Rent bills raised each period
Every night the system adds the rent that has fallen due, puts the open charges on invoices and sends them to whoever pays. When a resident gives notice, moves room or leaves early, rent already billed is corrected with an adjustment or a credit note.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- On the 1st of every month someone types 200 rent bills by hand, and a few are always missed.
- A resident leaves on the 12th, but was billed for the whole month, and the refund is worked out on paper.
- After a move from a triple to a double room, the old rent goes on being billed.
- Fines, electricity and guest nights are noted on slips and never reach the bill.
How it works
- Each stay has a rent plan. On check-in the first rent is billed at once.
- Every night, at about 1 am, the daily job adds the rent of each period that is due. A plan billed in advance bills on the first day; in arrears, after the last day.
- Other charges are added as they happen: electricity, fines, guest nights, damages, the room change fee, store purchases and charges added by hand.
- The same job puts the charges that are due on invoices: one per entity and payer, posted, with the due date from Pay Within. The payer, the resident and the guardians are told with the link to pay.
- Notice, a room change, an early check-out or a new discount re-prices the billed periods. The difference becomes an adjustment. A negative total becomes a credit note.
- To bill one stay at once without waiting for the night, the desk clicks Invoice Now on the stay.
Everything it does
Rent
- Billed from the stay's rent plan: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly
- Rent Billed Until on the stay: a period is never billed twice, even if the job runs again
- Billed for stays checked in or on notice; billing stops at the exit date, or at the planned end of a fixed stay
- Each charge names the bed and the period, for example Rent B-204-2, 1 Nov to 30 Nov
- Part periods charged by the day when the plan prorates
Re-pricing
- On notice, withdrawing notice, check-out, a room change and a new discount
- Each billed period is priced again from the beds stayed in; the difference is an Adjustment charge
- Periods after the exit date are credited
- Rent in Lieu of Notice: the days short of the notice period, charged at a day's rent, once (a hostel setting, on to start with)
- A cancelled booking: charges not invoiced are waived, and unpaid invoices of that booking alone are cancelled
Charges
- Heads to start with: Rent, Security Deposit, Booking Fee, Electricity, Late Fee and Rent in Lieu of Notice. Also Damages, Fines, Room Change Fee, Guest Nights and Other Charges
- Each head has a product (its taxes go on the invoice) and an account; the deposit goes to a liability account, not income
- Status: To Invoice, Invoiced or Waived, with the payment state of its invoice
- Type: Regular or Adjustment
- A charge not invoiced can be changed or deleted; an invoiced one cannot, only waived or adjusted
- Hostel > Billing > Charges with filters To Invoice, Invoiced and Not Paid, grouped by head, hostel, payer or month
Invoices
- One invoice per entity and payer, so an employer paying for many residents gets one invoice
- Posted at once in the hostel's Invoice Journal, or the entity's first sales journal
- Due date: the invoice date plus Pay Within (5 days to start with)
- The stay shows Due, Deposit Held and an Invoices button
Hostels billed through fees
- A school or college hostel can choose Fee module (institutes) as its billing. The same charges become fee dues in the student's fee ledger, with SmartMy Campus
Who uses it
Front Desk / AccountsAdds charges by hand, uses Invoice Now and checks the charges list.
Hostel ManagerFollows the dues of their hostels and corrects plans and discounts.
Owner / AdministratorSets the charge heads, journals and Pay Within days.
Resident, guardian or payerGets each invoice with the link to pay.
Where you use it
- Web: the Billing and Charges tabs and Invoice Now on the stay; Hostel > Billing > Charges; Hostel > Configuration > Rent and Charges > Charge Heads
- Resident portal and the resident app: the invoices with what is due (the app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Email, WhatsApp and SMS (app push once the apps are in the stores): the invoice message
- Wardens do not see the Billing menu or the Billing and Charges tabs
What you control
Settings
- Billing: Hostel invoices (the default for PGs and other hostels) or Fee module (institutes)
- Invoice Journal: empty uses the entity's first sales journal
- Pay Within (days): 5
- Charge Rent in Lieu of Notice: on
- Charge heads: product, account and Refundable on each
Notifications
- Hostel Invoice: when an invoice or credit note is issued, to the payer, the resident and the guardians; in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores; sent at once
- Each person can switch off a channel such as SMS for themselves; in-app notices always arrive
Works with
SmartMy CampusSchool and college hostels can bill through the fee ledger instead: the same charges become the student's fee dues.
SmartMy POSPurchases at the hostel store go on the resident's hostel bill as charges.
Questions
Do we have to press anything on the 1st of the month?
No. The daily job bills the rent that is due and sends the invoices by itself every night. Invoice Now is only for billing one stay at once.A resident gave notice for the 15th but was billed for the month. What happens?
When the notice is recorded, the month is priced again up to the 15th and the difference becomes an adjustment. If the invoice was already raised, the resident gets a credit note.What if the resident leaves before the notice period ends?
With Charge Rent in Lieu of Notice on, the days short of the notice are charged at a day's rent at check-out. You can switch it off on the hostel.Can we put GST on rent?
Yes. Each charge head has a product, and the taxes of that product go on the invoice. Leave the taxes empty for heads that carry none.Can we see a bill before it goes out?
Charges wait in To Invoice until their date, and you can change or delete them until then. Invoices are posted and sent at once; to correct one later, waive the charge or add an adjustment.Related features
BILLINGRent plans by hostel, room type and categorySet the rent of a bed once per hostel, room type and kind of resident, for any period from a day to a year. Bill it in advance or in arrears, prorated by the day. Each new stay picks the plan that fits, and a manager can give one resident a discount.BILLINGRent collection online and at the deskEvery invoice goes out with a link to pay, and residents and guardians also find Pay on the portal and in the app. Money paid at the desk, in cash, UPI or by card, gets a numbered receipt and goes against the oldest dues first.BILLINGSeveral payers and employer billingSay who pays what on each stay. A parent pays the rent and the resident the rest, or a company pays 70 % and the employee 30 %. Each payer gets their own invoices, and an employer that leases many beds gets one invoice for all its residents.BILLINGRent reminders, late fees and waiversPayers, residents and guardians are reminded before the due date and every few days after it. A late fee follows your rule after the grace days, and long overdue dues reach the manager as a to-do. A charge can be waived with a reason, within a limit for managers.STAYSNotice to vacate and the exit dateA resident gives notice from the portal or the app, or the desk records it. The exit date is proposed from the notice period and the days short are counted. The bed is free for the next resident from that date.STAYSRoom change with history and prorated rentMove a resident to another bed from any date. The old bed is free from that day and every move stays in the history. With billing, rent is corrected by the day.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.