Opening Balances - Rolling Start

If the Client Account is reconciled and you have a list of each balance and which client each balance belongs to, we would always recommend that you add Opening Balances using the procedure laid out in the Accounts Go Live - Checklist.

The steps below show you how to enter balances as a 'Rolling Start'. This means that you start to use Alto with a nil accounts balance and then enter transactions as you go on a file by file basis. You might use this method if you are opening a new Client Account, are a new agent, or if you've not been able to fully reconcile your Client Account.

This article includes: 

• Rolling Start introductions
• Adding tenancy charges/balances
• Walkthrough guide

Rolling Start introductions

Any monies received on or after the date that you choose to go live with your Accounts must be recorded in Alto as they happen. You'll need to ensure as outlined in the Accounts Go Live - Checklist:

• The property commission and landlord payment group is set up 
• The current rent and any arrears are added as a charge to the tenancy/tenant record
• Any cash balances on individual accounts are entered as you navigate to that record

Once all entries have been made in Alto, at the end of a full month of processing entries, the client bank account balance should match with the balance in your Client Account and at that point the Bank Reconciliation can be updated in Alto. This process should normally be completed in a month.

If your Client Account doesn't match with Alto, and your Client Account is greater than that in Alto, you can add a suspense record to receipt the surplus monies into Alto. If you later identify who the surplus monies belongs to, the money can be moved from the suspense record to the correct client.
Adding a suspense record is outlined in Receipting unknown monies.

If your Client Account balance is less than you have receipted in Alto, you may need to transfer the amount of difference into the Client Account from your agency account.

As soon as the Client Account matches with Alto, you are ready to complete the Bank Reconciliation in Alto and continue processing your account transactions. 

Adding tenancy charges/balances

1. Click Tenancies on the main navigation bar
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. Within the dropdown menu, click Charge
5. Click Add Charge
6. The Add Charge for this Tenancy window opens
   1. Charge Date - Edit this to be the date the rent is due
   2. Charge To - This remains as the tenancy at the corresponding address 
   3. Frequency - Edit this if your charge is reoccurring 
   4. Charge Item - Select the appropriate item
      
      1. Click Landlord Income, then tick Rent (or another income type if charging for something else which you collect on behalf of the landlord, i.e. deposit to landlord)
      2. Click Deposit, then tick Deposit (if the deposit is either held by you as the agent or will be paid to a deposit scheme by you)
      3. Click Fees, then tick Administration Fee (if you are charging a fee to the tenants)
      4. Click Expenses, then tick Cleaning (if you are charging the tenants for work carried out by a supplier)
   5. Description - When adding a regular charge, the type of charge and the period will be added in the Description. You can amend the Description if required, but leave the SS/SS/SS to EE/EE/EE if you want the start and the end dates of the charge period to be shown on the demand and also on the landlord statement
   6. Net Amount - Enter the amount payable
7. Click OK

If you don't raise the charge immediately, it will raise automatically on the Charge Date.  If you want to raise the expense immediately:  

1. Tick Raise Now next to the charge you have created
2. Click Raise Selected
3. Click Raise Selected again

A record of the charge is made available to view in the tenancy, available from within the Timeline on the side menu. It's also recorded from within Transactions on the side menu.

Walkthrough guide

The walkthrough guide is set out in the order in which you should work through it, with links to each article.