The Owner Payments feature helps property managers calculate and invoice owners for their proportional share of property expenses during vacant periods. This tool is particularly useful for expenses like council rates, insurance premiums, or maintenance costs that need to be allocated fairly between owners and tenants based on actual occupancy periods.
Understanding Owner Payment Calculations
When properties have vacant periods during expense instalment coverage periods, owners typically bear the cost for these unoccupied days. The system automatically calculates vacant days by analysing tenancy terms against instalment periods, then determines the prorated expense amount that should be charged to owners based on the vacancy duration.
The calculation considers different scenarios depending on whether the expense instalment applies to an entire property or specific areas within a property. Property-level instalments assess vacancy across all tenancies in the property, while area-level instalments only consider tenancies assigned to the specific area covered by the expense.
Accessing Owner Payments
To access the Owner Payments feature, navigate to Income & Expenses and select the Expense instalments tab. Click the Owner payments button to open the Owner Payments reporting interface.
The Owner Payments page displays instalment data with calculated vacancy information, allowing you to identify periods where owners should be charged for property expenses during unoccupied periods.
Setting Up Filters
Use the filter controls to narrow your analysis to specific timeframes and expenses. Set your Companies filter to focus on particular property management companies, and select specific Creditor organizations to analyse expenses from particular service providers or councils.
The Status filter allows you to view different invoice states - select from Not invoiced or Invoiced to track the progression of owner payment invoices. Use the Start Date and End Date fields to define the analysis period based on instalment due dates.
Click the Run button to populate the results table with instalments that match your filter criteria. The system will calculate vacant days and prorated amounts for each eligible instalment.
Understanding the Results Table
The results display all expense instalments within your selected date range that were configured with "Don't generate" invoice settings, making them eligible for manual owner payment processing.
Column Information
Each row shows essential details including Creditor, Property, Area, Description, and Reference information from the original instalment template. The Invoice column displays any existing invoice numbers if payments have already been processed.
The instalment period column shows the coverage dates for each instalment, which the system uses to calculate vacancy periods. Vacant Days displays the number of unoccupied days during the instalment period, while the Amount column shows the calculated prorated cost that should be charged to the owner.
The Due Date column indicates when the original instalment was scheduled, helping you prioritize which owner payments need immediate attention.
Vacancy Calculation Logic
The system calculates vacant days by analysing active tenancy terms during each instalment period. For property-level instalments, it considers all tenancies in the property. For area-level instalments, it only evaluates tenancies specifically assigned to the relevant area.
The prorated amount is calculated using the formula: instalment amount ÷ total days in period × vacant days. For example, a $3,000 instalment covering 30 days with 10 vacant days would result in a $1,000 owner payment ($3,000 ÷ 30 × 10).
Generating Owner Payment Invoices
Select the checkboxes next to instalments where you want to create owner payment invoices. The system automatically excludes ineligible items - rows without properties or instalment periods appear greyed out and cannot be selected, as the system cannot calculate vacancy without this information.
Previously invoiced instalments also appear greyed out and unselectable to prevent duplicate invoicing. Only instalments with calculated vacant days and amounts greater than zero can be processed for owner payment invoices.
Click Create Invoices to generate expense invoices for the selected instalments. The system displays a temporary notification "Expense invoices are generating" while creating the invoices in the background. Generated invoices inherit all template details including company, property, contact information, account settings, and tax types.
After invoice generation completes, the selected instalments automatically update to "Invoiced" status, preventing accidental duplicate processing. The new invoices appear in your main expense invoices list with amounts matching the calculated prorated costs for vacant periods.
Downloading and Analysis
Use the Download button to export the owner payments analysis as a CSV file. This export includes all calculated vacancy information and prorated amounts, allowing you to perform additional analysis or create custom reports for property owners.
The downloaded data maintains the same column structure as the display table, providing a complete record of vacancy calculations and owner payment determinations for your reporting and audit requirements.
Best Practices
Regular review of owner payments ensures fair cost allocation between owners and tenants. Focus on high-value expenses like council rates and insurance premiums where vacancy-based allocation makes the most significant financial impact.
Use the date range filters strategically to process owner payments in manageable batches, typically monthly or quarterly depending on your property portfolio size and expense instalment frequency.
Coordinate owner payment processing with your regular invoicing cycles to maintain consistent communication with property owners about their expense obligations during vacant periods.