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Payment Allocation

Vivin uses a two-layer payment model to track what tenants owe and what they have paid. Understanding how these layers interact is essential for financial management.

The Two Layers​

Layer 1: Scheduled Payments (Contract Values)​

When a booking is created, the system automatically generates a payment schedule — the complete list of charges the tenant is expected to pay throughout their stay. This includes:

  • Security Deposit — due at confirmation or check-in
  • First Month Rent — due at confirmation or check-in
  • Last Month Rent — due at confirmation or check-in (if configured)
  • Monthly Rent — recurring charges for each month of the stay
  • Admin Fee — one-time administrative charge
  • Cleaning Fee — charged once or monthly (depending on property settings)

Each scheduled payment has a type, amount, due date, and status (Pending, Paid, or Overdue).

Business Rule

The payment schedule is fixed at booking creation based on the property's contract settings at that moment. Changing property settings afterward does not affect existing bookings.

Layer 2: Incoming Payments (Transactions)​

When a tenant actually pays, the payment is recorded as an incoming payment — the real money received. Each incoming payment includes:

  • Amount received
  • Payment date
  • Payment method
  • Notes (optional)

Incoming payments are recorded in the Finance module or from the booking's Transactions tab.

How Allocation Works​

When an incoming payment is recorded, the system allocates it to one or more scheduled payments. This is the process of matching real money received to expected charges.

Allocation Priority​

The system allocates payments based on the payment priority order configured in Settings > Payments. A typical priority order might be:

  1. Security Deposit (highest priority)
  2. First Month Rent
  3. Admin Fee
  4. Monthly Rent
  5. Cleaning Fee
  6. Other Charges

When a payment arrives, the system applies it to the highest-priority outstanding charge first, then moves down the list.

Example

A tenant owes: €500 deposit + €400 rent + €100 admin fee = €1,000 total.

The tenant pays €600.

With the priority order above, the system allocates:

  • €500 → Security Deposit (fully paid)
  • €100 → First Month Rent (partially paid, €300 remaining)
  • €0 → Admin Fee (still outstanding)

Overpayment Handling​

If a tenant pays more than the total outstanding amount, the excess is recorded as a credit. This credit is automatically applied to the next charge that becomes due.

Example

A tenant's next scheduled charge is €400 rent. They pay €500.

  • €400 is allocated to the current month's rent (fully paid)
  • €100 remains as a credit, applied to the next month's rent when it becomes due

Payment Statuses​

Each scheduled payment has one of these statuses:

StatusMeaning
PendingCharge exists but is not yet due or has not been paid
PaidAn incoming payment has been allocated to this charge
OverdueThe due date has passed and the charge has not been fully paid

Reconciliation​

To verify that payments are correctly tracked:

  1. Finance > Overview tab — shows income status across bookings (received, pending, and overdue)
  2. Finance > Contract Values tab — lists all scheduled charges and their payment status
  3. Finance > Transactions tab — shows every individual payment received, useful for cross-checking against bank records

If a charge appears in Contract Values but has no matching transaction, the payment has not been received.

Key Rules​

Summary

  1. Payments are allocated automatically based on the priority order in Settings. You can adjust the allocation if needed.

  2. Overpayments become credits applied to the next outstanding charge.

  3. Partial payments are applied starting from the highest-priority charge. A charge can be partially paid.

  4. Contract values are fixed at booking creation. The schedule reflects the terms in place when the booking was created.

  5. A charge is only "Paid" once allocated. Recording an incoming payment alone is not enough — it must be allocated to a specific scheduled charge.