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Setup guides

Set up Hodi in an afternoon

Properties, units, tenants and your first invoices — the order that saves you redoing anything later.

Hodi team·18 Sept 2026 · 4 min read

Most landlords finish setup in a single sitting. The trick is doing it in the right order, so each step has what it needs from the one before.

  1. 1Create your account at app.hodikodi.com with the phone number you use for M-Pesa.
  2. 2Add each property with its name and location. One building, one property.
  3. 3Add units under each property with their monthly rent and deposit.
  4. 4Add tenants to their units with name, phone number and lease start date.
  5. 5Connect your paybill or till so payments reconcile automatically.
  6. 6Review the first month's invoices, then send them.
TipUse the same unit labels your tenants already use — "B3", not "Block B Unit 3". Reminders and receipts read naturally, and payments match on the first try.

Bringing existing arrears across

If a tenant already owes rent, add the opening balance on their unit before sending the first invoice. That way the arrears list is right from day one and nobody is surprised.