The verdict in three sentences
For a shopping mall or office portfolio in Dubai with 50 to 300 tenants, custom commercial property management software costs between AED 200,000 and 600,000 (about EUR 50,000 to 150,000), delivered in 3 to 5 months. The fastest gain is on arrears, cut by 20 to 35% thanks to automatic rent invoicing, staged reminders by WhatsApp, email and SMS, and online payment by card or bank transfer. Large international property suites are expensive, rarely fit Ejari workflows and post-dated cheque practices, and often leave the team on Excel.
The functions that matter for a Dubai property manager
From community malls in Jumeirah and Al Barsha to retail podiums in Business Bay and Grade A offices in DIFC, Dubai's commercial real estate is dense and competitive. Commercial leases must be registered with Ejari, rent increases follow the RERA framework, and many tenants still pay with post-dated cheques. The software must cover:
- Lease management: term, expiry dates, security deposit, escalation, turnover rent clauses, renewal alerts six months before expiry, Ejari reference per lease.
- Rent and service charge invoicing: monthly, quarterly or by cheque schedule, receipts, VAT at 5%, annual service charge reconciliation (security, district cooling, cleaning, utilities).
- Collections: bank transfer, card, direct debit and post-dated cheque register with deposit dates and bounced cheque tracking, automatic matching.
- Reminders: sequence at D+5, D+15, D+30, generated legal notice, history per tenant.
- Footfall and tenant sales: entrance counters, monthly sales declarations, occupancy cost ratio per store.
| Module | Indicative price 2026 (AED) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Leases, tenants, units and areas | 40,000 to 100,000 | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Rent invoicing, receipts, service charges | 50,000 to 135,000 | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Collections, cheque register + matching | 25,000 to 75,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| WhatsApp, SMS reminders, legal notices | 20,000 to 60,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Footfall and tenant sales | 35,000 to 120,000 | 3 to 5 weeks |
| Tenant portal + management dashboard | 30,000 to 110,000 | 3 to 4 weeks |
A community mall of 50 to 80 stores lands around AED 200,000 to 300,000. A large mall or mixed retail and office portfolio above 200 tenants reaches AED 480,000 to 600,000.
Custom build, international suite or Excel
| Criterion | Excel + accountant | International suite | Custom software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Near zero | AED 250,000 to 700,000 | AED 200,000 to 600,000 |
| Annual cost | High staff time | AED 130,000 to 420,000 in licences | AED 25,000 to 70,000 maintenance |
| Cumulative 5-year cost | Arrears and errors not priced | AED 900,000 to 2.8 million | AED 325,000 to 950,000 |
| Post-dated cheque register | Manual | Sometimes | Native |
| Ejari, VAT 5%, AED | Manual | Costly adaptations | Configured |
| WhatsApp reminders | Manual | No | Automatic |
| Local support | Yes | Variable | Yes |
Hosting can be in a UAE cloud region or an international cloud with daily backups, in line with the UAE personal data protection law (PDPL) and your landlord's internal policy.
How to scope the project without overspending
Start with leases, invoicing and the cheque register, the modules that drive cash collection, and run them on one building or one wing for two billing cycles. Ask for a fixed-price first phase (AED 120,000 to 220,000) with acceptance criteria such as invoices issued on time and payments matched without manual work. Footfall analytics and the tenant portal can follow in a second phase once the data is clean, and the leasing team should validate every lease record before go-live.
Mini case study
Mr Kouassi, general manager of a 140-store community mall in Dubai, collects AED 32 million in rent and service charges a year. Arrears over 30 days average 9%, i.e. AED 2.9 million of blocked cash, of which 3% ends in write-offs or disputes.
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With software at AED 400,000, a 30% reduction in arrears frees AED 860,000 of cash, and write-offs drop by about AED 290,000 a year. The 4-person management team also saves 10 working days a month on invoicing and matching. The project pays for itself in under 18 months on avoided write-offs alone, much faster once recovered cash is counted.
FAQ
Can tenants pay rent online?
Yes, each rent invoice contains a payment link for card or bank transfer. Card fees are around 2 to 2.5% in the UAE, and the payment is matched automatically in under a minute.
Does the software handle turnover rent?
Yes, the tenant declares monthly sales on the portal, the software calculates the turnover top-up (often 4 to 8% of sales above a threshold) and adds it to the next invoice.
How long does it take to load our existing leases?
Allow 2 to 4 weeks for 150 leases, including expiry dates, deposits, cheque schedules and tenant balances on go-live day.
Can we manage several buildings or malls?
Yes, multi-site architecture adds AED 35,000 to 80,000 and allows consolidation by owner, useful for a REIT, a developer or a family office.
What budget should we plan after go-live?
Between AED 25,000 and 70,000 a year for hosting, corrective maintenance and small improvements, about 10 to 12% of the initial price.
Let's scope your project. Share your tenant count, current invoicing method and arrears rate: we will price a scope between AED 200,000 and 600,000 deliverable in 3 to 5 months. 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.
