Refunding a deposit less deductions for an insured deposit scheme

Zenya Allen
Zenya Allen
  • Updated

If you need to, you can add deductions to a tenancy ready to finalise a deposit, but leaving the remaining balance to refund the tenant. The monies claimed from the deposit can reimburse the landlord and pay an outstanding invoice on a supplier. 

If your agency uses the insured deposit scheme, the deposit negotiation is processed on the schemes website before being processed in Alto. Once all parties agree on the deductions, the agency can process the total deductions and refund the balance due to the tenant. 

There are two types of deposit schemes: 

  • Insured deposit scheme - The agency holds deposit money during the tenancy
  • Custodial deposit scheme - The deposit scheme holds deposit money during the tenancy
    For more information on how to Refund a deposit less deductions for a custodial deposit scheme, click here

This article includes: 

Adding tenants bank details ready to refund

If the tenant has provided you with their bank details, these can be added to their contact record.
For more information on adding tenant bank details, click here

Processing the deposit for an insured scheme

You will need to make the transfer between your deposit account and client account in real time through your bank, before following the steps below.

  1. Click Tenancies on the main toolbar
  2. Select the relevant tenancy from Recent & Favourite Tenancies
    1.  Alternatively, find the tenancy using the Search Tenancies bar in the top right
  3. Click Tenancy on the side menu
  4. Click Actions
  5. In the dropdown menu, click Deposit Bank Transfer 
  6. The Transfer Deposit window opens
    1. Transfer Date - This is the date which you transferred the tenant's deposit money from your deposit account, into your client account
    2. Transfer Amount - The total amount of deposit taken at the start of the tenancy
    3. Transfer out Bank Account - The agents deposit account where the deposit has been held
    4. Transfer in Bank Account - The client account into which the deposit is being transferred
    5. Bank References - References can be entered if required
  7. Click Update

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Add Refund Item to make the deposit available

Even though we have transferred the deposit into the client account, you now need to make the deposit available to process the deductions, before you can offset deductions against it. 

  1. Click Actions
  2. In the dropdown menu, click Refund 
  3. The Refunds For This Tenancy window opens. Click Add Refund Item
    1. Charge Item - Click Deposit, and then tick Deposit from the list, to make the deposit available to use
    2. Net Amount - Enter the full amount of the deposit you transferred in the steps above
  4. Click OK

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Add tenancy deductions

In these steps, you can add all the deposit deductions during the refund process. If there are any outstanding charges already added to the tenancy, these will appear on the Refunds For This Tenancy screen.

  1. Click Actions
  2. In the dropdown menu, click Refund
  3. Click Add Additional Charge
  4. The Add Additional Charge window opens
    1. Charge Item - Click Expenses, and then tick an expense option from the list 
    2. Description - Edit this to suit the description of the expense
    3. Net Amount - Enter the amount payable to the supplier
    4. Supplier - Search for and select the supplier to whom the expense is payable
    5. Supplier Reference - Add the supplier's invoice number (if available)
    6. Link PDF - If a scanned copy of the invoice is available, click + to upload it into Alto
    7. Works Order - Link the expense to an existing works order, if one for this work is already in Alto
  5. Click OK

If you need to post an expense to reimburse the landlord for any sundry item:

  1. Click Actions
  2. In the dropdown menu, click Refund
  3. Click Add Additional Charge
  4. The Add Additional Charge window opens
    1. Charge Item - Click Landlord Income, and then tick Sundry
    2. Description - Edit the text as you want it to appear on the landlords statement
    3. Net Amount - Enter the amount agreed with the landlord
  5. Click OK

The Refunds For This Tenancy screen displays the deposit available, less the amount of deductions.

  1. Select a Refund Type
  2. Tick if you want to Send Refund note
  3. Tick Refund Monies Held if you want to include a refund of any overpayments made during their tenancy
  4. Total To Refund will show the amount to go back to the Tenancy
  5. Click Update

 Note

A transfer of the refund amount will need to be made in real time from your client account to the tenant

A record of the payment is recorded in Accounts on the main toolbar, then Bank Reconciliation on the side menu

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