Rent Manager Xi Setup Guide

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Version 3.0.7

Except as permitted by such license, no part of the contents of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the author.

The information contained in this publication is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by London Computer Systems, Inc. London Computer Systems, Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or

inaccuracies that may appear in this publication.

Data used in examples herein is fictitious unless otherwise noted. Any similarity with actual working data is coincidental.

Microsoft Windows, Windows XP, and Windows 98 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Written and designed at London Computer Systems, Inc. 1007 Cottonwood Dr.

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1

Introduction

Product Description

Rent Manager is a Residential and Commercial Property Management Software solution designed specifically to help today's Real Estate professionals work more efficiently and effectively. Designed for properties of any size, Rent Manager helps you increase your productivity by organizing your rental information and reducing the number of delinquent accounts.

Rent Manager also includes a completely integrated accounting system that offers a General Ledger (GL), Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Budgeting, Contact Management and Financial reports that integrate seamlessly with a powerful property management system. Rent Manager allows you to track multiple companies and integrates the accounting around your property.

About this Guide

The purpose of this guide is to help you quickly set up Rent Manager correctly the first time and avoid having to back track and redo work unnecessarily. To achieve that goal, it’s important that you follow the setup procedure in the suggested order. Although you can modify information as needed, entering data in the right place, and in the suggested order, will improve efficiency and productivity in the long run.

It is assumed that Rent Manager has already been installed; therefore, this guide skips the

installation instructions and starts by describing the kind of information you will need to supply as you set up your system.

After you gather the required information and review a few concepts used in Rent Manager that might be unfamiliar, you’ll work through the basic, quick-setup process. The quick-setup process has you enter the minimum information you’ll need to get the system up and running. After you complete the basic setup, you can optionally work with several, more advanced features if they’re applicable to your business.

Intended Audience

This Setup guide is written for the person(s) in charge of initially setting up Rent Manager. These setup instructions assume that you have basic computer skills and understand industry-standard concepts such as clicking and dragging the mouse, expanding and reducing windows, selecting options, and choosing menu commands.

The person who sets up and configures Rent Manager has Administrator user privileges by default. As other people need access to Rent Manager, the Administrator can create user accounts, enable or disable access to specific features for each user, and apply other control methods using system preferences and user permissions. See “Selecting Rent Manager Preferred Options” and “User Information-Privileges” in the online help for more information.

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Documentation Conventions

The following typographic conventions are used in this document:

Items Conventions Example

File menu

Menu names Bold font; title caps

Select Contents from the Help

menu. Click OK to accept changes. Commands that you

select from menus or buttons that you click

Bold font

GL (General Ledger)

CAM (Common Area Maintenance)

Acronyms All uppercase

Refer to “Clearing Sample Database Data”

Cross references Title caps, in quotation marks,

blue font Key names, key

combinations, and key sequences

Small caps CTRL, TAB

CTRL+ALT+DEL SHIFT, F7

ALT,F,O

Placeholders in user input

Italic Type password

Form names Title caps Property Information form

Notes Call attention to information that

supplements the main text and that may apply only in special cases

Indicates a note

Cautions Advise user that failure to follow

recommendations can cause unexpected results

Indicates use caution

Tip Help users apply a technique to

their specific needs or suggest alternative methods that may not

be obvious Indicates a tip

Important Provide information that is

essential to the completion of a

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2

Before You Begin

Clearing Sample Database Data

Rent Manager is shipped with sample data for you to browse through. The examples are provided to give you ideas for how to model your own system. Take time to explore the sample data and jot down some notes; you’ll have to clear the sample data from the database before you enter your own

business data.

The samples show how Rent Manager’s forms look when they are populated with data. It is recommended that you plan your implementation and resolve some of the decisions you’ll need to make as you walk through the quick-setup process. Refer to “Required Information” for a list of what you will need to know.

To clear the sample database data, select Administration from the File menu, and then select

Clear Databases. All user-data is deleted, such as user names, account names, information about

properties, customers, units, vendors, etc. After the sample data has been removed, you can start entering information about your business.

Rent Manager provides a default Administrator account for selecting system preferences and assigning user roles and privileges.

Required Information

The information listed in the following table is needed when setting up Rent Manager. Having this information handy will eliminate the need to interrupt the setup process to hunt down data. Plus, knowing in advance the kind of information you need to collect and maintain helps you understand the interrelated nature of Rent Manager features. In addition to the pre-defined fields that exist in Rent Manager, you can create your own fields if you want to track other information. Press F1 to display Rent Manager’s online help, and then search for “user-defined fields” for more information about creating fields.

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Need to Know . . .

Bank info (GL account number, bank name, account number, subaccount of, user access)

Charge types for items that will be billed to customers (abbreviated description, description, default amount, if prorated daily, associated chart account, if CAM charge)

Property info (name, abbreviated short name, address, phone numbers, email, manager name, property tax ID, rent charge type, default bank, ePay account information, terms of late fees, CAM charges, account close date)

Unit types (various kinds of units in each property (1 bedroom, garage, fireplace), how many of each type in each property, the auto charge for each type, and CAM charge)

Rental unit info (address, unit number, unit type, floor level, sq. footage, max occupancy, status is available, vacant, inactive, amenities, auto charges, market rent)

Customer info (name, address, property, unit, rent due day, security deposit, tax type, lease start and end dates, move in and out dates, default late fee override info., social security number, employer, email, birthday, age, phone numbers, car type and license number, auto charges, CAM charges, credit card information, billing address, ACH routing information)

Vendors (name, address, tax ID, phone numbers, email, properties associated, 1099 balance for each property, account number, billing terms, default bank account)

When to record business transactions (when purchased, when received, when billed, when paid) Start date of general ledger and which GL accounts to use for: Accounts Receivable, Undeposited Funds, Accounts Payable, Cash Prepays, Net Income, Retained Earnings, Unlinked Charge Types Beginning GL balances for chart accounts

Accounting close date

Other refundable deposits besides Security deposit, such as pets, cleaning, last month rent, etc. Taxes should be set aside into a liability account or an expense account

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3

General Concepts

Before you start setting up your company records, take a few minutes and read the descriptions in this section. Some of Rent Manager’s concepts and terminology might be a little different than what you’re used to, so please become familiar with how these terms are used in Rent Manager.

Owners and Management Companies

If you own rental properties, you can elect to manage the day-to-day operations of your business yourself and use Rent Manager as a tool to increase efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.

Conversely, a property management company can use Rent Manager to manage others’ properties for a fee.

If you own all of the properties that you manage, you can ignore the Owners feature that is used by fee-based property management companies to monitor contract dates, management fees, bank balance reserve amount, etc.

Property-generated income (security deposits, rent charges, late fees, etc.) belongs to the owners. Owners who use the services of a property management company incur management fee expenses.

Management fees are automatically calculated based on selected options and system preferences enabled in Rent Manager.

Properties and Units

In Rent Manager, the word “property” has a unique meaning; one way of thinking about a property is like a company. Rent Manager uses a property as a mechanism for “grouping” rental units based on how you want to track income and expenses and generate reports.

Property

Customers

A property is an entity that conducts financial business transactions with customers—providing goods or services, collecting income, and paying bills. In Rent Manager, property is not restricted to a piece of real estate, although it can include one. Management companies are always considered properties because they earn income and have expenses.

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A Manufactured Home Community (MHC) is a property because lots (units) are rented to produce income, and the community incurs expenses for maintenance and upkeep.

Manufactured Home Community

Property

Units

An apartment complex is a property that contains rental units that earn rental income and have associated expenses.

Units Property

Sometimes an owner is considered a property; for example, an owner with multiple single-family homes may be considered a property—reports generated for the property will show all the homes for the owner.

Property

Units

When entering information for a single-family home, people often think of a single-family home as a

property in the same way they consider an apartment complex a property. For single-family homes, the home is defined as the rental unit (although you can set up the home as both the property and the unit). In the case of a single-family dwelling, some management companies prefer to add the name and address of the owner or business in the Property information. Then, after entering the property information, they add the information for the single-family home as a Rental Unit.

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3–General Concepts

The term “rental unit” in Rent Manager is fairly straight-forward. A rental unit is an entity that is rented to a customer.

In a manufactured home community, each lot is a rental unit.

In an apartment complex, each individual apartment is a rental unit. In a storage facility, each storage area is a rental unit.

In an office complex, each office is a rental unit. For single-family homes, each home is a rental unit.

For general guidelines about how to set up your business, refer to “Structuring Your Property Management Business” in the online help.

Rent Manager provides flexibility so that you can set up your property groupings in ways that support your specific business structure and provide the kind of output you need. Therefore, there is no one, correct way to set up properties; it really depends on a variety of factors.

As you prepare to add properties, consider the following tips that will help you to decide which way works best for you.

Defining an individual entity (company, building, site, etc.) as a property has the advantage of being able to generate more detailed data about that specific entity, but it can require more time and effort to maintain the books and pay bills than if you group multiple entities together as one property. Compare an individual entity’s financial status against another entity and evaluate its profitability. If you sell the property, you can provide a complete set of financial data for that entity.

Grouping multiple entities as a property helps to streamline the bookkeeping tasks by requiring fewer transactions, and you can write checks for the property instead of for every entity in the group. However, reports generated for a property group show the group’s overall status, not details about each entity.

Rent Manager’s reporting features provide the flexibility to run reports in various ways, such as for:

an individual property

multiple, individually-selected properties

a report group—a set of properties assigned to a group a profit & loss statement for any rental unit

When running reports for multiple properties at the same time, Rent Manager combines the data for each property in a single report. By creating report groups, you can compare one group to another and analyze the results!

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Refer to the following table for several example scenarios for setting up properties: Example Property Scenarios

For Buildings & Units Rent Manager Properties

Large Apartment Complex 20, 10-unit buildings One property with 200 units Miscellaneous Buildings 5, 10-unit buildings Five properties with 10 units each

Duplexes 5, 2-unit buildings One property with 10 units

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Five properties with 2 units each Single-family Homes 5 residential, single-unit buildings One property with 5 units

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Five properties with 1 unit each Manufactured Homes 2, 50-lot communities Two properties with 50 units/lots each Property Management. Company 0 One property with 0 (zero) units

Unit Types

The term unit type refers to the different types of rentals you manage. Taking the time to identify each unique type will increase efficiency and let you provide more details in reports. For example, you might want to track information related to: single-wide lots in a manufactured home community, one and two bedroom apartments, single-family homes, duplexes, etc.

For each type, you can specify an automatic, recurring charge, and every customer with this type of unit will automatically inherit the charge. Set unit type auto charges if most units are charged the same amount. For more information, refer to “Recurring Auto Charges.”

Rent Manager uses unit types in the following ways:

Set default rent amounts (auto charges) for all rentals of the same type, and bill all customers with that type of unit.

Simultaneously change rent charges for all customers of the same type of unit. Search for available units of a particular type.

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3–General Concepts

Recurring Auto Charges

Recurring auto charges are dollar amounts that Rent Manager automatically applies to customers on a regular, recurring basis (every month is the default) when you post recurring charges. The terms recurring charges and auto charges are used interchangeably; this guide uses auto charges. Auto charge is a powerful, time-saving feature. You can apply auto charges collectively by setting them at a high level, such as for the entire property or a type of unit. Customers inherit auto charges that are set at a higher level, such as for the property or unit type. You can also apply auto charges individually by setting them at a lower level, such as for a specific rental unit or an individual customer.

The inheritance hierarchy is illustrated in the following diagram. Auto charges set for the

property are shared equally by all customers of the property. Property Auto Charges Unit Type Auto Charges Rental Unit Auto Charges Customer Auto Charges

Inherits existing property and/or unit type auto charges. Add charges here to bill any customer who rents the unit. Auto charges set for a unit type are billed to all customers who rent this type of unit.

Inherits existing property and/or rental unit auto charges. Add charges here to bill only the specified customer.

Property-based auto charges add fees to all customers of the property. Therefore, if you establish an auto charge at the property level (e.g. trash disposal), the charge is applied to all customers of the property.

Unit-type auto charges add fees to all customers with that type of unit. Rental unit auto charges add fees to all customers of the specified unit.

Customer-based auto charges add fees, such as pet fees, to only the specified customer. You can specify the timeframe in which to apply auto charges.

Carefully consider where to set auto charges. Add auto charges for a property only if you want to charge every (or most) customer(s) the same amount on a recurring basis. You can, however, manually exclude an inherited auto charge for any customer.

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4

General Setup Process

After clearing the sample database as described in “Clearing Sample Database Data,” you’re ready to begin the general setup process which involves the following tasks:

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1 Setting up bank accounts

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2 Adding properties

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3 Adding unit types

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4 Adding rental units

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5 Adding customers

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6 _{Verifying the setup}

After entering the setup information required in these tasks, you can move on to the basic operational tasks in Chapter 5.

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1 _{Setting up Bank Accounts}

The first step in entering the basic information needed to quickly set up Rent Manager with your business information is to add your bank account information. You’ll also add charge types as necessary.

Add Bank Accounts

Adding bank account information lets you manage your bank accounts, reconcile transactions, write checks, pay bills, and make deposits. As you enter account information (bank name and account number), it’s linked to the General Ledger (GL).

To add bank accounts:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Bank Accounts.

Rent Manager assigns a GL account number, but you can change it if you’d like. 2. For Name, enter your bank’s name.

3. For Account Number, enter the account number.

4. To add multiple bank accounts, enable (check) the Continuous Add option to leave the form open after you add an account.

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4–General Setup Process

Add Charge Types

You need to have a charge type for each service and product for which you’ll bill customers; for example, Rent Charge, Late Fee, Storage, etc. Each charge type requires a description and an associated GL account. You can optionally provide a charge type default amount if most customers will be charged the same amount; the charge type amount can be changed for individual customers. If you have a list of all of the types of charges that are used in your business transactions, you can add all charge types at the same time. You can also add charge types as a need arises.

To add charge types:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Charge Types.

2. For Charge Type, enter a report reference abbreviation, such as LC (Late Charge). 3. For Description, enter the name of the charge, such as Late Charge.

4. For Default Amount, enter an amount if the majority of customers pay the same amount (this can be modified for individual customers).

5. For This is a CAM charge type, enable the option if the charge is associated with Common Area Maintenance charges.

6. For Prorate By Day? enable the option if the charge can be prorated daily. When you post auto charges, if a customer is moving out, the charge amount is prorated from the first of the month to the move out date (requires the system preference set to prorate posted charges). You can prorate a one-time charge as described in “Add Customer Auto and One-Time Charges.”

7. For Chart Account, select the GL account to link to the charge type. (e.g.: Security deposit is a Liability account, Security deposit forfeits is an Income account, and Security deposit refunds are un-deposited funds.)

8. To add multiple charge types, enable (check) the Continuous Add option to leave the form open after you add a charge type.

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2 _{Adding Properties}

Refer to “Properties and Units” for a description of the relationship between properties and units as applied to Rent Manager.

Before you add properties, remember that each property is a separate business entity that has a collection of rental units, its own set of customers and associated income and expenses.

If you own and/or manage:

Single-family homes, enter your business name as the property, and then enter each home as a rental unit.

Multi-family residential rentals, such as apartments or multiplexes, enter the building complex or community as the property, and then enter each dwelling as the rental unit. If you track

maintenance issues, delinquency lists, or financial statements per building, then enter each building as a property.

Manufactured Home Communities, enter the community name as the property, and then enter each lot as the rental unit.

To add properties:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Properties.

2. Enter the Property Name and Short Name (abbreviated for report columns). 3. Optionally change the Rent Charge Type as appropriate (e.g.: condo fee). 4. Provide additional information as desired.

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4–General Setup Process

5. Enable the Continuous Add option to enter multiple properties at the same time without having to reopen the form.

6. Click Next.

7. Enter an address and the name of the person to whom payments should be sent. If payments should be sent to the property address, click Use Property to auto-fill in the payment address form.

8. Click Next.

9. Optionally, enter default values for any previously-defined fields, and then click Next. (Search the online help for “user-defined fields” for more information.)

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10. Select the types of units that are valid for this property, and then click Finish. 11. Repeat this procedure for each property you want to add.

Add Property Auto Charges

Adding auto charges for a property is optional; however, you can set up a charge that will be automatically billed to all customers of the property on a recurring basis by specifying the terms in the Property Information form. Refer to “Recurring Auto Charges” for an explanation about how auto charges are processed in Rent Manager. Auto charges are typically set at the rental unit level (as described in “Add Unit Auto Charges”) instead of for the entire property.

To add auto charges:

1. Select Properties from the Rental Info menu. Then select the Property on the left side of the Property Information form.

2. Select the Auto Charges tab, and then click Add.

3. Select the Charge Type, and enter the default Amount to charge.

4. Select the period of time to apply the charge (From/To). Enable the From check box, and select the date to start applying the auto charge. For a temporary charge, enable the To check box, and select the date to stop applying the auto charge. Leaving the To check box blank (disabled) will apply the charge until you stop it by specifying a To end date or until the customer’s Move Out date (Customer form-General tab).

5. To apply the charge other than once a month, enter a number in the Frequency box

(Frequency is the number of cycles between postings; the default is 1). For example, to charge every other month, enter 2 in the Frequency box.

6. To use a calculation for the auto charge, see the tip below. 7. Click Save to add the auto charge to the property.

You can create an auto charge that is based on a calculation. To charge 7% tax on Rent, use : autos("RC")*.07

To charge 7% tax on all charges, use: autos()*.07

Calculation. . . Means. . .

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4–General Setup Process

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3 _{Adding Unit Types}

Refer to “Unit Types” for a description of unit types and their application in Rent Manager. To add unit types:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Unit Types.

2. For Unit Type, enter a short name (abbreviated for report columns). 3. For Description, describe the type of unit.

4. For Rent Amount, enter the amount for this type of unit. Customers with this type of unit will be billed this amount by default; however, you can later exclude the unit type auto charge for any customer by disabling (unchecking) the option on the Customer auto charges form.

5. Click on the Properties that offer this type of unit.

6. Enable Continuous Add to enter multiple unit types at the same time without having to reopen the form.

7. Click Add to add the unit type.

8. Repeat this process for each type of unit you want to define.

Add Unit Type Auto Charges

Adding auto charges for a unit type is optional. A unit type auto charge is the default amount that is automatically charged for this type of unit. You can later exclude the auto charge for any customer. Auto charges are typically set at the rental unit level (as described in “Add Unit Auto Charges”) or customer level instead of for all units of a particular type.

To add an auto charge to a type of unit:

1. Select Unit Types from the Rental Info menu, and then click on the Auto Charges tab. 2. At the left side of the form, select the type of unit for which to add an auto charge. If any auto

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3. Click Add.

4. Select the Charge Type, and enter the default Amount to charge.

7. Click Save to add the auto charge to the unit type.

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4–General Setup Process

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4 _{Adding Rental Units}

As described previously in “Properties and Units” a rental unit is the physical space that’s rented by a customer (apartment, lot, suite, single-family home, etc.). Each rental unit requires a unique identifier, or unit number, and the unit number can be used only once for a specific property. The unit number is used for report columns.

To add rental units:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Rental Units.

2. Enable Continuous Add to enter multiple units without having to reopen the form. 3. Select A single unit, and then click Next.

If a group of units has the same property, street address, unit type, and are in order, you can add them as a batch to save time. This feature is not for adding single-family homes, but it’s an extremely efficient way to add a lot of units at once, such as every unit in a building or on the same street!

4. Select the Property and Unit Type from the lists. 5. Enter a unique Unit Name (e.g.: 16 B).

6. Select the Floor as applicable.

7. Fill out the address, or click Insert Property Address to auto-fill the form with the property address.

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8. Click Next, and select available amenities.

9. Click Next, and optionally enter values for any previously-defined fields. 10. Add auto charges as described in “Add Unit Auto Charges.”

Add Unit Auto Charges

Part of the process of adding rental units, is establishing which, if any, auto charges to automatically apply to a unit on a recurring basis (e.g.: Rent Charge, Condo Fees, etc.). Setting auto charges is optional. For more information, refer to “Recurring Auto Charges.”

During the process of adding a unit, the following form is displayed:

The top portion of this form shows this unit’s inherited auto charges (those set for the chosen property or unit type). To exclude an inherited charge, disable (uncheck) the charge in the top portion of the screen.

A unit’s auto charge is the default amount that is automatically charged for a specific rental unit. You can later exclude the rental unit auto charge for any customer by disabling (unchecking) the option in the Customer Auto Charge form (refer to “Add Customer Auto and One-Time Charges”). To add an auto charge, click Add.

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4–General Setup Process

4. Click Save to add the auto charge to the unit. 5. Click Next to add more rental unit information. 6. Select the active dates.

7. Optionally enter the number of square feet and maximum number of occupants. 8. Provide additional comments as desired.

For information about calculating an auto charge, refer to “Add Property Auto Charges.’

Add Market Rent

Entering the market rent for a unit lets you track vacancy loss—how much money you lose when the unit is vacant. To add the market rent for a unit:

1. Select Rental Units from the Rental Info menu. 2. Click on the Market Rent tab.

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4. Enable the From check box and select a date. 5. Enter an Amount and an optional Comment. 6. Click Save.

7. To view or modify market rent information, click

Details and make changes as appropriate.

Define Unit Availability Exception Status Types

You can create unit status types which are exceptions to the standard status of occupied or vacant. Status types further define the availability of a rental unit—one might be vacant but still unavailable such as during a make ready period. Brand new, unrented units or units for which a move out date or lease end date has been set are suitable for adding an availability status.

To define a unit status type, select Rental Units from the Rental Info menu.

1. From the Rental Unit form, click Status Types. The following form lists the Availability Exception status types.

2. Click New to define a new status.

3. Enter a status Description and a Short Name

(abbreviated).

4. Set Available to Yes or No. 5. Set Vacant to Yes or No.

6. Click Add to add the status type to the list of availability choices.

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4–General Setup Process

Add Status to Rental Unit

A rental unit for which a move out date or lease end date has been set can have an availability exception status added to it.

1. In the Rental Unit form, select the General tab, and then select the unit on the left side of the form.

2. Click Add Unit Status.

3. Select a Unit Status from the list of defined exception status types (refer to “Define Unit Availability Exception Status Types”).

4. Select the Start Date to begin assignment of the exception status. To maintain the status for an indefinite amount of time, leave the End Date disabled (unchecked);

otherwise, select an end date on which the status will expire.

5. Enter an optional Comment about the unit’s status, and then click Add Status.

The new status information is displayed at the bottom of the Rental Unit form. Double-click to edit the status.

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5 _{Adding Customers}

The next step after adding rental units is to add customers (people who occupy or lease rental units) who are responsible for paying rent and other associated charges. The only information that’s required to initially set up each customer is the last name or business name. The rest of the information can be updated at any time.

To add customers:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Customers.

2. Select the primary account holder as a Person or a Business.

3. To add multiple customers, enable (check) the Continuous Add option to leave the form open after you add each customer.

4. Either enter the customer’s Name (first and last for a person), or click Copy Existing to duplicate another customer’s information. Copy Existing displays the Customer Search

Criteria form for you to select a property and search for a customer by name or customers who

were current during a specified date range.

5. Enter additional customer information as desired, or click Next to enter the customer’s address and move in date.

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4–General Setup Process

6. Select the Property the customer is interested in.

7. Select the Move In date from the calendar control (the date the customer plans to move in which flags the customer as past, current, or future).

For future, prospective customers, select a Move In date that corresponds with their rental plans (i.e.: in two months, three months, etc.) so that you can see which units will be available then.

Only select a Move Out date if you’re sure the customer will be moving out. Auto charges stop being applied on a customer’s move out date, and unit searches will show the unit as

available.

8. Click to display a list of units that are available as of the Move In date. Select Show Vacant

Units Only. Double-click on a vacant unit to assign it to the customer.

9. In the Customer Account Information form, click Use Unit Address to automatically fill in the primary address, and then click Next.

10. Optionally enter default values for any previously-defined fields, and then click Next to enter additional customer information as described in “Enter Miscellaneous Info.”

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Enter Miscellaneous Info

Part of the process of adding customers, is establishing the terms of the lease, recording security deposits, etc. During the process of adding a customer, the following form is displayed:

1. If the customer has a lease, select the Start and End dates, and choose a Rent Due Day. 2. If the customer owes you money at the time that you add the customer to Rent Manager, either

enter the full amount in the Beginning Balance field, or itemize the charges in the next screen. If the customer has a credit, put a minus sign before the dollar amount.

3. For the Deposit Amount, enter the amount of the customer’s security deposit. If this is a previously-established customer who has already paid the security deposit, enable the Deposit

received prior to using Rent Manager option to avoid charging the customer’s account again.

4. To color-code the customer’s name, select a color from the Display box.

5. If the customer will be invoiced for taxable items, select the appropriate Tax Type. 6. Enter a comment about the customer, and enable other options as applicable.

7. If the customer is charged rent every week, enable the Weekly Rental Customer option, and then set auto charges as described in “Add Customer Auto and One-Time Charges.”

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4–General Setup Process

Add Customer Auto and One-Time Charges

After adding a customer, the lease terms, and the security deposit amount, you can optionally add automatic and one-time charges. At the top of the Customer charges window are listed any charges that are inherited (flowed down) from auto charges previously set for the entire property, the specific

type of unit, or the actual unit the customer is renting.

1. To exclude an inherited auto charge for this customer, disable (uncheck) the charge in the top portion of the form.

2. To optionally add a customer-specific auto charge, click Add in the top half of the form.

3. Select the Charge Type, and enter the Amount.

If a customer is charged weekly, select Rent Charge as the Charge Type and enter the weekly rate as the Amount.

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(Frequency is the number of cycles between postings; the default is 1). For a customer who’s billed every two months, enter 2 for the frequency.

6. To use a calculation for the auto charge, see the tip below. 7. Click Save to add the auto charge to the customer.

You can create an auto charge that is based on a calculation. To charge 7% tax on Rent, use : autos("RC")*.07

To charge 7% tax on all charges, use: autos()*.07

Calculation. . . Means. . .

autos("RC")*.07 Rent Charge times .07

At the bottom of the Customer charges window are listed any charges that are currently applied to the Customer’s account, such as a security deposit charge or a beginning balance.

Add a one-time charge

To add a one-time charge, for example to prorate a rent charge for a customer who begins renting at some point other than the first of the month, or to apply a late charge, use the following procedure: 1. Click Add in the bottom half of the form.

2. Select the Charge Type of the one-time transaction, and verify the Date the charge is due (default is the current date).

3. Enter the Amount to bill the customer. You can prorate a one-time charge by clicking PR, or you can configure the charge type to be prorated by default by directly changing the Charge Type information as described in “Add Charge Types.”

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4–General Setup Process

4. Enter a Comment and Reference number as desired, and then click Save to return to the Customer charges window.

5. Click Finish to complete the customer data entry.

To add more customers, repeat all of the tasks in Procedure 5 “Adding Customers.”

Add Other Occupants

When you add customers to Rent Manager, you enter information about the primary account holder. Customers often have a roommate, a spouse, children or other people who occupy the unit. After you’ve added the primary customer information, you can add information about other occupants. To add other occupants:

1. Select Customers from the Rental Info menu. The Customer form is displayed as illustrated in “Adding Customers.”

2. Select the People tab and click New.

3. Enter the person’s First and Last name.

4. To add multiple people, enable (check) the Continuous Add option to leave the form open after you add a person.

5. Click Add. The person is added to the list on the People tab.

6. Fill in as much information about the new person as desired.

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1

6 _{Verifying the Setup}

Now that you’ve set up bank accounts and added properties, units and customers, check to see that your information is correct by running a Rent Roll report. The Rent Roll report displays a list of current customers and the auto charges that are being posted on a monthly or weekly basis. To run a Rent Roll report and verify your setup:

1. Select Rental Information from the Reports menu. Then select Rent Roll from the Rent Roll

submenu.

2. Select the Properties on the left side of the form. 3. Select the report Date and Posting Period.

4. Optionally, select a sort option from the Sort By list.

5. As desired, rearrange the order in which charges are presented. Select a Charge Type Order

Preference item, and then use the arrow keys to reposition the item in the list.

6. To run a batch report for multiple properties at the same time, enable the Run properties

separately option.

7. Click Create Report.

A report will be created for the properties you selected. Look over the report, and verify that you’ve entered information correctly and completely. Make changes as necessary, and run the Rent Roll report again; or, if the information is correct, proceed to Chapter 5 and begin recording transactions.

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5

Operational Activities

After completing the general setup process in Chapter 4, you’re ready to work through a few easy operational activities as listed below:

1

Recording transactions

1

2

Paying bills

Recording transactions involves accounts receivable tasks, such as: Posting auto charges

Recording payments

Adding and posting late fees Making deposits

Viewing the bank register

Rent Manager has a variety of pre-designed reports covering everything from basic delinquencies, to rent rolls, to detailed income statements. Running a report after posting charges, recording

payments, or posting late fees, shows which customers owe money. When you run reports, you can combine one or more properties in the same report, or you can optionally run a separate report for each property.

Paying bills involves accounts payable tasks, such as: Adding vendor bills

Posting bills Paying bills Writing checks

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1

_{Recording Transactions (Accounts Receivable)}

Post Auto and One-Time Charges

Before posting charges, run a Rent Roll report and double-check the customer charges as described in “Verifying the Setup.”

When you post charges, you apply whatever auto charges (monthly or weekly) have been set for each customer’s account. In addition, any one-time charges that have been added for the current posting period will also be applied.

To post auto and one-time charges:

1. Select Batch Operations from the Activities menu. Then select Post Recurring Charges.

2. Select the Posting Type: monthly or weekly (default is monthly). Choosing the weekly option displays only properties with weekly customers.

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5–Operational Activities

If you add customers in the middle of a month and want to backdate transactions to the first of the month, make the Move In date prior to the first of the month (refer to “Adding

Customers”).

4. Select other options as appropriate, and optionally enter a transaction memo. 5. Click Post Charges to begin adding auto charges for each customer.

To undo a posting, use the Posting Rollback feature which is accessed by selecting

Administration from the File menu.

Generate Customer Statements

After posting charges you can generate customer statements if you’d like. Customer statements can be sent at any time. The statement itemizes the transactions that have occurred during the billing period. The statement includes customer information (property, unit, account number) and financial summary information (previous balance, current charges, current credits, balance due, and date of last payment). An itemized description of each transaction, including date and dollar amount, is also provided.

To generate Customer statements, select Customer Statements from the Reports menu, and then select Generate Statements.

1. Select the Customers for which you want to generate statements. 2. Select the Date Range.

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4. To create separate customer statements when running a batch, enable the Run customers

5. To show currently unposted late fees, enable the Show Unposted Per Day Late Fees to Date. 6. Click Create Report.

Rent Manager provides several formats that you can choose for customer statements. To select a different style and size for statements, select Customer Statements from the

Reports menu, and then choose Select Statement Format.

Record Payments

After monthly charges have been posted to customers’ accounts, you can record payments as they are received. If you want to specify a preferred order in which to pay off charges, for example how to apply a partial payment, you can adjust the payment allocation order. By default, Rent Manager applies a payment to the oldest charge first; however, you can override the default. Refer to the online help for specific instructions about adjusting the allocation order.

To record a customer payment:

1. Select Accounts Receivable from the Activities menu, and then select Receive Payments. The Customer Information form is displayed.

2. Select the Customer on the left side of the form. The customer’s open receivables are displayed at the right.

3. Enter the Ref # (check number), or select a payment type from the menu (i.e. cash, money order). You can also select the ePay Payment option and use the credit card account that’s on file or specify a different credit card. Refer to “Set Up an ePay Account” for more information. 4. Optionally, enter a Transaction Memo (i.e. money order number).

5. Enter the payment Amount.

6. Select the current payment Date, or enter a different date (i.e. to back date or prepay).

7. Enable (check) the Pay? check box for each charge to which the payment should be allocated, or disable (uncheck) the Pay? check box for any charge that you do not want to pay.

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5–Operational Activities

If a payment is not completely allocated, an Unapplied Credit button will be displayed so that you can apply the credit. For payments that exceed outstanding charges, you can allocate prepaid funds by double-clicking in the amount field and entering the amount to pay toward each charge type.

Double-click and type in the amount to allocate toward this charge.

Run a Rent Roll Summary Report

After payments have been recorded, run a Rent Roll Summary report to see which customers have an outstanding balance. The Rent Roll Summary report displays the auto charges that were posted for the selected property and lists the current customer of every rental unit including vacant rental units. It also includes the security deposits being held as of the first day in the date range. Additional information includes:

rental unit number

square feet of the rental unit (CAM only)

security deposit being held as of the first day in the date range (Security deposits received after the first day in the date range are not displayed)

rent charges assigned to the property, unit, or type (not including customer rent charges) amount of lost rent due to vacancy

amount of rent charged to the customer account

sum of all charges that have been posted to the customer’s account credits posted to the customer’s account

customer’s balance prior to the current date range ng the date range credit balances or debit balances

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To run a Rent Roll Summary:

1. Select Accounts Receivable from the Reports menu, and then select Summary Rent Roll.

2. Select the Properties to include in the report.

3. Select the Report Method to use when generating the report. 4. Select the Date Range.

5. Select the Security Deposit Date. 6. Click Create Report.

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5–Operational Activities

Set Up Late Fees

You can set up late fees for a property. Late fees can be established as a specified daily rate, a fixed charge, and as a percentage of the amount owed. To set up property late fees:

1. Select Properties from the Rental Info menu.

2. Select the Property on the left side of the Property form, and then click on the Late Fees tab. 3. Select the Enable Special Late charge check box.

Fixed and Percent charges are applied when you post late fees.

Rent Manager automatically applies the default Per Day late charges.

4. Select default Per Day options to automatically calculate late fees on a daily basis. Select Grace

period if you want to specify a number of days after the due date to wait before assessing late

charges; after the grace period has elapsed, late fees will begin calculating from the date the rent was due. To begin calculating per-day late fees from the end of the grace period, instead of from the original due date, select Non Retroactive.

5. Optionally choose other type(s) of late fees. Fixed sets a flat fee and can be applied to any late payment or restricted to only rent charges. Percent calculates a late charge that’s based on a percentage of the total amount owed or a percentage of unpaid rent.

6. Click Save at the bottom of the Late Fees tab.

Post Late Fees

When late charges have been enabled and set up for a property, as described in “Set Up Late Fees,” before flat fees and percentage-based fees are actually applied for the billing period they must be posted. Daily late fees accumulate automatically. Posting flat fees and percentage-based fees provides the ability to confirm who will be charged.

To post late fees:

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Double-click to change an amount.

2. Select the Properties.

3. Select the Delinquency criteria to apply, then click Show Delinquent Customers. Customers who match the criteria are listed.

4. Select the Fee Type (i.e. Late Charge).

5. Optionally, Override Late Fee Defaults, and specify a new percent or amount.

6. To note in the customer’s History file that a late fee was charged, enable Add history item for

each charge.

7. To initiate the post, click Post Selected Late Fees.

Run an Aged Receivables Report

To see which customers have balances more than 30 days old, run the Aged Receivables report. This report groups the age of the balance into 30 days old, 31-60 days old, 61-90 days old and 91+ days old. The Aged Receivables report can be run in Summary mode or Detail mode.

Summary: Displays each customer with aging receivables and the balances during each date range.

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5–Operational Activities

To run an Aged Receivables report:

1. Select Accounts Receivable from the Reports menu, and then select Aged Receivables.

2. Select the Properties to include in the report. 3. Select the Date Range.

4. Select Detail or Summary mode. 5. Select the Customers to Include.

6. Optionally, select a sort option from the Sort By list.

7. To run a batch report for multiple properties at the same time, enable the Run properties

8. Click Create Report.

Make Deposits

After recording customer payments, take the funds to the bank. Making deposits with Rent Manager records deposits in your bank register so that you can balance your bank register against the bank’s statement.

To record a deposit in Rent Manager:

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2. Select the Properties. 3. Select the Customers.

4. Add non-customer related income to your deposit (i.e.: vending machine, coin laundry, etc.). 5. Select the Bank Account.

6. Verify or change the Deposit Date. 7. Click Make Deposit.

From the Report Option dialog, select the type of deposit ticket you want to create.

View the Bank Register

The Bank Register lists deposits and checks that have been written from the selected bank account. Double clicking an item in the register will display details about the item. The Bank Register also offers a reconciliation feature that lets you closely track your bank balance to verify it matches the actual bank statement.

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5–Operational Activities

To view the bank register:

1. Select Bank from the Activities menu, and then select Bank Registers.

The register displays the date of each transaction, the reference number, a deposit number or check number, and comments about the transaction. It also shows if an item has cleared, the deposit amount, payment amount and balance.

2. To delete a deposit, click Delete Bank Deposit. This only clears the recorded deposit; it does not remove the payment. You can re-enter a deleted deposit as described in “Make Deposits.”

3. To reconcile the bank register, click Reconcile.

4. Select the Account to reconcile against the bank statement.

5. Enter the bank statement’s Ending Balance and Reconcile Date.

6. Click Reconcile to display the Account Reconciliation form where you can select which payments and deposits have cleared the bank. If the numbers on your bank statement don’t match the balance on the bank register, you can print a report that will itemize deposits and checks and summarize the difference between your bank register balance and the balance listed on the statement you received from the bank.

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2 _{Paying Bills (Accounts Payable)}

The Rent Manager Bill Center provides a convenient way to manage invoices and pay bills. Accounts payable tasks include: adding bills to the Bill Center, adding vendors, posting bills to accounts, and then paying bills.

Add Bills

You can add bills as a one-time bill or an automatic bill. To add a bill, select Accounts Payable

from the Activities menu, and then select Bill Center.

One Time Bills

One-time bills are not paid on a recurring basis. Hiring a plumber to fix a leak is a situation for which you would create a one-time bill.

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5–Operational Activities

2. Select a Vendor from the list, or enter the name of a new vendor. If the vendor has not

previously been added, a confirmation message is displayed, and you can add the vendor to Rent Manager as described in “Add Vendors.”

3. Select the Bill Date, Due Date, and Terms from the lists. Then enter the Amount of the bill and a memo if desired.

4. In the allocation section, select the Property (and unit if the charge is related to a specific unit) and the Expense Account.

5. Verify the Default Bank Account (the account used when writing checks to pay bills), or select a different account as appropriate.

6. If you’d like to attach a file to this bill (such as a scanned receipt), click Attach and locate the file. 7. Click Save to save the bill. The added bill will be displayed in the Bill Center.

Auto Bills

The Auto Bills window displays a current list of automatic bills. You can filter the list by vendor or

property. For each bill, you’ll see the vendor, how often the bill should be paid, the terms, the last post date, how many payments are left, and the amount.

An auto bill is similar to a template for recurring bills where a bill can be entered once and posted again and again on a regular basis. In this sense, auto means that a bill will be created automatically when auto bills are posted; however, when you post auto bills, a one-time bill is created for each. You can also manually create a one-time bill as described in “One Time Bills.”

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To add an automatic bill for a vendor:

1. Select the Auto Bills tab, and then click Add Auto Bill. The Auto Bill form looks similar to the one illustrated in “One Time Bills.”

2. Select a Vendor from the list, and enter an Invoice number. 3. Select the billing frequency, terms, and amount.

4. Allocate the expense to the appropriate Property and Account, and then click Save.

Search for a Bill

1. In the One Time Bills tab, either select a Vendor or select a Property to show all bills for the specified vendor or property.

2. To find bills that match a date range, select either the Bill date or Due date option and pick the search criteria. Also enable or disable the Unpaid Bills Only option as appropriate.

3. To search for a specific invoice number, enter the number in the Invoice field.

Rent Manager displays the bills it finds in the lower part of the form. Click View Bill to see the details of a selected bill.

Add Vendors

Vendors are individuals or businesses who charge for a service or product. Whenever you write a check to someone, the individual or business is automatically added as a vendor. You can manually enter information about all of your known vendors at the same time, or you can add vendors as the need arises.

When you manually add a vendor, you have to select the property for which the vendor is conducting business. Otherwise, the vendor will, by default, be associated with all properties.

To add vendors:

1. Select Setup from the File menu, and then select Add Vendors.

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5–Operational Activities

3. Enter the vendor’s Name, address, and contact information. The vendor’s name is automatically filled in as the Check Payee, which you can change if the check should be made out to a

different name.

4. Enter an Account Number.

5. If the vendor happens to also be a customer, you can link the vendor to the associated Customer

data by clicking and selecting the property and customer record (To remove the link, click ). To prevent your vendor list from becoming cumbersome, disable the Active option for one-time vendors, such as customer refunds.

When you refund a customer’s security deposit, Rent Manager adds the customer as a vendor. The Link feature makes the vendor/customer association.

6. Click Next, and then enable the 1099 Vendor check box as appropriate. 7. Enter the vendor’s 1099 Tax ID or social security number, and then click Next. 8. Optionally, enter default values for any previously-defined fields, and then click Next. 9. Select one or more Properties (or all properties) for this vendor, and then click Finish. When you receive a bill from a vendor, add the bill as described in “Add Bills.”

Post Auto Bills

After auto bills have been entered in the Bill Center and are ready to be paid, they must first be posted.

To post bills, select the Post Auto Bills tab on the Bill Center (refer to “Add Bills”). 1. Select the Vendors and Properties for which auto bills have been established.

2. Unselect any bills that you do not want to post at this time, and then click Post Selected. You can pay bills after they’ve been posted.

Pay Bills

Paying bills involves selecting which ones to pay and from which bank to draw funds. Before Auto Bills can be paid, they must first be posted (refer to “Post Auto Bills”).

To pay posted bills, select the Pay Bills tab on the Bill Center.

1. Select the Vendors and Properties for which to show unpaid bills.

2. To find bills that match a date range, select either the Bill date or Due date option and pick the search criteria.

3. Unselect any bills that you do not want to pay.

4. To combine all bills for the same vendor into one check, enable the Consolidate by vendor option.

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5. Select a Bank account for each bill in the Unpaid Bills list, or select one Bank at the bottom of the Bill Center from which to pay all selected bills.

6. To only pay bills, click Pay Bills. To pay bills and print checks, enable the checks will be

printed option, and then click Pay Bills & Print Checks.

Write Checks

To write a check to pay an expense, select Accounts Payable from the Activities menu, and then select Write Checks.

1. Select the Bank Account from which to draw funds. 2. Select the vendor from the Pay to the order of list. 3. Enter in the $ amount.

4. Select the Property for which the check is being written. 5. Select an Expense Account.

You can divide the payment amount among different expense accounts, for example if you purchase supplies for multiple rental units or different properties. Allocate payment amounts to different expense accounts in the general ledger area. Rent Manager tracks money by property and unit, if designated.

6. To print the check, enable the Check will be printed check box, and then click Print.

Ordering Checks

Rent Manager requires a unique check stock. To order checks for Rent Manager, please call our exclusive Rent Manager forms vendor, at 937-438-0197.

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6

More Advanced Features

After completing, or during, the general setup process, you might want to go ahead and enter

information for some of Rent Manager’s more advanced features. Not all users will implement these features, and some require you to purchase add-in’s. Add-in’s extend the functionality beyond the standard features. Some add-in’s, such as ePay, require you to open an account with another vendor. Although this section refers to more advanced features, they are not difficult to use or understand. These features are designed for specific types of businesses and are not required to successfully use Rent Manager.

Adding Floors and Amenities

Maintaining a list of floors and amenities makes it easy to look for units that offer the features that customers want. Use the Unit Picker (“Pick a Unit”) to see which units are available at Move-In time.

Add floors

To create a list of floors for a property that you can assign to a rental unit:

1. Select Floors from the Lists menu. Floors that have been created are listed on the left.

You can reposition floor descriptions in the list on the left side of the form by selecting the description and clicking Move Up or Move Down.

2. To make a floor available to a property, select the description on the left, enable the check box next to the property name on the right, and then click Update.

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4. Enter a Description.

5. Select the Properties to which you want to add the new floor.

6. To keep this form open after adding a floor so that you can add more floors in the same session, enable the Continuous Add option.

7. Click Add. The new floor description is added to the list in the Property Floors form.

Add amenities

To create a list of amenities that you can add to any property and assign to a rental unit: 1. Select Amenities from the Lists menu.

2. Select the General tab. Amenities that have been created are listed on the left. 3. Click New to add an amenity to the list.

4. Enter a Name and Description.

5. Enable Continuous Add to add multiple amenities without having to reopen the form.

Rent Manager Xi Setup Guide

Table of Contents

1

Introduction

Product Description

About this Guide

Intended Audience

Related Documentation

Documentation Conventions

2

Before You Begin

Clearing Sample Database Data

Required Information

3

General Concepts

Owners and Management Companies

Properties and Units

3–General Concepts

Unit Types

3–General Concepts

Recurring Auto Charges

4

General Setup Process

1

1

Setting up bank accounts

1

2

Adding properties

1

3

Adding unit types

1

4

Adding rental units

1

5

Adding customers

1

6

Verifying the setup

1

1

Setting up Bank Accounts

Add Bank Accounts

4–General Setup Process

Add Charge Types

1

2

Adding Properties

4–General Setup Process

Add Property Auto Charges

4–General Setup Process

1

3

Adding Unit Types

Add Unit Type Auto Charges

4–General Setup Process

1

4

Adding Rental Units

Add Unit Auto Charges

4–General Setup Process

Add Market Rent

Define Unit Availability Exception Status Types

4–General Setup Process

Add Status to Rental Unit

1

5

Adding Customers

4–General Setup Process

Enter Miscellaneous Info

4–General Setup Process

Add Customer Auto and One-Time Charges

Add a one-time charge

4–General Setup Process

Add Other Occupants

1

6

Verifying the Setup

_{Verifying the setup}

_{Setting up Bank Accounts}

_{Adding Properties}

_{Adding Unit Types}

_{Adding Rental Units}

_{Adding Customers}

_{Verifying the Setup}

_{Recording Transactions (Accounts Receivable)}

_{Paying Bills (Accounts Payable)}