Water Billing

Overview

To bill water, open the Water menu → Setup and set each property's Payment Method and Charging Mode. Then work Water → Invoices: open each bill, choose the Supplier, check the amounts, match the property, and click Save & Approve. When Payment Method is PM pays via trust, Keyhook pays the supplier from trust; under Owner direct debit or Owner prepaid annually the owner pays the supplier directly. Keyhook then on-bills the tenant for their usage share, unless the charging mode is Only owner pays.

Set up water billing for a property

Open the water setup list

In the left sidebar, open the Water menu and click Setup. Each row is a property that has water management turned on (you enable it in the property's Water management section during setup).

Enter the account and meter numbers

In the property's row, click the Account # and Meter # cells and type the water account and meter numbers shown on the supplier's bills — these are how incoming invoices get matched to the property.

Choose the payment method

In the Payment Method cell, pick Owner direct debit, Owner prepaid annually or PM pays via trust — this sets how the supplier's bill is paid.

Choose the charging mode

In the Charging Mode cell, pick Tenant reimburses usage, Tenant pays full bill or Only owner pays — this decides whether the tenant is on-billed and for how much.

Add a rates alert (optional)

Click + Add in the Alert column to leave a note that pops up whenever an invoice comes in for this property.

Mark the property done

Click the green Done tick to mark the property configured. Cells save as you edit them, so there's no separate Save — but the tick won't work until both Payment Method and Charging Mode are set.

Note: Under the RTA you can on-charge a tenant for the metered water they actually use, but fixed line and supply charges stay with the owner. Choose Tenant reimburses usage only where the property is separately metered.

Set up a split or check meter

Turn on split metering

In the property's row, tick the Split meter checkbox. A sub-row opens where you link it to its master meter.

Choose the parent property

In Parent property, select the property whose master meter this one sits behind. Only water-enabled properties appear in the list.

Pick the split type

Under Split type, choose Check meter (a sub-meter you'll physically read) or % split (a fixed share of the parent's bill).

Enter the meter number or share

For a check meter, enter the Sub-meter #. For a percentage split, enter the Percentage — the tracker shows how much of the parent is still unallocated.

Note: A check meter needs an actual reading before its tenants can be billed — that's what puts an invoice on hold until you record it (see the last section).

Process a water invoice

Open the invoices list

In the Water menu, click Invoices. Emailed-in bills land on the Pending tab automatically; you can also click Upload Invoices to add one manually.

Open an invoice

Click a row to open it. Keyhook shows the original bill on the left and the details it read on the right, listing any Extraction issues at the top.

Select the supplier

In Supplier, choose the water company. This is the one field you must set before you can approve.

Check the amounts

Confirm the Fixed, Usage and Total against the bill (Fixed + Usage = Total) and correct anything the extraction got wrong; the amounts save as you edit them.

Match the property

Under Matching & Payment, make sure every meter on the bill is assigned to a property — an unmatched meter blocks approval.

Save and approve

Click Save & Approve. Keyhook pays the supplier, invoices the tenant for their usage share, and moves you straight to the next pending invoice.

Note: You can't approve until the Supplier is set, every meter is matched to a property, and any check meter has a reading — Keyhook flags whatever's still missing and greys out the button.

Adjust the tenant usage allocation

Review the automatic split

In Matching & Payment, Keyhook prorates the usage across the tenancies that were active during the invoice Period, leaving any vacant days to the owner.

Turn on manual override

To change the split, switch on Override allocations for that meter.

Set each tenancy's amount

Use + Add tenancy... to add a tenancy and enter the amount to charge it; the plus icon (Allocate remaining) pushes the leftover onto that row. Anything you don't allocate falls to Owner (remainder).

Approve as usual

Once the split looks right, click Save & Approve.

Hold and release usage for a check meter

Approve with a hold

On an invoice for a check-metered property, click Approve & Hold Tenant Invoices. Keyhook pays the supplier now but holds the tenant's usage charge until you have a reading.

Find the held invoice

The invoice moves to the On Hold tab and shows a Usage charges on hold banner. Click Release Hold on the banner to jump to the property's Water tab.

Enter the readings

In the Sub-Meter Readings Required card, enter each sub-meter's Current reading (and the Previous reading the first time round). Keyhook shows the consumption it works out.

Release the hold

Click Release Hold & Create Tenant Invoices. Keyhook then bills each tenant for their metered usage.

Note: Holding pays the water company on time but nothing reaches the tenant until you release it — take a reading and release promptly so usage isn't billed months after the fact.

Frequently asked questions

What do the three charging modes mean?

Tenant reimburses usage on-bills the tenant for the water they used while the owner still covers fixed charges; Tenant pays full bill passes the whole invoice to the tenant; Only owner pays keeps the bill with the owner and never invoices the tenant.

Which fields do I have to fill before approving an invoice?

Only the Supplier is strictly required. But you also can't approve until every meter is matched to a property and any check meter has a reading. The amounts and dates are pre-filled from the bill — you just correct them if the extraction is off.

How does Keyhook decide how much each tenant pays?

It prorates the invoice's usage across the tenancies that were active during the billing Period and assigns any vacant days to the owner. To set the amounts yourself, switch on Override allocations for the meter.

Why is my invoice sitting on the On Hold tab?

It was approved with Approve & Hold Tenant Invoices because it covers a check meter with no current reading. Open the property's Water tab, enter the reading and click Release Hold & Create Tenant Invoices.

What happens after I approve an invoice?

When Payment Method is PM pays via trust, Keyhook creates a supplier invoice to pay the water company from trust (under Owner direct debit or Owner prepaid annually the owner pays the supplier directly); and, unless the charging mode is Only owner pays, a tenant invoice for their usage share — shown under Linked Invoices — then advances you to the next pending invoice.

Water Billing

Frequently asked questions

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