This article covers how to manage tenant bonds held in a dedicated bond Trust Account — including initial setup, lodging bonds, handling disbursements between accounts, and processing refunds.
Note: This process applies to Client/Trust Accounting customers only. The bond Trust Account must be set up separately from your main Client/Trust Account.
Initial Setup
Ensure the dedicated bond Trust Account is configured in Re-Leased. See Setting Up a New Client/Trust Account.
Create an owner ledger under the bond Trust Account. See Adding an Owner Ledger.
Create a bond authority contact representing your bond Trust Account.
Go to Contacts → New Contact.
Set the Contact Category to "Bond Authority."
Lodging a Bond
Navigate to the tenancy and go to the Bonds tab.
Click + New Bond Invoice.
Select Bond authority as the holding option, then choose your bond Trust Account as the tenancy bond scheme.
Complete the remaining invoice details, then save and approve.
Loading an Existing Bond
Open the tenancy in Re-Leased and navigate to the Bonds tab.
Click Load Existing Bond.
Set the Holding Location to "Property Owner" (if the bond is currently held by the owner).
Enter the bond amount and lodgment reference (if available).
Click Continue. This step records the bond on the tenancy without creating financial transactions.
Handling Bond Payments and Disbursements
Reconcile the tenant's bond payment against the bond income invoice in your main Trust Account.
Process a Bonds Disbursement to move the funds out of your main Trust Account.
Physically transfer the funds to the dedicated bond Trust Account.
Match the transfer transaction to the disbursement activity in your main Trust Account.
Raise a new income invoice to the bond authority (with bond details) and assign it to the owner ledger in the bond Trust Account.
Troubleshooting
Bond Shows as Held in the Ledger Instead of with the Bond Authority
If the system indicates that the bond is held in the ledger rather than with the bond authority, follow these steps:
Process a bond disbursement in Re-Leased.
Match the bank transaction to align the ledger with the bond authority’s debit.
This ensures proper reconciliation and updates the bond’s status accurately.
Refunding a Bond — Directly from the Bond Trust Account
From the Bonds tab, click the Contextual Menu [...] and choose Prepare to Refund.
Enter the refund amount in Amount to be Refunded to Tenant and tick Bond Authority has sent funds directly to Tenant.
Create an expense invoice on behalf of the tenant using the Bonds Chart of Account and the bond ledger.
Use a disbursement profile designed for creditor payments to release funds from the bond Trust Account.
Physically refund the tenant from your bond bank account.
Refunding a Bond — Through the Main Trust Account
From the Bonds tab, click the Contextual Menu [...] and choose Prepare to Refund.
Enter the refund amount in Amount to be Refunded to Tenant.
Create an expense invoice on behalf of the tenant using the Bonds Chart of Account and the bond ledger.
Use a creditor disbursement profile to release funds from the bond Trust Account.
Physically transfer the funds to the main Trust Account and reconcile the transactions between both accounts.
In the main Trust Account, an expense invoice will be automatically created to refund the tenant once funds are reconciled.
Disburse funds from the main Trust Account using a Bonds Disbursement Profile.
Physically refund the tenant from the main Trust Account.
For Asia-Pacific customers, the term "Trust Account" is used. European customers refer to this as "Client Account". In North America, bonds and deposits are referred to as Security Deposits. Client/Trust Accounting is not available to customers in North America. For more information on regional terminology, see our Glossary of Regional Terminology.