The short answer
Growth Informer Business is a cloud system that lets a Ugandan guest house, small hotel or lodge manage rooms, prices, bookings, deposits and check-in, and sell from the bar and restaurant on the same system. Kitchen and bar stock sits there too, so what you sell and what is left in the store come from one set of numbers, not a notebook and three phones.
It suits owner-run guest houses, small hotels in Kampala and other towns, and lodges with a bar and kitchen. If you run a larger hotel with unusual rules, you may need a custom build: see hotel management system development. For the product overview, see our hotel management system page.
Rooms, prices, bookings and check-in
Picture a 12-room guest house with a bar on a busy Saturday. A tour driver phones to hold two rooms, a walk-in wants the last one, and a regular asks for his usual rate. A guest house loses money in small ways. A room is promised twice. A deposit is paid and never written down. A friend's rate is given and then forgotten. The hotel module is built around those problems.
- Set up each room with its type and its price, so every receptionist quotes the same rate.
- Record a booking against a room and dates, so you can check what is free before you promise it.
- Record the deposit paid to hold the room as a payment against the booking, and the balance at check-out.
- Check guests in and out, and keep their details with the booking.
Who enters the bookings
Your staff enter bookings from phone calls, WhatsApp messages and walk-ins. This is a record for your team. It is not a website where guests book and pay by themselves. If that is what you need, tell us on the demo and we will say plainly what fits.
Every guest house runs a little differently, so on the demo we show you the exact screens for your case and you judge them yourself.
Bar, restaurant and kitchen stock on the same system
For many guest houses the bar and restaurant are a big part of the day's money. That is also where stock goes missing. Because the same system holds both, you see rooms and the bar side by side.
- Sell drinks and meals at the register, and open and close the register each shift so cash counted can be checked against sales.
- Keep products with units, such as a bottle and a crate, and variations such as size.
- Hold stock per location, for example bar, kitchen store and main store, and record transfers between them.
- Record purchases and suppliers, so every delivery is on the system.
- Use restaurant features: tables, kitchen order tickets and modifiers.
- Set up recipes with their ingredients through the Manufacturing module, so recording a production run uses up the kitchen ingredients and adds the finished stock.
- Record customers and credit sales for the regular who pays at month end.
- Give each user a role with permissions, so a waiter can sell but not change prices.
The stock side works like any good inventory management software: you count, you receive, you sell, and the difference shows. If you want guests' meals added to their room bill, ask us on the demo. We will show you the workflow that exists rather than promise one.
Mobile Money, cash and EFRIS
Taking payments
You can record cash, card and Mobile Money. Mobile Money is recorded as a payment method inside the Multiple Pay window, and the Payments (MoMo) tray lists the payments you have confirmed. The system does not send a payment prompt to the guest's phone. The guest pays the usual way, and your staff record it once the money has arrived.
EFRIS e-receipts
If your business is VAT-registered, you can switch EFRIS e-receipts on or off in the system. We do not claim URA accreditation. Whether your business needs EFRIS depends on its registration and on URA rules, so check ura.go.ug or ask your accountant. Our EFRIS guide for restaurants and hotels explains the common questions in plain words.
Growth Informer Business or a notebook?
Most small guest houses start with a notebook or a spreadsheet, and for a few rooms that can work. This is how the two compare once you have a bar, a kitchen and staff you cannot watch all day.
| What you need | Growth Informer Business | Notebook or spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Which rooms are free | Rooms, prices and booking dates in one place | Paging through the book, and a double booking is easy |
| Deposits and balances | Recorded with the booking and the payment method | Written on a slip or remembered |
| Bar and kitchen stock | Sales, purchases and transfers update stock by location | Counted by hand, matched to sales only when someone has time |
| Staff access | Users and roles, each with set permissions | Anyone with the book can change anything |
| Owner checking from away | Reports and Android and iOS apps | Wait until you are back, or phone and ask |
| Effort to start | A demo, then setup of rooms, products and users | None to start, but stock and deposits go unchecked |
The trade-off is honest. This is a cloud system, so you need an internet connection. And software only helps if your team records every sale. It does not fix a team that skips the register.
When this is not the right choice
We would rather tell you now than after you have paid. Growth Informer Business may not fit if:
- You run a larger hotel with rules of its own, such as unusual rate structures or links to other systems. Look at a custom build first.
- You mainly want guests to book and pay on a website. This system is for your staff to run the property, not a guest booking site.
- Your property has no reliable internet for most of the day, because the system runs in the cloud.
- Your real problem is too few guests, not too little control. Software will not bring guests. Better marketing will, and our hotel marketing page explains how we help with that.
If you need something we have not listed here, ask on the demo before you decide.
How to get started
Growth Informer Software Services is a US-based company with remote teams around the world, including a team in Kampala, Uganda. A US team member can join your video call. Growth Informer Business is used by 6,500+ businesses of many kinds, not only guest houses, and it has Android and iOS apps.
Send us three things on WhatsApp: how many rooms you have, whether you run a bar or restaurant, and how many staff will use it. We then show you the system with your own room types and menu.
Your first week
- Add your rooms and their prices.
- Add your bar and kitchen products, with opening stock per location.
- Add your staff as users, each with the right role.
- Run one full test day, opening and closing the register, and see if the numbers match the cash.
What it costs depends on your business, so we give you a quote after the demo. Message us on WhatsApp at +256 702 946 946 or use the form on this page.
Frequently asked questions
What does guest house management software cost in Uganda?
It depends on your business: the number of rooms, whether you have a bar and restaurant, how many branches and how many staff. We do not quote a figure on this page. Ask for a demo on WhatsApp or the form, and we will give you a clear quote for your case.
Can guests book rooms online with this system?
No. Your staff enter bookings, for example from phone calls and WhatsApp messages. The system is for running the property, not a website where guests book and pay by themselves. What the system does give you is a booking record for your team: each booking is saved against a room and dates, so you can see what is free before you say yes. Bookings that come from Airbnb, Booking.com or a phone call can all be recorded in one place. We do not promise automatic syncing with Airbnb or Booking.com calendars, so you update those listings yourself. Ask on the demo what suits your setup.
Is there an app to manage my guest house from my phone?
Yes. Growth Informer Business has Android and iOS apps, so you can check which rooms are free, record a booking and see the day's sales from your phone.
Can I use it for the bar and restaurant as well as the rooms?
Yes. Bar and restaurant sales, kitchen order tickets, tables, modifiers and stock per location sit on the same system as the rooms.
Can I record Mobile Money payments from guests?
Yes. You record Mobile Money as a payment method in the Multiple Pay window, and the Payments (MoMo) tray lists confirmed payments. The system does not send a payment prompt to the guest's phone.
Do I need EFRIS for my guest house?
It depends on your registration and on URA rules, so check ura.go.ug or ask your accountant. If your business is VAT-registered, you can switch EFRIS e-receipts on or off in the system.
How do I track kitchen ingredients for each dish at my guest house restaurant?
Use the Manufacturing module in Growth Informer Business. You write a recipe for each dish, listing its ingredients and the amount of each. When you record a production run (a batch of that dish being made), the system uses up those ingredients from stock and adds the finished dish to stock, so you can see what was used and what is left.
Can the same system run my serviced apartments and my restaurant?
For the restaurant side, yes: Growth Informer Business records restaurant and bar sales, stock and Mobile Money payments at the till. We have not set out on this page how apartments rented for weeks or months are handled, so we will not promise it here. Message us on WhatsApp with how you rent your apartments, and we will tell you plainly whether it fits before you commit.
How do I know my manager is not pocketing room money?
Rooms, bookings and payments are recorded in one system, so you can compare the rooms sold with the money received. Each person works under their own login, so you can see who recorded what. No software can promise to stop theft, but it makes gaps easy to spot early, while people still remember the day.