An honest comparison
Excel and WhatsApp, or an app?
Ettihad is a free mobile app on the App Store and Google Play. Here is an honest side-by-side with Excel and WhatsApp for running a building's money.
| What you need | Excel + WhatsApp | Ettihad |
|---|---|---|
| Who paid and who didn't | A sheet you update by hand from transfer screenshots in the group. | Every due shows paid or unpaid for each unit, as payments come in. |
| Proof of payment | Receipt photos sit in the group among all the other messages. | The resident attaches the receipt photo to the payment; the manager reviews and approves it. |
| One unit's statement for a period | You put it together yourself from the sheet. | Ready from the unit's screen for any period up to 2 years, as images or an Excel file. |
| Money left after expenses | A formula you keep right yourself. | The "Left after expenses" tile on the manager's dashboard: collected minus spent. |
| Building savings and funds | A separate sheet or a message in the group. | Building funds with a history of every change; pay all or part of a bill from them. |
| Monthly bills | Typed in again every month. | They come back by themselves: a fixed amount, or a reminder to type this month's amount. |
| Notifications and announcements | You write the message in the group yourself, and it scrolls away under the rest. | Residents get an in-app notification for each new due, when their payment is approved or rejected, and for every announcement. |
| Records you can trace | Any cell can change without anyone noticing. | Payments and credit are kept as a history that is only added to; when a manager edits an expense, the change is recorded in the audit log with who and when. |
| Residents see what was spent | Only if you send them the sheet. | Residents see the building's expenses in the app. |
| Cost | Free. | Free too. |
What Excel and WhatsApp do well
They're free.
Everyone already knows them.
They're enough for a building with only a handful of units.
Try Ettihad with your building
Ettihad is free, and your money never flows through us: payments go directly between residents and the building. You can share statements before a single resident joins.
Get the app
