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Payments, Invoicing & Utilities

This page documents three separate Account Settings tabs: Payments, Invoicing, and Utilities.

The rules configured across these tabs govern how payments are calculated, when they are due, how late payments are penalized, which utility overages can be billed, and how VAT is applied to invoices. Changes here affect all new bookings — existing payment schedules are not retroactively altered.

Payment Deadlines​

FieldDescription
Tenant Due DaysThe default number of days a tenant has to pay after a charge is issued. For example, setting this to 5 means that a rent charge due on the 1st must be paid by the 6th. Properties can override this with their own due date in the Listings module.
Deposit Refund DeadlineThe number of days after a booking ends by which the security deposit must be returned to the tenant. This is used for compliance tracking.
tip

The Deposit Refund Deadline is a compliance aid — it helps your team track which deposits need to be processed. Check local regulations for the legally required timeframe in your jurisdiction (commonly 30 days in many European countries).

Payment Delay Penalties​

Configure automatic late payment fees applied when tenants miss a due date.

FieldDescription
Penalty FrequencyHow often the penalty is applied once a payment is overdue (e.g., Once, Every Day, Every Week).
Penalty TypeFixed — a flat amount added each period (e.g., €25 per day late). Percentage — a percentage of the overdue amount added each period (e.g., 1% of the unpaid balance per day).
Penalty ValueThe amount or percentage to charge.
Business Rule

Penalties are not automatically applied to a tenant's account — they must be manually triggered or are shown as suggestions based on the configured rules. The configuration here defines the terms, not automatic deductions.

Penalty Calculation Examples​

Fixed penalty — Once A tenant owes €400 rent, due on the 1st. They do not pay by the due date. With a fixed penalty of €25 applied Once, the total penalty is €25 regardless of how late the payment is.

Fixed penalty — Every Day Same scenario, but the penalty frequency is Every Day. If the tenant pays on the 8th (7 days late), the penalty is: 7 days x €25 = €175.

Percentage penalty — Every Week A tenant owes €600 rent. The penalty is 2% applied Every Week. If the tenant pays 3 weeks late:

  • Week 1: €600 x 2% = €12
  • Week 2: €600 x 2% = €12
  • Week 3: €600 x 2% = €12
  • Total penalty: €36
info

Percentage penalties are calculated on the original overdue amount, not compounded. A 2% weekly penalty on €600 is always €12 per week, not €12 the first week and €12.24 the second.

To apply a penalty to a tenant's account, follow the Handling a Late Payment workflow — you manually add the penalty as an extra charge on the booking.

First & Last Month Deposits​

These settings define what happens to the first and last month's rent when used as deposits.

FieldDescription
First Month Deposit RuleWhether the first month's rent collected at confirmation/check-in is treated as a deposit (refundable) or as prepaid rent (non-refundable).
Last Month Deposit RuleSame concept applied to the last month's rent. Options typically include Full (retain the entire amount) or Partial (define what fraction is retained).

How These Interact with Confirmation Payments​

The First and Last Month Deposit Rules work together with the Confirmation Payments and Check-in Payments configured on each property (see Contract Details):

  • If a property's Confirmation Payment is set to "Deposit and First Rent", the First Month Deposit Rule determines whether that first rent charge is treated as prepaid rent (applied to the first month) or as a refundable deposit (returned at the end of the tenancy).
  • If the Last Rent is included as a Confirmation or Check-in payment, the Last Month Deposit Rule determines whether that amount is applied to the final month's rent or held as a refundable deposit.
Example

A property's Confirmation Payment is "Deposit and First Rent" and the First Month Deposit Rule is set to "Prepaid Rent":

  • The tenant pays the first month's rent upfront at confirmation.
  • This amount is applied directly to the first month's scheduled charge (marked as Paid).
  • The first month's rent is not refundable — it is treated as rent, not a deposit.

If the rule were set to "Deposit" instead:

  • The same amount is collected, but it is tracked as a refundable deposit.
  • The first month's scheduled rent charge remains Pending and must be paid separately.

Utilities​

Specify which utility types can be billed to tenants as overages. Enabling a utility here allows the Utilities module to calculate and charge tenants when their consumption exceeds the "Bills Included" ceiling set on a property.

Available utility types:

  • Electricity
  • Water
  • Gas
  • Internet

Toggle each one on or off depending on which utilities you pass through to tenants.

Business Rule

If a utility type is disabled here, the system will not calculate overages for that utility — even if a bill is entered and the property has a Bills Included ceiling configured. Enable all utility types that you intend to bill to tenants.

Payments Priorities​

When an incoming payment from a tenant is received and needs to be allocated across multiple outstanding charges, the system uses this priority list to determine the order.

Use the drag-and-drop interface to rank payment types. For example, you might configure:

  1. Security Deposit (highest priority — always covered first)
  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.

Business Rule

This order matters when a partial payment is received. If a tenant pays €800 against a €1,000 total owed (€500 rent + €300 deposit + €200 admin fee), the system applies the €800 starting from the top of this priority list.

Example

Using the priority order above, the €800 partial payment is allocated as:

  1. €300 → Security Deposit (fully paid — highest priority)
  2. €200 → Admin Fee (fully paid — assuming Admin Fee is higher priority than Monthly Rent)
  3. €300 → Monthly Rent (partially paid, €200 remaining)

The order you configure directly affects which charges are satisfied first and which remain outstanding.

Invoicing (VAT Rates)​

Configure the tax rates applied to each type of invoice item. Different countries and contract types may require different VAT rates for different line items.

Invoice ItemField
RentVAT percentage applied to monthly rent invoices
Security DepositVAT percentage (often 0% as deposits are not revenue)
Cleaning FeeVAT percentage for cleaning charges
Admin FeeVAT percentage for administrative fees
Other ItemsDefault VAT rate for miscellaneous charges

Set each rate to 0 if VAT does not apply to that item type in your jurisdiction.

tip

Consult your accountant or local tax authority to determine the correct VAT rates for each charge type. In many jurisdictions, security deposits are not subject to VAT because they are held in trust (not revenue). Rent VAT rules vary — some countries exempt residential rent from VAT entirely, while others apply a reduced rate.