Guide
Running a PG or Co-living on Spreadsheets? When to Switch
By Hamza Khan · 2 October 2026 · 2 min read
Most PG, hostel and co-living operators start with a spreadsheet and a WhatsApp group, and that's fine. It works for one building and a few dozen beds. This guide covers the signs you've outgrown it, and what software should actually do for a business that rents beds, not flats.
Why co-living is harder than normal renting
A normal rental is one flat, one tenant and one rent. Co-living and PGs are different:
- One room can have several beds, each with its own tenant, rent and deposit.
- Every bed has its own move-in date and agreement end date.
- Some beds in a room are free while others are taken.
- Tenants, landlords, property managers and maintenance staff all need different information.
Spreadsheets aren't built for this, which is why they start breaking as you grow.
Signs you've outgrown spreadsheets
- You can't answer "which beds are free today?" without checking several sheets or calling someone.
- Rent follow-up eats your week, and you're never sure who has paid.
- Agreements expire without anyone noticing, so renewals and deposits get messy.
- The same bed gets promised to two people.
- Repair requests get lost in WhatsApp chats, and tenants chase you about them.
- Landlords ask for collection reports that take hours to put together.
If three or more of these sound familiar, software will save you more time than it costs.
What property management software should do
Look for software built around beds, not just properties:
- Inventory down to the bed, with each bed's status, rent and tenant.
- Invitations tied to a specific bed, so prospects register themselves and the bed is held for them, never offered twice.
- Rent and deposits recorded against the bed, with overdue rent flagged automatically.
- Agreement dates with expiry warnings ahead of time.
- Repair tickets with a priority, an owner and a deadline.
- Separate portals for tenants (their agreement and payments), landlords (their buildings and collections) and staff (only what their role needs).
- A lead pipeline for new enquiries, from first contact to move-in.
You can see all of this working in the platform we built for a co-living operator, with a full video walkthrough.
Ready-made app or custom software?
There are ready-made PG and hostel apps, and for a single small property they may be enough. Custom software makes sense when:
- You manage many buildings or a mix of property types.
- You manage buildings for landlords and need to report to them.
- Your rules (rent cycles, deposits, staff roles) don't fit a template.
- You want to own your data rather than rent access to it.
Filling beds, not just managing them
Managing beds is half the job; filling them is the other half. Our Real Estate Suite builds a management platform like this together with a property website that brings in enquiries and passes them straight to your team. Start with whichever half hurts most.