The Reality Many Saudi Property Owners Face
A survey of Saudi property owners revealed that over 60% still rely on Excel spreadsheets or WhatsApp groups to manage their properties. The rest use generic management systems not designed for the Saudi market specifically.
Manual Management (Excel/WhatsApp): The Real Cost
Excel seems free — but the real cost is hidden: 12-15 hours monthly for an owner managing 5 units, calculation errors that can cost thousands of SAR, unregistered contracts on Ejar that weaken your legal position, and no clear reports to know your real investment return.
Generic Systems: Better Than Excel But...
Generic systems lack critical Saudi market requirements: no support for Ejar documentation (complete lease data and status tracking), no Hijri calendar, no FIFO payment system, no ZATCA-compliant invoices, and no Arabic RTL interface.
Why Ejar Changes Everything
Since Ejar contract registration became mandatory, any system that does not hold lease data exactly as documented on Ejar doubles your work. Documentation itself happens on Ejar through a licensed broker; with a generic system you re-type every lease between your system and Ejar, meaning double data entry and double the chance for errors. A specialized system prepares complete lease data for documentation, stores the Ejar contract number and status, and flags renewals.
The Question to Ask Yourself
How many hours do you spend monthly managing properties manually? Multiply that by your hourly rate. Is a specialized system more or less expensive than that number? The answer is usually obvious.