Place Tenant Into a Property | Move-In

Rentec Direct property management software has made moving in tenants an effortless process with custom defaults and tools that will save you time, improve communications, and provide accurate reporting.

There are fields within the property and tenant profiles that can be set one time as a default, saving time by eliminating the need to enter data for each one. Some of the defaults include:

* When charges post to a tenant ledger
* Grace period & Late Fee details
* What tenants can access in their portal
* What owners can access in their portal                                                                                   
* How data is displayed on reports and in ledgers
* Automatic messaging and communications                                                                                         

Click on the links below for more information on setting your defaults.

Each property has settings that automatically apply to tenants, accounting, and reports when tenants are moved in. 
Pro Tip: If Rent and Security Deposits are changed after a tenant moves in, they will also need to be changed in the tenant's profile.

  • Property data that automatically applies to tenants at the time of move-inRent
    • Security Deposit
    • Renters Insurance Requirements
  • Property data that affects your accounting 
    • Income and Expense bank accounts
    • Reserve
    • Managers
      • Property Manager
      • Maintenance Manager
      • Marketing Manager
    • Management and Placement Fees

Click here for more information on how to Edit Tenants, Properties, Banking and Owners

System Notes:

  • The easiest and quickest way to move in a new tenant, which most clients use, is our convenient online application process allowing tenants to be added to your Rentec Direct account and moved into a property directly from the application in just a couple of clicks
  • The second most common way to move in a new tenant and most commonly used by clients that are new to Rentec Direct and not using data import, is to add tenants before placing them into the property. Click here for more information on how to add Add Tenants to the list of tenants prior to placing into a property

Move a Tenant into a Property

The following steps will walk you through moving a tenant into a property.

In your Rentec Direct account:

  1. Click on Properties
  2. Right-click on the Property and select Place New Tenant
  3. Under Tenant Information
    1. If the tenant hasn't been added to the list of Tenants
      1. Click on Enter New Tenant 
      2. Enter Tenant's Name and Email address
    2. If the tenant has been added to the list of Tenants
      1. Click on Use Existing Tenant 
  4. Rental Charges
    1. Rental Frequency
      1. The default frequency is Monthly
      2. If the frequency is not Monthly, click the dropdown to select from
        1. Daily
        2. Weekly
        3. Bi-Weekly
        4. Quarterly or
        5. Yearly
    2. Rental Amount (Defaults from the property)
      1. To change the rent amount, type in the amount to be charged
    3. Use Rhino Security Deposit Insurance - AS OF 07/30/2024 THIS FEATURE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE DUE TO CHANGES WITH RHINO API.  (For more information, contact Rhino Partner Support) 
    4. Move-in Date
      1. Enter the historic move-in date for the tenant 

        Note: This allows you to document when the tenant actually moved in without resulting in charges posting to the tenants' ledger.
    5. Begin Charges On
      1. Enter the date that you would like to Begin Charges to the tenant

        Pro Tip: If you are transferring from another property management software or are new to Rentec Direct, this allows you to have a specific start date in the software to track financial transactions

    6. Lease end Date (Optional) 

      1. If you are renting based on a lease term, specify the end date of the lease here.

        Note: The lease end date is included in helpful reports such as the Rent Roll and Lease Expiration. You will be alerted when the lease is expiring based on your accounting defaults.
  5. Rental Options
    1. Pro-rate First Month (defaults to being checked)
      1. If the first month is pro-rated (the box is checked)
      2. There will be a charge to the tenant ledger for the remaining days of the month
      3. Rent will resume with full month rent charges on the first of each following month
    2. If the First Month is not pro-rated (uncheck the box)
      1. There will be a charge to the tenant ledger for a complete month's rent
      2. Rent will continue with full month rent charges on that day of the month (if the Begin Charges is the 10th of the month, rent will be charged as if due on the 10th of each following month)
    3. Rent Charge Category (defaults to 120 Rent and is set in your Accounting Defaults)
      1. If you would like to change the chart of account number associated with rent charges, click here to learn how to Customize and Add Other Tenant Charges
    4. Grace Period  (can be set in Accounting Defaults to auto-populate for all newly placed tenants)
      1. How many days after the rent due date before late fees begin (If late fees begin on the 5th day, this would be 4)
      2. If the Grace Period is different than the number indicated, enter the correct number of days
    5. Create Invoice Early (can be set in Accounting Defaults to auto-populate for all newly placed tenants)
      1. How many days before rent is due should the rent charge be posted to the Tenants ledger
      2. Using Automatic Email Notifications this can be a soft reminder to Tenants that rent is due soon
  6. Automatic Rent Escalation
    1. This allows you to implement automatic increases in accordance with your lease
    2. Click here to learn more about Automatic Rent Escalation
  7. Click on Place Tenant

    Clicking on Place Tenant will move the tenant into the property, bringing you to the Edit Tenant screen. 
    1. If the tenant was added to the list of Tenants with their information completed prior to moving in, click on Update Tenant to save.
    2. If this is a new tenant being added at the time of move-in
      1. Complete tenant information
      2. Click on Update Tenant
    3. Save & Set up Lease to send a copy of the lease as an email or to be signed electronically to the tenant

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why is the rent charge posting on the wrong day of the month? 
    1. This is usually caused by unchecking the "Pro-Rate first month" box. This affects the interval day (day of the billing cycle) when the software posts the charge. Information on editing the interval day can be found here: Adjust a Tenant Charge or Rent Due Date.  
  2. What is an interval day, and how does it affect charges to the tenant?
    1. An interval day is the day of the month/billing cycle on which rent is considered due, most commonly the first of the month.
    2. If a tenant's begin charge date is on the 10th of the month and the "Pro Rate first month" box is checked, the tenant will be charged the remaining 20 days of the month pro-rated. The following rent charges will be on the 1st of each month, and the "Interval day" is 1 for the first of the month.

      3. c. If a tenant's begin charge date is on the 10th of the month and the "Pro Rate first month" box is unchecked, the tenant will be charged for a complete month. The following rent charges will be on the 10th of each month, and the interval day is 10 for the tenth of the month.

    3. The interval day determines when recurring transactions, such as rent, post to the tenant's ledger. If charges are posted on the wrong day of the month, you will want to review the interval day in Recurring Transactions


 

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