Charges

Overview

To raise a charge, open Financials → Invoices → the Charges tab → click Create, then find the property and click Create charge. Enter the Amount, Charge Date, Fee account and Category, then click Save. Tick Recurring charge? to have it repeat automatically.

Create a charge

1
Open the charge editor
From the left menu, open Financials and go to Invoices, open the Charges tab, then click Create (top right). This opens the invoice editor.
2
Choose the property
In the Search for a property, owner, or tenancy… box on the left, find the property, then click Create charge under it. The form stays locked until you pick a property.
3
Enter the amount
In the amount field, type the charge amount. It must be more than $0. The field is labelled Amount (excl. GST) if your agency is registered for GST (Keyhook then adds GST automatically, press CTRL + G for the GST calculator), or simply Amount if it isn't.
4
Set the charge date
Set the Charge Date. It defaults to today and can't be a future date.
5
Choose the fee account
Pick the Fee account the money is collected into, for example Advertising Fees, Management Fees, Maintenance Fees or Letting Fees (or one of your agency's custom accounts).
6
Pick a category
Choose a Category from your agency's list. This is your own label for reporting and is required.
7
Add notes (optional)
Use General notes for anything the property owner should see, and Internal notes for a note only your agency can see.
8
Save
Click Save. The charge is added against the property and appears on the Charges tab.

Note: A charge is deducted from the property's balance as money comes in, so there must be funds in the property for it to be paid out to your fee account. If the owner has netting off turned on, spare money on their other properties can cover it when you run netting off. See Netting Off.

Make a charge recurring
1
Turn on recurrence
On the charge form, tick Recurring charge?. The recurrence fields appear.
2
Set the next charge date
In Next charge on, pick the date the next charge should be raised. It has to be a future date.
3
Set how often it repeats
Enter the Interval number and choose the Unit from days, weeks, months or years. For example an interval of 1 with a unit of months charges monthly.
4
Decide whether it needs approval
Leave Approval required on to send each repeat to Needs Approval before it posts, or turn it off to raise them automatically. If your agency requires approval, this stays locked on.
5
Save
Click Save. The charge you filled in is raised now, and the recurring schedule creates the next one on the Next charge on date.

Note: Recurring charges are listed on the Recurring tab of the Invoices screen, where you can open one to change its schedule or delete it to stop future charges.

Approve recurring charges
1
Open Needs Approval
Open Financials → Invoices → the Needs Approval tab. The number beside it shows how many items are waiting.
2
Review the charge
Each row shows the Property, Property Balance, Created On, Description and Amount Due so you can check it before it posts.
3
Approve it
Click Approve on the row and confirm, or tick several rows and use the bulk Approve action to clear them together.
4
(Optional) Fix a wrong amount
A charge in Needs Approval can't be edited. If the amount is wrong, click Delete on the row and confirm. You may need to scroll to the right to see the Delete button. Then raise it again at the right amount from Financials → Invoices → the Charges tab → Create, using the same Fee account (for a letting fee, Letting Fees).

Note: Items land here when they're set to need approval, such as a recurring charge with Approval required on, or a letting fee billed automatically when your agency requires approval for letting fees. Anything raised without approval posts straight against the property. The tab lists both pending fee charges and pending tenant invoices, shown by a Type column (Fee Charge / Tenant Invoice), so it's not only charges.

View and manage your charges
1
Open the Charges tab
On the Invoices screen, open the Charges tab. The Total Remaining and Total Charges figures sit above the table.
2
Read a charge
Each row shows the Property, Category, Status (Unpaid or Paid), the Total / Paid / Remaining amounts and the Charge Date.
3
Filter the list
The table opens on the Unpaid Only view. Switch to Paid Only or All Charges, or use the search and column filters to group by property, portfolio or category.
4
Edit or delete a charge
Click a row to reopen and edit the charge, or use Delete on the row to remove it. This works freely only while a charge is fully unpaid. Once it has started being paid out to your fee account, its amount and details can no longer be changed and it can't be deleted if it has been included in an owner payment (or if the fee/GST already paid can't be clawed back).

Note: A charge stays Unpaid until its full amount has been deducted from the property's balance, then flips to Paid. A partial deduction shows in the Paid and Remaining figures.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the fee account and the category?

The Fee account is where the money is collected, which of your agency's income accounts the charge is paid into (Advertising Fees, Management Fees, and so on). The Category is your own label for reporting. Both are required.

Why is my charge still showing as Unpaid?

A charge is only paid as money comes into the property's balance, so it stays Unpaid (or partly paid) until there are enough funds, then shows Paid. Until the property has enough incoming funds, the charge simply waits.

Does the amount include GST?

If your agency is registered for GST, you enter the amount excluding GST and Keyhook adds GST automatically. If you're not GST-registered, no GST is added. Press CTRL + G on the form to open the GST calculator.

Can I change or stop a recurring charge?

Yes. Open it from the Recurring tab to change the amount, interval or next charge date, or delete it to stop future charges.

Who can see the notes I add to a charge?

General notes are visible to the property owner, while Internal notes are only visible to people within your agency.

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