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Rent reminders, late fees and waivers

Payers and residents 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.
PLANSFrom Growth

The problem it solves

  • The owner phones 40 residents every month to remind them about rent.
  • Late fees are charged to some residents and forgotten for others.
  • A manager waives a late fee for a friend and nobody knows why.
  • Dues three months old are found only when the resident has already moved out.

How it works

  1. On the property's Billing tab, set the reminder days, the late fee, the long overdue rule and the Manager Waiver Limit.
  2. Two days before an invoice is due (your setting), the payer, the resident and the guardian get a reminder. The guardian gets it where there is one. It has the amount and the link to pay.
  3. Once it is overdue, a reminder goes every three days (your setting) until it is paid.
  4. After the grace days, the late fee is added to the payer. It is a fixed amount, a percentage of what is due, or an amount per day up to your limit.
  5. When dues stay unpaid past your long overdue days, the manager gets a to-do to follow up or serve notice. New leave can also be put on hold, if your property uses leave.
  6. To let a charge go, a manager opens it, clicks Waive and writes the reason. Above their limit, the owner waives it.

Everything it does

Reminders

  • Before the due date: once, the set number of days before (2 to start with); 0 sends none before. It goes only if the nightly job runs on that exact day
  • Overdue: every set number of days (3 to start with) while the invoice is unpaid or part paid
  • Each reminder gives the invoice number, the amount still due, the due date or days overdue, and the link to pay
  • Sent by the nightly billing job

Late fee

  • Late Fee: None (the default), Fixed amount, Percentage of the due, or Amount per day overdue
  • Grace (days): 3 to start with, counted after the due date
  • One late fee per invoice; no late fee on an invoice that holds only late fees
  • A percentage is of what is still unpaid on the day it is added
  • Per day: one charge that grows each day until the invoice is paid or Late Fee Up To is reached, then invoiced once
  • Late Fee Up To: the most per invoice for a fee per day; 0 means no limit
  • The late fee goes to the payer of the late invoice, on the Late Fee head
  • Revenue and Collection has a Late Fees filter

Long overdue

  • Long Overdue: Reminders only (the default), Warn staff (activity), Warn staff and block new leave, or Warn staff to serve notice
  • Long Overdue After (days): 30 to start with
  • The to-do goes to the property's first manager, with the invoice, amount and days overdue; Serve notice says so in its title
  • With Warn staff and block new leave, the resident cannot apply for leave until the dues are paid and sees why
  • Dues Ageing shows unpaid invoices as not due, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90 and over 90 days

Waivers

  • Waive on any charge, with a reason that is required
  • Managers waive up to the property's Manager Waiver Limit; above it the system says to ask the owner
  • The Owner / Administrator can waive any amount; the front desk and wardens cannot waive
  • A charge not invoiced yet is marked Waived; an invoiced one is credited with a credit note
  • The reason and who waived are kept on the charge and in its history
  • Revenue and Collection shows waived amounts under Adjustments and Waivers

Who uses it

Owner / AdministratorSets the reminder days, late fee and limits, and waives above a manager's limit.
ManagerFollows long overdue to-dos, serves notice and waives within the limit.
Front Desk / AccountsTakes the overdue payment and watches Dues Ageing.
Payer, resident and guardianGet the reminders and pay from the link.

Where you use it

  • Web: in SmartMy Stay the menu is called Stay. The property records sit under Stay > Properties. Forms and message names still say Hostel in places, such as the Hostel field
  • Web: the property's Billing tab (Reminders and Overdue, Late Fee); Waive on each charge; Stay > Reporting > Money > Dues Ageing
  • The in-app inbox, email, WhatsApp and SMS (app push once the apps are in the stores): the reminders
  • Resident portal and the resident app: overdue invoices marked Overdue (the app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
  • Resident portal: Leave is on hold, with the reason, when new leave is blocked for dues

What you control

Settings

  • Remind Before Due (days): 2
  • Remind Overdue Every (days): 3
  • Late Fee: None
  • Late Fee Amount / %: per property
  • Grace (days): 3
  • Late Fee Up To: 0, no limit
  • Long Overdue: Reminders only; Long Overdue After (days): 30
  • Manager Waiver Limit: 0 to start with, so only the owner waives until you set it

Approvals

  • Waivers do not go through an approval chain: a manager waives within the Manager Waiver Limit, and the owner above it

Notifications

  • Hostel Dues Reminder: before the due date and while overdue, to the payer, the resident and the guardian, where there is one. In the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS use your message credits. App push comes once the apps are in the stores. It is sent at once
  • Hostel Invoice: the invoice or credit note carrying a late fee or a waiver, to the same people
  • Long overdue: a to-do for the property manager in the back office
  • Each person can switch off a channel such as SMS for themselves; in-app notices always arrive. WhatsApp and SMS need your message credits

Questions

Does an employer that pays the rent get the reminders?

Yes. Reminders go to the payer of the invoice, and to the resident and the guardian, where there is one.

Can the late fee be 50 a day, but never more than 500?

Yes. Choose Amount per day overdue, type 50 as the amount and 500 in Late Fee Up To. The fee grows each day after the grace days and is invoiced once, when the invoice is paid or the 500 is reached.

Can my manager waive a late fee?

Yes, with a reason, up to the property's Manager Waiver Limit. The limit starts at 0, so set it first; above it only the owner can waive.

What happens to a resident who does not pay for two months?

That depends on Long Overdue. You can only remind, give the manager a to-do, block new leave until they pay, or give the manager a to-do to serve notice. Serving the notice itself is done by the manager.

Can we stop sending reminders to one resident?

Reminders go to every open invoice. A person can switch off a channel such as SMS for themselves; the in-app notice always arrives.

Related features

BILLINGRent collection online and at the deskEvery rent invoice goes out with a link to pay, and residents find Pay on the portal and in the app. Rent paid at the desk, in cash, UPI or by card, gets a numbered receipt and goes against the oldest dues first.BILLINGRent bills raised each periodEvery 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.BILLINGSeveral payers and employer billingSay who pays what on each stay. A company pays the rent and the resident the electricity, or the 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.DAILY LIFELeave and out-passes with guardian approvalUse it only if you want it. Residents tell the property when they go out or away, on the portal or in the app. From Growth, working residents' leave can simply inform; on Starter the caretaker approves it. Going out and coming back are recorded, and you hear when someone is not back.REPORTSDues, collection and daily-life reportsReports for the money and the daily life of each property. They cover unpaid invoices by age, and what was invoiced, collected, waived and still due. Also electricity by room and by resident, roll-call attendance, late entries and incidents.ACROSS SMARTMY STAYNotificationsSmartMy Stay tells the right person the moment something happens. That may be a bed booked, an invoice, a payment, a dues reminder, a notice, a leave to approve, an emergency. Each event has its own recipients: the resident, the payer, the wardens, or a guardian where the stay has one. Messages go in the app and by email. WhatsApp and SMS use your message credits. App push comes once the apps are in the stores.

See it with your own beds and rent plan.

Tell us how many beds and properties you run. We will show you a booking, a month of rent and a move-out, set up the way your PG works.