Managing Tenant Invoices & Rent Reminders
This page describes how to create tenant invoices in Tenancy Manager - part of the Tenancy Builder area of the website.
Tenant invoices are designed to be used as follows:
- Final amounts due at the end of the tenancy
- Amounts due during the tenancy that are not rent
- They can be used as credit notes (for example, as a reminder to return a deposit)
Rent invoices during the tenancy are handled automatically (see later).
Create a new invoice
- In Tenancy Builder, navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Rents in the sidebar
- Locate the tenancy and click the small triangle on the left to expand the record
- Click on the Invoices tab and click Add
- Enter the invoice date, description and total amount.
Send invoice
After creating an invoice, it can be sent via Tenancy Builder using the actions button and selecting Send Invoice.
Send reminder
You can send a reminder about the unpaid invoice using the actions button.
Download an invoice
The invoice can be downloaded as a PDF by selecting Download PDF from the actions button next to the invoice.
When sending or downloading the PDF invoice, any logos, contact information, and bank details entered in Tenancy Manager -> Settings will be inserted into the PDF.
Track invoice payments
To track invoice payments, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Rents in the sidebar, expand the tenancy by clicking the small triangle and select the invoices tab.
- For the invoice to track payments, click the small triangle to the left of the record and expand.
- Click Add on the right to add a payment
Overview of unpaid invoices
At the time of writing, to view unpaid invoices, navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Overview and at the bottom of the page, you will see a table showing any unpaid invoices (or invoices that are negative, i.e. credit notes). You can track and add payments from the Overview page as described above.
Note: We are working on a dedicated invoices page, so by the time you read this, the invoices may not be on the Overview page. Instead, navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Tenant Invoices in the sidebar. All the same functionality as described on this page will be there, and we will update this page when it is completed.
Rent invoices
Rent reminders can be sent directly from the Tenancy Manager or downloaded during the tenancy.
Rent reminders
To send a rent reminder, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Rents in the sidebar
- Click the small triangle on the left to expand the record, which will display the Rent History tab
- On the right-hand side, click Reminders -> Send Reminder
To download a PDF rent reminder, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Rents in the sidebar
- Click the small triangle on the left to expand the record, which will display the Rent History tab
- On the right-hand side, click Reminders -> Download Rent Reminder
Automatic rent invoices
You can set Tenancy Manager to send a rent invoice automatically by following these steps (but please see the note later):
- Navigate to Tenancy Manager -> Rents in the sidebar
- Click the small triangle on the left to expand the record
- Click on the Rent Info tab and click edit
- Set the 'Send invoice email' setting to Yes.
When the Tenancy Manager adds a new rent on the due date, it will automatically issue an email with an invoice for the due rent.
Note: We recommend only using this feature sparingly and when a tenant requests it explicitly because:
- Generally, only commercial tenancies (like shops, offices, garages, etc.) need an invoice for their rent payment
- If the tenant has an automated payment setup like direct debit, they might get confused thinking it's a rent demand and double pay
- Under the Debt Respite (Breathing Space) Regulations, it is an offence to demand a payment from someone in a Breathing Space. If an automated reminder is sent during a Breathing Space, it could cause you trouble.