TDS Upload user guide

The TDS feature enables members of the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) Insurance Scheme to automatically upload details of the tenancy deposits to the TDS and automatically download certificates.  

Within Alto, this deposit scheme is referred to as The Dispute Service - Insurance.

This article includes: 

• Preparation of TDS Upload
• Add Member ID and assign to branches
• Assign TDS to a Tenancy
• Sending updates to TDS and receiving certificates
• Change to Periodic
• Tenancy Renewal
• End of Tenancy
• No Dispute
• Dispute
• Registering Deposits for Proposed Tenancies
• Cancelling a Proposed Tenancy
• Property Management Dashboard
• Suppressing updates to TDS
• Update issues
  • Missing information
  • Update failure

Preparation of TDS Upload

1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click System Administration
4. Click Group Roles
5. Click Edit to view each Group Role 
6. Scroll down to TDSSetup and click in the Read/Write column
7. Click Save
8. On the side menu, under System Tools, click TDS Accounts
9. Click Connect to TDS
10. Enter your agency TDS Username and Password where indicated
    (These are your ftp details that you'll need to request from the TDS, and not your standard Username and Password that you use to log in to the TDS website)
11. Click Login to verify your details
12. Click Test Connections to check the TDS connection
13. A TDS Account Test message displays

Add Member ID and assign to branches

Any branches not configured for use with TDS Integration will continue to operate on a manual upload.

1. Enter your TDS Member ID and click Add Member ID
2. The TDS Member ID will be added to the list below Add Member ID
   1. To delete a TDS Member ID, click the bin icon alongside the ID and click Yes to confirm
3. Select the corresponding Member ID from the dropdown menu next to each Un-allocated branch
4. Select the corresponding Branch ID from the dropdown menu next to each Un-allocated branch
5. The selected branch will move to the Allocated branches section. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all branches you wish to upload to TDS
   1. It's possible to assign the same TDS Member ID to more than one branch.
      To change the selection for a branch, select a different Member ID and/or Branch ID then click Save
   2. To unlink a branch from TDS, click the bin icon, click confirm and the branch will move to the Un-allocated branches section

Assign TDS to a Tenancy

At the stage of progressing a new tenancy, to trigger the TDS upload, you'll need to edit the deposit scheme to The Dispute Service - Insured before the tenancy is finalised.
For more information on Selecting the deposit protection scheme on a tenancy, click here

Sending updates to TDS and receiving certificates

The following actions within Alto will trigger data to be sent to the TDS:  

• Finalising a tenancy when the deposit has been received prior to the tenancy being finalised
• Receipting against a tenancy deposit charge
• Receipting against a tenancy deposit charge via Batch Receipts
• Receipting against a tenancy deposit charge via Import Receipts
• Receipting a tenancy deposit opening balance via Opening Balances
• Proposed tenancy when Register Deposit with TDS is selected in Actions
• Refunding a deposit
• Changing a tenancy to Periodic
• Finalising a tenancy renewal 

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 the Deposit top tab
5. The Registration No is displayed
   • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in Progress
   • Green Shield - Indicating a deposit registration certificate is available and can be viewed
   • Click on the Green Shield to display a detailed log of communications between Alto and TDS
   • Certificate - The date and time is recorded each time the certificate is downloaded
   • A Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed

Typically the upload process should take around 10 minutes.

Change to Periodic

When a tenancy is changed to Periodic:

• An update is automatically sent to the TDS
• Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in Progress
• Green Shield - Indicating an updated deposit registration certificate is available and can be viewed
• A new certificate is automatically downloaded showing that the Tenancy is now Periodic
• A new Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed

For more information on Changing a tenancy to periodic, click here

Tenancy Renewal

When a tenancy renewal is finalised, an update will be sent to TDS.
For more information on Renewing or editing a tenancy, click here

• No change in deposit amount or scheme
  • If the Deposit Amount and Deposit Scheme remain the same, the renewal information on the new tenancy term will be sent to TDS
  • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in Progress
  • Green Shield - Indicating a new certificate is ready to download showing the new Tenancy term  
  • A new Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed

• Deposit amount increase
  • If the deposit amount is increased at renewal, a deposit charge will be raised for the additional amount of deposit
  • Once the deposit is receipted, it will trigger an upload to TDS
  • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in Progress
  • Green Shield - Indicating a new certificate is ready to download showing the new deposit amount
  • A new Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed

• Deposit amount decrease
  • If the deposit amount is decreased at the point of the renewal, there will be no change to the amounts of Deposit Requested/Deposit Held
  • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in Progress
  • Green Shield - Indicating a new certificate is ready to download showing the new dates  
  • A new Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed

• Change of deposit scheme
  • You cannot change the deposit scheme at the point of renewal when TDS integration is enabled and the deposit scheme is set to Dispute Service Insurance
  • If TDS integration is enabled and the deposit scheme is set to something other than Dispute Service Insurance, the deposit scheme can be changed
  • If it changed to Dispute Service Insurance, then the following will happen at each of the trigger points (assuming Enable Updates is ticked): 
    • Receipt - Action is taken as described in the points above 
    • Refund - Nothing will upload to TDS
    • Renewal - Action is taken as described in the points above 
    • Periodic - Nothing will upload to TDS
    • End of Tenancy - Nothing will upload to TDS

End of Tenancy

After Vacate Property has been activated, the Tenancy Overview status will display Vacate in Progress.
For more information on Vacating a tenancy, click here

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 the Deposit top tab
5. End of Tenancy Information will display. Deposit Protection End Date defaults to the end date of the tenancy. Click on the date to edit, if required 
6. In the Dispute Status dropdown menu, click Dispute or No Dispute

No Dispute

No Dispute will display Amount and Date of monies to be re-paid.

• Returned to Landlord - Click to edit the amount and date if required   
• Fees to Agent - Click to edit the amount and date if required   
• Returned to Tenancy - Click to edit the amount and date if required   

• • Finalise Vacate - The End of Tenancy Information will automatically upload to TDS 
  • If any or all of the amount fields remain as £0.00, the upload to TDS will still activate
  • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in Progress
  • The Deposit Protection End Date, Dispute Status, Return to Landlord, Fees to Agent and Returned to Tenancy are all locked from editing

•  Send Successful
  • A Green Shield indicating a new certificate is ready to download  
  • A new Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed
• Send Fails
  • A Red Shield indicating the upload has failed
  • The Deposit Protection End Date, Dispute Status, Return to Landlord, Fees to Agent and Returned to Tenancy are all unlocked for editing
  • Upload is visible and can be used to resend the information, when ready to resubmit to TDS

If Return to Landlord, Fees to Agent and Returned to Tenancy dates aren't completed at the point of finalising the tenancy, these fields remain available to edit.

Dispute

Dispute will display Amount and Date of monies to be re-paid.

• Returned to Landlord - Click to edit the amount and date if required   
• Fees to Agent - Click to edit the amount and date if required   
• Returned to Tenancy - Click to edit the amount and date if required   

• • Finalise Vacate - Upload will display on the End of Tenancy Information
  • If you click Upload and the above fields are £0.00, a message will appear and TDS will not upload
  • If you click Upload and the above information is completed with amount and dates, the TDS will upload 
  • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in
  • The Deposit Protection End Date, Dispute Status, Return to Landlord, Fees to Agent and Returned to Tenancy are all locked from editing

•  Send Successful
  • A Green Shield indicating a new certificate is ready to download 
  • A new Timeline entry is created with a copy of the certificate where it can also be viewed
• Send Fails
  • A Red Shield indicating the upload has failed
  • The Deposit Protection End Date, Dispute Status, Return to Landlord, Fees to Agent and Returned to Tenancy are all unlocked for editing
  • Upload is visible and can be used to resend the information when ready to resubmit to TDS

Registering Deposits for Proposed Tenancies

You have the option to register deposits with TDS before the tenancy is finalised in Alto. This is necessary if a deposit has been received more than 30 days before the tenancy is finalised on Alto.

To register a deposit for a proposed tenancy:

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 Actions 
4. In the dropdown menu, click Register Deposit with TDS
5. A notification appears confirming if you want to go ahead with the registration of the deposit at the TDS. Click Yes

Once a deposit is registered for a proposed tenancy, any additional deposit amount receipted or deposit refund will trigger an automatic update to TDS. 

Cancelling a Proposed Tenancy

If a deposit has been registered for a proposed tenancy and the tenancy is cancelled for any reason:

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 the Deposit top tab
5. Click Upload to send the information to the TDS

Property Management Dashboard

1. Click the Home screen tab on the main toolbar
2. Click Property Management Dashboard on the Home screen side menu
3. Scroll down to the Deposits Not Registered widget. Click Active Only or Active & Proposed as required
4. Click the widget to display a list
5. Tenancies with a Deposit Scheme of Dispute Service Insurance will display
   • Red Shield and red text - Indicates the tenancy is missing required information and cannot be sent to TDS. Hover your mouse over the shield icon to display a tooltip of information on why it can’t be transmitted to TDS
     • Click anywhere in the Deposit Scheme field to display the missing information
     • Correct and Update the information
   • Blue Shield - Indicating Tenancy Deposit Data Send in progress
   • The Registration Number will be completed on a successful upload and be removed from this list

Transferring a property to another branch

• TDS not enabled in other branch
  • If a property is being transferred to another branch where TDS isn't configured, after the transfer has been completed, the TDS Upload functionality and information on the Deposit tab of the tenancy will be hidden. However, if this tenancy previously had a registration number, this will be retained after the branch change
• TDS enabled in other branch with the same TDS ID
  • If the property is being transferred to another branch with TDS enabled using the same TDS Branch ID, everything will continue as per when it was assigned to the previous branch
• TDS enabled in other branch with different TDS ID
  • If the property is being transferred to another branch with TDS enabled using a different TDS Branch ID, the associated tenancy record will retain the number and link to the certificate associated to the TDS Branch ID of the previous branch. Any updates through any of the trigger points as described earlier, will continue to trigger and upload to TDS but will update the existing certificate against the previous TDS Branch ID
• Transfer from a branch where TDS wasn't enabled
  • If the property is being transferred from a branch without TDS configured, to a branch with TDS enabled, the following will happen at each of the trigger points:
    • Receipt – Assuming Enable Updates is ticked and the branch is TDS enabled, the information will be uploaded to TDS
    • Refund – Nothing will upload to TDS
    • Renewal – Nothing will upload to TDS, unless changes are made to the deposit
    • Periodic – Nothing will upload to TDS
    • End of Tenancy – Nothing will upload to TDS

Suppressing updates to TDS

Prior to the initial receipt of the tenancy deposit, you have the option to suppress updates to TDS so they won't be sent to TDS and no certificate will ever be downloaded.

This is useful if a tenancy is already registered with TDS outside of Alto and you don't want changes against the tenancy record to trigger subsequent updates.

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 the Deposit top tab
5. Untick Enable Updates to prevent the possibility of duplicate registration with TDS

If Enable Updates is subsequently re-ticked, you need to perform an update that would normally result in a new certificate being downloaded, before the current information is sent to TDS.

If Enable Updates is unticked whilst information is being sent to TDS (i.e. the shield and status message are blue), the send process will be aborted. If Enable Updates is subsequently re-ticked (and the record saved), the send process will resume automatically.

Update issues

Missing information

Mandatory property, landlord and tenant information is required before the details can be uploaded to TDS.

If mandatory information is missing, a message displays indicating that required information is not supplied.

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 the Deposit top tab
5. Click OK to display the missing information
   • A red triangle with an exclamation mark indicates tabs contain fields with missing information
   • Property - Adding a postcode will search and complete other address fields
   • Landlord - Add required information
   • Tenant -Add required information
     • Where there are multiple tenants, full address and contact information is only required for the head tenant, therefore only one tenant is listed
     • If both tenant email and mobile number appear in red, only one or the other is required
6. Click Update to trigger a validation check 
7. Click Update again to save the property, landlord and tenant information to their respective records

Update failure

If the information has failed processing by TDS:

1. Click the Red Shield, then click onto a failed item to display the reason for failure 
2. Click the Aeroplane icon to correct the reason for failure on either landlord, property or tenant information
3. Click Update to resubmit the TDS upload