Designing An Admin App For Managing Small PGs (Paying Guest Accommodation)
How did it start?
I chose this problem because it hits close to home — My parents run a small PG. But here’s the catch: they manage everything using old-fashioned methods like handwritten registers and Excel sheets. It’s chaotic and leads to a lot of mistakes and confusion. Seeing them struggle made me realize how important it is to find a better, simpler way to manage PGs. That’s why I decided to work on creating an app to make things easier for them and others facing the same issues.
Problem Statement
Owning or managing a PG without a management degree is not a tough task but let me tell you it’s not as easy as it might seem and what makes it even more difficult is managing everything manually.
That is why I want to design an app to help PG owners manage their accommodations effortlessly, replacing the old traditional methods.
One might even wonder “What exactly are these problems?”, “Why can’t people just use management software which is already present in abundance?” and many more. So to answer these questions, let us dive deeper into the problem to further refine our requirements.
Research
As much as I would’ve loved to directly start with Visuals (the fun part), I had to get some answers first.
User Interview
In my case, it seemed the fastest and easiest way to get information, so the first thing I did was ask my parents (context if you didn’t read the first para — they own a PG themselves) about the whole workflow. I was eager to understand the step-by-step process involved in managing a small PG.
Current Workflow
1. My parents aren’t always present at the site, and as a result they’ve hired a caretaker to manage things.
2. When a prospective customer comes to enquire about a room, the caretaker informs about the details such as the status of occupancy and more.
3. If the customer is in agreement with everything, we ask them to fill out an information form and pay in advance to confirm the booking.
4. After the payment is done, the caretaker writes down all the details in the register.
5. Payment is usually made by instant-payment interfaces such as GPay, PayTM, etc, and is directly credited into the PG account. If someone decides to pay in cash, the caretaker has to inform either of my parents and then proceed with the transaction.
6. Matters of building maintenance or other issues are addressed by the caretaker who is directly contacted by the tenants who then proceed to find resolutions for the same.
Going Forward, I interviewed a few more people with the intent of getting more clarity over the problems faced by them.
Set of Questions Asked-
- Can you tell me about your role or responsibilities in managing a small PG accommodation?
- What are the most significant challenges or difficulties you encountered?
- Can you provide specific examples of issues you faced?
- Can you describe your current processes or workflows for tasks like managing tenants, communicating with them, and handling billing?
- Have you ever used management software? If not, why? If yes, please tell us about it.
Insights
- Owners prefer to manage everything by themselves if they reside in the same building. Owners who don’t live in the same building generally hire a caretaker who is in charge of managing everything.
- Problems/Challenges faced by them while managing everything manually-
- Record Keeping and Documentation: They faced difficulty in maintaining resident records and keeping track of rent payments, security deposits, and other financial transactions.
- Difficulty in keeping track of room availability and occupancy, which can lead to overbooking or underutilization of rooms.
- Communication Issues: Inefficient communication with residents, including sending payment reminders, notices, and updates.
- Maintenance and Repairs: Managing maintenance requests and tracking repair work without a system can result in delayed responses and unresolved issues.
- Time-Consuming
3. Reasons people don’t like to use PG management software-
- Unnecessary: People think it’s a lot of effort to have management software when they can manage it manually. (Mostly in smaller cities or in cases where PG is a secondary source of income)
- Learning curve: Some PG management software solutions can be complex and require time to learn, especially for users who are not tech-savvy.
- Cost: It has higher upfront costs, making it less accessible for small PG owners or those with limited budgets.
Again a question to consider “If people don’t want to use management softwares because it is extra effort why will they use an app?”.
To answer that I’ll say: Yes, there is no guarantee that people will use the app when they are satisfied with their manual management. But then again there are few people who want to have systematic management without putting much effort and this app is targeted to them.
Why would they prefer an app over software? because:
- Accessibility and Convenience: As the majority of people have mobile phones with them most of the time, they can access and manage data whenever they want.
- Simpleness: Apps often have intuitive and user-friendly interfaces making it easier for users to navigate and perform tasks quickly.
- People will get real-time notifications and updates.
Secondary Research
After all the interviews, the problem was clear but I was struggling to come up with a solution as It was difficult to find references and figure out the structure of the admin/ business side of any app.
We always interact with the consumer side of the app and are not very familiar with the admin side. To avoid any assumptions, I browsed the internet to look up some references but was kind of unsuccessful due to the confidentiality of the organizations.
I found this very informative article about the Admin Panel for a Mobile App which helped me a lot to understand the other side. I also looked for some PG management software to understand their basic framework, how they work, and what features they have.
Goal
I want to create an MVP version of the app which includes the following features-
- A dashboard that has minimal but necessary data (records, metrics, etc.) for easy management.
- A simple way to check over rooms and tenants.
- A convenient method for landlords and tenants to communicate with each other.
Information Architecture
I wanted the app to be as simple and intuitive as possible. Here’s a visual representation of the IA that I came up with:
Wireframes
These are the initial wireframes I created when I first began working on the solution. However, as the project progressed, numerous changes were made.
Visuals/ Solution
1. Onboarding Flow
As onboarding is the first section of the app, I wanted it to be brief, fun, and to the point.
To make it a little more fun, I added some animation and micro-interactions.
Login Screen
Initially, I decided to make the login process by using phone numbers and OTP verification as it is one of the safest ways to log in.
But after researching it again, I realized that in most cases, a user account created with a phone number is intended for a single individual, and for business purposes logging in with email would be better so that more people can access it simultaneously.
The question that might arise “Why do we want an account to be accessed by many people simultaneously?”
Let’s take an example where the PG is managed by a third person like a caretaker, so he would require access, and at the same time the owner would also like to have access to check or manage things
Again, I could be completely wrong with this approach as I still don’t have enough understanding about the business side of an app.
Dashboard
I divided the dashboard into distinct sections, each dedicated to displaying specific data related to managing a PG. I referenced various management software solutions and valuable insights from interviews. I narrowed it down to the essential information needed to manage a PG.
Sections are-
- Business Revenue
- Quick Action
- Rent details
- Other Stats
Let’s get into the details of different sections-
- Business Revenue
Revenue is the most important metric for any business so I kept it at the top of the dashboard for easy access.
2. Quick Actions
These are the shortcuts for some of the actions that should be easily accessible with minimal effort and time.
- Add Tenant- Adding tenants into various rooms is a crucial and repetitive task. Introducing a quick button significantly reduces the effort and time required by the PG manager, streamlining the process effectively.
- Send Announcement- To send messages or public announcements about the PG to all the tenants or selected tenants. Messages will be sent through WhatsApp or any messenger app.
- Record Payment- This is to document payments made by tenants.
- Contacts- Gather the contacts of all individuals necessary for the smooth management of the PG, including plumbers, electricians, and other essential service providers.
- Add room- Whenever a new room is listed, it can be directly added from here.
3. Rent Details
- Display the number of tenants who paid and didn’t pay the rent.
- A quick “Remind to pay” button to send reminder messages.
4. Other Stats
- Vacant Beds- To let owners know how many more tenants they can accommodate.
- Notice Period- This indicates the count of tenants preparing to leave the PG shortly. This information is essential for informing the owners about upcoming vacancies in the near future.
5. Notifications
At first, I was not going to include the notifications tab because there was no point in it. Every data is added manually so getting notifications for it seemed useless.
For example:- If I add a tenant, I’ll only get a notification saying “A new tenant has been added” Why would we need that?
However, after considering all the use cases, the Notifications tab would be useful when the PG is managed by a third party or a caretaker. In that case, along with the caretaker, the owners will also get a notification about all the changes. This feature would help keep the owners informed about the ongoing activities and updates within the PG.
Room Flow
One of the features people wanted was-
- Find a way to promote the PG
- Make it easier to communicate about the empty rooms
So, I’ve added a share option that allows users to send a message to potential tenants or anyone interested. It can also be shared as a WhatsApp or Instagram story to promote it.
Tenant Flow
For the tenant profile page, I gathered forms from various PG accommodations to determine the standard information typically requested when admitting tenants.
Tickets
Ticket = Compliant raised by tenants
This feature is mainly applicable when there is an app for the tenant side from where they can raise tickets for any problem.
Without the tenant app also we can use this feature but then the complaints should be entered manually to keep a record of fixes or active and inactive issues.
Feedback/ Iteration
I really like to take feedback in every step of my design process be it during the research, wireframing, or even after final designs to get other people's opinions because by continuously seeing our projects, we get blinded to our own mistakes so it’s important to get a fresh view from someone else.
If you wanna see it in detail, check this link Feedback. I’d to see your comments also.
Extra features that I would like to add
- Tutorial for new users- While testing this app on my parents, I realized that there is a need for tutorials on how to see reports, add tenants, send announcements, check tenant details, etc.
For new users, the dashboard and other pages will look different(empty) and people might get confused seeing empty screens.
Solution- Add a forced tutorial at the start or have a guide with all the processes.
2. Incentivization
- Referral System- Rewards for referring someone to join the PG.
- Concession in Rent- Pay before the deadline and enjoy a discount on next month’s rent.
Conclusion
Learnings
- Working on the business side of the app is quite challenging as there is a lack of references and we are not quite familiar with the business model.
- It doesn’t need to be perfect on the first try- I faced this issue and was stuck on one screen for a long duration because I wanted it to be perfect.
- I can’t add everything that comes to my mind- As I was aiming for a minimum viable product, I had to hold on to a lot of features that might make the app more complicated.
What I could have done better?
I think I would like to iterate more on visuals and should try to timebox everything.
Context
This case study was an assignment given by 10k Designers.
Behind the scenes
The End
And that’s a wrap! Thank you for taking the time to read this through. I know that there is a lot of room for improvement. Feedbacks are much welcome!
Hit me up!
I am currently open to opportunities as a Product Designer. Do reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter (X) or mail me at abhac1709@gmail.com for any feedback, discussions, or collaborations, and I’d be more than happy to have a chat with you!
