Creating and managing payment groups

Payment Groups let you create separate statements for each property, or group of properties, that a landlord owns. Each group keeps its income and expenditure separate, so you can produce a distinct statement and payment for it.

You'd typically set up Payment Groups to:

• Produce separate statements and payments per property, or per group of properties
• Retain some of the landlord's income, for example a maintenance float
• Set how the landlord is paid and which bank account the payment goes to
• Change the next statement number
• Attach suppliers' invoices to the landlord statement
• Archive old properties the agent no longer manages, by moving them into a separate group

Consideration points

Before you create any groups, it's worth planning how the landlord wants their statements split, because properties should be moved into the right group before any accounts are entered.

Initially, all properties are assigned to one Default Payment Group, which generates one statement and one payment covering every property in it.

• Example 1: A landlord with 6 properties wants a separate statement for each so the income and expenditure stay separate. Create 6 Payment Groups with 1 property in each
• Example 2: A landlord with 8 properties in 2 blocks of 4 flats wants one statement per block, and regularly uses the income from one flat to cover maintenance on another in the same block. Create 2 Payment Groups with the 4 relevant flats in each

Creating a Payment Group

Create a Payment Group from the landlord's contact record. This is where you set the group name, payment method, retention and statement settings.

1. Click Contacts on the main navigation bar
2. Select the relevant landlord from Recent & Favourite Contacts
   1. Alternatively, find the landlord using the Search Contacts bar in the top right
3. Click Contact on the side menu
4. Click the Payment Groups top tab. If the landlord has multiple properties, they all show in the Default Payment Group
5. Click Create Payment Group
6. The Configure Payment Group window opens. Complete the following fields:
   1. In Group Name, type the name of the payment group. Naming it after the property or block makes it easy to recognise when creating a landlord statement
   2. Email Subject is blank by default. You can amend it so the payment group name or property address appears in the landlord statement email's subject line (see Including the payment group name or property address in the statement email subject below)
   3. In Retention Target, add the amount you intend to hold, for example a maintenance float
   4. Select the Payment Method from the dropdown menu
   5. If paying by BACS, set Payment To to the bank account the payment should be made to
   6. From the Statement Remark dropdown menu, select your default statement remark
   7. Confirm or change the Next Statement Number if needed
   8. Tick Attach Supplier Invoices if you want suppliers' invoices uploaded into Alto to be attached to statements
7. Click Save

Including the payment group name or property address in the statement email subject

Adding the payment group name or property address to the statement email subject means the landlord can see which property the statement covers without opening the attached .pdf, and can find historical statements for the same property more easily.

Add the #payment_group_email_subject# merge code to the Subject of both the landlord statement email (EmailLandLordStatementNotification) and the landlord copy statement (EmailCopyStatementNotification) templates, via Tools (the cog) > Templates and admin > System Administration > Email Templates.

Once the merge code is in place, any text you enter in the Email Subject field of the payment group, such as a property address, appears in the Subject line of the statement email the landlord receives. It also appears on the Timeline.

Moving properties between Payment Groups

Move properties between groups to change which statement they appear on. Once moved, all accounting transactions for that property show on the new group's statement.

1. Click the red downward arrow in the centre of the line to view the properties in the current Payment Group
2. Click Move on the property you want to move
3. On the popup, click Select on the payment group you want to move the property to. It changes to Selected
4. Click Move to confirm

All accounting transactions for that property now appear on the new group's statement, and you'll see them separately on the Landlords To Pay screen.

Editing or renaming a Payment Group

You can rename a Payment Group or change its settings at any time. This is also how you manage the Default Payment Group.

1. Click the grey cog to the right of the individual Payment Group (or next to the Default Payment Group)
2. The Configure Payment Group window opens. Change the Group Name, for example to the property address, and amend any other settings as described in Creating a Payment Group above
3. Click Save

Can I delete a Payment Group?

No. Once a Payment Group has been created it can't be deleted. You can only rename it and move properties in and out of it.

If you no longer need a Payment Group, we recommend:

1. Move any properties out of it into the correct group (see Moving properties between Payment Groups above)
2. Rename the empty group to something clear such as DO NOT USE, so it's obvious it shouldn't be selected when creating statements

• Related Help Centre articles that you may find useful.

  Adding landlord bank account details

  Initial settings on a landlord