How to Setup and Use Tenant Direct Debits
Overview
Tenant Direct Debit option raises direct debit transactions from the tenant’s bank accounts for rental and invoices that is due. The funds are debited from the tenant and credited to the Agent’s Trust account. Receipts will be processed in Rest.
You must contact your bank to setup the Authority to direct debit and other banking setup.
This Document will cover:
- How to Setup in System Options
- How to Setup in Company Details
- How to Setup on Tenant Card
- How to Process Tenant Direct Debits
- How to Upload the Direct Debit File
How to Setup in System Options/Company details
- Go into Other > Utilities > System options and click on the Transactions Tab
- Enter in Tenant debit days ahead. This option allows to debit the tenants rent a number of days prior to the rent being due. In general this can be left to 0 days ahead
NOTE: If you require multiple direct debit groups setup you will need to contact Rockend for a response code. For more information on multiple direct debit Groups please see Rest help menu.
How to Setup in Company Details
- Go into Other > Utilities > Company details and click on the General Tab
- Enter in the Tenant Debit User ID/APCA number provided from your bank for the direct debit upload
- Enter in the Tenant Debit ABA File Name path location of where Rest will save the file for the direct debit upload to the Bank. The extension of the file should be .AB1.
How to Setup on Tenant Card
- Go into Files > Tenant and put in the alpha index of the tenant and press ENTER
- Go to the Bank Tab
- Tick option Active for this Tenant to activate Tenant Direct Debits
- Enter in the Debit account name and account details provided by the tenants.
- In the comments box you can enter the Bank & Branch if required.
- Enter the debit amount for this contact. This usually is the rental amount. If this field is left unpopulated Rest will take any arrears due with no max amount set.
- Enter in the Debit Start date. Rest will not direct debit until this start date
- Tick the option Debit Invoices if you wish to direct debit the tenants for outstanding invoices
NOTE:
- You can disable individual tenant invoices if required with leaving this option ticked. In the invoices screen there will be a ‘Disable Debit’ tick box.
- A warning prompt will display when saving the Tenant Details screen if a tenant's direct debit amount is less than the tenant's rent amount.
- When generating the Tenant Direct Debit Details report, rent changes will display for tenants with rent negotiation changes, for example: Rent changes 25/06/2018 to $1,200.00/W1.
How to Process Tenant Direct Debits
- Go to Transactions > Process Tenant Direct Debits
- You will get prompted to run a backup. You must proceed to do this. Click on OK and proceed.
- REST will rename your backup automatically to REST_TDD-Pre.Dat.zip
- Select Group if they are set up or select Ungrouped.
- Select option to include Rent & Invoices, Rent Only or Invoices only
- Click on Preview
- If you wish to turn printing off and not print individual receipts press SHIFT F9 on your keyboard.
- Print Ledger. Click on a tenant and click print ledger and the tenants ledger will come up
- Print Detail – You can print or preview the “pre-debit preview"
- When there is a Deficit, click on More... to view reason
- Click Process to proceed.
- A screen will appear with the number of direct debit and totals. Click on YES and this will create the EFT Debit file to upload into your banking software
- This will now produce a Debits Receipted report confirming the receipts created from the debits.
How to create the Direct Debits file for upload to your bank
- Go to Transactions > Create file for upload to Bank
- Select Tenant Direct Debits
- Click on Print-F12
- The Direct Debit file has now been created and ready to import into your banking software.