Creating and starting a tenancy

Alto can help you easily manage the lettings process when setting up a tenancy, from offer all the way through to active tenancy. 

To help you, each section below acts as a process walkthrough and links out to the relevant articles.  

This article includes: 

• How to make an offer
• How to accept an offer
• Receipting a holding deposit
• Managing the progress of a preparing tenancy
• Uploading documents to the tenancy
• Adding guarantors
• How to edit a preparing tenancy
• Adding gas and electrical safety certificates
• Creating a tenancy agreement
• Creating an initial invoice for rent and deposit
• Sending receipts for monies received
• Using held money
• Adding landlord charges
• Adding property charges
• How to finalise a tenancy to make it active
• Adding meter readings
• Scheduling property inspections
• Moving the deposit to a different bank account
• Initial tenancy, landlord and property settings
• PropertyFile and maintenance

How to make an offer

You can choose to record offers received from the applicant in any one of three ways, either from the Main Dashboard, from Properties, or from Contacts (the applicant).
For more information on Making an offer on a lettings property, click here

How to accept an offer

You can record if an offer has been accepted or rejected by the landlord.  
For more information on Accepting an offer on a lettings property from the dashboard, click here
For more information on Deposit and tenancy fee warning triangles, click here

Receipting a holding deposit

You can receipt a holding deposit from the applicant onto the tenancy.  
For more information on Receipting a holding deposit, click here

If you need to return the holding deposit to the applicant, you can do so.  
For more information on Refunding monies held on a tenancy, click here

Managing the progress of a preparing tenancy

Alto can help you effectively manage each step of your tenancy move in process right through to making the tenancy active.  

There are two key areas in Alto to help you manage your preparing tenancy:

1. Within New Lettings on the side menu, accessed via Progressions on the main toolbar

2. Within the Tenancy - New Lettings widget accessed via the Property Management Dashboard on the Home screen side menu

Uploading documents to the tenancy

You can also upload a copy of the applicants identification and right to rent documents.
For more information on How to upload documents to a contact, click here

You can also add documents, files and copies of references to the tenancy record.
For more information on Uploading documents to a tenancy, click here

Adding guarantors

You may need to add a guarantor(s).  
For more information on Adding a guarantor to an applicant, click here

How to edit a preparing tenancy

1. Click Progressions on the main toolbar
2. Click New Lettings on the side menu
3. Click the relevant preparing tenancy from the list
4. Click Edit Tenancy

From here, you can edit the: 

• Contract type using the dropdown menu
• The tenancy Start Date
• The First Full Rent Date
• The Term of the tenancy in Months and Years
• The tenancy End Date
• The Rental Frequency using the dropdown menu
• If there is to be a Break Clause, this can be added in the relevant box
• The Rental Amount
• The amount of Deposit Required
• The Deposit Scheme can be selected using the dropdown menu
• The Renewal Date
• The Notice Date
• Check the Management type and Maintenance status are correct
• Confirm the No of Occupants
• Add the Occupant(s) Details

Adding gas and electrical safety certificates

You can record management dates on a property so Alto can help you manage the renewal of these certificates.
For more information on Adding a date to a property, click here

You can add copies of safety certificates to a property record and send copies out to the landlord and tenants.
For more information on how to email documents from Alto, click here
For more information on Adding utility companies to a property, click here
For more information on Electrical safety standards 2020, click here

Creating a tenancy agreement

You'll need to create a tenancy agreement.
For more information on How to produce a tenancy agreement, click here

You may also decide to use online signatures for your tenancy agreement.
For more information on Sending documents for eSigning, click here

Creating an initial invoice for rent and deposit

You will now want to raise a demand for the deposit and the rent due on the tenancy.
For more information on Creating an Initial Invoice for a new tenancy, click here
This article also shows how you can send out a demand to the tenants for the amount that is due.

Sending receipts for monies received

You may wish to send out a receipt to the tenant confirming that you have received their payment.
For more information on Receipting money on a Tenancy, click here

Using held money 

When the tenant pays their deposit and any rents that are due, if you have receipted a holding deposit for this tenancy, you'll want to use the monies that you have held on account, towards the rent or deposit amount.
For more information on how to use the holding deposit monies towards the rent or deposit amount due, click here

Adding landlord charges

To avoid accounting issues once the tenancy has started, it's important you ensure the landlord has been set up correctly.
For more information on Initial settings on a landlord, click here

To ensure that your agency fees show on the landlords statement, to be deducted from the rent received, you'll want to ensure that the relevant charges have been added, and added correctly. The management charge and the letting fee will automatically be demanded by Alto when the tenancy is finalised.
For more information on Initial settings on a lettings property, click here

Adding property charges

Occasionally, you may have to carry out pre-tenancy works.
For more information on Adding a works order from a property, click here 

There may be other charges that you need to add. 
For more information on Raising an expense charge on a property, click here

How to finalise a tenancy to make it active

1. Click Progressions on the main toolbar
2. Click New Lettings on the side menu
3. Click through on the relevant tenancy that you want to make active
4. From the Tenancy progression overview, click Actions
5. In the dropdown menu, click Finalise Let
6. A Tenant Fees Act 2019 warning may appear. Review and edit the tenancy charges and when you are happy to proceed, click Continue
7. The Raise Charges For This Tenancy window opens showing the charges that you raised as an initial invoice for the deposit and initial rent. Click Edit 
8. Click the Options top tab to add a Reference, Notes and choose to send out the invoice documents automatically when the charge is raised
9. Click OK
10. To raise the charge now, click the relevant Raise Now tickbox(es)
11. Click Raise Selected
12. Click Raise Selected again to confirm you want to continue
13. The Update Tenant Address window opens. Click the tickbox if you want to update the tenants address details to that of the let property. If not, leave unticked
14. Click Update

Adding meter readings

You can record the move in meter readings for the tenancy.  
For more information on Adding meter readings to a tenancy, click here

Scheduling property inspections

You can schedule property inspections. To do this:

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 Dates on the side menu
4. Click Add Date
5. The Add Date window opens. In the dropdown menu, click Property Inspection
6. In the Completion section, use the calendar to add the Due Date
7. Type in any relevant Notes
8. Click Update

For more information on managing your property inspections, click here

Moving the deposit to a different bank account

Once you have receipted the deposit monies, you may wish to transfer the deposit to a different bank account.
For more information on Transferring a deposit to a different account, click here

Initial tenancy, landlord and property settings

You must ensure that the tenancy is set up correctly ready to start processing rents.

Contacts Account Delivery Method

A Contacts Account Delivery Method sets out how you send out demands, receipts, and rent chasing to your tenants.

1. Whilst on the tenancies Overview screen, click the tenants name to take you to the tenants Overview screen
2. Click Contact on the side menu
3. Under Account Delivery Method, tick the applicable delivery method(s) that you wish to send out demands, receipts and chase late rent for. If you tick Email, a valid email address is required
4. Click Save

Setting the Notice Address that will appear on charges

You can set the address that appears on the bottom of charges/demands raised for landlord income.

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 by entering either the tenant name or the property address
3. Click Tenancy on the side menu
4. Click the Details top tab
5. Using the dropdown menu, set the Notice Address to the preferred option

Setting up the first rent charge and arrears

If you had a data migration from a CRM other than Jupix, or have manually added your current tenancies to Alto, you will need to add the next rent charge which the tenants are due to pay. 
For more information on First rent charges on active tenancies, click here

This will ensure that the tenancy, landlord and property are all set up correctly ready to start processing your deposit and rents going forward on the tenancy.  

PropertyFile and maintenance

You may want to activate PropertyFile and then enable several of its modules. This can range from Market Appraisals, eSigning, the Vendor, Landlord, Tenant or Applicant portals, as well as property maintenance reporting. 
Each section is well detailed in the Help Centre. For more information on PropertyFile, click here

Related articles: 

Creating a joint tenancy

Raising shared charges on a joint tenancy