Bespoke block management software built on Odoo for London residential managing agents, RTM companies and freeholder clients. Softomate builds the service charge allocation, Section 20 major works consultation, ground rent management, leaseholder portal, maintenance contractor workflows and RTM company administration into a single Odoo platform. No per-unit annual licence fee. From £12,000 one-time implementation with no seat limits. Free scoping call for managing agents with 50 or more units under management.
Softomate builds block management software on the Odoo platform for London residential managing agents and RTM companies. Unlike off-the-shelf platforms such as Qube PM, MRI or Estate Ranger, the Softomate Odoo implementation is configured to match the exact lease structure, allocation rules and compliance requirements of the client portfolio. There is no annual per-unit licence fee. Related services include custom Odoo module development, full Odoo ERP implementation and bespoke CRM development.
01. Key Benefits
The most time-consuming task in block management is allocating expenditure across leaseholders in the correct proportions. Softomate builds the lease percentage or floor area weighting for every unit into Odoo so when a maintenance invoice is posted to a block, the system allocates the cost across all leaseholders automatically. Year-end reconciliation calculates each leaseholder's actual versus budgeted share without a single Excel formula. Section 20B reconciliation demands are generated automatically from the year-end figures.
Section 20 major works consultation is a statutory requirement under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for qualifying works above £250 per unit. Softomate builds the Section 20 workflow as a structured process in Odoo covering: Notice of Intention (30-day stage 1), contractor quote collection, Statement of Estimates (30-day stage 2), leaseholder observation tracking, contract award, and certificate storage for LVT evidence. Statutory deadline reminders prevent costly breaches. Every step is logged with a timestamp and the responsible property manager for audit purposes.
Softomate builds an Odoo leaseholder portal so residents log in and see their service charge account balance, demands raised, payments received, reserve fund balance and all block documents (insurance certificate, Section 20 notices, AGM minutes, management accounts). Leaseholders submit maintenance requests through the portal, which creates a tracked job in the block management system automatically. The portal reduces routine account enquiries to the managing agent team and gives leaseholders the transparency they expect from a compliant managing agent.
Managing agents administering multiple RTM and RMC companies face a significant compliance calendar for Companies House filings. Softomate builds RTM company records with director details, filing dates and compliance reminders into the block management module. Advance reminders for confirmation statement and accounts filing deadlines prevent late filing penalties. AGM preparation checklists, minute storage and director appointment records are managed within Odoo. One compliance dashboard shows every RTM and RMC company's next filing obligation and its due date.
Qube PM and MRI charge per unit per year. A 300-unit portfolio at £200 per unit costs £60,000 per year in software licences alone. Softomate's Odoo implementation at £20,000 one-time is paid back in under 6 months compared to Qube. After the implementation, there is no annual licence fee. The portfolio can grow from 300 to 1,000 units with no increase in software cost. For a managing agent with growth plans, bespoke Odoo block management has the lowest total cost of ownership over 5 years of any platform.
Softomate configures Odoo to track reserve fund balances separately from service charge accounts for each block. Contributions to reserve fund from service charge demands are posted to the reserve fund account automatically. Drawdowns for qualifying expenditure are posted against the fund with approval workflows for amounts above defined thresholds. Ground rent demands (where ground rent is still payable under pre-2022 leases) are generated on the correct due dates and arrears are tracked with escalation reminders at configurable intervals.
02. What We Build
Softomate builds the data architecture for the managing agent's portfolio in Odoo: portfolio entity (managing agent or freeholder client), block records (building name, address, number of units, ownership entity), unit records (flat number, floor, unit size, lease start and end date, ground rent details), leaseholder records (name, contact details, correspondence address, bank details for direct debit) and lease percentage allocation tables. Each lease percentage table allocates 100 per cent of block expenditure across all units in that block. Multi-block portfolios with shared estate areas have a two-tier allocation: estate costs allocated at portfolio level first, then block-specific costs allocated within each block. This structure supports accurate service charge calculation without manual spreadsheet work at year-end.
Softomate configures the annual service charge cycle in Odoo: service charge budget setting by cost category (maintenance, insurance, management fee, reserve fund contribution, communal utilities), Section 20B budget demand generation (each leaseholder's share of the annual budget based on their lease percentage), payment tracking against demands, expenditure posting (maintenance invoices allocated automatically by lease percentage), year-end actual vs budget reconciliation, and Section 20B year-end demand for the balance owing (or credit if expenditure was below budget). The complete cycle runs in Odoo without any spreadsheet intervention. Each stage of the cycle generates audit-compliant records stored against the block.
Softomate builds the maintenance management module covering: reactive maintenance job creation from leaseholder portal requests or property manager entry, contractor appointment and purchase order issue, job progress tracking with contractor updates, completion sign-off and invoice approval against the purchase order, and expenditure posting to the correct block service charge account. Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) schedules for fire safety inspections, lift maintenance, boiler servicing and building fabric inspections are configured with automatic job creation before each inspection date. Preferred contractor lists with contact details, insurance certificate expiry dates and agreed rates are stored in Odoo with automatic insurance renewal reminders 60 days before expiry.
Softomate configures management account reports for the freeholder or RTM company directors. Quarterly management accounts show income (service charge demands), expenditure by cost category against budget, reserve fund balance, accounts receivable from leaseholders in arrears, and outstanding creditor invoices awaiting payment. Block-level reporting allows the managing agent to present each block's financial position separately even when multiple blocks share common overhead costs. Annual management account packs for AGM presentation are generated as PDF reports directly from Odoo. Client reporting dashboards give freeholder and director clients real-time access to their block's financial position through the Odoo portal without requiring a call to the managing agent.
03. Why Choose Us
Generic project management or accounting platforms do not understand Section 20. Softomate builds the full statutory consultation workflow - Notice of Intention, Statement of Estimates, leaseholder observation recording, contract award, and LVT evidence bundle generation - as a structured workflow in Odoo. Statutory deadline reminders are built into the workflow so managing agents cannot miss a consultation stage through workload pressure. Every consultation step is time-stamped and logged for audit evidence.
Qube PM and MRI charge per unit per year. Growing from 200 to 500 units increases your software cost by 150 per cent. Softomate's Odoo implementation is a one-time project cost. Adding 300 more units to the system costs nothing in additional licence fees. For managing agents with portfolio growth plans, the bespoke Odoo approach becomes increasingly cost-advantaged every year as the portfolio grows.
Every managing agent has specific portfolio requirements that off-the-shelf software handles badly or not at all - unusual lease structures, mixed-use blocks with commercial and residential service charge accounts, portfolios with shared freehold structures, or clients who require specific management account formats. Softomate builds these as custom Odoo features using Python development rather than forcing the client to adapt their operations to what the software supports.
Softomate migrates portfolio data - block records, unit and leaseholder records, lease percentage tables, service charge balances, reserve fund balances, open maintenance jobs and compliance certificate records - from Qube PM, MRI, Estate Ranger or existing spreadsheets into Odoo as part of the implementation. The migration is tested against the live data before go-live to verify financial balance accuracy. Managing agents go live with full historical data intact.
04. Use Cases
London residential managing agents with portfolios of 50 to 500 leasehold units use bespoke Odoo block management to replace Qube PM or spreadsheet-based operations. The implementation covers the full service charge cycle, Section 20 workflows, leaseholder portal, RTM company administration and management reporting. The one-time implementation cost is recoverable from Qube licence savings within 6 to 18 months depending on portfolio size.
RTM companies taking over management of their block from a freeholder use Odoo block management to establish their own service charge accounting, maintenance management and Companies House compliance from day one of self-management. The implementation is sized to the specific block (typically 20 to 80 units) and includes the company secretarial compliance calendar, leaseholder portal and all service charge accounting required for the RTM entity.
Property investment companies holding freehold interests in residential blocks use Odoo to manage their service charge income, ground rent income (pre-2022 leases), major works programmes and block compliance obligations without outsourcing management entirely. The system provides the freeholder with direct visibility of block financial performance, maintenance spend and leaseholder account status across all properties in the portfolio.
Blocks with ground-floor commercial units and upper-floor residential leaseholders require service charge accounts that allocate costs differently between commercial and residential lessees. Softomate configures dual-tier service charge allocation in Odoo for mixed-use blocks, with separate commercial and residential accounts sharing common costs at the defined proportions and separate costs allocated only to the relevant tier.
Why Softomate
Every stage of the major works consultation - Notice of Intention (30 days), Statement of Estimates (30 days), leaseholder observations, contract award - is a structured workflow step with deadline reminders and audit timestamping.
Managing agent case study: Qube PM at £180 per unit x 300 units = £54,000 per year. Softomate Odoo at £20,000 one-time = break-even at 4.5 months. Year 2 onwards: £54,000 saved per year.
Self-service access to service charge statements, payment history, reserve fund balance and block documents eliminates the majority of routine leaseholder enquiry calls to the managing agent team.
Managing agents administering 20+ RTM companies use Odoo compliance dashboards to track all filing deadlines across the portfolio. Zero late filing penalties since implementation in first client cohort.
Implementation price is fixed after a discovery workshop mapping the portfolio structure, existing data, compliance requirements and reporting needs. No time-and-materials hourly billing.
Case study outcomes from real Softomate block management projects. Client details anonymised per NDA.
05. FAQs
Block management software manages the operational and financial administration of residential leasehold blocks on behalf of freeholders, resident management companies (RMC) or right-to-manage (RTM) companies. It needs to cover: service charge budget setting, service charge demand generation (Section 20B), reserve fund management, major works consultation (Section 20 LTA 1985), ground rent demand and arrears management, maintenance contractor management (reactive and PPM), utility account management, leaseholder portal access for statements and documents, Companies House filing reminders for RTM and RMC companies, and management reporting for freeholder or directors. Most generic property management software does not cover the specific requirements of Section 20 major works consultation, Companies House compliance for RTM companies, or the allocation of service charges by lease percentage across multiple blocks. Softomate builds bespoke block management software on the Odoo platform for London residential managing agents, starting from £12,000.
Off-the-shelf block management software such as Qube PM, MRI Qube or Estate Ranger costs from £150 to £500 per unit per year or from £5,000 to £20,000+ per year in software licence fees for portfolio sizes of 100 to 500 units. These platforms require significant configuration time and ongoing annual licence payments. Softomate builds bespoke block management software on the Odoo platform with a one-time implementation cost starting from £12,000 for a managing agent with up to 250 units across 10 to 20 blocks. Implementations covering larger portfolios with multiple entity structures, company secretarial functions for multiple RTM companies, and custom leaseholder portal requirements typically cost £20,000 to £40,000. After the one-time implementation, there are no per-unit annual licence fees. The total cost of ownership for a Softomate Odoo implementation is typically lower than Qube PM or MRI licensing costs over a three-year period for portfolios above 150 units.
Yes. Softomate builds the Section 20 major works consultation workflow into the block management module for each block. The workflow covers: Notice of Intention (stage 1 - 30-day consultation on proposed works), Notice of Reasons for dispensation if applicable, Statement of Estimates (stage 2 - listing at least 3 contractor quotes with a 30-day consultation period), awards the contract to the chosen contractor, manages the Section 20B annual service charge demand covering major works contributions, tracks leaseholder observations at each consultation stage, and stores all consultation correspondence against the works record for Leasehold Valuation Tribunal evidence. Reminder workflows alert the property manager before each statutory deadline. Section 20 consultation records with all correspondence and leaseholder responses are exportable as a PDF bundle for LVT purposes.
Softomate configures service charge allocation in Odoo based on the lease percentage or floor area weighting defined in each leaseholder's lease. Each block has its own service charge account with its own budget, reserve fund, and expenditure record. When a maintenance invoice is posted to a block, the software allocates the cost across all leaseholders in that block in proportion to their lease percentages automatically. Year-end service charge reconciliation calculates each leaseholder's share of actual expenditure versus their estimated demand, and generates a credit or debit balance for the Section 20B reconciliation demand. Blocks with shared external areas or shared services can be configured with a two-tier allocation: estate-wide costs are allocated across all blocks first, then block-specific costs are allocated within each block.
Yes. Softomate configures an Odoo leaseholder portal that gives each leaseholder login access to view their individual service charge account - current balance, service charge demands raised, payments received, reserve fund balance and associated block documents (building insurance certificate, section 20 notices, AGM minutes, management accounts). Service charge demands and receipts are available as PDF downloads from the portal. Leaseholders can submit maintenance requests through the portal, which creates a linked maintenance job in the block management system. The portal reduces phone and email queries to the managing agent for routine account information and document requests.
Yes. Softomate builds RTM and RMC company administration features into the block management module. Each RTM or RMC company record includes the Companies House number, registered address, director records, company secretary details and a compliance calendar with automatic reminders for: annual confirmation statement filing (due date plus 14-day advance reminder), annual accounts filing deadlines, director appointment and resignation filings, and AGM preparation dates. Meeting minutes are stored against the company record. Directors receive email reminders for approaching filing deadlines. A compliance dashboard shows all RTM and RMC companies under management with their next filing obligation and its due date. This feature replaces the separate spreadsheets most managing agents use to track company secretarial obligations across their portfolio.
Softomate follows a structured implementation process for block management software: discovery, data migration, configuration and testing, user acceptance testing, and go-live with a 30-day hypercare period. Discovery maps the portfolio structure (blocks, units, leaseholders, RTM/RMC entities), the existing service charge allocation rules, current supplier and contractor records, and any specific compliance requirements. Data migration imports leaseholder records, lease details, unit sizes and percentages, service charge account balances and open maintenance records from the existing system. Configuration builds the service charge allocation rules, Section 20 workflow, maintenance contractor management, leaseholder portal and management reporting. A core implementation for a portfolio of 100 to 250 units across 10 to 20 blocks typically takes six to ten weeks from discovery sign-off to go-live.
06. Related Services
Softomate Solutions Limited
Deen Dayal Yadav
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