Rent schedule in advance or arrears, with rent-free months
A confirmed lease bills itself from a schedule: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly, in advance or in arrears. Part periods go by the calendar, and stepped rents, rent-free periods and holdover worked in.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Rent invoices are typed each month and one tenant is skipped.
- A lease that starts on the 17th gets a full month's bill, and the tenant disputes it.
- The three rent-free months agreed for fit-out are forgotten by the accounts team.
- Nobody can show the tenant what they will be billed for the year.
How it works
- Confirm the lease. A billing cycle is made: billed in advance, the first bill on the start day, the next on the due day.
- A daily job makes each bill when it is due. Part periods are worked out by calendar days.
- Stepped rents, rent-free days and holdover after the end are applied by themselves, day by day.
- Bills are made as drafts in Lease > Billing > Rent > Rent Bills. You check and post them, or a cycle set to charge the saved card posts and charges them.
- Rent Schedule on the lease shows every coming bill with its dates and amount, before or after you confirm. The tenant sees the coming bills on their page.
- Bill Now on a running lease bills what is due at once. One-off charges, such as late fees and repairs the tenant pays, go on the next bill.
Everything it does
The billing cycle
- Made on Confirm: frequency from the lease (Monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly, Yearly). Due day 1 to 28, or the start day when the due day is 0
- In advance to start with; change Timing to In Arrears on the cycle (Lease > Billing > Rent > Billing Cycles)
- Part months by their share of calendar days
- One bill per lease to start with; grouping, journal and payment terms can be changed on the cycle
What changes the amount
- Stepped rents: the rent from each date
- Rent-free periods: from, until and how much off (100 % is rent-free)
- Holdover: after the end, when the tenant stays without a renewal and the lease does not roll on, the set share of the last rent
- Rent reviews by a share, an amount or an index on their dates
Charges
- Lease > Billing > Rent > Charges: one-off amounts billed with the next bill
- Kinds include damage, repair, cleaning, early end and other; late fees and bounced cheque fees arrive here by themselves
- Some arrive as To Confirm (a repair the tenant pays) and wait for a manager; filters To Confirm, To Bill, Billed
On each bill
- A line per unit with the period and days
- The lease's payment reference
- The tax the tenant withholds, when set
Lists
- Rent Bills: every bill and credit note of leases
- Billing Cycles: when and how each tenant is billed
Who uses it
Lease userChecks the rent schedule, uses Bill Now and posts the draft bills.
AccountsPosts bills, registers payments and changes payment terms on the cycle.
TenantSees coming bills and posted bills on their page and in the app.
Where you use it
- Web: Lease > Billing > Rent > Rent Bills, Charges and Billing Cycles; Rent Schedule and Bill Now on the lease
- Tenant web page and the SmartMy Lease app (Money): posted bills, paid and to pay. Open the bill to pay online where it is set up. (The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not sent by themselves: draft bills reach the tenant only when posted and sent the usual way for invoices
What you control
Settings
- Timing: In Advance for leases (change on the billing cycle)
- Proration: by calendar month for leases
- Grouping: one bill per lease
- Charge the Saved Card: off to start with, per billing cycle
Notifications
- Bills are sent the usual way for invoices; there is no separate rent bill event
Questions
Can we bill in arrears instead of in advance?
Yes. Leases start billed in advance. Open the lease's billing cycle under Lease > Billing > Rent > Billing Cycles and set Timing to In Arrears.How is a lease starting on the 17th billed?
The first bill goes out on the start day and covers the days to the next due day by their share of the calendar month. After that, each bill is a full period.Are bills posted and sent by themselves?
No. The daily job makes them as drafts for you to check and post. A cycle set to Charge the Saved Card posts the bill and charges the card or mandate.Can we show the tenant the whole year's bills?
Yes. Rent Schedule on the lease lists every coming bill, and the tenant's page shows the coming bills too.Related features
LEASES AND RENTLeases with joint tenants, guarantors and several unitsA lease holds the tenant, joint tenants, occupants, guarantors, one or more units, the term, the rent and how it is paid. Confirm it and the rent schedule, the deposit and the unit statuses follow.LEASES AND RENTRent reviews, stepped rents and price indexesEach lease carries its own rent increases. Use a share or an amount every so many months, or stepped rents from set dates. Or use a price index such as CPI with a floor and a cap. Bills pick up the new rent on the day it starts.LEASES AND RENTCredits for unused rent and goodwillWhen a lease ends before the time already billed in advance, the unused days are not lost. They come back by themselves as a minus line on the next bill. A goodwill credit is a plain credit note on the bill.LEASES AND RENTLate fees, chasing steps and promises to payLate rent is charged a fee by your rule, with caps, and chased step by step: a reminder, a final demand, a legal notice. Chasing waits while a promise to pay or a payment plan runs.LEASES AND RENTRent paid online through pay linksTenants pay their rent bills online through your own payment provider, from their web page or the app. You can also send a pay link for any amount, take a deposit online, or charge a saved card or mandate on each bill.LEASES AND RENTPost-dated cheques from plan to bankPlan the year's post-dated cheques with the lease and collect them. Keep them in the safe, put them on deposit slips, and record each as cleared or bounced. A cleared cheque becomes a payment matched to its bills; a bounced one reopens the bill, adds the fee and tells the tenant.
See your buildings on it.
Tell us how many properties and units you have, whether you let your own or manage for owners, and how rent is paid today. We will set up your portfolio with you on SmartMy Lease.