How Charges Become Available on a Lease
Before a charge can be added to a lease, it must be set up as a Charge Preset within your property’s configuration. Charge Presets are predefined charges, such as pet fees, parking fees, or storage fees, that become available for quick selection when creating or editing a lease.
Presets designated as a Lease Type will appear as options when adding charges to a lease. For more information on managing Charge Presets, please read our Charge Preset article linked here.
When adding a charge to a lease, Revela automatically loads the Charge Presets associated with the property’s configuration. In other words, the charges available in the dropdown are determined by the configuration tied to the property. If you do not see a charge you expect, confirm that the preset has been created under the correct configuration and that its type is set to Lease.
Adding a Charge to a Lease
Charges are added to a lease during the Lease Creation workflow, which is accessible when creating a new lease or editing an existing one. Navigate to Leasing > Agreements, then either click New Lease or open an existing lease and select Actions > Edit.
In the Lease Creation workflow, scroll to the Charges section. Click the Add Charge dropdown button to see a list of available Charge Presets, in addition to a “Blank” option. Selecting a preset will pre-fill the charge’s name, amount, and general ledger account based on the preset’s configuration. Alternatively, selecting “Blank” creates an empty charge that you can configure manually.
Each charge on the form includes several fields:
- Charge Code - Determines which general ledger account the charge posts to.
- Name - This is the name the charge will assume on both the charge schedule and posted invoices.
- Amount - Sets the total charge amount.
- Frequency - This toggle lets you choose between a Monthly and One-Time billing cadence.
- Monthly: When a charge is set to Monthly frequency, it becomes a recurring charge that Revela bills automatically each month for the duration of the charge term. Monthly charges appear on the lease’s charge schedule with their start and end dates, monthly amount, annualized amount, and total term amount.
- Monthly charges are the most common type of charge on a lease and include items like base rent, pet fees, parking fees, storage fees, and utility charges.
- One-Time: When a charge is set to One Time frequency, it is billed once at the time the lease is created or the charge is added. Unlike monthly charges, one-time charges do not recur and are immediately converted into an invoice when the lease is saved.
- One-Time charges are useful for security deposits, administrative fees, or any charge that should only be billed once. Because one-time charges generate invoices immediately upon saving the lease, it is important to confirm the amount is correct before submitting. If a one-time charge needs to be adjusted after the lease is saved, the resulting invoice should be managed directly through Accounting > Payables or the tenant’s ledger.
Charge Terms
Each monthly charge on a lease has a term setting that controls the date range during which it is active. By default, the Entire Term checkbox is enabled, which means the charge automatically starts and ends on the same dates as the lease itself. If the lease dates change, any charge with Entire Term enabled will automatically adjust to match.
If a charge should only apply for part of the lease term, uncheck the Entire Term checkbox. This reveals Start Date and End Date fields where you can specify a custom date range. For example, if a tenant receives a parking space starting three months into a twelve-month lease, you would uncheck Entire Term and set the start date to the month the parking charge begins.
Billing Separately
The Bill Separately checkbox is available on monthly charges other than the primary rent charge. When this option is enabled, Revela generates a separate invoice for that charge instead of bundling it with the tenant’s rent invoice.
By default, all monthly charges on a lease are combined into a single rent invoice each billing period. This means base rent, pet fees, and parking fees would all appear as line items on one invoice. Enabling Bill Separately on a charge like a parking fee would cause it to appear on its own invoice, separate from the rent invoice. The bill separately function is useful when a charge needs to be tracked, paid, or processed independently from rent.
Bill Separately is not available on the first charge in the charge schedule (typically the base rent) or on one-time charges; it only applies to additional monthly charges.
How Proration and Renewal Types Impact Charge Billing
Proration determines how Revela calculates charges for partial months, such as instances in which a lease starts or ends mid-month. The Proration setting is found in the Lease Duration section of the Lease Creation workflow, alongside the start date, end date, and renewal type. The proration method applies to all recurring charges on the lease.
The proration options available in Revela are as follows:
- Per Diem - This option calculates the charge based on the actual number of days in the month. For example, if a lease starts on the 15th of a 30-day month, the tenant is billed for 16 out of 30 days. This is the most common and precise proration method.
- Per Diem 30 - This option works similarly to Per Diem but assumes every month has exactly 30 days, regardless of the actual number of days in the calendar month, which simplifies calculations and provides consistency across months.
- Nearest Month - This option rounds the charge to the nearest full month. If the partial period is closer to a full month than a half month, the full monthly amount is charged. If it is closer to zero, no charge is generated for that partial period.
- Half Month - This option uses a half-month threshold. If the tenant occupies the unit for more than half the month, the full monthly amount is billed. If less than half the month, no charge is generated for that period.
- None - This option disables proration entirely, and the full monthly amount is charged regardless of when the lease starts or ends within a month. This means a tenant moving in on the 25th would still be billed the full monthly amount for that month.
- Whole - This option charges the full monthly amount for any month in which the lease is active, even if only a single day falls within that month. This is similar to None but explicitly ensures every active month is billed in full.
Renewal Types and Impact on Billing
The Renewal setting in the Lease Duration section of a lease determines what happens when a lease reaches its end date. This choice directly affects how and when charges continue to bill. Options include Fixed, Rollover, and Month to Month.
- Fixed leases have a defined start and end date. When the lease reaches its end date, billing stops. To continue the tenancy, a new lease must be created. Fixed leases are the standard choice for traditional term leases such as a 12-month agreement.
- Month to Month leases have no defined end date. Charges continue to bill indefinitely each month until the lease is manually ended. This type is appropriate for tenants who are not locked into a fixed term.
- Rollover leases begin as fixed-term leases but automatically transition to month-to-month billing once the original end date passes. This is useful for situations where a tenant’s fixed term expires but they have not yet signed a renewal.
Once all charges are configured, saving the lease will activate the charge schedule. The charge schedule is visible on the lease detail page under the Charge Schedule section, which displays each charge along with its assigned tenant, start and end dates, and monthly, annual, and term totals.
Tips & Best Practices
- Before creating a lease, confirm that all necessary Charge Presets have been configured under the property's configuration. Setting up presets in advance saves time and ensures consistency across leases. Using presets rather than blank charges also links charges to their preset, which supports features like late fee assessment.
- When setting up charges, pay close attention to the Entire Term setting. Leaving it checked is the right choice for charges that should last the full lease, like base rent. For charges that apply to only part of the lease, such as a temporary concession or a mid-lease addition, uncheck Entire Term and set appropriate custom dates.
- Review the proration method before saving a lease, especially for leases that start or end mid-month. The proration setting applies to all recurring charges on the lease, so choose the method that aligns with your billing policy.
- One-time charges generate invoices immediately when the lease is saved. Double-check these amounts before submitting, as corrections require adjusting the invoice directly rather than editing the charge on the lease.