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.

Payment method options

PM pays via trust → the agency pays the supplier from the trust account (Keyhook creates a supplier invoice).
Owner direct debit → the owner pays the water company directly (no supplier invoice is created).
Owner prepaid annually → the owner has prepaid the water company (no supplier invoice is created).

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. 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.

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 Water → Setup, find the property's row and tick the Split meter checkbox. A sub-row opens where you link it to its master meter. To turn it off later, untick the same box on that property's row. It saves straight away. If the property is already marked done, untick Hide done first so it shows in the list.

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. When the Payment Method is PM pays via trust, Keyhook creates a supplier invoice to pay the water company from trust. Unless the charging mode is Only owner pays, it also invoices the tenant for their usage share. Both show under Linked Invoices on the approved invoice, and you move 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 section, 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.

Apply or adjust a tenant's water credit

Check the balance

Open the tenancy's Tenancy Overview. Its water credit shows as its own Water credit card alongside the other balances.

Apply the credit to an invoice

Open an unpaid tenant invoice and click Apply Water Credits in the invoice editor sidebar, or Apply Water Credit on the invoice panel in the ledger. It can go against any unpaid tenant invoice, not only water usage. Water credit isn't cash: applying it marks the invoice paid without any money moving.

Check what paid the invoice

In the invoice editor sidebar, the Transactions section shows what has paid the invoice: a Bank Transaction, Tenancy Credit or Water Credit.

Adjust the balance (finance users and principals)

On the Tenancy Overview, click Water in the Invoices section to open the Water Usage page. Click Adjust Water Credit, then choose Set new balance to enter the balance you want, or Adjust by amount to add or subtract. A reason is required, and a balance can't be taken below zero. Every adjustment is recorded permanently with who made it, when, why and the before and after balance, and it can't be edited or deleted.

Read the water credit ledger

On the Tenancy Overview, click Transactions at the top right and open the Water Credit Ledger tab to see every movement in and out of the balance. Filter by date and click a row for the breakdown.

Frequently asked questions

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.

Where does a tenant's water credit come from?

It comes from the water invoices: when a tenant's share of a water bill works out negative, or when a water invoice is approved with a credit on the supplier's bill, which is split between the tenants by days occupied. It can also be set by a manual adjustment. Check the property's water invoices if the amount looks wrong.

Water Billing

Frequently asked questions

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