Check-out checklist: inspection, assets and keys
A resident leaves through a checklist: room inspected, assets returned, keys and cards given back. Check-out waits for every mandatory item, and only a hostel manager can go on without one, with the reason kept on the stay.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A resident walks out with the room key, and the next move-in waits for a locksmith.
- Damage is found a week later, after the deposit has already gone back.
- Nobody can say who checked the room out, or when.
- The bed still shows as taken days after the resident left, so it is not offered to anyone.
How it works
- The resident gives notice on the portal or in the app, or the desk presses Notice to Vacate. The exit date is proposed from the notice period (30 days to start with) and the stay becomes On Notice.
- The check-out checklist is added to the stay: Room inspected, damages noted; Assets returned; Keys / access card returned. Each row is ticked with Mark done, and the stay keeps who ticked it and when.
- On the day, the desk finds the stay with the Leaving Today filter, or in the staff app under Check-in and check-out.
- The desk presses Check Out. If a mandatory item is still open, the stay lists what is missing and nothing changes.
- A hostel manager can go on with Check Out Anyway and must write why. The open items and the reason are kept under Overrides and in the history.
- The stay becomes Checked Out, the bed is free from that day, and the resident and guardians are told. With billing (Growth), the final settlement of the deposit follows.
Everything it does
The checklist
- Three check-out items come ready: Room inspected, damages noted; Assets returned; Keys / access card returned. All three are mandatory to start with
- Add, rename or archive items under Hostel > Configuration > Rooms and Residents > Checklists, with the stage Check-out, a sequence and Mandatory on or off
- An item can be limited to some hostels or some resident categories; empty means all
- The items are added to a stay when notice is given, and again when check-out starts. So an item added later still reaches residents already on notice
- Each row keeps who ticked it, when, and a note
- For a college, an item can stand for a clearance from another department, such as the library
Notice and leaving
- Check Out for a stay On Notice; Check Out Now for a resident who never gave notice (the notice period is not counted)
- Withdraw Notice takes the notice back and removes the check-out items not yet done
- Checking out before the exit date frees the bed that same day
- Leaving within the lock-in period or before the minimum stay is written in the stay's history
- The Check-out tab shows the notice date, exit date, reason, days short of the notice period, and who checked out and when
Other checks that join the list
- Room assets (Growth, with the Inventory app): the check-out condition report must be done, or the stay shows Room assets not checked yet
- Cards and keys (Scale): every card, fob or key still out is listed as Not given back. Cards and Keys Given Back marks them all returned
- Whatever card is still out at check-out stops opening doors and stays on record as revoked
- With SmartMy Campus fees: unpaid hostel fee dues of a student stop the check-out as a fee clearance
Going on with something open
- Only the Hostel Manager role can check out with items open, on the web or in the staff app
- A reason is required; the Overrides field keeps the date, the manager, what was open and why
- Everyone else sees Not ready yet with the open items
After check-out
- The bed is free at once and shows on the bed map and in Availability
- With billing (Growth): rent is trued up to the exit date. The days short of notice are charged as rent in lieu of notice when the hostel asks for it
- ID documents are removed after the hostel's Remove ID Documents After (days); 0, the default, keeps them
- With face recognition (Scale), check-out ends the resident's consent
Who uses it
Front Desk / AccountsRecords the notice, ticks the checklist and presses Check Out, on the web or in the staff app.
Warden / CaretakerInspects the room and ticks the items the hostel gives them.
Hostel ManagerChecks out with items still open when there is a good reason, and writes it down.
Owner / AdministratorSets the checklist items, the notice period, lock-in and minimum stay.
ResidentGives notice on the portal or in the app and hands back the keys and the room.
Where you use it
- Web: Hostel > Residents > Stays (filters On Notice and Leaving Today), the stay's Check-out tab, and Hostel > Configuration > Rooms and Residents > Checklists
- The SmartMy Hostel Staff app: Check-in and check-out under the Front Desk menu, with the checklist, Check out and Check out anyway. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Resident portal and the SmartMy Hostel app: Vacate, to give notice
- Not in the staff app: the room asset condition report, which is filled in on the web
What you control
Settings
- Check-out checklist items: three, all mandatory, to start with
- Notice Period (days): 30 per hostel, or per resident category
- Lock-in (days) and Minimum Stay (days): 0 per hostel, or per resident category
- Charge Rent in Lieu of Notice: on (Growth)
- Remove ID Documents After (days): 0, never
Notifications
- Hostel Notice to Vacate: to the resident, the guardians and the wardens: in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS come from your message credits, and app push once the apps are in the stores
- Hostel Check-out: to 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
- Both go out at once; each person can switch off a channel such as SMS for themselves, and in-app notices always arrive
- WhatsApp and SMS need your message credits
Works with
SmartMy CampusFor a school or college hostel billed through fees, unpaid hostel fee dues stop the check-out. They stop it until the fee office clears them or a manager goes on with a reason.
Questions
Can the warden check a resident out?
A warden can tick the checklist items. Pressing Check Out is for the front desk and managers.What if the resident leaves without returning the key?
The item Keys / access card returned stays open, so check-out stops. A hostel manager can check out anyway and must write why. With cards and keys (Scale), a card still out stops opening doors at check-out.Can we add our own items, like a mess clearance?
Yes. Add an item with the stage Check-out under Hostel > Configuration > Rooms and Residents > Checklists. Tick Mandatory if check-out must wait for it, and limit it to some hostels or categories if you want.Is the check-out checklist in Starter?
Yes. The checklist, notice to vacate and check-out are in every plan. The asset condition report and the final settlement of the deposit start in Growth.Does the bed become free straight away?
Yes. The bed is free from the day of check-out. While a resident is on notice, the bed can already be booked for the next resident from the exit date.Related features
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.CHECK-OUT AND SETTLEMENTRoom kits and their condition at check-in and check-outEach room type has a kit (cot, mattress, cupboard, fan), and each room holds its kit in stock. The room's condition is recorded when a resident checks in and when they leave. Damaged and missing items become charges on the stay.CHECK-OUT AND SETTLEMENTFinal settlement of the depositWhen a resident leaves, one screen sets the deposit held against the last rent, unpaid bills and any deductions such as damage. A hostel manager approves it, and settling it leaves the exact refund, or what is still due, on record.STAYSCheck-in with checklist, documents and guardianA resident checks in only when the checklist is done, the documents are verified and a guardian is on record where one is needed. A manager can let them in anyway, and the reason stays on the stay.MORE IN THE PRODUCTAccess cards, keys and doorsEvery card, fob, PIN, mobile key and room key is tied to the resident's stay. The doors it opens follow the stay: from check-in, after a room change, until the exit day. A lost card stops at once and its replacement can be charged.PORTAL AND APPSThe staff app for wardens and the deskSmartMy Hostel Staff puts the warden's and the front desk's day on a phone. Wardens approve leave, mark residents out and back, and take the night roll call, even without signal. The desk searches residents, checks them in and out, takes payments and records inspections, incidents, late entries, visitors and meter readings. Any of them can press SOS to call the other staff for help.
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.