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How can I manage tenant payments, allocations, and corrections in Rentvine?

Managing Tenant Payments, Allocations, and Corrections in Rentvine

Rentvine provides a range of tools to manage tenant payments, including reallocating payments, handling prepaid rent, correcting misapplied payments, and transferring payments between leases. This guide outlines key processes to help you effectively manage these scenarios.

Payment Allocation and Reapplication

Reallocating Payments to Correct Charges

To reallocate a tenant’s payment to the correct unpaid charges:

  1. Click into the lease and click on the transactions tab

  2. Open the tenant’s receipt.

  3. Click the blue Reapply button.

  4. Allocate the payment to the desired charges (e.g., monthly rent).

  5. Save the changes to update the ledger.

Applying Prepaid Rent to Future Charges

To apply prepaid rent to a future month’s rent charge:

  1. Open the tenant’s receipt containing the prepayment.

  2. Since there are no charges this will sit in prepayment but you can choose what accounts this payment will allocate to. If you only want this to apply to Rent charges you can select your rent income general ledger account. This will make it so this payment will only apply to charges created using that general ledger account. If other charges post this payment will sit as a prepayment.

  3. Save the changes to update the ledger.

Configuring Payment Allocation Order

To prioritize rent payments over other charges:

  1. Navigate to Accounting Settings.

  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page for allocation order

  3. Edit the allocation order to list rent first, followed by other charges.

  4. This will make it so the payment will apply to all rent charges first and then go based off of the other accounts used.

  5. If there is a greater amount of the payment than the amount of the charge it will go to the next account based on these settings. If there are no matches on the allocation order it will go based off the oldest unpaid charge.

Prepaid Rent and Advance Payments

Handling Prepayments

Payments post to Prepayment when no open charges exist. To apply prepayments:

  1. Add missing charges if necessary: Actions > Add Charge.

  2. Record the receipt and allocate the prepayment to the relevant charges.

Payments Made Before Lease Activation

If a tenant pays rent before the lease is activated:

  1. If the lease is set to activate the prepayment will sit as prepayment until the recurring charges post. This prepayment will then automatically allocate to the unpaid charges.

Correcting and Transferring Payments

Correcting Misapplied Payments

To correct a payment applied to the wrong charge:

  1. Open the receipt and click Reapply.

  2. Zero out the incorrect charge and reallocate the payment to the correct charge.

  3. If necessary, void and re-record the receipt with the correct details.

Transferring Payments Between Leases

To transfer a payment from one lease to another:

  1. On the old lease, create a Clearing Charge and apply the payment to it.

  2. On the new lease, create a Clearing Credit for the same amount.

  3. Document the transfer using a ledger entry between the two properties where the transfer occurred.

Duplicate and Unallocated Payments

Handling Duplicate Payments

If a duplicate payment occurs:

  • Apply one payment to the intended charge.

  • Refund the other payment or apply it as a credit for future charges.

Applying Unallocated Payments

To allocate unallocated payments:

  1. Open the lease and go to the Transactions tab.

  2. Locate the unallocated receipt and click Reapply.

  3. Allocate the payment to the correct charges and save.

Reporting and Ledger Updates

Viewing Payment Allocations

Rentvine does not provide a dedicated report for payment allocations. To review allocations:

  1. Open the receipt.

  2. Check the Allocations section for details on applied charges.

Impact on Financial Records

Reallocating payments will change the owner's portfolio ledger. For example, if a charge is reallocated from a Late Fee (suppressed account) to a Rent charge then you need to make sure this does not create a suppressed fee mismatch if applied to a suppressed general ledger account. If you have already billed for the collected late fee, you may now have a negative suppressed fee mismatch. It will also reflect the new amount collected under rent instead of being suppressed from the owner under the late fee account.

Related Topics

  • Adding Charges to a Lease

  • Configuring Partial Payment Settings

  • Troubleshooting Payment Issues

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