This comprehensive guide explains how to manage owner fees in Re-Leased, including generating invoices, waiving fees, and sending professional communications to property owners. Take note that the process for late fees is distinct and additional information on them can be found here. It's also key to recognize that the Client/Trust Accounting version has separate procedures for fees, which are detailed here.
Getting Started
Before working with owner fees, ensure you've completed the necessary preparatory steps to set up your fee rules. To begin managing your owner fees, navigate to Accounting and select Owner Fees. This section provides comprehensive filtering options to help you efficiently process fees according to your business needs.
To review the draft fees generated by your company's established rules, go to Accounting and Owner Fees. This section allows you to apply filters and organize the fees, letting you choose the appropriate ones to convert into expense invoices.
Understanding the Fee Management Interface
The Owner Fees section contains two main tabs that serve different purposes in your fee management workflow. The Fees tab displays all draft fees generated by your established rules, where you can review, filter, and take bulk actions on fees before they become invoices. The Invoices tab shows all generated fee invoices with their current status, email delivery status, and provides access to invoice details and communication tools.
Working with Draft Fees
In the Fees tab, you can review all draft fees awaiting your decision. Use the available filters to organize fees by company, owner, status, property manager, and date ranges. Select individual fees using the checkboxes on the left side of each row to prepare them for bulk actions.
Bulk Actions for Fee Management
The Bulk Actions button becomes available when you select one or more draft fees. This dropdown menu provides two essential options for managing your selected fees efficiently.
Generate Invoices converts your selected draft fees into expense invoices. When you select this option, the system updates the fee status to Generating during the invoice creation process. Once complete, the status changes to Invoiced. If multiple fees belong to the same owner, they will be consolidated into a single invoice for that owner's convenience.
Waive Fees allows you to write off selected fees without creating invoices. This option is particularly useful for fees you've reviewed and decided not to charge. Waiving fees changes their status from Draft to Waived. Note that only draft fees can be waived - once fees are invoiced or in the generating state, they cannot be waived. You can view all waived fees by selecting Waived from the status filter.
Managing Fee Invoices
Generated invoices appear in the Invoices tab. Each invoice includes comprehensive information about the owner, property, fee amounts, dates, and current status. The interface provides several tools to help you manage and communicate these invoices effectively.
Invoice Status and Tracking
The Sent column shows the email delivery status for each invoice. Invoices that have been successfully emailed to owners display a green checkmark icon, while unsent invoices show an email icon when you hover over the row. This visual system helps you quickly identify which owners have received their invoices and which still require communication.
Accessing Fee Details and Reports
Each invoice row includes helpful navigation tools. The list icon in the Fees column redirects you to the fees table with a precise filter showing exactly which fees are included in that specific invoice. This feature provides transparency and helps you quickly review the composition of any invoice.
The download icon in the same column generates and downloads the Fee Schedule report for that invoice. This detailed report provides a comprehensive breakdown of all fees included in the invoice, making it perfect for record-keeping and owner communications.
Email Communications with Owners
The system provides sophisticated email capabilities for communicating fee invoices to property owners. You can send invoices individually by hovering over an invoice row and clicking the email icon, or use the powerful bulk email feature for multiple invoices.
Bulk Email Functionality
To email multiple invoices simultaneously, select the desired invoices using the checkboxes in the Invoices tab. The Email Selected button appears with a count showing how many invoices you've chosen. Click this button to open the comprehensive email composition interface.
Email Composition and Customization
The email interface provides complete control over your communications. Select from available email templates using the Template dropdown, or create custom messages. The Subject field supports merge fields - click Insert merge field to add dynamic content like invoice numbers or owner names.
The message editor offers rich text formatting options and also supports merge fields for personalized communications. Use the formatting toolbar to create professional, branded communications that reflect your property management standards.
Recipient Management and Attachments
The Recipients section displays all property owners who will receive emails, grouped by invoice. Each recipient shows their email address for verification. If an owner lacks an email address, the system displays a validation error message preventing email delivery until the contact information is updated.
For each email, the system automatically attaches the required invoice PDF. Additionally, the optional Fee Schedule PDF can be included or excluded based on your preference. These attachments provide owners with detailed information about their fees and support transparent communication.
Managing Multiple Invoices per Owner
When the same owner has multiple invoices selected for emailing, the system creates separate emails for each invoice. This approach prevents confusion and ensures each fee schedule attachment corresponds clearly to its respective invoice.
Email Delivery Process
When you click Send emails, a progress dialog displays the delivery status for each email. The interface shows each recipient's email progressing through pending, sending, and completion states. Successful deliveries display a checkmark, while any errors show an error indicator with details.
Once the email process completes, successfully sent invoices are marked with the sent indicator in the Invoices tab, providing a clear record of all communications.
Viewing and Accessing Fee Invoices
There are multiple ways to locate and review your fee invoices. To find a specific invoice, change the status filter to Invoiced, locate the desired fee, and click the amount field to open the related invoice directly.
For broader invoice management, navigate to Income & Expenses, select Expenses, then Awaiting Approval. Type Fees into the search field to display all fee-related expense invoices. This view enables bulk approval of expense invoices when you're ready to finalize them.
Best Practices
To maximize efficiency with the owner fee system, regularly review and process draft fees to maintain current records. Use the bulk actions strategically - waive inappropriate fees promptly and generate invoices for legitimate charges in batches. Take advantage of the bulk email functionality to maintain consistent communication with property owners.
Always verify owner email addresses before sending invoices to ensure successful delivery. Use the fee schedule reports and detailed breakdowns to provide transparency and build trust with property owners. Monitor the sent status indicators to track your communication efforts and follow up appropriately.