When a new document arrives	You decide which folder it belongs in, rename it to a convention you hope you will remember, and maybe note the date somewhere else.	Drag it in. Classification, extraction, and deadline tracking happen on upload — no folder to choose, no filename convention to maintain.
Handing work to an owner or accountant	Share a folder link and let them hunt through it for the documents and dates they need.	Prepare an evidence-backed answer or pack with the relevant documents cited, so they review a finished deliverable instead of a folder.
Who saw what	Folder permissions, and anyone with the link sees everything in it. Change history is shallow.	Team workspaces with per-action audit history. Every read and write is attributable.

A cloud drive is fine if…

You manage one or two properties and rarely touch the documents.
You only ever need to retrieve a file by name, not ask questions about what is inside it.
You track deadlines somewhere else and are happy to keep doing that by hand.

Proppi is the better fit if…

You hold five or more properties and the document set keeps growing.
You need answers across the portfolio — "which insurance certificates expire this quarter?" — not a folder to dig through.
You will be asked to prove the source for a tax position, a Healthy Homes claim, or an Australian Taxation Office deduction.

Honest caveat

Proppi is purpose-built for property documents, not a general file store for everything else in your life — keep your cloud drive for that. The two work well together: many landlords keep the drive as the raw archive and use Proppi as the layer that reads the documents, tracks the dates, and answers the questions. For how Proppi sits beside an agency platform instead, see Proppi vs a property management system.

Try it free

Free for your first three properties

Drag in the leases, insurance certificates, and inspection reports for one property. Proppi will classify them, extract the key dates, and show you the cited answers — in under five minutes.

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