Property Management Software in South Africa

What HomeManager does for landlords in South Africa

Every rent cycle in HomeManager starts with an invoice. It carries the rent, any utilities from meter readings, late fees and custom charges, and it is generated on the schedule you set and sent to the tenant. Tenants see their balance and receipts in a tenant portal, so they are not left asking you what they owe.

When a payment is made, it is recorded against the invoice, a receipt goes out, and the arrears figure moves. The dashboard shows collections, arrears, occupancy and vacancy across all your properties, and reports give you the rent roll and collection efficiency by building. There is also an AI assistant you can ask plain questions, such as who has not paid this month.

All of this is in every plan, with unlimited users and role-based permissions, so a caretaker, an agent and an owner can each see what they should.

See the full list on the features page, or the software overview for how it works across Africa.

Payments in South Africa

Online rent collection is not yet available in South Africa. HomeManager's online payment options depend on the payment partners that onboard merchants in each country, and South Africa is not on that list today. We make no integration claim for South Africa, and we would rather say so plainly than have you find out during a trial.

What works in South Africa today is recording payments by hand. When a tenant pays by bank transfer, mobile money or cash, you record it against their invoice. The invoice is marked paid or part-paid, the tenant receives an automatic receipt, and the balance and arrears update straight away. Payments are always recorded against invoices, so what you see on the dashboard is what the tenant owes.

In South Africa the product is a record-keeper for payments made outside the system: invoice, receipt, arrears and utilities in one place, rather than a payment gateway.

Currency and languages in South Africa

HomeManager's default currency for South Africa is the South African rand (ZAR). Invoices, receipts, the dashboard and reports use it, so a tenant sees the same number you do.

HomeManager is available in English, French, Portuguese, Swahili and Somali. For South Africa, English is the language to use. Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa and the other official languages are not available in the app today. Amounts are shown in rand (ZAR) by default. Our SMS provider covers South Africa, so reminders and receipts can reach tenants by SMS as well as email.

How rent works in South Africa, and how HomeManager fits

Most South African rentals are on a written lease with a deposit, typically held for the tenant and returned at the end of the lease, less agreed deductions. The rules on handling deposits are set in law, so check them rather than relying on this page. HomeManager lets you add one-off custom charges to an invoice, which is one way to keep a deposit visible apart from rent.

Water and electricity are billed by the municipality, and landlords often pass part of that cost on to tenants, using sub-meter readings or an agreed share. In HomeManager you enter the readings, the charge per unit is calculated, and it is added to the tenant's invoice with the reading visible. Because utilities go onto the invoice rather than being tracked separately, a tenant's payment settles the whole bill, and the arrears figure is one number.

Leases often include an annual escalation, and sectional-title buildings may charge levies. You can change a unit's rent when an escalation takes effect and add custom charges to an invoice to match your agreement. Lease, eviction and deposit rules are set in South African law and are not summarised here; this page is not legal advice, so speak to a South African attorney or the relevant tribunal for your own situation.

Pricing and free trial

Every plan includes every feature and unlimited users. You choose a plan by the number of units you manage: Starter ($59 a month, up to 20 units), Growth ($139 a month, up to 100 units) and Scale ($349 a month, up to 500 units), with custom pricing above 500 units. Prices are published in US dollars in the pricing section of our home page. There is a 30-day free trial with no card required.

Frequently asked questions: South Africa

Related reading

• How to calculate water bills for rentals in Africa
• Digital rent receipts for landlords in Africa
• 5 metrics every property owner in Africa should track
• Property management software across Africa