Why choosing the best PG management software is harder than it looks
If you search for the best PG management software, every option will promise rent tracking, a resident app and reports. The feature lists look alike. What separates them is how they behave on a bad day: when a resident shifts from a double to a triple mid-month, when your warden records a cash payment against the wrong person, when you open a second building.
So do not judge PG software by the demo. Judge it by your worst month. The twelve questions below are the ones we would ask in your place, grouped by what they protect: your beds, your money, your people, your data and your time. For each, we say what to look for — and how StayOne answers it, plainly.
Questions 1–3: beds, rent days and where the money goes
1. Does it track every bed, or only rooms?
A PG sells beds, not rooms. A three-sharing room with two residents is not "occupied" — it has one bed to sell. Look for software that shows each bed as vacant, occupied, on notice or reserved, handles different sharing types, and refuses to put two people on the same bed.
StayOne: a rooms and beds board with vacant, occupied, on-notice and reserved beds, sharing types, reserving a bed and moving a resident to another bed. A bed cannot be double-booked. More on this in our guide to PG bed management.
2. Can each resident have their own rent day?
Residents join on different dates. Some PGs bill everyone on the 1st, others bill each resident on the day they moved in. Your software should support your rule, prorate the first month for someone who joins mid-month, and raise the whole month's bills in one go.
StayOne: each resident has their own rent day, the first month is prorated automatically, and Bill all raises the month's rent for everyone, with an optional percentage or flat increase.
3. Where does the rent money actually go?
This is the question owners forget to ask. Some systems collect rent into their own account and pay you later. Find out exactly whose account the money lands in, how long it stays there and what it costs you.
Residents pay by UPI to your own UPI ID or bank account. StayOne never holds your money. The resident uploads the payment screenshot, your manager approves it in Payments to check, and the receipt goes out. Cash and bank transfers are recorded at the desk with a receipt.
Questions 4–5: receipts and fixing mistakes
4. Does every rupee get a receipt?
A receipt ends the "I already paid you" conversation. Look for a receipt on every payment — UPI, cash or bank — support for part payments, a cash book that tells you what should be in the drawer, and a way for residents to get their own receipts without asking the desk.
StayOne: a receipt for every rupee, part payments that leave the balance open, a cash book, and residents can download their own receipts. See how to collect PG rent on time for the full monthly routine.
5. What happens when someone makes a mistake?
Mistakes are certain, especially in the first month. Ask the seller to show you, live, how to undo a wrong payment, a wrong month's billing and a move-out done by accident. Watch for two things: whether there is a time limit on corrections, and whether a correction deletes history or leaves a trail.
Owners and managers can undo Bill all, collections, write-offs, move-ins, move-outs and refunds at any time — not just in the first few minutes. A reversed receipt is marked reversed, never deleted, so the record stays honest.
Questions 6–7: will your staff and residents actually use it?
6. Can your staff use it in their own language?
Software your warden cannot read comfortably will be abandoned, however good it is. If your team or residents are more at home in Telugu or Hindi, check that the daily screens — not just the sign-in page — are translated, and that each person can choose for themselves.
StayOne: English, हिंदी and తెలుగు. Owners, managers, staff and residents each pick their own in Settings. Our guide to a PG app in Telugu and Hindi shows what that looks like day to day.
7. Does it work on the phones your people already have?
Your warden will not buy a new phone for your software, and residents will not install something heavy. Check that it works on ordinary Android phones, in a browser on a laptop at the desk, and on iPhones — and ask which of those are a real app and which are a browser.
StayOne: an Android app on Google Play, and any web browser on any phone or laptop. Residents do not have to install anything. The iPhone app is coming soon; until then, iPhone users open StayOne in the browser.
Questions 8–9: your data and your next property
8. Can you export your data, and who else can see it?
Your residents' phone numbers and your rent history are your business. Ask who can see them, how access is split between owner, manager and staff, and whether you can take everything out in a spreadsheet if you ever leave. Also ask how people sign in, and whether a new phone can be blocked until you approve it.
StayOne: each owner's data is visible only to their own team, and access is scoped by role. Everyone signs in with their phone number and a 6-digit PIN, and you can require approval of new devices. The rent roll, reports and payroll export to a spreadsheet.
9. Can it handle more than one property?
Many owners start with one PG and open a second within a few years. Moving software at that point is painful. Look for one login that shows all your properties together, separate managers who see only their own building, and staff who can work across buildings.
StayOne: the owner's home shows every property together or one at a time, while each manager sees only their hostel. Expenses and monthly profit are worked out per property and across all of them.
Questions 10–12: price, setup and support
10. Is the pricing clear, and can you try it first?
Ask for the full price in rupees, what decides it (beds, properties, residents or features), whether some features cost extra, and whether there is a free trial long enough to run one full rent month. Two weeks is not enough to see a month-end.
StayOne: the first month is free. After that, Lite is ₹999 a month for up to 50 beds and 1 property, Pro is ₹1,999 a month for up to 100 beds and 3 properties, and Max is ₹3,499 a month with no limits. 3-month, 6-month and yearly plans cost less per month. Every plan has every feature — see pricing.
11. Who does the setup?
Entering 60 residents, their beds, rents and deposits by hand takes days, and that is where most new systems stall. Ask whether you can import from Excel, and whether someone will set it up with you.
- We set up the PG with you, usually in an afternoon.
- Residents can be imported in bulk from an Excel (.xlsx) file, or added in three steps each — photo and ID are optional.
- New residents can join by scanning a QR poster at the gate, and the owner or manager approves them.
12. Can you reach a real person when something goes wrong?
Something will go wrong on the 5th of the month, at 9 p.m., with a resident standing at the desk. Find out how you reach support — a phone number, WhatsApp, or only a form — and try it once during the trial.
StayOne: made in Hyderabad. WhatsApp or call +91 72077 84667, or write to [email protected], and you reach a person.
How to test PG software in your free month
A demo shows you the happy path. A trial should show you your own PG. Use the first month to do these things with real residents, not sample data:
- Import or add every resident, and check the beds board matches the building.
- Raise the month's rent for everyone, then undo it and raise it again.
- Take one real UPI payment and one cash payment, and check both receipts.
- Move one resident to a different bed and settle one move-out with a deposit refund.
- Hand the phone to your warden and watch them do a day's work without your help.
- Export the rent roll and open it in Excel.
If all six go smoothly, you have found software that will last past month two. If your warden gives up at step five, nothing else on the list matters.
Checklist: comparing PG management software side by side
| Question | A good answer looks like | StayOne |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bed-level tracking | Each bed vacant, occupied, on notice or reserved; no double-booking | Yes |
| 2. Rent on each resident's day | Own rent day, first month prorated, bill everyone at once | Yes, with Bill all |
| 3. Where the money goes | Straight into your own account | Your own UPI ID or bank; StayOne never holds it |
| 4. Receipts | A receipt for every payment, part payments, a cash book | Yes |
| 5. Undo and corrections | No time limit; history kept, not deleted | Undo any time; receipts reversed, never deleted |
| 6. Staff language | Daily screens in your team's language, chosen per person | English, हिंदी, తెలుగు |
| 7. Works on any phone | Android, browser, iPhone | Android app and any browser; iPhone app coming soon |
| 8. Data and access | Only your team; access by role; export any time | Yes; optional new-device approval |
| 9. More than one property | One owner view; managers limited to their building | Yes; Pro up to 3, Max unlimited |
| 10. Clear pricing and a trial | Price in rupees, no paid add-ons, a trial of a full month | First month free; from ₹999 a month; every feature in every plan |
| 11. Setup help | Excel import and someone to set it up with you | Yes, usually in an afternoon |
| 12. Support you can reach | A phone number or WhatsApp that a person answers | +91 72077 84667, [email protected] |
Print this table, take it into every demo, and fill in the middle column for each product you see. If you would like to start with ours, StayOne is free for the first month and we will set it up with you.