Introducing EstateFlow: Utility Billing Built for South Africa

#Why We Built EstateFlow

Managing agents across South Africa face the same problem every month: dividing a bulk municipal water or electricity bill among dozens — sometimes hundreds — of residents, each with their own sub-meter.

The current process typically involves:

Manual spreadsheets with error-prone tariff lookups
Hours spent reconciling bulk vs. sub-meter totals
Disputes from residents who don't understand their charges
Compliance risk under the STSMA

We built EstateFlow to eliminate this entire workflow.

#What EstateFlow Does

#Automated Tariff Calculations

Enter your meter readings. EstateFlow applies the correct municipal stepped tariffs (starting with Ekurhuleni) and calculates each unit's charge with cent-level precision.

#Mass Balance Reconciliation

The difference between the bulk meter and the sum of sub-meters — the "variance" — is automatically detected and classified as acceptable, warning, or critical. No more guessing.

#One-Click Billing Runs

A single click generates invoices for every unit in an estate. Stepped tariffs, pro-rata variance allocation, and PDF invoices — all generated in under 2 minutes.

#Resident Self-Service

Residents access the portal with their phone number — no app download required. They can view invoices, submit meter readings, and log maintenance requests.

#Multi-Estate Portfolio

Managing agents can manage their entire portfolio from a single dashboard. Each estate has its own tariffs, meters, units, and billing history.

#What's Next

We're actively building and shipping. Here's what's coming:

Electricity tariffs — Ekurhuleni electricity stepped tariffs
Bulk SMS invoicing — Send invoices directly to residents via SMS
Bank reconciliation — Match payments to invoices automatically
API access — Integrate EstateFlow with your existing property management software

#Get Started

EstateFlow is currently in early access. If you're a managing agent in the Ekurhuleni region, we'd love for you to try it.