Charges and receipts

A charge belongs to a lease and covers a stated period. Its type distinguishes rent, utility, service and adjustment. The period start and end, due date, amount and status tell the collections team what was prepared, posted or voided. The lease link lets a reviewer find the tenant and unit behind the amount instead of relying on the charge number alone.

A receipt records money received from a tenant, with a reference, received date, amount and status. Pending, confirmed and reversed are distinct states. The allocation record connects a specific amount from that receipt to a specific charge. That link makes it possible to answer a tenant’s practical question: which charge did this payment cover?

• Charge review. Collections Officer checks the lease, covered dates and amount before posting a period charge.
• Receipt confirmation. Collections Officer checks the payer, reference and received amount before treating the receipt as confirmed.
• Allocation. Receipt allocations retain the amount and date applied to each charge, leaving a trail across partial payments.

Choose how rent periods and due dates are defined for each lease. Agree when utility, service and adjustment charges are appropriate, and who can void a charge after it has been posted. A rent charge should represent one lease, charge type and covered period. Check those parts together whenever a monthly run is repeated or corrected.

For payments, define who verifies the reference and the actual received amount. Decide how a tenant’s payment is split when several charges remain open. A receipt should not be allocated beyond its amount, and a charge should not receive more than its remaining balance. Reverse linked allocations before reversing the receipt so the charge balance reflects the correction.

Take an active lease for unit 2B. Prepare the rent charge for a named month with start and end dates and a due date. Have another person check the lease and period before the charge is posted. Enter a tenant receipt with its external payment reference, received date and amount. Confirm it only after the collection has been checked, then allocate part or all of it to that charge.

Now follow the same case backward: from an allocation to its receipt and charge, from the charge to the lease, and from the lease to the tenant and unit. Repeat the period preparation and verify that the same rent period is not billed again. If the payment must be reversed, reverse its linked allocations first and then check the charge balance.

• Charges due — Review posted charges by due date, amount and linked lease.
• Receipts pending confirmation — Check tenant payments before they enter the confirmed collection trail.
• Receipt allocations — See the recorded amount connecting a receipt to a charge.

Use the charges and collections process for the charge-to-receipt handoff. Reports explains how to read due charges and allocations together.