BlockKeeper vs Blockman vs Spreadsheets: Choosing Block Management Software for Your Self-Managed Block

If you're running a self-managed block of flats, at some point you'll hit the moment: the spreadsheet that's supposed to track service charges has become a liability, leaseholders are asking where their money went, and you're not entirely sure your demands were ever legally compliant. Time to look at software.

The problem: most block management software is built for professional managing agents who manage hundreds of units across dozens of buildings. The pricing and the interface reflect that. You're a volunteer director trying to manage eight flats in your evenings. The fit isn't great.

This guide looks at your realistic options: professional software like Blockman, building something on spreadsheets, and purpose-built tools like BlockKeeper. We'll be honest about where each works, where it doesn't, and who should use what.

Who Actually Needs Block Management Software?

Before comparing tools, a quick reality check: do you need dedicated software at all?

You probably do if:

• You're managing more than 5-6 units (complexity scales quickly)
• You're issuing regular service charge demands and want to be confident they're legally compliant
• You have a leaseholder in arrears and need to demonstrate what you've done about it
• You've ever had a leaseholder question the accounts or demand to see the figures
• A previous director kept everything in their head (or laptop) and has now left
• You're just starting out and want to set things up properly from day one

You might manage fine with basic tools if:

• You're a freeholder managing one or two flats informally (not an RMC/RTM)
• All leaseholders pay without question and nobody ever asks for accounts
• You're a professional with accounting expertise and time to build robust spreadsheet models

For the vast majority of self-managed RMC and RTM companies with 5+ units: dedicated software will pay for itself in time saved and errors avoided.

Option 1: Blockman

Who it's for: Professional managing agents managing multiple blocks

Blockman is arguably the best-known dedicated block management software in the UK. It's cloud-based, well-supported, and built specifically for UK leasehold service charge accounting. It handles:

• Service charge demands and ground rent demands
• Payment tracking per leaseholder
• Supplier management and invoice processing
• Full trial balance and income & expenditure reporting
• A resident portal (MyBlockman) for leaseholders to view their accounts online
• BACS payment file generation

It's genuinely good software. The UK leasehold compliance is baked in. Support is responsive.

The catch: the price.

Blockman starts at £195/month for up to 250 units. There's no lower tier.

For a professional managing agent with 80 units across 10 buildings, that's £2.44/unit/month — reasonable for a business. For a volunteer director of a 10-unit block, it's £19.50/unit/month — nearly £2,340/year on software alone, for a building where the entire management cost might be £8,000.

The interface also assumes knowledge that professional agents have and volunteer directors often don't. It's built for accountants. Setting up the chart of accounts, understanding how apportionments flow through the system, generating the right reports — there's a learning curve that's appropriate for professionals who use it daily, but steep for someone who logs in quarterly.

Verdict on Blockman for self-managed blocks: Excellent software. Wrong price point and wrong audience. Unless your block is quite large (50+ units) and has a director with accounting experience and budget, it's probably not the right fit.

Option 2: Spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets)

Let's be honest about why most self-managed blocks use spreadsheets: they're free, they're familiar, and they work — up to a point.

What spreadsheets do well:

• Basic payment tracking (who's paid, who hasn't)
• Simple budget vs. actual comparisons
• Flexible — you can make them do almost anything
• No cost, no subscriptions, no vendor risk

Where spreadsheets fall apart:

Legal compliance. A spreadsheet will not remind you to include the Summary of Rights with every service charge demand. It won't generate that demand with the correct statutory wording. It won't know that the Section 20B 18-month window is closing on an invoice you've been sitting on. All of this requires you to know the rules, remember to apply them, and never make a typo in the apportionment formula.

Audit trail. When a leaseholder challenges their account, you need to demonstrate exactly what was demanded, when, and what was paid. A spreadsheet with manually edited cells is not a robust audit trail. "I'm pretty sure I updated that figure" is not helpful at tribunal.

Knowledge transfer. When a director steps down, their spreadsheet goes with them — or arrives with the new director with no explanation of how it works. This is one of the most common ways self-managed blocks end up in chaos.

Collaboration. Multiple directors trying to edit the same spreadsheet creates version control headaches. Who has the latest copy? Who changed that figure last week?

Time. A well-maintained spreadsheet system probably costs you 40-80 hours per year on administration. Software that automates demand generation, payment reminders, and reporting can cut that significantly.

Verdict on spreadsheets: A workable starting point for the simplest situations. But the hidden costs — compliance risk, time spent, and the cliff edge when the spreadsheet-keeper leaves — make them a liability for most self-managed blocks beyond the most basic.

Option 3: BlockKeeper

Who it's for: Self-managed RMC and RTM companies, typically 5–50 units

BlockKeeper is built for exactly the situation you're in: a volunteer director of a self-managed block who needs to do this properly without it consuming their life or their budget.

It handles the core jobs:

• Service charge demand generation — produces legally compliant demands with all required statutory wording automatically, with correct apportionments per the lease. You don't need to know the regulations by heart.
• Payment tracking — a ledger per leaseholder showing demands raised, payments received, and current balance. You can see at a glance who's current and who's behind.
• Compliance reminders — tracks renewal dates for fire risk assessments, gas safety certificates, buildings insurance, EICRs, and other compliance items. Alerts you when things are due.
• Document storage — a central repository for leases, correspondence, certificates, and other documents that all directors can access.
• Year-end accounts — income and expenditure summaries in a format you can share with leaseholders without hiring an accountant to translate it.

The price: £29/month.

That's for the whole block, not per unit. For a 10-unit block, that's £2.90/unit/month — compared to Blockman's £19.50/unit/month or a managing agent's £80-200/unit/year.

The philosophy: Block management software shouldn't require accounting expertise to operate. The workflow is designed around how volunteer directors actually work, not how professional agents do. Plain English throughout, no jargon, and the compliance requirements handled automatically rather than depending on the director to know the rules.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Other Options Worth Knowing About

Block in a Box (blockinabox.co.uk) — specifically targets self-managed RTM/RMC companies. Pricing is not published (you have to enquire), which makes comparison difficult. Very small review presence suggests limited traction so far.

Manage Your Block (manageyourblock.co.uk) — was aimed at the same self-managed niche but has "temporarily suspended" its pricing and appears to be in transition. Worth monitoring but not currently a reliable choice.

Landlord Vision (landlordvision.co.uk) — has a block management module from around £20/month. Primarily built for landlords managing tenants; the service charge accounting is less specialised. Can work for simpler situations, particularly where the block also has rental elements, but lacks some of the leasehold-specific compliance features.

Generic accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks) — some blocks use these for bookkeeping. They don't generate service charge demands, don't know about the Summary of Rights, and don't track leaseholder accounts in the way the law requires. You'd need to layer a lot of manual process on top.

How to Choose

Choose spreadsheets if:

• Your block is tiny (3-4 units), everyone is friendly and pays promptly, and you're comfortable building and maintaining a robust system

Choose Blockman if:

• You're a professional managing agent managing multiple blocks
• You have a large self-managed block (50+ units) with budget to match and directors with accounting experience
• You specifically need BACS payment file generation or advanced multi-portfolio reporting

Choose BlockKeeper if:

• You're a volunteer director of a self-managed block (5-50 units)
• You want software that handles the compliance requirements for you
• You want something you can actually understand and use without a training course
• Budget matters (it will — you're spending leaseholders' money, not your own)

The Bottom Line

The gap in the market is real: there has been very little purpose-built, affordable software for self-managed blocks. Most tools assume you're a professional agent or assume you'll figure out the compliance requirements yourself.

BlockKeeper is built to close that gap — legally compliant demands, sensible pricing, and a workflow designed for people who are good at their jobs but aren't property management professionals.

Check out BlockKeeper at blockkeeper.uk — built for self-managed blocks, not managing agents.