How to make an app for a hostel

A hostel warden answers to parents. Who came back late last night, who is on leave this weekend, which room has a broken fan, and which parents have not paid the second instalment: an app keeps the gate register, leave, fees and mess count in one place instead of three registers.

Updated 2026-11-09

Who uses the app

The owner, the warden and the gate staff. Because the gate and the warden's office use different phones, connect your own Supabase database so both see the same register. Parents can also be given sign-in to see their child's fees and leave, which needs the same database.

The screens a hostel app needs

Students: Each student with room, college or coaching, phone, parents' numbers, home address and admission date
Rooms: Rooms and beds, who is in each, and empty beds for the next session
Gate register: Out and in times for each student, with late entries after the in-time marked in red
Leave: Home visits and night-outs with dates, who approved, and the parent's confirmation noted
Fees: Each student's instalments, paid or due, with a WhatsApp reminder to the parent
Mess: Students eating each meal today, after leave, so the cook knows the head count
Complaints: Room repairs and complaints, who raised them and when they were fixed

Features worth asking for

A late-entry list each night with a WhatsApp button to inform the parent
Leave entry that asks for the parent's confirmation before the student leaves
Students' ID cards with a QR code, scanned at the gate with the phone's camera in the installed app
Fee instalment reminders on WhatsApp with the amount and due date filled in
A fee receipt as a PDF for parents
Today's mess head count from students not on leave
Hindi labels for the gate staff

Where the data lives

The gate and the warden use different phones, so connect your own Supabase database with sign-in for staff. If parents should see fees and leave, give them sign-in too; to collect fees online, connect your Razorpay account as well.

How to make it with AppCub, step by step

Decide what the app does. List the screens you need, for example: Students, Rooms, Gate register, Leave, Fees.
Describe it to AppCub. Paste the request below, changed to your own business and details.
Check the plan. AppCub shows the screens and features it will build. Change them in the chat until they are right; seeing the plan is free.
Try it on your phone. The app runs live next to the chat. Scan the QR code to install it, and ask for changes.
Share it. Share it as a web link, an APK file, or publish it on Google Play from your own developer account.

Copy this request, change the details to match your hostel, and paste it into AppCub:

Make an app for my student hostel, Vidya Boys Hostel in Indore, with 90 students in 40 rooms. Screens: students, rooms, gate register, leave, fees, mess and complaints. Each student has room, college, phone and two parents' numbers. The gate marks out and in; after 9:30 PM it is a late entry, with a WhatsApp button to tell the parent. Leave needs the parent's confirmation noted. Fees are two instalments, June and December, with WhatsApp reminders and PDF receipts. Show today's mess count. The warden and the gate use different phones. Navy blue and white.

Tips for a hostel app

Start with students, the gate register and fees. Add mess and complaints after the first month.
Agree on the late-entry and leave rules with parents at admission, then give AppCub those exact rules.
Keep students' and parents' details private: use sign-in, and give gate staff only the screens they need.
The app can show a QR code for each student; print it on the ID card so the gate scans it instead of typing names.
Try the gate register for a week alongside the paper register before you stop the paper one.

What it costs

Describing your app and seeing AppCub’s plan for it is free.
A new app usually takes 60 to 110 credits. Start with the 2-day trial for ₹99 (150 credits, enough for one app and a few changes) or the one-time App Pack for ₹499. Starter is ₹1,599 a month for 700 credits.
Google Play needs a paid plan (it includes the Play Store bundle and your app’s signing key) and your own Google Play developer account, a one-time US$25 fee to Google.
Work that fails or is rolled back costs no credits.

See all plans

Good to know

AppCub doesn't connect to biometric attendance machines, door locks or CCTV, and it doesn't message parents by itself. The warden taps the WhatsApp button to send each update.
AppCub builds Android apps. You can also share the app as a web link that opens on any phone; for the iPhone App Store, AppCub’s team can do it for you.

Questions

Can the hostel app tell parents when their child comes back late?

It shows a late-entry list and a WhatsApp button with the message ready; the warden sends it. Nothing goes to parents automatically.

Can the gate scan students in and out?

Yes. In the installed Android app, the phone's camera can scan a QR code on each student's ID card and record the time.

Can parents check fees and leave in the app?

Yes, with your own Supabase database and sign-in. Each parent sees only their own child's fees, receipts and leave.

Can the app connect to our biometric machine?

No. AppCub doesn't connect to attendance or biometric devices. The gate register in the app replaces the paper register instead.

Can the app give the mess a meal count?

Yes. Students on leave are left out of today's count, so the cook sees how many will eat each meal.

Can I run my boys' and girls' hostels from one app?

Yes, with your own database. Each student belongs to a hostel, and each warden can be shown only their own hostel.

Make your hostel app

Seeing the plan is free. Building starts with a 2-day trial for ₹99.

Start building