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.
Before entering bills, ensure:
- Utility account IDs are linked to each property (configured during property creation Step 2 or in the Utilities > Connections tab)
- Bills Included ceilings are set on each property (property creation Step 3)
- Utility types are enabled in Settings > Utilities
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
Bills must be assigned to the correct billing period. An electricity bill covering March must have March as its period — even if you enter it in April. Incorrect periods cause overages to be assigned to the wrong month and the wrong tenants.
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.
For a detailed explanation of how overages are calculated, see How Tenant Overage Charges Are Created.
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.
Set a monthly calendar reminder to run this process at the start of each month. Missing bill data means missing overage charges — use the "Days Missing Data" chart to catch gaps.