Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for pG and hostel operators.
A checklist built from how pG and hostel operators work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Bed-level occupancy and sharing rates
- Tenant record with ID proofs
- Rent and food on one bill
- Reminders and the dues list
- Deposits held and refunded
- Mess plan and complaints
- Visitor and gate register
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For wardens and managers
- For accounts
- For kitchen in-charge
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Occupancy by property, block, and room type, bed by bed
- Rent pending after the due date, with how long each has been pending
- Monthly collection against billing, split into rent and food
- Deposits held, and deposits due for refund this month
- Tenants with ID proof or police verification still pending
- Beds free for more than a set number of days
- Open maintenance requests by room and by age
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting software export
- SMS
- Payment links and gateways
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it track occupancy by bed or by room?
- Can rent and food be on one bill?
- Can it store police verification and ID proofs?
- Does it post to my accounting software?
- Can existing tenants and dues be moved from Excel?
- Can the warden check things from a mobile?
- Can it work as hostel software for a college hostel?
- Who owns the tenant data?
- What does it cost?
- Is it needed for one small PG?
- How soon can the warden start allocating beds and logging tenants?
- What should an owner collect before the building is entered?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Nobody knows which beds are free
- Rent and food are two numbers
- The deposit is settled from memory
- Verification papers are a pile
Prefer to talk it through? See the pG and hostel operators page.