The verdict in three sentences
A Dubai or London shopping centre with 140 tenants that runs base rent, service charges and turnover rent in spreadsheets leaks money in three places: late sales reports, missed rent reviews and arrears spotted too late. Lease management software with a tenant portal costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude, USD 70,000 to 170,000 (about £55,000 to £135,000) and rolls out in 3 to 5 months. The return shows up in collections and in turnover rent actually received.
What the spreadsheet cannot do
Of 140 leases, around 18 %, so 25 tenants, pay a base rent plus a turnover component, typically 6 to 12 % of sales above a breakpoint. Tenants must report sales monthly. In a spreadsheet, chasing is manual, the top-up is recalculated by hand and review history gets lost across file versions.
| Process | Current state (spreadsheet) | Target with lease software |
|---|---|---|
| Sales reporting | Email or paper, 30 % late | Tenant portal, automatic reminder on the 5th |
| Turnover rent | Copied formulas, breakpoint errors | Rules per lease, automatic top-up |
| Rent reviews | Dates tracked from memory | Alert 90 days before each review |
| Service charge | Fixed apportionment | Apportionment by area and unit, year-end reconciliation |
| Invoicing | 140 invoices built over 6 days | Batch run in one day |
| Arrears | Noticed at quarter end | Daily dashboard, reminders at day 5, 15 and 30 |
| Landlord reporting | Manual consolidation | Live KPIs per tenant and per floor |
Local rules to encode
In England, service charges for commercial property follow the RICS Professional Statement on service charges, which expects transparent budgets, apportionment and year-end reconciliation, and rent reviews are usually five-yearly, upward-only or index-linked. In Dubai, mall leases are registered through Ejari and governed by the emirate's tenancy law, with rent increases referenced against the RERA framework. The software must handle each regime: contractual indexation, open market review, turnover rent with base minimum. Invoices must also meet VAT rules in both markets.
| Parameter | Typical 2026 value (order of magnitude) | What the software must do |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover share | 6 to 12 % of sales above breakpoint | Monthly calculation and annual true-up |
| Base rent | USD 40 to 120 per sq ft per year in Dubai malls, £30 to £150 in London | Billed in advance, top-up added later |
| Review | 5-yearly in London, contractual in Dubai | Alert and calculation per lease regime |
| Service charge | USD 10 to 25 per sq ft per year, £8 to £20 | Budget, apportionment and reconciliation |
| Deposit | 3 to 6 months of rent | Tracking and return |
| Payment terms | Quarterly in advance (UK), monthly or cheques (Dubai) | Graduated automatic reminders |
Budget and options
International property ERPs cover these needs but come with heavy licences and configuration. Specialist SaaS is lighter but rigid on turnover rent. A custom application follows your leases as drafted. At Kolonell, this falls under the custom application grid, quoted in EUR.
| Option | Indicative cost | Timeline | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| International property ERP | Licences and integration on quote, often above USD 170,000 | 6 to 9 months | Oversized for one centre |
| Specialist lease SaaS | USD 15,000 to 40,000 per year (order of magnitude) | 2 to 4 months | Turnover rent sometimes weak |
| Kolonell custom app, leases and billing | 6,100 to 10,670 EUR | 3 to 4 months | Abstracting 140 leases |
| Kolonell custom app with tenant portal | 10,670 to 22,870+ EUR | 4 to 5 months | Tenant adoption |
| Kolonell maintenance | 53 / 114 / 183 EUR per month | Ongoing | Premium for year-end closes |
Lease abstraction is often underestimated: allow half a day per complex lease, so 10 to 15 days for the 25 turnover leases.
Mini case study
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Hannah, centre manager of a mall in east London, audits a year of turnover rent: £1,050,000 billed, with a 3 % shortfall from late reports never trued up, so £31,500 lost. On cash, the centre bills £1,500,000 a quarter and carries on average 12 % arrears over 30 days. Bringing that to 7 % frees 1,500,000 × 0.05 = £75,000 of cash. Finally, two credit controllers spend 6 days a month on billing and chasing; saving 4 of them is 96 days a year. A project at £100,000 pays back in under two years from recovered turnover rent and released cash alone.
FAQ
How much does lease management software cost for a shopping centre?
As a 2026 order of magnitude, USD 70,000 to 170,000 from integrators, or USD 15,000 to 40,000 per year for SaaS. A Kolonell custom application sits between 6,100 and 22,870+ EUR depending on the tenant portal.
How do we get tenants to report sales on time?
The portal reminds them on the 5th and applies the lease clause on delay, for example billing on last year's figure plus 10 %. Centres that enforce this often exceed 90 % on-time reporting.
Can it handle upward-only reviews and RICS service charge rules?
Yes, each lease carries its review regime and the service charge module produces budgets and reconciliations in the RICS format. Edge cases stay with your surveyor.
Can we connect tenants' tills to avoid manual reporting?
For willing tenants, via an export from their POS. In practice 20 to 40 % accept automatic feeds.
How long to go live?
Allow 3 to 5 months, ideally going live at the start of a service charge year to simplify reconciliation.
Let's scope your project. We will define leases, turnover rent and the tenant portal with you for a go-live at the start of your financial 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.
