User Manual. Section 2: Implementation and Industry Translations. Created: October Copyright PropertyBoss Solutions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Transcription

1 User Manual Section 2: Implementation and Industry Translations Created: October 2010 Copyright PropertyBoss Solutions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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3 PropertyBoss Manual Section 2 - Implementation and Industry Translations copyright PropertyBoss Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. This document contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of PropertyBoss Solutions, LLC.

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5 Table of Contents 1 Implementation Guides 1 Standard Data Entry 2 Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date 3 Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure 6 Part A: Setup Your Owners 7 Part B: Setup Your Properties and Units 11 Part C: Setup Your Existing Leases and Tenants 18 Part D: Setup or Import Your Vendors 24 Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits 25 Part A: Enter Existing Security Deposits 26 Part B: Enter Tenant Starting Balances 29 Part C: Enter Owner Starting Balances 31 Step 4: Update Master Transaction List 33 Part A: Setup Your Lease and Prospect Transactions 38 Part B: Setup your Property/Unit Transactions 43 Part C: Setup Your Owner Transactions 47 Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences 51 Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live 54 Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps 57 Excel Import 58 Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide 59 Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry 61 Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template 62 Part A: Property-Unit Tab 63 Part B: Tenants Tab 65 Part C: Leases Tab 66 Part D: Owners Tab 67 Part E: Existing Security Deposits 68 Part F: Tenant Starting Balances 69 Part G: Owner Starting Balances 70 Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss 71 Part A: Property Management Structure 72 Part B: Existing Security Deposits 75 Part C: Tenant Starting Balances 78 Part D: Owner Starting Balances 81 Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts 83 Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide 84 Setting Up Late Fees 85 Designate where to Maintain Late Fees 86 Designate Charges that Can Be Late 87 Late Fee Method Descriptions 88 Late Fee Method Calculations 92 Autopost Preview 94 2 Industry Translations 95 Multifamily/Apartment 96 Associations 97 Affordable Housing 98 Student Housing 99

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7 Implementation Guides. 1 Home > Implementation Guides Implementation Guides After you have installed PropertyBoss and created your production database (covered in the Installation Guide), you are ready to prepare PropertyBoss for use by entering information called startup data. Startup data includes items such as your properties, leases, and starting balances for tenants and owners. Startup data can be entered through one of three methods: Standard Data Entry Excel Import Data Conversion. Standard Data Entry Standard data entry involves entering all startup data via the PropertyBoss user interface and is completed by the property management company. This method requires the most time, but allows you to learn PropertyBoss while preparing for startup. All steps necessary for standard data entry of your startup data are covered in this guide. If you decide to use this method and find that you need assistance, you can also purchase training time with a PropertyBoss employee. Excel Import Importing your data from Excel involves entering all startup data into a series of Excel spreadsheets according to very specific setup instructions and often takes less time than standard data entry. The Excel spreadsheets may be generated manually by you or exported from your current software and updated to be in the proper format for importing into PropertyBoss. An Excel import can be purchased as a service to be completed by PropertyBoss or can be completed on your own for no additional fees. All steps necessary for importing your startup data are covered in this guide. If you are interested in PropertyBoss importing your data for you, please contact your Account Manager for more details. If you decide to import your data on your own and find that you need assistance, you can also purchase training time with a PropertyBoss employee. Data Conversion Converting your data from your current software can be completed by PropertyBoss only and only for certain software programs. If you are interested in purchasing this service, please contact your Account Manager for more details. See also Standard Data Entry Excel Import Setting Up Late Fees

8 2. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry Standard Data Entry Overview All instructions necessary for entering your startup data through the PropertyBoss user interface are covered in this guide. Before you begin, you must have already installed PropertyBoss and created your production database. If you have not completed these items, please refer to the Installation Guides for instructions. Additionally, you must complete all steps in this guide before replacing your current system with PropertyBoss. Continue to use your current system to manage leases and record financial information until all startup data has been entered into PropertyBoss. The necessary steps are listed below. Each step involves many sub-steps, so be sure to allow adequate time for completing all items. Implementation Steps 1. Determine your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date 2. Setup your Property Management Structure 3. Enter Starting Balances and Existing Security Deposits 4. Update Master Transaction List 5. Refine Database-Wide Preferences 6. Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Implementation Tips Before you begin entering startup data, be certain that you have created your production database. Do not enter your data into one of the training databases. These databases have information that does not pertain to your property management company, so you want to begin with a blank database that you created or someone at PropertyBoss created for you. It is okay to enter startup data before you have received your permanent registration numbers. When you first create your database, you will be in 30-day trial mode until you have received the registration numbers from Client Care. You have full PropertyBoss features while in the 30- day trial mode, and your startup data will remain after you enter the permanent registration numbers. If you are unable to complete any of the implementation steps presented in the guide, submit a request for help to Client Care: help.propertyboss.com. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

9 Implementation Guides. 3 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date What is the Go-Live Date? Before you begin entering your organization s startup information, you must first determine your PropertyBoss go-live date. The go-live date is the date on which you will post rent charges and tenant payments in PropertyBoss for the first time. The go-live date that you pick is going to affect the startup information that you enter. For example, the Next Rent Post Date and the Paid through Date for leases and the date used for calculating starting balances for tenants and owners. The system does not offer a particular place to enter the "go-live" for the system. This is entered on the individual lease when entering a new lease with a date PRIOR to the current month (i.e. current month is March, 2010 and the lease started in October, 2008): If you are entering leases with various "go-live" dates, the date can be set on the dates tab in the Lease Notebook:

10 4. Implementation Guides Typical Go-Live dates For most clients, the go-live date is the 1st of a month. For example, for a client that purchases PropertyBoss in April, the go-live date is most likely May 1st. This means that rent charges and tenant payments will be posted for the first time in PropertyBoss on May 1st and that PropertyBoss will not contain financial history for any days, months, or years prior to May 1st. However, tenants and owners can have a delinquent or credit balance with you due to activity during the months leading up to your go-live date. In this case, you will be entering a starting balance for the tenant or owner to set their financial status in PropertyBoss. The starting balance is calculated as of the day before your go-live date (in the case of our example, as of April 30th) and is calculated from the accounting system in use at your company prior to PropertyBoss. The image below demonstrates a typical go-live date and starting balance entry for a tenant. Go Live Date: May 1, 2009 Starting Balance Date: April 30, 2009 First Rent Charges and Payments in PropertyBoss (will be): May 1, 2009 Historical Financials before the Go-Live Date Some clients purchase PropertyBoss near the beginning of the year and decide to manually enter all financial history from January up to the time of their purchase. For these clients, the go-live date is January 1st and starting balances are calculated as of December 31st. Deciding to manually enter historical financial information has several implications: (1) your financial information in PropertyBoss will not be accurate until all historical charges and payments have been re-created and (2) re-creating historical charges and payments is a time consuming task and you must have staff with time available to complete this in a fairly short window of time. We do not recommend entering historical information for more than a couple of months. (On a related point, historical financial transactions for any length of time cannot be imported into PropertyBoss.) The image below demonstrates recreating two months of historical financials. Go Live Date (set in the past): January 1, 2009 Starting Balance Date: December 31, 2008 Re-create Historical Financials: January 1 February 28, 2009 First Rent Charges and Payments in PropertyBoss (will be): March 1, 2009

11 Implementation Guides. 5 Changing Your Go-Live Date It is okay if you set your go-live date, begin enter existing leases and starting balances based on that date, and then determine that you would like to postpone your go-live to a later month. PropertyBoss provides a method on the Rent Roll Navigator of mass-changing the Next Rent Post Date and Paid through Date on all leases at once. However, you will have to recalculate your tenant and owner starting balances and update those entries one at a time on each register. Additionally, if you have setup any repeating property or lease charges, you will also have to update the Next Post Date on each of those one at a time. See also Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

12 6. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Your property management structure is made up of the following entities: (1) owners, (2) properties and units, (3) leases and tenants, and (4) vendors. You will begin entering startup data by entering all of theses entities into PropertyBoss. In this process, you will associate owners with properties and define your management fees for each property. You will also associate tenants with leases and setup their rent amounts. Once all of this data has been setup, PropertyBoss will reduce a lot of your day to day work. PropertyBoss will help you charge all of your tenants for rent at the first of each month with just a couple of clicks. As you post tenant payments, PropertyBoss will automatically divide the money into the portion that goes to the owner and the portion that goes to property management as your management fee. Each owner will have a balance and the property management company will have a balance. It will be very easy to pay your owners with just a couple of clicks. And it will be easy to determine how much your property management company has received in management fees. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

13 Implementation Guides. 7 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure > Part A: Setup Your Owners Part A: Setup Your Owners Who Do I Enter as an Owner? If you are conducting fee-based management, each of the properties that you manage is owned by someone other than your property management company. Your company keeps a percentage of the rent payments as a management fee and pays the remainder to the individual or company who owns the property. You will create an owner record in PropertyBoss for each of these individuals and companies. Ownership structures are sometimes complex. Property owners can be individuals, one or more partners, or partners represented by legal entities such as an LLC. If you are having difficulty determining who to enter as an owner, make a list of the entities for which you produce 1099 statements. Every individual and company on this list will be entered into PropertyBoss as an owner. Owner Examples Based on the information in the table below, you would enter three owners into PropertyBoss: Doug Smith, Knight Real Estate, LLC, and Suzanne Nelson. Though Knight Real Estate, LLC is made up of several partners, these individuals are represented legally as the LLC entity; therefore, they are represented as the LLC entity in PropertyBoss as well. The Property Management Company as an Owner Sometimes your property management company may own or share ownership of properties that you manage. If you treat your management company as a traditional 3rd party owner (i.e. you collect management fees for the properties that you own), create an owner record in PropertyBoss to represent your property management company as an owner. In this scenario, your property management company will have two representations in PropertyBoss: one as an owner and one as the property management company. Some reports provide owner profit and loss and others provide property management profit and loss. Take care to make this distinction when reviewing financial data for your property management company. If you do not treat your property management company as a traditional 3rd party owner (i.e. you do NOT collect management fees for the properties that you own), create a second database to manage those properties. Do not mix fee-based and non fee-based properties into the same database. If you need further clarification on this topic, please contact Client Care. Navigation Owners Link in the Link Navigator The list of links displayed down the left side of PropertyBoss is referred to as the Link Navigator. Each link will take you to one of the main areas of PropertyBoss. To enter your owner information, you will click the Owners link in the Link Navigator. Owners Navigator The Owners Navigator contains the list of owners you have entered into PropertyBoss. Anytime you need to update owner information, pay owners, etc. you will begin by accessing this list. Owner Notebooks and Owner Registers are opened from this list. Owner Notebook The Owner Notebook represents an owner s individual information in PropertyBoss. The notebook is divided into various categories of information by the tabs along the right.

14 8. Implementation Guides When you click a tab, changes are automatically saved. When you click the OK button at the bottom, the notebook closes. Owner Register Each owner in PropertyBoss has an associated Owner Register for recording all income and expenses for that owner. The balance on this register represents the amount of money currently due to (or from) the owner. If an owner has more than one property, the balance on the owner s register represents the income and expenses for all of the owner s properties. You can report on income and expenses per property, but PropertyBoss does not maintain a cumulative balance per property. The cumulative balance is maintained per owner only. Setup Instructions A. From the Link Navigator, click Owners. At the bottom of the Owners Navigator, click New. A blank Owner Notebook will open. B. Click through each of the tabs to enter required fields (see next section) and other information. Your changes will save automatically when you click a new tab. C. When you are done, enter your next owner by clicking New at the bottom of the page. Or, return to the Owners Navigator by clicking OK. Required Information File as Name (Owner Tab) Individuals If you use the owner s personal name to produce owner statements and 1099s, the owner is an individual. Enter the owner s First Name and Last Name. PropertyBoss will complete the File As field for you. Companies If you use a company name to produce owner statements and 1099s, the owner is a company. Choose Company from the File As dropdown field and enter the Company Name. Optionally, you can also enter a contact s First Name and Last Name.

15 Implementation Guides. 9 Other Important Information Though optional, it is recommended that you enter the following information during your setup. Owner Tab Mailing Address This address prints on various reports. It is also sent to QuickBooks and printed on check payments to the owner. Payment Address If entered, this address is sent to QuickBooks and printed on check payments to the owner instead of the mailing address. Address The owner s address must be entered if you will be using the add-on product to statements to your owners. Reserve Amount Some property management companies hold a certain amount of money in each owner s account to cover unexpected expenses that arise after the owner has been paid. If your company follows this practice, enter the amount to hold in this field. The amount can be different for each owner and does not have to be entered for every owner. When you pay your owners each month, PropertyBoss will prompt you to pay each owner his or her account balance minus the reserve amount. If part of the reserve has been used, it will replenish each month. Some of your owners may have more than one property. In these instances, the reserve is designated as a single amount that covers all properties. Reserve amounts cannot be designated by property ($200 for Property A, $200 for Property B, and $200 for Property C, for example). Additionally, the reserve is designated as a single amount that covers all types of expenses. Reserve amounts cannot be designated by expense type ($200 for Repairs, $200 for Utilities, and $200 for Landscaping, for example). When you view the owner s balance in PropertyBoss, the reserve amount will always be included in the total. You will make a special starting balance entry for each owner to set the reserve amount in each owner s balance as of your PropertyBoss go-live date. Instructions are provided in the Step 3 of this guide. Statement Tab

16 10. Implementation Guides Statement Check this box if you will be using the add-on product to statements to your owners. When you print the owner statements from Viewing Reports, PropertyBoss will the statement to all owners with this box checked. (Be sure to also enter the owner s address on the Owner tab.) Corrections Edit Owner Information To make changes to an owner s information, you must open the Owner Notebook. All information can be updated. If you change the owner name, the change will update throughout PropertyBoss. On the Link Navigator, click Owners. The Owners Navigator will display. Double-click an owner in the list. The Owner Notebook will open for that owner. Click through the tabs and make your changes. Click OK to save your changes and close the notebook. Delete an Owner To delete an owner, you must open the Owner Notebook (see above). Click Delete. ALL information about the owner (i.e. the owner s notebook information and the owner s register information) will be removed from PropertyBoss. The owner will be removed from the Owners Navigator. None of this information can be retrieved. If an owner s balance contains income or expenses that transferred from tenant rent payments or property bills that were paid, you cannot delete the owner. In these instances, you can check the Inactive checkbox on the Owner tab of the owner s notebook. Report Preview Viewing Reports contains several reports that provide owner information. The most commonly used of these reports are described below: O220 Owner Balances Audience: Property Management Company. This report provides a list of all owners that you have entered into PropertyBoss and provides their individual balances as of the date for which you run the report. A total balance for all owners is also provided. This balance is your total owner liability. O260 Owner Statement Summary Audience: Individual Owners. Most PropertyBoss clients send this statement to their owners each month. It provides a starting and ending balance for the period for which you run the report, plus the detail of all income and expenses for the period for all properties. Income and expenses are cumulative for all properties and are not broken down by property. O187 Property Profit and Loss Audience: Individual Owners. This report is sent to owners who have more than one property and want to see income and expenses broken down by property. This report does not include a starting and ending balance for the period since balances are not kept per property. If you send this report to your owners, also send O186 Owner Summary Profit and Loss (described below), which is a summary version with starting and ending balances for the period. O186 Owner Summary Profit and Loss Audience: Individual Owners. This report is a summary version of the O187 Property Profit and Loss. Income and expenses are not broken down by property on this report; therefore, it does include a starting and ending balance for the owner for the period. See also Part B: Setup Your Properties and Units Part C: Setup Your Existing Leases and Tenants Part D: Setup or Import Your Vendors

17 Implementation Guides. 11 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure > Part B: Setup Your Properties and Units Part B: Setup Your Properties and Units You will create a property record in PropertyBoss for every property that you manage. Properties can be single-units (such as a house) or have multiple-units (such as a duplex, an apartment, or commercial office space). Property owners and your management fee terms are designated for each property that you create. Navigation Units and Leases Link in the Link Navigator The list of links down the left side of PropertyBoss is referred to as the Link Navigator. Each link will take you to one of the main areas of PropertyBoss. To enter new properties and units, you will click Units and Leases in the Link Navigator. To access these items later, you can also click Rent Roll. Units and Leases Navigator The Units and Leases Navigator contains a hierarchical list of the properties and units that you have entered into PropertyBoss. To update property or unit information, you can access this list to open a Property or Unit Notebook. Rent Roll Navigator The Rent Roll Navigator also contains a list of the properties and units that you have entered into PropertyBoss. New properties and units cannot be entered from the Rent Roll Navigator, but existing properties and units can be updated from here. Right-click on a row in the list and choose Property Notebook or Unit Notebook.

18 12. Implementation Guides Property and Unit Notebooks The Property Notebook contains descriptive information specific to the property. Property Notebooks can represent single-unit properties (such as houses) or multiple-unit properties (such as apartments and condominiums). The notebook is divided into various categories of information by tabs along the right. The single-unit notebook has several extra tabs that are not found on the multiple-unit notebook. On multiple-unit properties, these extra tabs are found on the Unit Notebooks. Unit Notebooks contain descriptive information specific to a particular unit of the property. Property and Unit Registers Each property has an associated Property Register for recording all income and expenses for that property. Each unit of a multiple-unit property also has an associated Unit Register. The information on Unit Registers rolls-up to the main Property Register. Property and Unit Registers do not contain cumulative balances since PropertyBoss does not maintain cumulative balances

19 Implementation Guides. 13 per property or per unit. Income and expenses shown on these registers transfer to the owner s balance or to property management s balance as appropriate. Setup Instructions Single-Unit Property A. From the Link Navigator, click Units and Leases. A blank Units and Leases Navigator will open. As you add your startup data, a hierarchical list of properties, units, leases, and tenants will form in the Units and Leases Navigator. Click Create a New Property. B. Choose Single-Unit Rental Property and click OK. A blank Property Notebook will open. C. Click through each of the tabs to enter required fields (see next section) and other information. Your changes will save automatically when you click a new tab. D. When you are done, click OK. The Property Notebook will close. The Units and Leases Navigator will display and include all properties that you have entered so far. Continue entering properties by clicking Create a New Property. Setup Instructions Multiple-Unit Properties A. From the Link Navigator, click Units and Leases. Click Create a New Property.

20 14. Implementation Guides B. Choose Multiple-Unit Rental Property and click OK. A blank Property Notebook will open. Click through each of the tabs to enter required fields (see next section) and other information. When you are done, click OK. The Property Notebook will close and the Units and Leases Navigator will display all properties that you have entered so far. C. Click Create a New Unit for this Property. Enter the Unit Names in Step 3 and click OK. A Unit Notebook will open for the first unit name that you entered. Click through each of the tabs to enter required fields (see next section) and other information. When you are done, click OK. The Unit Notebook will close. Single-click the next unit name and click Edit this Unit. The Unit Notebook will open for that unit. Continue these steps until you have entered information for all units. Required Information Property Name (Property Tab) Typical Names You can name the property anything you like as long as each property has a unique name. The street address is most often used for single-unit properties; for example 102 Douthit Street. The name that you use will be shown on all property-related reports and navigation within PropertyBoss; therefore, the name should represent how your staff already identifies the property in your office. Default Order of Properties The Units and Lease Navigator (as well as the Rent Roll Navigator and any standard reports that sort by the Property Name) automatically organizes the properties alphabetically and/or numerically by the property name. The numerical numbering may be a little different than you expect. All of the properties that begin with a 1 will be listed and then all properties that begin with a 2 and then all properties that begin with a 3, etc. For example: 10 Main Street 102 Douthit Street 7 Elm Street Expected Numerical Ordering If you would like to achieve the expected ordering, be sure to enter the same number of digits for the number portion of all street addresses. Based on the previous example, you would enter: 007 Elm Street 010 Main Street

21 Implementation Guides Douthit Street Alphabetical Ordering If you would like to use the street address as the name, but prefer the ordering to be alphabetical, you will begin the property name with the street name and follow with the street number. For example: Douthit Street 102 Elm Street 7 Main Street 10 Property Owner (Owner Tab) You must designate one or more owners and their percentage of ownership for each property. In order for PropertyBoss to maintain an accurate owner balance, this must be done BEFORE you begin posting rent payments. On the Owner tab, click Owner Actions and select Add an Owner to the Property from the menu. From the Owner dropdown field, select the correct owner name. In the Ownership % field, enter the percentage of ownership for this owner. To add another owner, click the Owner Actions button again and repeat the steps. Be sure that the Ownership % adds up to 100%. Management Fees (Owner Tab) PropertyBoss automatically calculates management fees and maintains a balance of management fees due to the property management company and an owner balance of monies due to the owner. You must designate your property management fee structure BEFORE you begin posting rent payments for these balances to be calculated accurately. On the Owner tab, enter either a Transaction % or Fixed Amount in each Management Fee field. This percentage represents the amount of each rent payment that goes to the PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY. For example, if you enter 10% in the rent percentage field, the property management company will automatically receive 10% and the owner will automatically receive 90% of every rent payment for that property. The different types of management fees are described below: Leasing Fee This is a one time fee accessed for every new lease for the property (some companies refer to this as a lease-up fee). When the lease is created for the property or unit, you will be able to select a date to apply the leasing fee. When the rent is paid for the period, PropertyBoss will automatically calculate the leasing fee amount and transfer it to property management s balance. The remainder will automatically transfer to the owner s balance. If there is not enough money in the owner's account, the transaction will be held (see the section about Held Bills). For example, assume your leasing fee is 50% and the monthly rent for a lease is $1000. When you post the first rent payment of $1000, PropertyBoss will automatically transfer $500 to property management s balance and $500 to the owner s balance. NOTE: Please see the Processing Options under Setup Preferences for clarification on your particular databases. Clients who upgrade from a previous version have the option for the pre-9.04 configuration or the 9.04 configuration. Rent This fee is calculated every time a payment is applied to a rent charge. (Most companies typically think of this as their management fee.) PropertyBoss will automatically calculate the amount and transfer it to property management s balance. The remainder will automatically transfer to the owner s balance. If you collect a leasing fee (described above), this amount will be calculated and collected in addition to the leasing fee amount on the first month of a new lease. For example, assume your management fee is 10% and the monthly rent for the lease is $1000. Every time you post a rent payment (including the first month), PropertyBoss will automatically transfer $100 to property management s balance and $900 to the owner s balance. Assume you have both a 50% leasing fee and a 10% management fee and the monthly rent for a lease is $1000. When you post the first rent payment of $1000, PropertyBoss will automatically transfer $600 to property management s balance and $400 to the owner s balance. Late Fees This is the amount of late fees paid by the tenant that property management keeps as income. (It is not the amount that you are charging tenants for late fees. That amount is designated on the lease setup.)some property management companies keep all late fees paid by the tenant; others split late fee income with the owner. The amount that should go to property management (and/or the owner) is calculated and automatically transferred to every time a payment is applied to a late fee charge. For example, assume you keep 100% of the late fees and the late fee charge is $25. Every time you apply a payment to a late fee charge, PropertyBoss will automatically transfer $25 to property management s balance. Nothing will be transferred to the owner s balance. Fees when Property is Vacant A few property management companies charge the owner a vacancy fee for the time a property is vacant each month. If you collect a vacancy fee, designate the percentage of the market rent or the fixed amount here. When a new lease is created for a property that has been vacant, PropertyBoss will calculate the amount of vacancy time and prorate the vacancy charge accordingly. The amount will automatically transfer to property management s balance as income. The amount will automatically reduce the owner s balance as an expense. For example, assume your vacancy fee is $50, the market rent for the property is $1000, and the property was vacant for half of the month. When you create the new lease, PropertyBoss will automatically transfer $25 to property management s balance as income and reduce the owner s balance with a $25 vacancy charge. Surcharge Added to Maintenance A few companies add a surcharge to all maintenance expenses charged to the owner. If you enter a surcharge here, PropertyBoss will automatically calculate the surcharge amount on all maintenance transactions. You can change the amount on any specific transaction. If you do not enter the surcharge here, you can manually add a surcharge amount to individual maintenance transactions. Either way, the owner s balance is reduced by the total amount of the maintenance item plus the surcharge. The surcharge amount transfers to property management s balance as income. Other Important Information

22 16. Implementation Guides Though optional, it is recommended that you enter the following information during your setup. Property Tab Mailing Address Will be printed on various reports and default down to unit addresses and lease addresses. Repeating Tab Repeating Charges If you pay bills for your owners that are always the same amount and paid on a routine schedule, PropertyBoss can help you pay them quickly by setting them up as repeating charges on this tab. When they are due, PropertyBoss will prompt you (on PropertyBoss Today in the Autopost window) to post all of your repeating charges at one time. If you do not setup repeating charges on this tab, you can post them manually when they are due. For example, assume that you pay monthly HOA Dues of $100 for a property. You can enter that bill as a repeating charge on this tab. PropertyBoss will remind you to post it each month on PropertyBoss Today along with all other repeating charges that you have setup. Before setting up repeating charges, you must enter your vendors and create the necessary transactions in the master transaction list. Instructions for both topics are covered in this guide. All Def Tabs The Def stands for Default. Here, you are entering information that will default into all new leases for the property or unit on which you are working. Though not required, this information is a useful time-saver as your leases turn-over in PropertyBoss. You can change the defaults on any specific lease when you create it. Def-Terms Tab Transaction Name Enter the name of your basic rent charge; typically, just choose Rent Due. Required for your monthly rent charges to post correctly from Autopost. Market Rent The rent amount that you would like to get for this property or unit. It may be more or less than the amount of the current or future leases. Will default into new leases for this property as the Rent Amount, but can be changed for any particular lease. Rent Frequency How often you would charge for rent for this property or unit, typically Monthly. Day Due The day that the rent is due for this property or unit; typically 1.

23 Implementation Guides. 17 Def-Late Fees The typical late fee terms for this property or unit. Can also be set for all properties or units at once with a mass change from the Rent Roll Navigator. Def-Deposits VERY IMPORTANT: Only enter for deposits that are held by property management. If the deposit is held by the property owner, do NOT set the deposit as a default on this tab. You will enter these directly on the lease register rather than having them default onto the lease register. Enter deposits that you would require for any lease for this property or unit, typically just Security Deposits. Enter the amount that you usually require. You can override the amount on any particular lease. Don t enter Pet or other deposits that would be required for certain leases only. You can enter these deposits directly on the lease register when necessary. Enter the deposit defaults before you create your existing leases for the properties and units. This will make entering existing security deposit information for each lease automatic. If you create the leases before entering this default, you will have to enter existing security deposits manually. Instructions are provided in Step 3 of this guide. Corrections Edit Property Information To make changes to property information, you must open the Property Notebook. All information can be updated. On the Link Navigator, click Units and Leases. The Units and Leases Navigator will display. Single-click a property name and click Edit this Property. The Property Notebook will open. Click through the tabs and make your changes. Click OK to save your changes and close the notebook. A few items on the Property Notebook must be updated in special areas: (1) rename a property on the Property tab using the Actions button at the bottom and (2) change the Market Rent Amount on the Def-Terms tab by clicking the Rent Changes button next to the field. Edit Unit Information To make changes to unit information, you must open the Unit Notebook. All information can be updated. On the Link Navigator, click Units and Leases. The Units and Leases Navigator will display. Single-click a unit name and click Edit this Unit. (If you do not see the Unit Name, click the plus sign next to the property name to unroll the units.) The Unit Notebook will open. Click through the tabs and make your changes. Click OK to save your changes and close the notebook. A few items on the Unit Notebook must be updated in special areas: (1) rename a unit on the Unit tab using the Actions button at the bottom and (2) change the Market Rent Amount on the Def-Terms tab by clicking the Rent Changes button next to the field. Delete a Property To delete a property, you must open the Property Notebook (see above). Click Actions and then Delete this Property. Delete a Unit To delete a unit, you must open the Unit Notebook (see above). Click Actions and then Delete this Unit. See also Part A: Setup Your Owners Part C: Setup Your Existing Leases and Tenants Part D: Setup or Import Your Vendors

24 18. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure > Part C: Setup Your Existing Leases and Tenants Part C: Setup Your Existing Leases and Tenants In Step 1, you determined the go-live date for your PropertyBoss implementation, the date on which you would first start recording rent charges and tenant payments in PropertyBoss. An existing lease is any lease that began prior to this date and is still active as of this date. You will create a digital lease in PropertyBoss for every lease that meets those requirements. For example, assume that your go-live date is October 1, Any lease with a start date prior to October 1, 2009 is considered an existing lease and should be entered into PropertyBoss via the instructions that follow. If the lease ends and the tenant moves out on or before September 30, 2009, the lease is not an existing lease and you do not enter it into PropertyBoss. Continue recording payments received prior to your go-live date using the same system you have been using prior to PropertyBoss (a software application, excel spreadsheet, or pen and paper). Though you will have entered an existing lease for the tenant in PropertyBoss, you will not post any payments for this tenant until the go-live date (in our example, until October 1, 2009) Navigation Units and Leases Link in the Link Navigator The list of links down the left side of PropertyBoss is referred to as the Link Navigator. Each link will take you to one of the main areas of PropertyBoss. To enter new leases, you will click Units and Leases in the Link Navigator. To access leases later, you can also click Rent Roll. Units and Leases Navigator The Units and Leases Navigator contains a hierarchical list of the properties, units, and leases that you have entered into PropertyBoss. To update lease information, you can access this list to open a Lease Notebook. Lease Notebook The Lease Notebook is a digital representation of the lease contract that your company has with the tenant. Rent amount, late fee terms, and other information are defined in the Lease Notebook. This information is divided into various categories by the tabs along the right. When you click a tab, changes are automatically saved. When you click the OK button at the bottom, the notebook closes.

25 Implementation Guides. 19 Lease Register Each lease has an associated Lease Register for recording tenant charges and payments. The balance on this register represents the amount currently due from (or to) the tenant. When a tenant makes payments for rent, late fees, and other charges, PropertyBoss automatically transfers this income to the owner s balance and/or property management s balance appropriately. Tenant Notebook When you create a lease, you will be adding a tenant to the lease on the Tenants tab. This will create a Tenant Notebook in which you can record tenant contact information. This notebook is divided into various categories of information by the tabs along the right. When you click a tab, changes are automatically saved. When you click the OK button at the bottom, the notebook closes. Setup Instructions A. From the Link Navigator, click Units and Leases. The Units and Leases Navigator will open. As you add your startup data, a hierarchical list of properties, units, leases, and tenants will form in the Units and Leases Navigator. B. Single-click a property name (for single-unit properties) or the unit name (for multiple-unit properties). If you do not see the units listed, click the plus sign beside the property name to unroll the units. Click Create a New Lease for this Unit. Click OK button and a blank Lease Notebook will open.

26 20. Implementation Guides C. Click through each of the tabs to enter required fields (see next section) and other information. Your changes will save automatically when you click a new tab. When you first click off of the Lease tab to another tab, a window will open that asks you for information regarding the deposits defined on the Def-Deposits tab of the Property or Unit Notebook. If you charged this tenant the deposit at the start of the lease, leave this item checked. Update the amount if you charged an amount different than what defaulted into the Amount field. If the tenant paid this deposit in the past, leave the box Mark the Deposits as Fully Paid checked. When you review the Register tab, you will notice that two transactions were posted automatically the original Security Deposit charge to the tenant and a Balance Adjustment that credits the tenant for already having paid this charge. VERY IMPORTANT: In the two date fields (PropertyBoss Go-Live Date and Start Posting Rent for this Lease on), enter the date that you determined as your PropertyBoss go-live date. D. When you are done entering lease information, click OK. The Lease Notebook will close. The Units and Leases Navigator will display and include all properties, units, and leases that you have entered so far. Continue entering leases by selecting the property or unit name and clicking Create a New Lease for this Unit. Required Information Lease Tab Start/End Dates All leases must have both a Start Date and an End Date. The Start Date should be the original beginning date of this lease and will be in the past. The End Date is the date on which the lease contract expires and will be in the future. Even if this is a month-to-month lease, you must enter an End Date. The End Date in this case would be a date in the past, which will set the lease status as Month-to-Month. Frequency, Day Due, and Tenant (rent amount) Enter how often you will charge the person for rent (typically, Monthly), the day the rent is due (typically, the first), and the amount that the tenant must pay. PropertyBoss monitors this information for all leases and will prompt you (in the Autopost area of PropertyBoss Today) to post rent charges for all of your tenants at the beginning of every month. No Leasing Fee VERY IMPORTANT Existing leases that you enter as part of your startup data are already in existence as of your go-live date with PropertyBoss; therefore, you have most likely already charged the owner for your leasing fee. If this is the case and you do not want PropertyBoss to charge the owner for the leasing fee again, be sure and check this box.

27 Implementation Guides. 21 Late Fee Tab Your late fees will default in from the property or unit defaults. Be certain to review this tab and ensure that your late fee terms are defined appropriately. Tenants Tab Enter the people who are contractually responsible for the lease on this tab. You can enter children and other contacts on the Contacts tab of the Tenant Notebook. If one tenant moves out while the lease is still active for other tenants, you can enter a date in the Move Out date field for that tenant. Enter one or more tenants by clicking Create New Tenant at the bottom of the Tenants tab. A blank Tenant Notebook will open. At a minimum, enter the tenant s First and Last Name. Then click OK and the notebook will close. The tenant will be added to the lease, as well as to your main tenant list accessed by clicking Tenants on the Link Navigator. Dates Tab Next Rent Post Date This date should be the go-live date you ve set for your PropertyBoss implementation for all leases. PropertyBoss will prompt you to post rent charges for all of your tenants for the first time on this date. These rent charges will be the first transactions that you post in PropertyBoss. After you post these rent charges for the first time, this date will advance to the next month automatically on every lease. If you postpone the go-live after entering your leases, you can mass update this date on every lease from the Rent Roll Navigator. Rent Paid Thru Date This date should be the day before the go-live date you ve set for your PropertyBoss implementation for all leases. Some tenants may have a delinquent balance due to unpaid rent, but you will capture that information by entering a starting balance entry on the tenant s lease register. This date is used by PropertyBoss to determine when tenants need to be charged a late fee for unpaid rent. When you post a full rent payment for the tenant, the date will automatically advance to the end of the month. This lets PropertyBoss know that the tenant has paid in full for the month and does not need to be charged a late fee. If your grace days have passed and this date has not advanced to the end of the month, PropertyBoss knows that the tenant needs to be charged a late fee and will prompt you to do so in the Autopost area of PropertyBoss Today.

28 22. Implementation Guides Other Important Information Though optional, it is recommended that you enter the following information during your setup. Charges Tab Subsidized Amounts PropertyBoss allows entry of subsidized leases (where part of the rent is paid by the tenant and part by Section 8 or some other housing authority). If you have leases that are subsidized, ensure that the tenant rent amount shows only the amount that tenant pays and setup an additional charge for the subsidized portion. PropertyBoss will not charge late fees on unpaid Subsidy charges and will separate the overall balance into the tenant s balance and a subsidy balance in most reports. Other Repeating Charges or Credits If you charge tenants for items other than rent that are always the same amount and due on a routine schedule, PropertyBoss can help you post them quickly by setting them up as repeating charges on this tab. PropertyBoss monitors the schedule for all repeating lease charges and prompts you to post them all at once when it is time. For example, assume that you charge a $25 trash removal charge in addition to rent on the first of each month. You can enter that item as a repeating charge on this tab. PropertyBoss will remind you to post it each month on PropertyBoss Today along with all other repeating charges that you have setup. Though the terminology on this tab references repeating charges, you can also enter repeating credits. For example, assume that an owner with multiple properties extends a $500 rental credit each month for a tenant who provides maintenance services for all of his properties. You can setup a $500 repeating credit for this tenant. You will be prompted to post the rental credit on PropertyBoss Today along with the repeating charges. Before setting up repeating charges or credits on the leases, you must first create the necessary transactions in the master transaction list. Instructions are provided in this guide. Addresses Tab Mailing Address The mailing address is displayed on various reports and used in letters that you send to tenants. Note the tabs at the bottom of the screen; many types of addresses can be entered for the tenant. Statement Tab Statement Check this box if you will be using the add-on product to statements to your tenants. When you print the tenant statements from Viewing Reports, PropertyBoss will the statement to all tenants with this box checked. (Be sure to also enter the tenant s address on the Tenant Notebook.)

29 Implementation Guides. 23 Corrections Edit Lease Information To make changes to lease information, you must open the Lease Notebook. On the Link Navigator, click Units and Leases. Click the plus sign beside a property or unit name to unroll the lease. Single-click the term Lease and then click Edit this Lease. The Lease Notebook will open. Click through the tabs and make your changes. Click OK to save your changes and close the notebook. A few items on the Lease Notebook must be updated in special areas: (1) change the lease Start and End Dates by clicking Actions and (2) change the rent amount and/or setup a subsidy rent amount on the Charges tab by clicking Change Rent/Subsidy Charges. Delete a Lease To delete a lease, you must open the Lease Notebook (see above). Click Action and then Delete this Lease. See also Part A: Setup Your Owners Part B: Setup Your Properties and Units Part D: Setup or Import Your Vendors

30 24. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure > Part D: Setup or Import Your Vendors Part D: Setup or Import Your Vendors If you will be setting up repeating property charges in PropertyBoss, you need to first setup your vendor list either by importing vendors from QuickBooks or setting them up directly in PropertyBoss. If you setup vendors in PropertyBoss, they will be created in QuickBooks automatically as you send bills into QuickBooks. However, the vendor information as it is in QuickBooks is the master vendor information. Therefore, it is recommended that you import vendors from QuickBooks into PropertyBoss. Additionally, changes to vendor information should be made in QuickBooks rather than in PropertyBoss. The changes will be imported into PropertyBoss the next time you send transactions from PropertyBoss to QuickBooks. If you make changes to vendor information in PropertyBoss, they will be overwritten with the information from QuickBooks. See also Part A: Setup Your Owners Part B: Setup Your Properties and Units Part C: Setup Your Existing Leases and Tenants

31 Implementation Guides. 25 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Historical financial information that occurred in the software used prior to PropertyBoss is not recorded or imported into PropertyBoss. Rather, the financial status of each tenant and owner is captured by entering starting balance transactions calculated as of the day before your PropertyBoss go-live date. As such, only three types of financial transactions are entered into PropertyBoss before your go-live date: (1) security deposits that you (or your owners) are holding in trust, (2) delinquent or prepaid credit balances for tenants, and (3) delinquent or credit balances for owners. Making these entries for all tenants and owners is crucial for creating accurate financial information as you begin using PropertyBoss. The transactions listed above are the only financial items that you will enter into PropertyBoss BEFORE your go-live date. You will not enter payments, charges, or other items before this date. You will continue to track these items in the software in use prior to PropertyBoss. For example, if you are going live on October 1, 2009 and you receive a tenant payment on September 30, 2009, you will not enter this item into PropertyBoss as a payment. Enter it into your previous software system, recalculate the tenant s balance as of September 30, 2009, and UPDATE the starting balance entry in PropertyBoss to reflect the new balance. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

32 26. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits > Part A: Enter Existing Security Deposits Part A: Enter Existing Security Deposits An existing security deposit is money that a tenant paid towards a security deposit prior to your PropertyBoss go-live date. Either the property management company or the owner is holding the money in trust as of the go-live date. From the accounting system in use prior to PropertyBoss, determine the amount of security deposit money being held for each tenant. For both property management held and owner held deposits, you will enter specific transactions into PropertyBoss to record that the tenant was charged for the deposit and paid the deposit at prior point in time. If you entered security deposit defaults on the Def-Deposits tab of the Property or Unit Notebook, property management held deposit entries may have posted automatically to your Lease Registers. Review this information for accuracy. Each Lease Register should have two entries shown below. If your deposit entries were not made automatically to the lease registers, you can follow the instructions below to enter them manually. If any deposit entries were made automatically for owner held deposits, you must delete the automatic entries and enter them manually following the instructions in the next section. Instructions Property Management Held Deposits A. Navigate to the Lease Register by clicking Units and Leases on the Link Navigator, the plus sign beside a property or unit name to unroll the lease, the term Lease to select the lease, and finally the View Lease Register button. B. Click the New button at the bottom of the Lease Register to open a transaction entry screen. C. Enter two transactions: (1) a Security Deposit for the amount of the charge and (2) a Balance Adjustment to credit the charge. The Balance Adjustment should be entered as a negative amount (using a negative sign). Both transactions should be dated the start date of the lease. It is very important that the date not be on or after your go-live date.

33 Implementation Guides. 27 When you are complete the Lease Register will look as follows: Instructions Owner Held Security Deposits A. Follow steps A-C from the previous instructions for entering property management held security deposits. One exception: When you enter the Security Deposit transaction, be certain to select the OWNER HELD checkbox. Selecting the checkbox will transfer the security deposit to the owner s register and increase the owner s balance by the amount of the deposit. Since the deposit has already been paid to the owner at some time in the past, you do not want to pay the owner this money again; therefore, you must adjust the owner s register to remove the deposit from the balance. B. Navigate to the Owner Register by clicking Owners on the Link Navigator, selecting the owner from Owner Navigator, and clicking the Register button at the bottom. C. Click the New button at the bottom of the Owner Register to open a transaction entry screen. Enter a transaction called Exist Deposit Adj to reduce the owner balance back to $0 on the owner register. The Exist Deposit Adj should be entered as a negative amount (using a negative sign). Date this transaction the same date as the transfer of the security deposit into the owner s register.

34 28. Implementation Guides When you are complete the Owner Register will look as follows: See also Part B: Enter Tenant Starting Balances Part C: Enter Owner Starting Balances

35 Implementation Guides. 29 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits > Part B: Enter Tenant Starting Balances Part B: Enter Tenant Starting Balances As mentioned earlier, tenants can have a delinquent or credit balance with you as of your go-live date with PropertyBoss due to activity during the months leading up to your go-live. A delinquent balance indicates that the tenant still owes for unpaid rent, late fees, or other charges. A credit balance indicates that the tenant paid in advance for next month s rent or overpaid at some prior time. Most tenants will have a zero balance indicating that they do not owe for unpaid charges and have not prepaid for future charges. You will not enter a starting balance transaction for tenants with a zero balance, but you will enter a transaction for delinquent balances and prepaid credit balances based on the instructions that follow. Instructions Prepaid Credit Balance A. Navigate to the Lease Register by clicking Units and Leases on the Link Navigator, the plus sign beside a property or unit name to unroll the lease, the term Lease to select the lease, and finally the View Lease Register button. B. Click the New button at the bottom of the Lease Register to open a transaction entry screen. The register may already have deposit transactions as shown below. C. Enter a Prepaid Beg Bal transaction. Enter the amount as a negative value (using a negative sign). Most importantly, date the transaction the day before the go-live date. When you are complete the Lease Register will look as follows:

36 30. Implementation Guides Instructions Delinquent Balance A. For tenants that have a delinquent balance, you will need to determine what unpaid charges make up the delinquent balance. Then you will itemize these as individual transactions on the lease register (for example, Rent Due, Late Fees, Cable, etc.) for the amount that is delinquent for that item. The total of the itemized transactions should be the total delinquent balance. B. Follow steps A-C from the previous instructions for entering a transaction. Instead of Prepaid Beg Bal, choose the transaction name that represents the delinquent item. Again, it is very important to date each transaction the day before the go-live date. When you are complete the Lease Register will look as follows: See also Part A: Enter Existing Security Deposits Part C: Enter Owner Starting Balances

37 Implementation Guides. 31 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits > Part C: Enter Owner Starting Balances Part C: Enter Owner Starting Balances As with tenants, owners can have a delinquent or credit balance as of your go-live date with PropertyBoss due to activity during the months leading up to your go-live. If you pay your owners in full each month, most owners will have a zero balance. You will not enter a starting balance transaction for owners with a zero balance, but you will enter a starting balance for delinquent and credit balances based on the instructions that follow. Instructions Credit or Delinquent Balance A. Navigate to the Owner Register by clicking Owners on the Link Navigator, selecting the owner from Owner Navigator, and clicking the Register button at the bottom. B. Click the New button at the bottom of the Owner Register to open a transaction entry screen. Enter a transaction called Beg Balance. For a credit balance, enter the amount as a positive value. For a delinquent balance, enter the amount as a negative value (using the negative sign). Most importantly, date the transaction the day before the go-live date. If you enter a credit balance, the Owner Register will look as follows. If you enter a delinquent balance, the balance amount will show in red and with parentheses. If the owner does not hold security deposits, you will not see the security deposit entries. Instructions Reserve Amount Some property management companies hold a certain amount of money in each owner s account to cover unexpected expenses that arise after the owner has been paid. If your company follows this practice, enter the amount to hold as a reserve on the Owner tab of the Owner Notebook.

38 32. Implementation Guides If you are holding a reserve as of the day before your go-live date, your owner will have a credit balance and you need to enter the Beg Balance transaction to the owner s register following the instructions outlined above. See also Part A: Enter Existing Security Deposits Part B: Enter Tenant Starting Balances

39 Implementation Guides. 33 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 4: Update Master Transaction List All financial information recorded in PropertyBoss is represented at the lowest level as a transaction that was entered on a Lease, Property, or Owner Register. A master list of transactions that can be posted to these registers can be found in the Setup Preferences area of PropertyBoss. This list contains both debits and credits and contains items that are most commonly needed by PropertyBoss clients. As part of your setup, your company should review and customize this list by adding new transactions and deleting ones that you do not need. A transaction must first exist in the master list before it can be setup as a repeating property or lease charge and before it can be posted to a register to represent a specific financial item. The master list of transactions is divided into three categories. The instructions that follow describe how to add and delete transactions for all three categories. Lease/Prospect Transactions - Transactions for which the tenant is responsible; posted on the Lease Register. Examples include: rent charges, late fee charges, tenant payments, and rental credits. Property/Unit Transactions - Transactions for which property management or the owner is responsible and that are related to a specific property or unit; posted to the Property or Unit Register. Included in owner and property management profit and loss reports as income or expense items. Examples include: mortgage bills, landscaping bills, maintenance repairs, and management fee credits. Owner Transactions - Transactions for which the owner is responsible and that are not related to a specific property or unit; posted to the Owner Register. Included in profit and loss reports as adjustments to income and expense items. Examples include: payments to the owner and money received from the owner to cover unusually large repairs. C. Setup your Owner Transactions Transactions for which the owner is responsible (and that are not related to a specific property or unit) are created in the Owner category of the master list of transactions. These transactions are available to post to the Owner Register only. They are included on profit and loss reports as adjustments to income and expense items. Examples include: payments to the owner and money received from the owner to cover unusually large repairs.

40 34. Implementation Guides As part of your setup, your company should review and customize this list by adding new transactions and deleting ones that you do not need. A transaction must first exist in this list before it can be posted to a Owner Register to represent a specific financial item. Setup Instructions A. From the Link Navigator, click Setup Preferences, Define Transactions under the System Settings heading, and Define Owner Transactions. The master list of owner transactions will open. B. To add a new transaction to the list, click New. A blank transaction window will open on the right. Enter required fields (see next section) and other optional information. C. When you are done, enter your next transaction by clicking New again. Your current transaction will save. Or, return to the System Preferences by clicking OK. Required Information

41 Implementation Guides. 35 Transaction Name - The name that you enter will appear on the owner statement and other PropertyBoss reports when you post this transaction to the Owner Register. The transaction name is a limited number of characters so you may need to abbreviate at times. Transaction name must be unique and can be renamed at a later time if necessary. Transaction Type - The transaction type is the most important designation when creating new transactions as it dictates whether the transaction is a debit or credit item when posted to the Owner Register. To select a type, click the question mark, scroll down in the list that opens, click the type that you want to select, and then click OK. A thorough explanation of which type to select is provided in the next section. Transaction Types Charges to the Owner Credits to the Owner

42 36. Implementation Guides Special Transaction Types Corrections Rename a Transaction Open the transaction list in Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Rename at the bottom of the window. The transaction name field will become editable. Make your changes and click OK. The name will update throughout the system on reports and registers. Delete a Transaction Open the transaction list from Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Delete at the bottom of the window. If the transaction has never been used in the system, the transaction will delete. If the transaction has been used, you will be asked to select an existing transaction to which to change all instances. A better method in this instance may be to make the transaction Obsolete by selecting the Obsolete checkbox. This will leave the transaction in all places it has been posted, but will prevent you from using it in the future. Change the Transaction Type Once a transaction has been created, you cannot change the type, even if the transaction has never been posted to a register. Instead, delete the transaction and create it again with a different transaction type. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

43 Implementation Guides. 37

44 38. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 4: Update Master Transaction List > Part A: Setup Your Lease and Prospect Transactions Part A: Setup Your Lease and Prospect Transactions Transactions for which the tenant is responsible are created in the Lease/Prospect category of the master list of transactions. These transactions are available to post to the Lease Register only. Examples include: rent charges, late fee charges, tenant payments, and rental credits. As part of your setup, your company should review and customize this list by adding new transactions and deleting ones that you do not need. A transaction must first exist in this list before it can be setup as a repeating lease charge and before it can be posted to a Lease Register to represent a specific charge or credit to the tenant. Setup Instructions A. From the Link Navigator, click Setup Preferences, Define Transactions under the System Settings heading, and Define Lease/Prospect Transactions. The master list of lease transactions will open. B. To add a new transaction to the list, click New. A blank transaction window will open on the right. Enter required fields (see next section) and other optional information.

45 Implementation Guides. 39 C. When you are done, enter your next transaction by clicking New again. Your current transaction will save. Or, return to the System Preferences by clicking OK. Required Information Transaction Name - The name that you enter will appear on the lease statement, the owner statement, and other PropertyBoss reports when you post this transaction to the Lease Register. The transaction name is a limited number of characters so you may need to abbreviate at times. The transaction name must be unique and can be renamed at a later time if necessary. Transaction Type - The transaction type is the most important designation when creating new transactions as it dictates whether the transaction is a debit or credit item when posted to the Lease Register. For charge types, it also dictates who receives the income (the owner or the property management company) when the charge is paid by the tenant. For credit types, it dictates who receives the expense (the owner or the property management company) when the tenant receives the credit. To select a type, click the question mark, scroll down in the list that opens, click the type that you want to select, and then click OK. A thorough explanation of which type to select is provided in the next section. Transaction Types Charges to the Tenant

46 40. Implementation Guides Credits to the Tenant

47 Implementation Guides. 41 Special Transaction Types Corrections Rename a Transaction Open the transaction list in Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Rename at the bottom of the window. The transaction name field will become editable. Make your changes and click OK. The name will update throughout the system on reports and registers. Delete a Transaction Open the transaction list from Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Delete at the bottom of the window. If the transaction has never been used in the system, the transaction will delete. If the transaction has been used, you will be asked to select an existing transaction to which to change all instances. A better method in this instance may be to make the transaction Obsolete by selecting the Obsolete checkbox. This will leave the transaction in all places it has been posted, but will prevent you from using it in the future. Change the Transaction Type Once a transaction has been created, you cannot change the type, even if the transaction has never been posted to a register. Instead, delete the transaction and create it again with a different transaction type. See also

48 42. Implementation Guides Part B: Setup your Property/Unit Transactions Part C: Setup Your Owner Transactions

49 Implementation Guides. 43 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 4: Update Master Transaction List > Part B: Setup your Property/Unit Transactions Part B: Setup your Property/Unit Transactions Transactions for which property management or the owner is responsible are created in the Property/Unit category of the master list of transactions. These transactions are available to post to the Property or Unit Registers only. They are included in owner or property management profit and loss reports as income or expense items. Examples include: mortgage bills, landscaping bills, maintenance repairs, and management fee credits. As part of your setup, your company should review and customize this list by adding new transactions and deleting ones that you do not need. A transaction must first exist in this list before it can be setup as a repeating property charge and before it can be posted to a Property Register to represent a specific financial item. Setup Instructions A. From the Link Navigator, click Setup Preferences, Define Transactions under the System Settings heading, and Define Property/Unit Transactions. The master list of property transactions will open.

50 44. Implementation Guides B. To add a new transaction to the list, click New. A blank transaction window will open on the right. Enter required fields (see next section) and other optional information. C. When you are done, enter your next transaction by clicking New again. Your current transaction will save. Or, return to the System Preferences by clicking OK. Required Information Transaction Name - The name that you enter will appear on the owner statement and other PropertyBoss reports when you post this transaction to the Property or Unit Register. The transaction name is a limited number of characters so you may need to abbreviate at times. The transaction name must be unique and can be renamed at a later time if necessary. Transaction Type - The transaction type is the most important designation when creating new transactions as it dictates whether the transaction is a debit or credit item when posted to the Property or Unit Register. It also dictates whose income or expense it is (the owner or property management). To select a type, click the question mark, scroll down in the list that opens, click the type that you want to select, and then click OK. A thorough explanation of which type to select is provided in the next section. Transaction Types Charges to the Property or Unit

51 Implementation Guides. 45 Credits to the Property or Unit Special Transaction Types

52 46. Implementation Guides Corrections Rename a Transaction Open the transaction list in Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Rename at the bottom of the window. The transaction name field will become editable. Make your changes and click OK. The name will update throughout the system on reports and registers. Delete a Transaction Open the transaction list from Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Delete at the bottom of the window. If the transaction has never been used in the system, the transaction will delete. If the transaction has been used, you will be asked to select an existing transaction to which to change all instances. A better method in this instance may be to make the transaction Obsolete by selecting the Obsolete checkbox. This will leave the transaction in all places it has been posted, but will prevent you from using it in the future. Change the Transaction Type Once a transaction has been created, you cannot change the type, even if the transaction has never been posted to a register. Instead, delete the transaction and create it again with a different transaction type. See also Part A: Setup Your Lease and Prospect Transactions Part C: Setup Your Owner Transactions

53 Implementation Guides. 47 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 4: Update Master Transaction List > Part C: Setup Your Owner Transactions Part C: Setup Your Owner Transactions Transactions for which the owner is responsible (and that are not related to a specific property or unit) are created in the Owner category of the master list of transactions. These transactions are available to post to the Owner Register only. They are included on profit and loss reports as adjustments to income and expense items. Examples include: payments to the owner and money received from the owner to cover unusually large repairs. As part of your setup, your company should review and customize this list by adding new transactions and deleting ones that you do not need. A transaction must first exist in this list before it can be posted to a Owner Register to represent a specific financial item. Setup Instructions A. From the Link Navigator, click Setup Preferences, Define Transactions under the System Settings heading, and Define Owner Transactions. The master list of owner transactions will open. B. To add a new transaction to the list, click New. A blank transaction window will open on the right. Enter required fields (see next section) and other optional information.

54 48. Implementation Guides C. When you are done, enter your next transaction by clicking New again. Your current transaction will save. Or, return to the System Preferences by clicking OK. Required Information Transaction Name - The name that you enter will appear on the owner statement and other PropertyBoss reports when you post this transaction to the Owner Register. The transaction name is a limited number of characters so you may need to abbreviate at times. Transaction name must be unique and can be renamed at a later time if necessary. Transaction Type - The transaction type is the most important designation when creating new transactions as it dictates whether the transaction is a debit or credit item when posted to the Owner Register. To select a type, click the question mark, scroll down in the list that opens, click the type that you want to select, and then click OK. A thorough explanation of which type to select is provided in the next section. Transaction Types Charges to the Owner

55 Implementation Guides. 49 Credits to the Owner Special Transaction Types Corrections Rename a Transaction Open the transaction list in Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Rename at the bottom of the window. The transaction name field will become editable. Make your changes and click OK. The name will update throughout the system on reports and registers. Delete a Transaction Open the transaction list from Setup Preferences > Define Transactions and click Delete at the bottom of the window. If the transaction has never been used in the system, the transaction will delete. If the transaction has been used, you will be asked to select an

56 50. Implementation Guides existing transaction to which to change all instances. A better method in this instance may be to make the transaction Obsolete by selecting the Obsolete checkbox. This will leave the transaction in all places it has been posted, but will prevent you from using it in the future. Change the Transaction Type Once a transaction has been created, you cannot change the type, even if the transaction has never been posted to a register. Instead, delete the transaction and create it again with a different transaction type. See also Part A: Setup Your Lease and Prospect Transactions Part B: Setup your Property/Unit Transactions

57 Implementation Guides. 51 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences PropertyBoss has several settings that affect the way your PropertyBoss operates on a database-wide level. All of these settings should be reviewed and updated to match your company s policies and operating procedures. These settings are found in Setup Preferences under the category System Settings. All settings should be reviewed, but the most important settings are explained below. To access each setting, begin by clicking Setup Preferences on the Link Navigator and then a specific item under System Settings. After making changes, click OK to save your changes and close the window. For some settings, you will be prompted to log out. If you are making multiple changes, you do not have to log out each time, but each change will not take affect until you do log out and back into PropertyBoss. Company Information Review the address and contact information shown here. This information prints on various letters and reports that you produce from PropertyBoss. Define Transactions All financial information recorded in PropertyBoss is represented at the lowest level as a transaction that was entered on a Lease, Property, or Owner Register. As part of your setup, your company should review and customize the list of master transactions adding new transactions that you need and deleting existing transactions that you do not need. A transaction must exist in the master list before it can be setup as a repeating property or lease charge and before it can be posted to any of the registers as a specific financial item. Complete instructions for customizing the master transaction list are described in Step 4 of this guide.

58 52. Implementation Guides Global Preferences Use for Fee-Based Management (owners) If your property management company keeps a percentage of rent payments as a management fee and pays the remainder to the individual or company who owns the property, you are conducting fee-based management and should have this box checked. This displays the Owners link on the Link Navigator and allows you to define owners and management fees per property. It has major implications on transaction setup and the flow of income and expenses. Use Tax Capabilities If your property management company must charge sales tax on management fees or rent charges, you should check this box. Instructions for setting up sales tax to calculate automatically are described in the main user guide. Interface to External Accounting Package If you will be linking PropertyBoss to QuickBooks, this box should be checked. This displays the General Ledger link on the Link Navigator. Use Subsidies If you have leases that are subsidized by Section 8 or another housing authority (i.e. the tenant pays part of the rent and a government entity pays part of the rent), this box should be checked. This will allow you do setup leases with both a rent amount and subsidy amount due. Path to Root Directly for Storing Media Most of the notebooks in PropertyBoss have a Media tab. This is an area where you can upload pictures and documents for viewing right within PropertyBoss and inclusion in our portal add-on products. Before you can upload media, you must enter here where on your network PropertyBoss should store the media when it is uploaded. Create a folder called PB_Media somewhere on your network accessible by all PropertyBoss users and that gets backed up regularly. Then, click the Locate Path button here to navigate to that folder and select it. (Do not type the path into the field.) As you upload media from memory cards, hard drives, etc. the media will always be store automatically by PropertyBoss in this PB_Media folder. Processing Options Default Fee for Insufficient Funds When you reverse a tenant payment for insufficient funds (NSF), PropertyBoss will automatically post the NSF charge to the tenant. The charge will be for the amount that you have entered here. Use 30 Day Months When you begin a lease on a day other than the first of the month or end a lease on a day other than the end of the month, PropertyBoss will automatically prorate the rent amount for that month. If your company calculates prorated rent amounts based on 30 days regardless of the number of days in the month, this box should be checked. If you calculate prorated rent amounts based on the actual number of days in the month, this box should be unchecked.

59 Implementation Guides. 53 Security Settings During your purchase process, you purchased a certain number of user licenses this is the number of people that can log into your PropertyBoss simultaneously. However, you can create an unlimited number of user accounts one for every person on your staff that will need to log in at some time. Each of these user accounts can have permissions to use different features in PropertyBoss. For example, you may have five staff members that need to use PropertyBoss, but typically only three members need to log into PropertyBoss at the same time. You would have purchased three user licenses, but will create five user accounts in Setup Preferences. One account may have permissions to perform any action in PropertyBoss, while another two may be limited to managing leases, a fourth limited to entering financial information, and a fifth limited to reviewing reports only. User accounts must be created in Setup Preferences for both network and hosted versions of PropertyBoss. For hosted versions, you will also have user accounts created on PropertyHost that allow your users to login to your web-based PropertyBoss, but the user accounts within Setup Preferences in PropertyBoss determine which features the users can and cannot use. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

60 54. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live After you have entered all of your startup information into PropertyBoss, you are almost ready to go-live. Before you post your first rent charges and tenant payments, be sure to verify the following items. Verifying this information before going-live will help you identify any mistakes that would cause undue time and confusion if identified after going-live. Management Fee and Ownership Structure for all Properties Click Tools on the Link Navigator, then Import System Startup Data, and finally Verify Management Fees. A table will display that lists all of your properties, their owners, and your management fees. This information was entered on the Owners tab of the Property Notebook for each property. Review all information in this table to ensure: (1) that owners and management fees have been defined for all properties and (2) that the information defined is correct. Make any necessary updates before posting your first rent charges and payments. Next Rent Post Date and Paid through Date for all Leases Click Rent Roll from the Link Navigator. Then choose Rent Roll from the dropdown field above the table. Review this table and ensure: (1) all dates in the Next Rent Post Date column are set to your go-live date and (2) all dates in the Paid through Date column are set to the day before your go-live date. These dates are found on the Dates tab of the Lease Notebook. Make any necessary changes before posting your first rent charges from Autopost.

61 Implementation Guides. 55 No Leasing Fee Checkbox for all Leases If you charge a Leasing Fee, review the Lease tab of all Lease Notebooks. Ensure that the No Leasing Fee checkbox is checked. This will prevent PropertyBoss from charging the owner for a leasing fee when you post the tenant s first payment. Existing Security Deposits Run the A560 report as of the day before your go-live date. This report will list every tenant and the amount of deposit being held by either you or the owner as of your go-live with PropertyBoss. Review this report and ensure: (1) each tenant for which you or the owner are holding a deposit is shown on the report, (2) the total deposit amount being held by you (at the bottom) is equal to your total deposit liability the total amount of deposits in your bank account, and (3) the total deposit amount for owner held deposits is correct. Verify these totals with the accounting system in use prior to PropertyBoss. If you must make any corrections, be sure to run the report and verify the totals again.

62 56. Implementation Guides Starting Balances for Tenants Run the A510 report as of the day before your go-live date. This report will list every tenant that has a delinquent or prepaid balance as of your go-live with PropertyBoss. Ensure that every tenant with a starting balance is included on the report with the correct balance. Verify this with the accounting system in use prior to PropertyBoss. If you must make any corrections, be sure to run the report and verify the totals again. Starting Balances for Owners Run the O220 report as of the day before your go-live date. This report will list every owner and the balance from his or her register as of your go-live with PropertyBoss. Ensure that every owner is included on the report with the correct balance. Also verify the total balance on this report is equal to your total owner liability. Verify this with the accounting system in use prior to PropertyBoss. If you must make any corrections, be sure to run the report and verify the totals again. Reserve Amount for Owners If you hold a reserve amount for your owners, ensure that each owner has a value entered in the Reserve Amount field on the Owner notebook. This can be checked quickly by adding a Reserve Amount column to the Owner Navigator. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps

63 Implementation Guides. 57 Home > Implementation Guides > Standard Data Entry > Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps Beyond Basic Implementation Your Next Steps Setup Add-On Products Each add-on product that you can purchase with PropertyBoss must also be setup for use. Depending on the product, setup instructions may come from PropertyBoss or a third party company that is providing the service through PropertyBoss. If you have any questions regarding the setup of your add-on products, you can call or Client Care for help. Setup QuickBooks Integration If you plan to link your PropertyBoss to QuickBooks, the communication between the two applications must be setup before you can send financial information from PropertyBoss to QuickBooks. You can post financials in PropertyBoss without the link being setup, but you cannot pay bills, pay owners, etc. until the link has been established. Instructions for setting up the link are provided in the main user guide. See also Step 1: Determine Your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Step 4: Update Master Transaction List Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live

64 58. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import Excel Import One of the most time-consuming tasks in starting with any new software package is getting your existing data into the new system. PropertyBoss has an extensive import capability that simplifies the entry of existing data. Importing your data from Excel involves entering all startup data into a series of Excel spreadsheets according to very specific setup instructions, but often takes less time than standard data entry. The Excel spreadsheets may be generated manually by you or exported from your current software and updated to be in the proper format for importing into PropertyBoss. An Excel import can be purchased as a service to be completed by PropertyBoss or can be completed on your own for no additional fees. If you are interested in PropertyBoss importing your data for you, please contact your Account Manager for more details. If you decide to import your data on your own, all instructions are covered in this guide. If you find that you need assistance, you can also purchase training time with a PropertyBoss employee. You must complete all steps in this guide before replacing your current system with PropertyBoss. Continue to use your current system to manage leases and record financial information until all startup data has been imported into PropertyBoss and verified. The general steps are listed below. Each step involves many sub-steps, so be sure to allow adequate time for completing all items. Import Tips Before you begin importing startup data, be certain that you have created your production database. Do not import your data into one of the training databases. These databases have information that does not pertain to your property management company, so you want to begin with a blank database that you created or someone at PropertyBoss created for you. It is okay to import startup data before you have received your permanent registration numbers. When you first create your database, you will be in a 30-day trial mode until you have received the registration numbers from Client Care. You have full PropertyBoss features while in the 30- day trial mode, and your imported data will remain after you enter the permanent registration numbers. If you are using the Vista operating system, you must save your Excel files as.txt files before you can use the import feature. If you try to import with an.xls file, you will get an error message. If you are using the XP operating system, you can import the.xls files with no issues. Don t rename any column headings unless they are custom unit fields, custom lease fields, custom recurring lease charges, or tenant balances due. If you rename the columns, you will have a difficult time associating them with the correct field in PropertyBoss when you do the import. If you are unable to complete any of the implementation steps presented in the guide, submit a request for help to Client Care: help.propertyboss.com. See also Standard Data Entry Setting Up Late Fees

65 Implementation Guides. 59 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide The goal of the Excel Import Guide is to help you successfully complete an import of your data. As such, the import guide focuses on how to enter your information into the import spreadsheets and then how to import the spreadsheets into PropertyBoss. These items, however, are part of a larger, overall implementation process, which is described in complete detail in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Understanding and completing all of the steps in the overall implementation process is crucial to a successful rollout of your PropertyBoss software. Therefore, reviewing steps 1-3 in the Standard Data Entry Guide is very important. Though you won t be following any of the step by step instructions for manual data entry, you will need to understand all other concepts and topics presented in steps 1-3. Furthermore, these steps provide field-level descriptions of the information that you must enter into the Excel spreadsheets and reviewing this information in conjunction with completing your spreadsheets will answer many questions that may arise. So, before entering your information into the Excel import template, it is very important to read the following sections in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Step 1: Determine your PropertyBoss Go-Live Date You must set a go-live date before completing your spreadsheets. This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide fully explains what the go-live date is and the importance of the date to your company s rollout of PropertyBoss. Step 2: Setup your Property Management Structure Even though you will be importing rather than entering your information manually, this section of the Standard Data Entry Guide will provide a solid foundation for concepts about how PropertyBoss works as a whole. Part A: Setup your Owners This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the Owner Notebook and fields. Understanding this information will help you complete the Owners tab of the Excel spreadsheet and navigate to the information once you have imported it into PropertyBoss. Part B: Setup your Properties and Units This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the Property and Unit Notebooks and fields. Understanding this information will help you complete the Properties-Units tab of the Excel spreadsheet and navigate to the information once you have imported it into PropertyBoss. Part C: Setup your Existing Leases and Tenants This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the Lease and Tenant Notebooks and fields. Understanding this information will help you complete the Tenants tab and the Leases tab of the Excel spreadsheet and navigate to the information once you have imported it into PropertyBoss. Part D: Setup your Vendors This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the options for entering Vendor information in PropertyBoss. There is not a corresponding tab on the Excel file for importing vendors. Vendors are typically imported during your QuickBooks integration. Step 3: Enter Starting Balances and Security Deposits Even though you will be importing rather than entering your starting financial information, this section of the Standard Data Entry Guide will provide a solid foundation for concepts of how PropertyBoss handles financial information as a whole. Enter Existing Security Deposits This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the Lease Register and existing security deposit transactions. Reviewing this information will help you correctly enter security deposit information into the Leases tab of the Excel spreadsheet and navigate to the information once you have imported it into PropertyBoss. Enter Tenant Starting Balances This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the Lease Register and starting balance transactions for both prepaid and delinquent balances. Reviewing this information will help you correctly enter starting balance information into the Leases tab of the Excel spreadsheet and navigate to the information once you have imported it into PropertyBoss. Enter Owner Starting Balances This section of the Standard Data Entry Guide describes the Owner Register and starting balance transactions for both credit and delinquent balances. Reviewing this information will help you correctly enter starting balance information into the Owners tab of the Excel spreadsheet and navigate to the information once you have imported it into PropertyBoss. See also Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide

66 60. Implementation Guides

67 Implementation Guides. 61 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry To simplify the import process and to show what fields can be imported, PropertyBoss provides a template Excel file for each industry represented by our clients. To begin your import process, first download the Excel file that best represents your industry by clicking one of the following links and saving the file to your desktop or to a location on your network. The instructions presented in this guide are based on the Residential (Fee-Based Management) Excel file, but can generally be followed for the other industries as well. Residential (Fee-Based Management) If you are conducting fee-based management, each of the properties that you manage is owned by someone other than your property management company. Your company keeps a percentage of the rent payments as a management fee and pays the remainder to the individual or company who owns the property. Properties can be single-units (such as a house) or have multiple-units (such as a duplex, a condominium, or an apartment building). Property owners and your management fee terms will be designated for each property. Multifamily If you are managing one or more apartment or condominium buildings that are owned by your company, you are considered multifamily. Home Owners Associations (HOA) If you are collecting HOA dues and paying bills on behalf of one or more home owners associations, you are considered HOA. Student Housing If you are managing apartments that are leased 100% by students, you are considered student housing. If you have a mixture of non-students and students, you are considered multifamily. (It just so happens that some of your tenants are students.) Commercial If you are managing office spaces, warehouses, strip malls, etc. that are owned by your company, you are considered commercial. Commercial (Fee-Based Management) If you are conducting fee-based management, each of the properties that you manage is owned by someone other than your property management company. Your company keeps a percentage of the rent payments as a management fee and pays the remainder to the individual or company who owns the property. Your properties are not residential, but rather office spaces, warehouses, strip malls, etc. If you created more than one production database during your installation of PropertyBoss, you will be downloading and completing more than one Excel template. Each database will have its own corresponding Excel template to import information specific to that database. A variety of reasons exist for needing more than one database. Please see the database section of the Installation Guide for a complete explanation and instructions on creating production databases. See also Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide

68 62. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Your Property Management Structure and Startup Financials Your property management structure is made up of the following entities: (1) properties and units, (2) tenants, (3) leases, and (4) owners. When you open your Excel template, you will see that a tab exists at the bottom of the file for each entity so that you can quickly import this information directly into PropertyBoss. Within your spreadsheet data, you will associate owners with properties and define your management fees for each property. You will also associate tenants with leases and setup their rent amounts among other information. You will also use your spreadsheets to capture the financial status of each tenant and owner as of the day before your PropertyBoss go-live date. This information will be imported into PropertyBoss as starting balance entries. You will enter property management held security deposits into the spreadsheets as well. Importing these entries for all tenants and owners is crucial for creating accurate financial information as you begin using PropertyBoss. Historical Financial Information Historical financial information (i.e. transactions that occurred in the software used prior to PropertyBoss) cannot be imported into PropertyBoss. Every software package handles transactions very differently. Everything from how transactions are defined to how the money is applied is different in each system. Because of the complexity of matching this information between systems and the unreliable nature of the resulting data, we do not provide the ability to import this data. As you will find with all other property management software companies, we provide the ability to import starting balances and existing security deposits only. Exported Data If you exported your data from your current system, you still need to get that data into the format represented in the Excel templates. After reviewing the templates and the instructions provided here, you can determine if it is easier to copy and paste from your file into the Excel template or tweak your file so that it is in the same format as the Excel template. The Template Open the Excel template file that you downloaded and click on each of the tabs. The top yellow portion of the tabs describes every column of information that you will enter into the bottom portion of the tab. The bottom portion provides several lines of sample data to demonstrate the instructions in the yellow portion. Before you do your actual import, you will delete the yellow rows at the top and the sample data at the bottom. And remember, Steps 1-3 of the Standard Data Entry Guide describe the concepts that you need to understand to fill in each of the columns correctly. Column Headings Don t rename any column headings unless they are custom unit fields, custom lease fields, custom recurring lease charges, or tenant balances due. If you rename the columns, you will have a difficult time associating them with the correct field in PropertyBoss when you do the import. See also Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide

69 Implementation Guides. 63 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part A: Property-Unit Tab On this tab, you will enter a row for every single-unit property that you manage. You will also enter a row for every unit of a multiple-unit property that you manage. When this information is imported, a Property Notebook for all single-unit and multiple-unit properties will be created. A Unit Notebook will be created for each unit of a multiple-unit property. In the screen shots below, notice how the columns in the import file have a corresponding field on the Property Notebook. The fields being imported will be on various tabs of the notebook and some fields will be on the various tabs of the Unit Notebook. The corresponding section in the Standard Data Entry Guide is: Part B: Setup your Properties and Units. Tips Property Name: The Property Name that you enter must be entered EXACTLY the same on the Lease tab of the Excel file. If a single letter, space, or period is different, the lease will not associate with the property, thus will not import, when you import the Leases tab. Owner Name: The Owner Name that you enter must be entered EXACTLY the same on the Owner tab of the Excel file. If a single letter, space, or period is different, the owner will not associate with the property when you import the Owners tab. If you have this issue and post payments, the owner will not be credited any income from the payment. Property management will be credited the entire rent payment as income. Multiple Owners: If you have more than one owner for a property, leave the owner blank. After you import the Properties-Units tab and the Owner tab, go to the Property Notebook in PropertyBoss and associate the correct owners with the property. Instructions are in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Management Fees: All columns after the Owner column are for entering your management fee structure for the property. A one sentence description of each column is provided at the top of the spreadsheet, but you should read Part B: Setup your Properties and Units for a thorough explanation of each column and the impact the item has on your income and expenses in PropertyBoss. Security Deposit: This column creates a default on the Property or Unit Notebook so that when you create new leases in PropertyBoss for that property, the security deposit charge is automatically posted to the Lease Register. You only want this to happen for property management held deposits. If any of your owners hold security deposits, don t enter a value in this field for those properties. You will always enter those deposits to the Lease Register directly so that you can mark them as owner held. Late Fees: If you do not import your late fees, you can set them with a mass change from the Rent Roll navigator within PropertyBoss. Unit Custom Fields: PropertyBoss provides the ability to create custom fields for recording data for which the software does not already have a standard field. This ability allows you to capture an endless amount of information that is particular to your company and the information can be included in custom reports that you can create from the Rent Roll Navigator. Several custom fields already exist in your database and a column for them exists in the spreadsheet. These custom fields import to the Details tab on the Unit Notebook (for multiple-unit properties) and to the Details tab on the Property Notebook (for single-unit properties). If you have other custom fields that you would like to import, you must first create the field in PropertyBoss and then add a column to the spreadsheet for the field. To create a custom field, click Setup Preferences from the Link Navigator. Then click Predefined Values and Detail Fields-Property/Unit. Screen Shots

70 64. Implementation Guides See also Part B: Tenants Tab Part C: Leases Tab Part D: Owners Tab Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part F: Tenant Starting Balances Part G: Owner Starting Balances

71 Implementation Guides. 65 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part B: Tenants Tab Part B: Tenants Tab On this tab, you will enter a row for every tenant that is currently leasing with you. If a single lease has more than one tenant associated with it, enter a row for each of those persons in the spreadsheet. When this information is imported, a Tenant Notebook will be created for each person entered. In the screen shots below, notice how the columns in the import file have a corresponding field on one of the tabs of the Tenant Notebook. The corresponding section in the Standard Data Entry Guide is: Part C: Setup your Existing Leases and Tenants. Tips Company Name/File as Name: Enter a value in this field for every tenant (even if you enter the first and last name columns). The name that you enter in this field must be entered EXACTLY the same on the Lease tab of the Excel file (Primary Tenant, Resident #2, etc.) If a single letter, space, or period is different, the lease will not associate with the Tenant Notebook for that person. Screen Shots See also Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part C: Leases Tab Part D: Owners Tab Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part F: Tenant Starting Balances Part G: Owner Starting Balances

72 66. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part C: Leases Tab Part C: Leases Tab On this tab, you will enter a row for every lease that will still be active as of your go-live date with PropertyBoss. You can only enter one lease per property or unit. When this information is imported, a Lease Notebook will be created for each lease entered. The Lease Notebook will be associated with the correct Property or Unit Notebook and the correct Tenant Notebook automatically. In the screen shots below, notice how the columns in the import file have a corresponding field on one of the tabs of the Lease Notebook. The corresponding section in the Standard Data Entry Guide is: Part C: Setup your Existing Leases and Tenants. Tips Property Name: The Property Name that you enter must be entered EXACTLY the same as what you entered on the Property-Unit tab of the Excel file. If a single letter, space, or period is different, the lease will not associate with the property, thus will not import. Primary Tenant (Resident #2, etc): The name that you enter in these fields must be entered EXACTLY the same as you entered in the Company Name/File As Name field on the Tenants tab of the Excel file. If a single letter, space, or period is different, the lease will not associate with the Tenant Notebook for that person. Lease Start Date and Lease End Date: You must enter a both values for EVERY lease. Rent Amount: You must enter a value for EVERY lease. Rent Next Post Date: This date should be the go-live date you ve set for your PropertyBoss implementation. You must enter a value for EVERY lease. If you decide to change your go-live date later, you can mass change this value from the Rent Roll Navigator within PropertyBoss. Rent Paid Through Date: This date should be the day before the go-live date you ve set for your PropertyBoss implementation. You must enter a value for EVERY lease. If you decide to change your go-live date later, you can mass change this value from the Rent Roll Navigator within PropertyBoss. Late Fees: If you do not import your late fees, you can set them with a mass change from the Rent Roll navigator within PropertyBoss. Recurring Charges: If you charge tenants for items other than rent that are always the same amount and due on a routine schedule, PropertyBoss can help you post them quickly by setting them up as repeating charges. Several transactions already exist in your database that could potentially be a recurring charge and a column for them exists in the spreadsheet. These items import to the Charges tab on the Lease Notebook. If you have other transactions that you would like to import as recurring charges, you must first create the transaction in PropertyBoss and then add a column to the spreadsheet for the transaction. See the Standard Data Entry Guide for complete instructions on adding new transactions to PropertyBoss. Lease Custom Fields: PropertyBoss provides the ability to create custom fields for recording data for which the software does not already have a standard field. This ability allows you to capture an endless amount of information that is particular to your company and the information can be included in custom reports that you can create from the Rent Roll Navigator. Several custom fields already exist in your database and a column for them exists in the spreadsheet. These custom fields import to the Details tab on the Lease Notebook. If you have other custom fields that you would like to import, you must first create the field in PropertyBoss and then add a column to the spreadsheet for the field. To create a custom field, click Setup Preferences from the Link Navigator. Then click Predefined Values and Detail Fields-Leases. No Leasing Fee VERY IMPORTANT if you charge Leasing Fees Existing leases that you enter as part of your startup data are already in existence as of your go-live date with PropertyBoss; therefore, you have most likely already charged the owner for your leasing fee. If this is the case and you do not want PropertyBoss to charge the owner for the leasing fee again, you must check the No Leasing Fee Checkbox on each Lease Notebook. This field is not importable, so you must navigate to each Lease Notebook (after you are done importing) to make the selection. Screen Shots See also Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part B: Tenants Tab Part D: Owners Tab Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part F: Tenant Starting Balances Part G: Owner Starting Balances

73 Implementation Guides. 67 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part D: Owners Tab Part D: Owners Tab On this tab, you will enter a row for every owner for which you manage properties. When this information is imported, an Owner Notebook will be created for each owner entered. The Owner Notebook will be associated with the correct Property automatically. In the screen shots below, notice how the columns in the import file have a corresponding field on one of the tabs of the Owner Notebook. The corresponding section in the Standard Data Entry Guide is: Part A: Setup your Owners. Tips Company: The value that you enter in this field must be entered EXACTLY the same on the Property tab of the Excel file. If a single letter, space, or period is different, the owner will not associate with the property when you import. If you have this issue and post payments, the owner will not be credited any income from the payment. Property management will be credited the entire rent payment as income. You should enter this value for every owner. You should also enter First and Last Names for Individuals. You can optionally enter First and Last Names for Companies. Multiple Owners: If you have more than one owner for a property, enter a row for each owner. After you import the Properties-Units tab and the Owner tab, go to the Property Notebook in PropertyBoss and associate the correct owners with the property. Instructions are in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Screen Shots See also Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part B: Tenants Tab Part C: Leases Tab Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part F: Tenant Starting Balances Part G: Owner Starting Balances

74 68. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part E: Existing Security Deposits You will enter this information on the Lease tab of the Excel file in the following two columns: Security Deposit and Security Deposit Offset. You will not import this information as a part of the lease import. Instead, you will import it as a part of a transaction import later in the steps. The corresponding section in the Standard Data Entry Guide is: Part A: Enter Existing Security Deposits. Tips Security Deposit: Only enter if you charged this tenant a security deposit when they originally leased from you and you are still holding the deposit. Enter the full amount that you charged even if the tenant is still paying on the charge. The value will always be a positive amount. If this deposit is held by the owner, do not enter a value. You will not import owner held deposits. You will manually enter those based on instructions in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Security Deposit Offset: Only enter if the tenant has paid you some or all of this deposit and you are still holding the deposit. Enter the full amount that they have paid so far (typically is the same as the charge amount). The value will always be a NEGATIVE amount so that it imports as a credit against the charge item. If this deposit is held by the owner, do not enter a value. You will not import owner held deposits. You will manually enter those based on instructions in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Screen Shots See also Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part B: Tenants Tab Part C: Leases Tab Part D: Owners Tab Part F: Tenant Starting Balances Part G: Owner Starting Balances

75 Implementation Guides. 69 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part F: Tenant Starting Balances Part F: Tenant Starting Balances You will enter this information on the Lease tab of the Excel file in the columns to the far right. The exact columns that you have will depend on if you have prepaid tenants and what types of items your delinquent tenants still owe. You will not import this information as a part of the lease import. Instead, you will import it as a part of a transaction import later in the steps. It is very important to review the Standard Data Entry Guide for a complete explanation of how to determine Prepaid and Delinquent Balances. The corresponding section in the guide is: Part B: Enter Tenant Starting Balances. Tips Tenants with a starting balance will either have a prepaid balance or a balance due, but not both. Only enter a value for one or the other. Most tenants will have a $0 starting balance. Leave both columns blank for these tenants. Prepaid Starting Balance: The value will always be a NEGATIVE number. Balance Due: The columns that you have here will depend on the items for which your tenants still owe. The important thing to remember is that you will itemize delinquent balances rather than entering just one amount. The value will always be a positive number. Screen Shots See also Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part B: Tenants Tab Part C: Leases Tab Part D: Owners Tab Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part G: Owner Starting Balances

76 70. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template > Part G: Owner Starting Balances Part G: Owner Starting Balances You will enter this information on the Owner tab of the Excel file in the Starting Balance column. You will not import this information as a part of the owner import. Instead, you will import it as a part of a transaction import later in the steps. It is very important to review the Standard Data Entry Guide for a complete explanation of how to determine Credit and Delinquent Balances. The corresponding section in the guide is: Part C: Enter Owner Starting Balances. Tips Starting Balance: If the owner has a credit balance, the value entered will be a positive number. If the owner has a delinquent balance, the value entered will be a NEGATIVE number. If the owner has a $0 balance, leave the field blank. Screen Shots See also Part A: Property-Unit Tab Part B: Tenants Tab Part C: Leases Tab Part D: Owners Tab Part E: Existing Security Deposits Part F: Tenant Starting Balances

77 Implementation Guides. 71 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Vista Operating System If you are using the Vista operating system, you must save your Excel files as.txt files before you can use the import feature. If you try to import with an.xls file, you will get an error message. If you are using the XP operating system, you can import the.xls files with no issues. Production Database Before you begin importing startup data, be certain that you have created your production database. Do not import your data into one of the training databases. These databases have information that does not pertain to your property management company, so you want to begin with a blank database that you created or someone at PropertyBoss created for you. It is okay to import startup data before you have received your permanent registration numbers. When you first create your database, you will be in a 30-day trial mode until you have received the registration numbers from Client Care. You have full PropertyBoss features while in the 30-day trial mode, and your imported data will remain after you enter the permanent registration numbers. Import Order You will import one tab at a time. Import the tabs in the following order: properties-units, tenants, leases, and owners. Then import: existing security deposits, tenant starting balances, and owner starting balances. Once you have imported everything, you will click a special button to reset your database and set the correct status on all tenants and leases. Each time you import a tab, you will first delete all instructional yellow rows at the top (delete, don t hide) and the sample data rows in the bottom (delete, don t hide). The top row of the spreadsheet should be the column headers. Then, you will move that tab so that it is the first tab in the Excel file and SAVE the file before doing the import. See also Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide

78 72. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss > Part A: Property Management Structure Part A: Property Management Structure You will import one tab at a time. Import the tabs in the following order: properties-units, tenants, leases, and then owners. Each time you import a tab, you will first delete all instructional yellow rows at the top (delete, don t hide) and the sample data rows in the bottom (delete, don t hide). The top row of the spreadsheet should be the column headings row. You will also move that tab so that it is the first tab in the Excel file and SAVE the file before doing the import for that tab. Import Steps 1. In PropertyBoss, click Tools from the Link Navigator and then Import System Startup Data. 2. Next, click the correct button for the import you are about to do: Create Properties and Units, Create Tenants, Create Leases, or Create Owners. NOTE: Depending on your database language (Residential, Multifamily, Association, Commercial, etc.), you will see different terms used on the import screen. Translations can be verified and updated under 'Tools' and clicking the 'Language Translation' button and then the 'Global Translations' button. For more information, refer to the Language Translation section of the Daily User Guide. 3. If you have not entered or imported any information for the item on which you are working, the window that opens will be blank. Click Import to open the window to select the Excel import file.

79 Implementation Guides Click Select Import File and navigate to locate your spreadsheet. After you pick your spreadsheet, the fields in the bottom will match up automatically (if you did not change the name of any column headings). The items in the first column are the field names from the column headings in your spreadsheet. The items in the second column are the names of the fields in PropertyBoss to which you can match the columns in your spreadsheet. Double-check that all items in the first column appear to be matched up with the appropriate field in PropertyBoss. If any fields are not matched up, you can manually select the PropertyBoss field from the empty dropdown. On the Lease import and Owner import, you don t need to map the columns for security deposits or starting balances at this time. 5. Click the checkbox for Skip First Line In File and click Import. PropertyBoss will import the data from the spreadsheet and will display it on the Quick Edit window. The data is not saved yet, so if you see anything that looks wrong, you can click Cancel.

80 74. Implementation Guides 6. Click OK when you are ready to save the information to your database. 7. Complete these steps for every tab in the spreadsheet. See also Part B: Existing Security Deposits Part C: Tenant Starting Balances Part D: Owner Starting Balances

81 Implementation Guides. 75 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss > Part B: Existing Security Deposits Part B: Existing Security Deposits You will complete these steps two times: once for the security deposit charge and a second time for the security deposit offset. Before you begin, move the Leases tab so that it is the first tab in the Excel file and SAVE the file before doing the import. Import Steps 1. In PropertyBoss, click Tools from the Link Navigator and then Import Transactions. 2. If you have not entered or imported any information for the item on which you are working, the window that opens will be blank. Click Import to open the window to select the Excel import file. 3. Click Select Import File and navigate to locate your spreadsheet. 4. To import the security deposit charge item, map the fields as follows:

82 76. Implementation Guides To import the security deposit offset item, map the fields as follows:

83 Implementation Guides Click the checkbox for Skip First Line In File and click Import. PropertyBoss will import the data from the spreadsheet and will display it on the Quick Edit window. The data is not saved yet, so if you see anything that looks wrong, you can click Cancel. Click OK when you are ready to save the information to your database. See also Part A: Property Management Structure Part C: Tenant Starting Balances Part D: Owner Starting Balances

84 78. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss > Part C: Tenant Starting Balances Part C: Tenant Starting Balances You may complete these steps several times depending on the financial status of your tenants. Before you begin, move the Leases tab so that it is the first tab in the Excel file and SAVE the file before doing the import. Import Steps 1. In PropertyBoss, click Tools from the Link Navigator and then Import Transactions. 2. If you have not entered or imported any information for the item on which you are working, the window that opens will be blank. Click Import to open the window to select the Excel import file. 3. Click Select Import File and navigate to locate your spreadsheet. 4. To import a prepaid starting balance, map the fields as follows. The Post Date is the day before your go-live date.

85 Implementation Guides. 79 To import a delinquent item, map the fields as follows. The post date is the day before your go-live date.

86 80. Implementation Guides 5. Click the checkbox for Skip First Line In File and click Import. PropertyBoss will import the data from the spreadsheet and will display it on the Quick Edit window. The data is not saved yet, so if you see anything that looks wrong, you can click Cancel. Click OK when you are ready to save the information to your database. See also Part A: Property Management Structure Part B: Existing Security Deposits Part D: Owner Starting Balances

87 Implementation Guides. 81 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss > Part D: Owner Starting Balances Part D: Owner Starting Balances You will complete this step only once and both credit and delinquent balances will be imported simultaneously. Before you begin, move the Owners tab so that it is the first tab in the Excel file and SAVE the file before doing the import. Import Steps 1. In PropertyBoss, click Tools from the Link Navigator and then Import Transactions. 2. If you have not entered or imported any information for the item on which you are working, the window that opens will be blank. Click Import to open the window to select the Excel import file. 3. Click Select Import File and navigate to locate your spreadsheet. 4. To import starting balances, map the fields as follows. The Post Date is the day before your go-live date.

88 82. Implementation Guides 5. Click the checkbox for Skip First Line In File and click Import. PropertyBoss will import the data from the spreadsheet and will display it on the Quick Edit window. The data is not saved yet, so if you see anything that looks wrong, you can click Cancel. Click OK when you are ready to save the information to your database. See also Part A: Property Management Structure Part B: Existing Security Deposits Part C: Tenant Starting Balances

89 Implementation Guides. 83 Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts Now that you have imported all of your spreadsheet data into PropertyBoss, you must recalculate all amounts so that PropertyBoss will set the statuses on your tenants and leases correctly. Steps 1. Click Tools from the Link Navigator and then Database Utilities. 2. Click Recalculate all Amounts. When the text in the bottom left corner says Finished, click OK to close the window. Your import is now complete. 3. But don t forget, you have several other steps to complete before your overall implementation of PropertyBoss is complete. See also Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide

90 84. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Excel Import > Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide Step 6: Complete Steps 4-6 from the Standard Data Entry Guide The goal of the Excel Import Guide is to help you successfully complete an import of your data. As such, the import guide has focused on how to enter your information into the import spreadsheets and then how to import the spreadsheets into PropertyBoss. These items, however, are part of a larger, overall implementation process, which is described in complete detail in the Standard Data Entry Guide. Understanding and completing all of the steps in the overall implementation process is crucial to a successful rollout of your PropertyBoss software. Therefore, completing steps 4-6 in the Standard Data Entry Guide is very important. These steps involve the following tasks: Step 4: Update the Master Transaction List You will create new and delete unnecessary lease, property, and owner tansactions. Step 5: Refine Database-Wide Preferences You will make adjustments to several settings that should be reviewed before you start posting charges and payments for the first time. Step 6: Verify all Startup Data before Going-Live You will verify key information such as management fee setup, total security deposits, and starting balances by running several PropertyBoss reports and comparing to the data in the system in use prior to PropertyBoss. This step is EXTREMELY important. It may seem like a formality, but any data that imported incorrectly is corrected more easily, with less delay, and with less frustration before your rollout than after. See also Step 1: Review Steps 1-3 from the Standard Entry Guide Step 2: Download an Excel Import Template for Your Industry Step 3: Enter Your Information into the Excel Template Step 4: Import Your Information into PropertyBoss Step 5: Recalulate All Amounts

91 Implementation Guides. 85 Home > Implementation Guides > Setting Up Late Fees Setting Up Late Fees The Late Fee functionality in PropertyBoss has been upgraded to allow various late fee options to be defined at each Property/Unit/Lease level. Specific Lease/Prospect transactions can be marked to indicate that late fees are to be assessed when a charge is past due. The late fee method can be selected at the Property, Unit, or Lease level and allows selection of the method in which the late fees are to be applied: Initial Charge, Initial Charge + Daily Charge, Initial Charge + Monthly Charge, Initial Charge + Charge Specific Days, Use Ranges Initial, Use Ranges Daily, Use Ranges Monthly, or Manual/No Late Fees. See also Standard Data Entry Excel Import

92 86. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Setting Up Late Fees > Designate where to Maintain Late Fees Designate where to Maintain Late Fees If Late Fees are going to be the same for an entire Property, the Late Fees maintained at Property Level checkbox should be checked. This allows the one time entry of the late fee structure and it cannot be changed on the units or leases. If Late Fees are to be maintained at the unit and lease level, this box should be unchecked.

93 Implementation Guides. 87 Home > Implementation Guides > Setting Up Late Fees > Designate Charges that Can Be Late Designate Charges that Can Be Late When defining Lease/Prospect transactions, a checkbox Eligible for Late Fees is displayed when one of these Transaction Types is selected: Charge to Tenant/Member, Credit Owner/Assoc when Paid, Maintenance paid by Tenant/Member, Rent/Fee Due. When Eligible for Late Fees is checked, then the Date Due and Grace Days Basis must be selected. Eligible for Late Fees when checked, charges using this transaction will be assessed a late fee if not paid by the grace day Date Due the actual accounts receivable due date for the charge With Next Rent Charge Date Due will be the same as the date of the Next Rent Post Date Same as Transaction Date Date Due will be the date of the actual transaction Grace Days Basis the number of days after the Date Due that payment is allowed prior to assessing late fees Same as Lease use the same number of days that are defined on the lease Custom use the specific number of days entered in Grace Days Grace Days the number of days to be added to the Date Due prior to assessing late fees

94 88. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Setting Up Late Fees > Late Fee Method Descriptions Late Fee Method Descriptions No matter which level the late fee is maintained, the late fee entry tab is identical. According to the Late Fee Method selected, the window changes appearance. All the late fee methods provide the options of a Fixed Amount, a Percent of Balance, a Percent of Rent, the Sum of Fixed and Percent, or the Greater of Fixed and Percent. Fixed Amount the fixed dollar amount that will be assessed Percent the percentage that will be used to compute the dollar amount percent type Percent of Balance the percent entered will be multiplied by the unpaid balance to compute the dollar amount that will be assessed Percent of Rent the percent entered will be multiplied by the fixed rent amount to compute the dollar amount that will be assessed combination type (only applicable when Fixed Amount and Percent are entered) Sum of Fixed and Percent the fixed dollar amount and the percentage that has been computed will be added together for the dollar amount that will be assessed Greater of Fixed and Percent the greater dollar amount between the fixed dollar amount and the percentage that has been computed will be the dollar amount that will be assessed Initial Charge Only A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day and the unpaid balance is greater than the Minimum Past Due Balance. The late fee is based on the values entered on the Initial line. Initial Charge + Daily Charge A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day and the unpaid balance is greater than the Minimum Past Due Balance. The late fee is based on the values entered on the Initial line. Then, every day thereafter, up to the Max Times to Charge a late fee based on the values entered on the Daily line will be assessed. Initial Charge + Monthly Charge A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day and the unpaid balance is greater than the Minimum Past Due Balance. The late fee is based on the values entered on the Initial line. Then, every month thereafter, a late fee based on the values entered on the Monthly line will be assessed.

95 Implementation Guides. 89 Initial Charge + Charge Specific Days A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day and the unpaid balance is greater than the Minimum Past Due Balance. The late fee is based on the values entered on the Initial line. Then, if a charge is late on the specified On Day, a late fee based on the values entered on the corresponding On Day line will be assessed. Use Ranges: Initial Only A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day. When the unpaid balance falls between the From/Thru amounts on a specific row, the late fee is based on the values entered on that row.

96 90. Implementation Guides Use Ranges: Initial + Daily A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day. When the total unpaid balance falls between the From/Thru amounts on a specific row, the late fee is based on the values entered on that row. Then, every day thereafter, up to the Max Times to Charge when the total unpaid balance falls between the From/Thru amounts on a specific row, the late fee is based on the values entered on that row. Use Ranges: Initial + Every Month A one time late fee will be assessed if a charge is unpaid on the Late on Day. When the unpaid balance falls between the From/Thru amounts on a specific row, the late fee is based on the values entered on that row. Then, every month thereafter, when the unpaid balance falls between the From/Thru amounts on a specific row, the late fee is based on the values entered on that row.

97 Implementation Guides. 91 Manual/No Late Fees Late Fees will not be assessed automatically; however, they can be entered manually.

98 92. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Setting Up Late Fees > Late Fee Method Calculations Late Fee Method Calculations Several factors are involved in selecting whether an unpaid charge will be assessed a late fee. First of all, at the time that AutoPost is executed, there must be an unpaid balance for a transaction. If the unpaid balance is greater than the Minimum Past Due Balance and the charge is for a transaction that has been marked as Eligible for Late Fees and the A/R Due Date of the charge plus the Grace Days is less than the current date and the Paid Thru Date for the lease is less than the current date, then the charge is selected and used to compute the late fee based on the selected method. Note: No late fees will be charged prior to the Paid Thru Date. Therefore, in special situations, if you want to prevent late fees from being generated, the Paid Thru Date can be set and no late fees will be generated for that lease until that date. Definitions: A/R Due Date the charge date if the transaction is defined as Same as Transaction Date the Next Post Date if the transaction is defined as With next Rent Charge Grace Days the Late on Day from the lease late fee definition if defined as Same as Lease the specified days from the transaction if defined as Custom Late Date the A/R Due Date plus the Grace Days Computed Late Fee (based on late fee definition) If Fixed Amount = value of Fixed Amout Initial Charge Only If Percen (of unpaid Charge) = Percent x unpaid balanc (of rent) = percent x rent charg If Sum of Fixed and Percent = Fixed Amount + Percent If Greater of Fixed and Percent = the greater of the computed value of Fixed Amount and Percent The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date for the charge. If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee on the Late Date for that charge. If there are multiple charges in a month, there will be multiple late fees. Initial Charge + Daily Charge The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date for the charge and the Computed Late Fee based on the daily data is assessed each day after the initial Late Date up to the Max Times to Charge (includes initial as 1). If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee on the Late Date for that charge and the Computed Late Fee based on the daily data is assessed each day after the initial Late Date up to the Max Times to Charge. If there are multiple charges that are late, each charge will generate its own late initial and daily fee unless the charge transaction was defined as Due with next Rent, in which case, the late fee will be done simultaneously with the Rent late fee. Initial Charge + Monthly Charge The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date for the charge and the Computed Late Fee based on the monthly data is assessed once a month thereafter based on the A/R Due date. If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee on the Late Date for that charge and the Computed Late Fee based on the Monthly data once a month thereafter based on the A/R Due date of the charge. If there are multiple charges that are late, each charge will generate its own late initial and monthly fee unless the charge transaction was defined as Due with Next Rent, in which case, the late fee will be done simultaneously with the Rent late fee. Initial Charge + Charge Specific Days The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date for the charge. The Computed Late Fee based on each additional specified day late is assessed on that late date computed by adding the specified day late to the A/R Due date. If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee on each specified day late for that charge. If there are multiple charges that are late, each charge will generate its own late fee on the specified days unless the charge transaction was defined as Due with Next Rent, in which case, the late fee will be done simultaneously with the Rent late fee. Use Ranges: Initial Only The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date for the charge and is based on which range the late unpaid balance falls. If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee based on which range its late unpaid balance falls. If there are multiple charges that are late, each charge will generate its own late fee unless the charge transactions are due on the same date, in which case, the late fee will be based on the range of the total balance due that date. Use Ranges: Initial + Daily

99 Implementation Guides. 93 The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date and each day after the initial Late Date up to the Max Times to Charge (includes initial as 1) and is based on which range the late unpaid balance falls. If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee on its Late Date and each day after the initial Late Date up to the Max Times to Charge based on which range its late unpaid balance falls. If there are multiple charges that have an unpaid balance on a day, the sum of the unpaid balances is used to select which range charge to use. Use Ranges: Initial + Every Month The Computed Late Fee is assessed on the Late Date and each month after the initial Late Date and is based on which range the late unpaid balance falls. If a subsequent charge is posted and has an unpaid balance, it will also be assessed a Computed Late Fee on its Late Date and each month after the initial Late Date based on which range its late unpaid balance falls. If there are multiple charges that are late on a date, the sum of the unpaid balances is used to select which range charge to use. Manual/No Late Fees No Late Fee is assessed automatically. A Late Fee can be assessed manually by entering a Late Fee transaction.

100 94. Implementation Guides Home > Implementation Guides > Setting Up Late Fees > Autopost Preview Autopost Preview Prior to executing the AutoPost for Late Fees, the transactions to be posted can be previewed by double-clicking on the late fee line. Information shown includes: Late Fee Date the date that will be on the late fee transaction Lease the lease this charge is related to Paid Thru Date the paid thru date on the lease Last Late Fee Date the date of the last late fee on this lease Transaction Date the A/R due date on the original transaction Transaction Name the name of the original transaction Initial Date Late the date when the original transaction was considered late Open Amount the unpaid balance of the original transaction Initial Late Fee if this is an initial late fee, the amount to be charged Other Late Fee if this is anything besides an initial late fee, the amount to be charged