Defer the tenant’s balance to a rent
Defer the balance manually
Once the rent has been generated in the “Finance” section, you can record the payment by clicking the “Record a payment” action.
When you record the payment, you can defer a tenant overpayment or shortfall to the current rent or to the next rent due.
The deferral options are only available when the tenant’s account shows a balance, whether positive or negative.
You have three choices:
- No balance carry-over: nothing is deferred, and the payment is recorded as it stands.
- Defer balance to the next rent: the balance is carried over to the next rent due.
- Apply the balance to the current rent: the balance is applied to the rent you are recording.
When a negative balance is deferred, the amount is added to the rent. When a positive balance is deferred, the amount is deducted from the rent.
The system adjusts the amount due and changes the rent accordingly.
Defer the balance automatically
To turn on automatic deferral, go to the tenancy file and set the option on the “Other settings” tab, under “Balance carry-over”.
You have two choices:
- Manual: no balance is deferred.
- Automatic: the balance is deferred automatically on every rent.
Each time a new rent is generated in the “Finance” section while a positive or negative balance is outstanding, the system adjusts the amount due automatically. The rent is increased or reduced by the amount carried over.
Example
An unpaid rent of £500 in January is carried over automatically to the February instalment. February is then adjusted to £1,000 (£500 of normal rent plus £500 carried over). If you do not mark February as paid, the £1,000 carries over to March, and so on.
Trace a rent amount made wrong by a deferral
If you notice inconsistencies in a rent amount, check the balance deferrals recorded on your payments.
With automatic balance carry-over switched on, the site adds the unpaid or overpaid amount by itself and changes the amounts due.
To find these inconsistencies, open the tenant’s balance detail, available in the “Tenants” section under “Balance” (on the right). Go through the balance carefully to identify the errors.
To put things right, follow these steps:
- Go to the “Finance” section and select “Record a payment”. Check the balance deferral. If you do not want to defer anything, click “No balance carry-over”.
- Go to “Finance” and choose “Edit”. Check the rent amount excluding charges. If the amount is wrong, correct it.
- Repeat for every incorrect payment that carries a balance deferral.
If you would rather turn automatic deferral off, go to the “Tenancies” section, select “Edit”, then “Other settings”, and finally “Balance carry-over”.
Important
Follow your accounts regularly, record the tenant’s payments every month, and correct the balance deferral whenever it is needed.
