Guest house software for South Africa.
For guest houses and B&Bs in Cape Town, the Garden Route, the Winelands, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria: one system for bookings and folios, the restaurant and bar, buying, stores and the books, in ZAR and with card on the bill.
The best guest house software in South Africa handles what guest houses and B&Bs there actually deal with: a simple planner on a phone or tablet and bed and breakfast posted with each night, two suppliers per main item, and accounts in ZAR with card payments recorded and matched. Tivuzo puts the PMS, POS, procurement, stores and accounting in one browser-based system for $13 per user per month; a guest house with 3 users pays $39 a month.
Guest houses and B&Bs in South Africa
In South Africa, guest houses and B&Bs are concentrated in Cape Town, the Garden Route, the Winelands, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria. The wider market is thousands of guest houses and B&Bs, boutique Winelands and Cape Town hotels, and private game lodges around the Kruger. A guest house needs a PMS that one person can run between check-ins and breakfast: a planner that refuses double bookings, breakfast on the bill and M-Pesa or card payments with their reference.
What matters, module by module
| Module | For guest houses and B&Bs in South Africa |
|---|---|
| PMS | A simple planner on a phone or tablet; Bed and breakfast posted with each night |
| Procurement | Two suppliers per main item; Weekly orders for breakfast stock |
| Inventory | One store for breakfast and amenities; Reorder levels for eggs, bread, toilet paper |
| Accounting | Revenue from the planner and bills; Supplier bills and expenses |
| POS | A small menu of drinks and meals; Charge to room |
Buying and stores
A guest house buys little but often: breakfast food, cleaning supplies, gas. A short supplier list and a purchase record stop the cash leaking out in small amounts. Breakfast food, amenities and cleaning supplies are a guest house's main stock. A small store with reorder levels means nothing runs out on a full weekend.
- One store for breakfast and amenities
- Reorder levels for eggs, bread, toilet paper
- Monthly count
- Cost per occupied room from usage
Money in ZAR
Most guest-house owners are their own accountants. They need revenue, costs, VAT if registered and profit each month without typing anything twice. In South Africa, guests and companies pay by card, EFT, instant payments, SnapScan, Zapper and cash. Each method has its own journal in Tivuzo, so the folio, the till and the statement agree. VAT is applied per room type, meal plan and item (standard rate 15%). South Africa has no hotel fiscal-device requirement; VAT invoices are produced in Tivuzo. Tourism levies such as the TOMSA levy can be set up as a separate charge.
Who logs in, and what it costs
At a typical guest house the people who log in are the owner, receptionist and a housekeeper or cook: 3 users, $39 a month or $374.40 a year. Rooms, guests and bookings are never charged. See pricing.
Read more: guest house and b&b software, hotel software in South Africa, and in South Africa: lodge software, boutique hotel software, safari camp software. Guest Houses elsewhere: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria.
Guest House Software in South Africa: questions
What software do guest houses and B&Bs in South Africa use?
Many still use a booking diary, Excel and a separate accounting package. Tivuzo replaces them with one system: PMS, restaurant and bar POS, procurement, stores and accounting, in ZAR.
What is the best PMS for a small guest house?
One simple enough for one person, that refuses double bookings, bills breakfast and extras, records mobile money and feeds the accounts.
Does a small guest house need procurement software?
Not a heavy process: a supplier list, simple purchase orders and bills recorded against them are enough to know what you spend.
Can guest houses and B&Bs in South Africa record card?
Yes. card is a payment method with its own journal; each payment is recorded with its reference and matched to the statement.
Does Tivuzo work with weak internet?
The restaurant and bar tills keep selling offline; the PMS, stores and accounts need a connection, and light use works on mobile data or satellite.
How much does guest house software cost in South Africa?
Tivuzo is $13 per user per month, every module included, with a 14-day free trial and no card.
Last updated by the Tivuzo team.