Fees & Trust Accounting

Overview

To set your default charges, open the Agency menu → Edit Agency → the Default management fees card, set each fee and click Save — then override them on any property from its Set Up Property → Management fees section. For your trust account, open Agency → Trust Accounting Settings and complete the Accounting settings and Bank account details cards (on the page the Accounting settings card sits above the bank details).

Set your agency's default fees
1
Open the default fees card
From the left menu, click Agency, choose Edit Agency, and scroll down to the Default management fees card. (Only a Principal user can open Edit Agency.)
2
Set each fee
Work down the card setting your default Management fee, Maintenance fee, Water processing fee and Letting fee — for each, choose Fixed or Percentage and enter the amount — plus a flat Inspection fee. Any fee you leave blank defaults to 0.
3
Set the letting fee options
Use the toggles to choose whether to Bill letting fees automatically? (they trigger when a new tenancy agreement is signed by all parties) and whether to Require approval for letting fees charges?.
4
Add invoice categories
In Invoice categories, list your categories separated by commas. This is the one optional field on the card.
5
Save
Click Save.

Note: The inspection fee is entered GST-exclusive. Whether your agency charges GST at all is controlled by the GST Registered toggle under Trust Accounting Settings, not here.

Override the fees for one property
1
Open the property's fee settings
Open the property, click Set Up Property in the left menu (or the Actions button → Edit property), then open the Management fees section.
2
Choose the management type
Set the Management type — Residential, Commercial, Casual or Boarding House. This is required.
3
Override a fee
The fees table lists Management Fee, Maintenance Fee, Inspection Fee and Letting Fee, each showing the amount currently applied. To charge something different on this property, switch on that row's Override toggle and enter the new amount and type in the fields that appear.
4
Save
Click Save and continue.

Note: A row with Override off uses your agency default, and the section header reads Default fees; override the management fee and it changes to Custom fees. Switching a toggle back off restores the agency default.

Set up your trust account
1
Open Trust Accounting Settings
From the left menu, click Agency and choose Trust Accounting Settings. (Only a Principal user sees this.)
2
Enter the trust account
In the Bank account details card, enter the Trust account name and Trust account number — this is the primary account all incoming rent and outgoing payments run through.
3
Enter the current account
Enter the Current account name and Current account number — your secondary account, where fees and commissions are transferred.
4
Save
Click Save.

Note: Complete all four fields, entering each account number as a valid NZ bank account number with dashes (for example 12-1234-1234567-12). Rent payouts to an owner are skipped whenever that property's payout bank account name or number is missing.

Configure your trust accounting rules
1
Open the Accounting settings card
At the top of the Trust Accounting Settings page, find the Accounting settings card (above the bank details).
2
Keep strict mode on
Leave Trust accounting strict mode on (recommended) — with it on you can't archive bank transactions, which keeps your trust accounting compliant.
3
Choose what gets paid first
Set Payment prioritisation to decide what's deducted first when a property's balance is short — Supplier Invoices or Fee Charges.
4
Set recurring-charge approval
Turn Recurring charges approval required on or off to control whether new recurring charges must be approved before they're created.
5
Save
Click Save.

Note: Changing GST Registered affects every calculation — pay out any owed money, fees and commissions first so your figures stay accurate.

Good to know
  • The Accounting settings card also holds the remittance toggles (Send supplier / tenant / owner / fee remittances), the Default tenant invoice due date and reminder settings, the Default arrears view, and Redact tenant names on statements — all saved by the same Save button.
  • From a property's Management fees section, the Manage default fees button jumps straight to Edit Agency so you can adjust the agency-wide defaults.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to set fees on every property?

No. Every property inherits your agency's default fees automatically — you only switch on an Override for the specific fees that differ on that property.

What's the difference between the trust account and the current account?

The trust account is the primary account all incoming rent and outgoing payments flow through. The current account is your secondary account, where your fees and commissions are transferred.

What does trust accounting strict mode actually do?

With Trust accounting strict mode on you can't archive bank transactions, keeping your records compliant. It's recommended you leave it on.

Why can't I open Edit Agency or Trust Accounting Settings?

Both pages are restricted to Principal users. If you don't see them, ask a Principal in your agency to make the change.

What format does a bank account number need?

A valid NZ bank account number entered with dashes — for example 12-1234-1234567-12.

Related articles

Did this answer your question? Thanks for the feedback There was a problem submitting your feedback. Please try again later.

Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us