Compare · CHICS vs OmniLedger
CHICS vs OmniLedger
CHICS and OmniLedger are both long-standing UK suppliers to the social housing sector. Which one fits you usually comes down to the shape of your stock, how integrated you want your accounting to be, and how hands-on a supplier you need.
At a glance
- CHICS has specialised in UK housing since the early 1990s, with rent accounting baked into the core — not a bolt-on.
- Particularly strong fit for housing co-ops, TMOs, EMBs and small-to-mid housing associations.
- Transparent per-tenancy pricing with a UK-based, named support team you can phone.
Feature comparison
CHICS vs OmniLedger, side by side
Based on publicly available information about OmniLedger at the time of writing. We review this page periodically — if you spot something that's changed, please let us know.
| Feature | CHICS | OmniLedger |
|---|---|---|
| UK-built and UK-supported | Yes | Yes |
| Tenancies, rent, repairs, voids, allocations | Yes | Yes |
| Rent accounting built into the core product | Yes | Via finance module |
| Service charge accounting | Yes | Yes |
| Suited to housing co-ops, TMOs and EMBs | Core focus | General housing |
| Marketing CRM included | Yes | Not included as standard |
| Cloud or on-premise deployment | Yes | Yes |
| VoIP telephony from the same supplier | Yes | Not included as standard |
| Bundled IT support options | Yes | Not included as standard |
| Per-tenancy pricing (no per-module fees) | Yes | Module-based |
| Named UK implementation lead | Yes | Yes |
| Typical go-live time | 8–16 weeks | Varies |
Why teams switch to CHICS
Built for UK social housing, not retrofitted
- Rent accounting as a first-class citizen
- In CHICS the rent account and the tenancy are the same record. No nightly batch from housing into finance, no reconciliation job to chase when it fails — arrears reporting ties out to the day, every day.
- Right-sized for smaller landlords
- We're a particularly good fit for housing co-ops, TMOs, EMBs and small-to-mid housing associations. Per-tenancy pricing scales sensibly from a 50-home co-op upwards.
- One supplier, one bill
- Housing management, accounts, CRM, IT support and VoIP from one UK team — fewer integrations to break, one accountable supplier when something goes wrong.
- We answer the phone
- Our support team is UK-based, named, and reachable by phone — not just a ticketing portal. For smaller teams that's often the deciding factor.
- Migrations we've done before
- We've migrated organisations off a wide range of housing and finance systems. Our implementation team will tell you honestly what your data will look like on day one — including rent account history and open repairs.
- Long-term UK partner
- CHICS has been doing this since the early 90s and intends to be doing it for the next 30 years. We're an independent UK supplier — not a portfolio company waiting to be flipped.
Frequently asked questions
- Is CHICS cheaper than OmniLedger?
It depends on your size and which modules you need. CHICS uses transparent per-tenancy pricing with the core modules included, which usually works out well for smaller and mid-sized landlords. We're happy to run the numbers against any quote you have.
- Can CHICS migrate our data from OmniLedger?
Yes. We've handled migrations from a range of housing and finance platforms. As part of scoping we'll review a sample export — especially the rent account ledger and open repairs — and tell you exactly what will land cleanly and what needs decisions.
- How does rent accounting compare?
In CHICS, rent accounting lives inside the housing system — the tenancy and the ledger are the same record. That removes a whole class of integration issues, and means arrears figures you see in the housing module are the figures finance sees.
- How long does implementation take?
A small co-op or TMO typically goes live in 8–10 weeks. A mid-sized housing association with rent accounting and historical data is usually 12–16 weeks. We share a Gantt chart on day one.
- Do you support hybrid hosting?
Yes. CHICS can be deployed in our UK-hosted cloud, on a private cloud you control, or on-premise where regulatory or policy reasons require it.
- Is this comparison kept up to date?
We review this page periodically based on publicly available information about OmniLedger. If you spot something inaccurate, please email us at support@chics.co.uk and we'll fix it.
Ready to see CHICS in action?
Book a 30-minute walkthrough with our team. We'll show you exactly how CHICS would work for your portfolio — no slide deck, no jargon.