Ledgers, Journals & Balances

Overview

To work with your trust accounting, open the Financials menu → Trust Account Ledger to read each account's balance, use Add Ledger to create a custom one, then open Journalling → Create Journal Entry to move money between ledgers. A property's own balance shows at the top of its page.

Read the trust account ledger

Open the ledger

From the left sidebar, open the Financials menu and click Trust Account Ledger. This lists every account holding money in your trust account. (The Trust Account Ledger and Journalling menu items — the whole trust-accounting area — only appear for property managers who are a finance person or a principal; a regular property manager's Financials menu shows only Bank Feeds, Bill Pay, Invoices and Owner Statements.)

Read a row

Each row shows an Account Name and its Current Balance, with a Totals row at the bottom summing them.

Expand an account for the detail

Click an account with an arrow beside it — such as Properties Payable, Tenancies Payable, Bonds Payable or Held Money — to slide open the individual property, tenancy or bond balances that make it up.

Note: The Trust Account Ledger is read-only — it reports where money currently sits. To move money between accounts, use a journal entry (below).

Create a custom ledger

Start from the ledger

On the Trust Account Ledger page, click Add Ledger (top right). This opens the Fee Categories page — your custom ledgers are your agency's fee categories.

Open the create form

Click Create Fee Category. The Create fee category window opens.

Name the category

In the Create fee category window, enter the Fee Category Name — for example Lease Break Fee.

Save the category

Click Save. The new ledger appears in the Fee Categories list.

Note: A fee category you add here is shared across your whole agency and becomes selectable when you bill fees, so name it clearly.

Journal money between ledgers

Open Create Journal Entry

In the Financials menu, click Journalling, then click Create Journal Entry (top right).

Choose the source ledger

Under Source, pick the Ledger type — Property, Tenancy or Agency — then choose the Source ledger. Keyhook shows its Available balance beneath.

Enter the amount

Under Destination, type the Amount to move. It must be more than $0 and can't exceed the source ledger's available balance.

Choose the destination ledger

Pick the destination Ledger type and then the Destination ledger the money moves into.

Add a comment

Enter a Comments note describing the transfer — this is required and kept on the transaction record. Add an optional Internal notes line if you want a private reminder only you can see.

Review the entry

Click Review to open the Journal summary and check the ledgers, amount and comment.

Confirm

Click Confirm. Keyhook records the entry and returns you to the Journalling list with a confirmation message.

Note: Only users with Finance person or Principal access can create journal entries, and you can only move money out of a ledger that holds a positive balance.

Review past journal entries

Open the list

In the Financials menu, click Journalling. The table lists every entry with its Date, Source Ledger, Destination Ledger, Amount, Transaction ID and who Actioned By it.

Search or export

Use the search box to find an entry by ledger, amount or transaction ID, or export the list if you need it outside Keyhook.

Open an entry

Click a row to open its Journal summary, showing the full source and destination detail, the comment and any internal note.

Understand property & owner balances

Open the property

From the Properties list, click into a property. Its Balance shows in the stats at the top of the page, alongside the owner's overall Balance.

Read the property balance

The property balance is the effective total for that property after rent, management fees, tenant expenses, the keepback and owner expenses are accounted for.

Read the owner balance

The owner balance is the property owner's total across every property you manage for them, not just this one.

Note: A property balance can go negative when an invoice is waiting against it — Keyhook won't pay that invoice out until enough rent or owner credit is receipted to cover it.

Frequently asked questions

Who can create a journal entry?

Only users with Finance person or Principal access. If you don't see Create Journal Entry on the Journalling page, your account doesn't have that permission.

Why can't I journal money out of a ledger?

The source ledger must hold a positive balance, and the Amount can't be more than the Available balance Keyhook shows for it. A ledger sitting at $0 has nothing to move.

What are the ledger types when journalling?

Property, Tenancy and Agency. You pick a type first, then choose the specific ledger within it for both the source and the destination.

What's the difference between a comment and an internal note?

The Comments field is required and stays on the transaction record. The Internal notes field is optional and private — only you can see it.

What does a negative property balance mean?

It means an invoice has been added against the property that isn't yet covered. The invoice won't be paid out until rent or owner credit is receipted to bring the balance back up.