Common Workflows

10. Common Workflows

This section provides step-by-step guides for the most frequently performed tasks in Vivin. Each workflow describes the complete sequence of actions, the modules involved, and what to watch out for at each step.

10.1. Onboarding a New Property

This workflow walks you through adding a new property to your portfolio, from initial setup to listing the first unit. Complete these steps in order — each step depends on the previous one.

Step 1 — Register the owner. Navigate to Settings > Users & Roles > Owners and verify the property owner already exists. If not, click + Add Owner and fill in their legal name, fiscal ID, contact details, and IBAN. The owner must exist before you can create a property.

Step 2 — Create the property. Click + Create New > Property and complete all four steps of the wizard:

• Step 1: Property name, address, and owner
• Step 2: Utility account IDs (electricity, gas, water, internet) — get these from your utility statements
• Step 3: Security deposit type, cleaning fee, admin fee, and Bills Included ceilings for utilities
• Step 4: Payment frequency (Monthly/Fortnightly/Daily), confirmation payments, and check-in payments

Pay close attention to Steps 3 and 4 — these settings directly control what tenants are charged and when.

Step 3 — Create units. Click + Create New > Unit for each rentable space in the property. Set the unit name, type, base rent, capacity, and min/max stay periods. If rent varies by season or demand, choose "Variable Rent" and configure pricing ranges afterward in the unit's Rent Value tab.

Step 4 — Configure property settings. After creation, open the property's edit view (pencil icon in Listings) and review these tabs:

• Payments tab: Confirm the cleaning fee collection method (Check-in, Confirmation, or Monthly) — it defaults to Monthly and cannot be changed during creation
• Maintenances tab: Set up automatic check-in/check-out tickets if desired
• Email Customization tab: Add any property-specific messages to tenant emails
• Access Lockers tab: Enter building and unit access codes or link Nuki devices

Step 5 — (Optional) Connect to external platforms. Navigate to Sales > Channel Manager and verify the property's units are linked to their counterpart listings on Airbnb, Booking.com, or other platforms. This enables automatic calendar sync.

Step 6 — Verify in Listings. Open the Listings module and confirm the property and all its units appear correctly with the right rent values and availability dates.

10.2. Processing a New Booking

This workflow covers creating a booking from enquiry to confirmation — whether the booking comes from an external platform or directly.

Step 1 — Check if the booking was auto-imported. If the booking originated from a connected platform (Airbnb, Booking.com, etc.), Vivin may have already imported it automatically. Open the Bookings module and search by tenant name or dates. If it exists, skip to Step 4.

Step 2 — Create the booking manually (direct bookings only). Click + Create New > Booking. Select the property and unit, enter tenant details (name, email, phone, nationality), set the contract start and move-in dates, and confirm the platform as "Direct."

Step 3 — Review the payment schedule. After creation, open the booking and go to the Payment Plan tab. Verify the automatically generated charges match what was agreed with the tenant — correct amounts, dates, and payment types (deposit, first rent, etc.). If anything is wrong, this is the time to correct it before the tenant receives communications.

Step 4 — Send the contract. Download the generated contract PDF from the Contract tab in the booking detail. Send it to the tenant via your preferred method (email, DocuSign, etc.). Once the tenant signs and returns it, upload the signed copy back to the Contract tab — this marks the booking as "contract signed."

Step 5 — Record the confirmation payment. When the tenant makes the confirmation payment (deposit, first rent, or whichever was configured), record it in Finance > Add Payment. Allocate it to the correct scheduled charge in the payment plan.

Step 6 — Confirm the booking is active. Verify the booking status has moved to Upcoming. The Tenant Portal access is now active — the tenant can log in with their booking ID and access code to view their payment schedule.

10.3. Managing a Check-in

Step 1 — Review upcoming arrivals (7 days before). Open Operations > Check-in & Check-out and filter by the upcoming week. Identify all check-ins and ensure preparations are assigned.

Step 2 — Verify the unit is ready. Check Operations > Tickets for any open cleaning or preparation tickets for the unit. All tickets should be in "Resolved" status before the check-in date. If they are not, follow up with the assignee.

Step 3 — Verify check-in payments are complete (day of check-in). Open the booking's Payment Plan tab and confirm all check-in payments have been received (marked as Paid). If any are outstanding, contact the tenant to resolve before handing over keys.

Step 4 — Hand over access. Meet the tenant at the property or arrange for a team member to do so. Provide keys, access codes, and any physical items (parking permits, mailbox keys, etc.). The check-in email sent automatically to the tenant already contains the access codes configured in the property's Access Lockers tab.

Step 5 — Update booking status. Open the booking in the Bookings module and update its status to Ongoing. This marks the tenant as officially moved in.

10.4. Managing a Check-out and Deposit Refund

Step 1 — Review upcoming departures (7 days before). Open Operations > Check-in & Check-out and identify all departures in the coming week. Note any same-day turnovers (a check-out and a new check-in on the same day) — these require extra coordination.

Step 2 — Prepare the turnover. Create a cleaning and inspection ticket for the unit (or verify an automatic ticket was created if you configured it in the property's Maintenances tab). Assign it with a deadline before the next check-in.

Step 3 — Conduct the inspection (day of check-out). Inspect the unit for damages, missing items, or cleaning issues. Compare its condition against the check-in record. Document any issues with photos.

Step 4 — Handle damages and deductions (if any). For each damage found:

1. Open the booking and click Add Charge
2. Select "Damages" as the category
3. Enter the amount and a description (e.g., "Broken window replacement — €150")
4. Set the due date
5. Inform the tenant in writing of the deductions before processing the deposit

Step 5 — Process the deposit refund. Navigate to Finance > Deposits and find this booking's deposit entry.

• No deductions: Set status to Returned and record the refund date.
• Partial deductions: Set status to Partially Returned, enter the deduction amount and reason, and record the net amount refunded.
• Full retention (e.g., unpaid rent, major damages): Set status to Retained with a clear reason.

Transfer the refund amount to the tenant via bank transfer. Vivin records the decision — the actual bank transfer happens outside the platform.

Step 6 — Verify all charges are settled. In the booking's Payment Plan tab, confirm there are no unpaid charges beyond the agreed deductions. Escalate any outstanding balance before marking the booking as ended.

Step 7 — Mark the booking as Ended. Update the booking status to Ended. The unit is now free for the next booking.

10.5. Handling a Late Payment

When a tenant misses a payment due date, follow this workflow to manage the situation consistently.

Step 1 — Identify overdue payments. Find overdue payments in Finance > Bookings (sorted by debt), Finance > Contract Values (filtered by "Overdue"), or on the Dashboard where high-debt bookings are surfaced.

Step 2 — Check the automated reminder status. If you have overdue reminder emails configured in Settings > Email Templates > Communication Module, verify whether a notification has already been sent to the tenant and when.

Step 3 — Contact the tenant. If automated reminders have not resolved the issue, contact the tenant directly. Many late payments are due to oversight — a quick message is usually enough.

Step 4 — Record the payment when received. Go to Finance > Add Payment, select the booking, enter the amount and payment date, and save. The system allocates it to the oldest outstanding charge first.

Step 5 — Apply a late payment penalty (if applicable). If your penalty policy in Settings > Invoicing & Payments requires it:

1. Open the booking and click Add Charge
2. Select "Penalty Fee" as the category
3. Calculate and enter the penalty amount (e.g., 1% of the overdue amount per day late)
4. Set the due date

Step 6 — Escalate if unresolved. If multiple contact attempts fail, escalate through your standard collections process. Document all communication attempts in the booking's notes field for future reference.

10.6. Cancelling a Booking

Step 1 — Review the cancellation terms. Before cancelling, check the booking's contract and your cancellation policy to determine what the tenant forfeits or is entitled to (e.g., deposit retained, first month non-refundable).

Step 2 — Settle outstanding payments. Verify all charges up to the cancellation date have been settled. If the tenant owes money, record the payment or create a charge. If you owe the tenant a refund, process it now.

Step 3 — Handle the deposit. In Finance > Deposits, update the deposit status according to your cancellation policy:

• Full refund: Status → Returned
• Partial refund: Status → Partially Returned (document the retained amount and reason)
• No refund: Status → Retained (document the reason)

Step 4 — Update the booking status. Change the booking status to Cancelled. Add a cancellation note with the reason (for internal records).

Step 5 — Verify availability is restored. Once cancelled, the unit's dates automatically become available again in Vivin and on all connected external platforms. Verify in the Sales > Availability calendar that the dates now show as free.

Step 6 — Close related tickets. In the Operations module, close or cancel any pending tickets associated with this booking (check-in preparation, cleaning, etc.) so they do not remain in your team's active task list.

10.7. Entering Monthly Utility Bills

Entering utility bills each month is what enables accurate tenant overage calculations. Run this process at the start of each month for the previous month's bills.

Step 1 — Collect your utility statements. Gather all utility bills for all properties for the previous month (electricity, gas, water, internet).

Step 2 — Enter bills in the Utilities module. Navigate to Utilities > Bills and click + Add Bill for each statement. Fill in:

• Property
• Utility Type (Electricity, Gas, Water, Internet)
• Billing Period — the month the bill covers (not the month you received it)
• Amount

Step 3 — Review calculated overages. Open Utilities > Overview for the billing period. Confirm all bills appear and total amounts look correct.

Step 4 — Verify tenant overage charges were created. For any bills that exceeded the property's Bills Included ceiling, the system automatically creates overage charges on affected tenants' payment schedules. Open one or two affected bookings and confirm the charge appears in their Payment Plan tab.

Step 5 — Check for missing data. Review the "Days Missing Data" chart in the Utilities Overview. Any bars indicate utility types or months with no bill entered. Fill in any gaps to maintain complete records.