The verdict in three sentences
For a Dubai owners association manager handling 60 buildings and about 9,000 units, custom software costs roughly 60,000 to 120,000 USD in 2026. Against per-unit licences of around 0.75 to 1.50 USD per unit per month, that is 80,000 to 160,000 USD a year, so building your own pays back within one to two years. It must cover what RERA expects: service charge budgets per building, transparent owner portals and compliant general assemblies.
Licences or own platform: the five-year view
In Dubai, jointly owned property is governed by Law No. 6 of 2019 and supervised by RERA within the Dubai Land Department. Management companies must keep separate accounts per association, publish service charge budgets approved through the Mollak system and report to owners. Many firms combine a licensed property tool with spreadsheets for Mollak reconciliation.
| Five-year item | Market licence (1.10 USD/unit/month) | Custom software |
|---|---|---|
| Initial cost | 5,000 to 15,000 USD onboarding | 60,000 to 120,000 USD |
| Annual licences | 118,800 USD | 0 USD |
| Annual hosting and maintenance | Included | 15,000 to 24,000 USD |
| Online assembly module | 10,000 to 18,000 USD a year | Included in project |
| Five-year total | about 650,000 USD | about 135,000 to 240,000 USD |
| Ownership of data and code | No | Yes |
At this scale the gap is large. Below about 2,000 units, licences usually remain the sensible choice.
Regulatory and operational requirements
Owners expect a mobile portal showing their service charge balance, invoices, building notices and maintenance requests, often in English and Arabic. RERA rules require proper general assemblies, owner committee support and audited accounts per association.
| Module | Requirement or use | 2026 order of magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| Owner portal and app | Balance, invoices, notices, service requests | 10,000 to 20,000 USD |
| Accounting per association | Budgets, reserve fund, audit-ready reports | 15,000 to 30,000 USD |
| Service charge collection | Invoicing, card and bank transfer, reminders | 8,000 to 15,000 USD |
| General assemblies | Notices, online attendance, voting, minutes | 9,000 to 18,000 USD |
| Maintenance and contracts | Work orders, FM vendor tracking, SLAs | 8,000 to 17,000 USD |
| Data migration and Mollak reconciliation | Import, checks, exports | 10,000 to 20,000 USD |
| Total project | 60,000 to 120,000 USD |
For reference, Kolonell's custom application grid runs from 3,810 to 6,100 EUR (simple) up to 10,670 to 22,870+ EUR (complex), with maintenance at 53, 114 or 183 EUR per month. A full owners association platform with regulated accounting and Mollak reconciliation is quoted after scoping.
The sensitive part: migration and accounts
The main risk is not the portal but the accounts. Each owner's balance, reserve fund contributions and payment history must carry over to the cent and match Mollak. The proven method is to run old and new systems in parallel on 5 to 10 pilot buildings for two months, with monthly reconciliation before the full switch.
What to put in the specification
Before asking for quotes, document the number of buildings and units, how service charges are collected today, the payment channels owners use and the reports your auditors expect per association. List your Mollak tasks and how long each takes per month. Add the languages owners need and the share who use mobile only, often above 80 % in Dubai. A short brief like this lets vendors quote within a 15 % range and avoids the classic overrun where reserve fund accounting appears late. Ask each vendor who owns the source code, how regulatory changes are absorbed and how quickly a new building can be onboarded.
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Omar, managing director of a community management company in Dubai, runs 60 buildings with 9,000 units. He pays 1.10 USD per unit per month plus 14,000 USD a year for online assemblies. He invests 95,000 USD in custom software.
- Licences avoided: 9,000 × 1.10 × 12 = 118,800 USD a year.
- Assembly module avoided: 14,000 USD a year.
- Hosting and maintenance: 20,000 USD a year.
- Net annual gain: 118,800 + 14,000 − 20,000 = 112,800 USD.
- Payback: 95,000 / 112,800 × 12 = about 10 months.
Including two months of parallel running, payback still comes in around a year.
FAQ
Does the software connect to Mollak?
Integration depends on what the Dubai Land Department exposes to management companies. At minimum, budgets and owner data are prepared in the formats required, cutting reconciliation from days to a few hours.
Can general assemblies be held online?
Yes, where permitted by the association's constitution and RERA guidance, with owner identification and time-stamped votes. Minutes are generated automatically after the meeting.
How long does migration take?
Allow 4 to 6 months overall, including about 2 months of parallel running on pilot buildings, ideally aligned with the start of a service charge year.
Is the owner app bilingual?
The languages are set in the quote. Arabic with right-to-left layout is a common request for Dubai portals.
Where is data hosted?
In UAE or EU data centres depending on your policy, with daily backups kept for at least 30 days and access logs for every staff account.
Let's scope your project. We review your building portfolio, data migration and Mollak workflow, and set a switch-over plan aligned with your service charge year. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
