Onboarding: how-to

Step-by-step instructions for every onboarding task, in the order they usually happen. For what each option means, see Onboarding; for problems, see Onboarding: troubleshooting.

Find your task

If you’re here because…	Go to
An applicant has accepted your offer	Start an onboarding (or Onboard a group)
An Action says a holding deposit is paid	Confirm a holding deposit
An Action says an application form is ready	Review an application form
The panel says “ACTION Start referencing”	Start referencing
A reference result has arrived	Act on a reference result
The contract step has opened	Set up the rent schedule and send the contract
Everyone has signed	Confirm the signed contract
It’s time to collect the deposit and first rent	Request and confirm move-in monies
Move-in day is close	Send move-in details and complete the onboarding
The applicant hasn’t got their invite	Resend an invite
The applicant wants a different room	Move an onboarding to another room
The applicant has pulled out	Keep or return a holding deposit, then Cancel an onboarding
You cancelled by mistake	Restore a cancelled onboarding
A colleague is taking over	Assign an onboarding to someone
You’re setting up before your first onboarding	Set up onboarding settings
An applicant asks what to do	Help your applicant through onboarding

Start an onboarding

Do this once an applicant has accepted your offer on a room.

Before you start: you need edit permission for Onboarding. If the room is occupied, set the current tenancy’s move-out date first.

1. From your dashboard, click Menu > Onboarding, then Onboard new applicant. (You can also click New onboarding on a room page, or Onboard on a viewing.)
2. Choose the Property and Room. Tick Include unavailable rooms if the room is currently let.
3. Under Tenants, enter the lead tenant’s First name, Surname, Email and Mobile number, or click Select existing to pick someone already in COHO. Click Continue.
4. To add joint tenants on the same room and tenancy, click Add another tenant and repeat.
5. Choose the Tenancy type (Fixed term, Periodic or Fixed term only), enter the Move-in date and, for a fixed term, Fixed term ends (or click a shortcut like +12m).
6. Tick Set room as unavailable if you want the room off the market now.
7. Check the Rent and its frequency, then set Tenant money held, Are bills included?, Are the Rent Schedule and Payments tracked in COHO? and Is a guarantor required?.
8. Choose the steps: Set holding deposit?, Set application form? and Do you plan to carry out referencing?. Choose Yes and fill in their details, or Leave it for later.
9. Click Submit.

What happens next: the onboarding appears on the Onboarding panel, assigned to you. Each applicant gets an email, and a WhatsApp message or SMS, inviting them to create a COHO account. The first step you chose is now waiting for the applicant.

Caution

Submitting sends the invites straight away, so check the email and mobile number first.

Onboard a group onto one shared contract

Use this when several people, such as students in different rooms, will sign one joint tenancy agreement.

1. Start the first person’s onboarding (see Start an onboarding). At Do you intend to group this tenancy?, choose Yes – Sign the contract as a group. Click Submit.
2. Click Onboard new applicant again, and choose the same property. COHO shows that a grouped onboarding already exists.
3. Complete the form for the next person; the tenancy details are locked to match the group. Click Submit.
4. Repeat for everyone else.

What happens next: each person has their own onboarding, marked with a group icon on the panel. At the contract step they all sign the same contract.

Tip

If you use your own contract template with mail merge, check it has tags for every tenant before you get to the contract.

Resend an invite

Use this if the applicant hasn’t received or can’t find their invite.

1. On the Onboarding panel, click View on the onboarding.
2. In the applicant’s panel, click Resend Invite.
3. Check the Email and Mobile number, correct them if needed, and click Send.

What happens next: the applicant gets a new email and SMS with their invite link. COHO doesn’t resend invites automatically.

Assign an onboarding to someone

1. On the Onboarding panel, find the onboarding (change the person filter if it’s not shown).
2. Click Assign in its row, and choose the team member.

What happens next: they’re notified and the onboarding’s Actions go to them.

Move an onboarding to another room

For multi-let and block properties.

1. Open the onboarding (View).
2. Click Change room (or Change unit) and choose the new room.

What happens next: the onboarding and its prospective tenancy move to the new room. Check the dates for clash warnings.

Confirm a holding deposit

Do this when the applicant has paid their holding deposit. You’ll see an Action, and the step shows they’ve marked it paid.

Before you start: you need the holding fees permission in Rent Collection.

1. Check the money has arrived in your account.
2. Open the onboarding (View) and go to the Holding deposit step.
3. Click Confirm receipt.

What happens next: the step completes and the next step opens for the applicant. The room is held for the Room held for period from today, but COHO doesn’t release it automatically when that ends.

Note

If the payment was recorded in Rent Collection, collected through GoCardless, or matched from your bank in Transactions, COHO has already confirmed it and there’s nothing to do.

If you confirmed by mistake, click Unmark as paid.

Keep or return a holding deposit

Use this if the applicant withdraws, or you decide not to go ahead.

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Holding deposit step.
2. Click Return holding deposit, or Cancel & keep holding deposit.

What happens next: returning records a refund. Keeping it adds a “Holding deposit kept” record to the tenancy’s Rent Collection. If you’re cancelling the whole onboarding, you can choose this in the cancel form instead (see Cancel an onboarding).

Caution

Check you’re entitled to keep it under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 before choosing keep.

Review an application form

Do this when the applicant has submitted their form. You’ll see an Action.

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Application form step.
2. Click Review and read the answers and documents.
3. Accept the form, then click Complete this step.

What happens next: for joint tenants, the step completes once every applicant’s form is accepted. If the form collected right to rent, accepting it can also verify their right to rent.

If you already have the applicant’s details, click Complete for applicant to fill in the form yourself.

If you add a tenant to the tenancy before the contract is sent, they get their own application form automatically.

Start referencing

Do this when the step says “ACTION Start referencing”.

Before you start:

• for an Essential check or Credit check, your organisation’s address and public phone number must be filled in;
• for a Comprehensive reference, you need a valid payment method saved on your account, and the property address and the applicant’s (and any guarantor’s) current address need a town, with no line longer than 30 characters.

Paid checks use COHO credits (topped up from your saved card) or are invoiced.

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Reference checks step.
2. Compare the options and prices: Comprehensive reference, Essential check, Credit check or Source your own reference.
3. Choose one, and choose whether it’s for the applicant, the guarantor, or both.
4. Confirm.

What happens next: the applicant is asked to provide their referencing details, and the guarantor theirs, if needed. A Comprehensive reference starts straight away, and COHO tries to take payment for its invoice. Results arrive in COHO automatically; for Source your own reference, you record the result yourself.

Act on a reference result

Do this when a reference result arrives. You’ll see an Action.

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Reference checks step.
2. Read the result.
3. Choose:
   • Continue (Accept reference) (if it failed: Continue with failed referencing! (Accept reference)) to move on;
   • Require a guarantor reference (if not already required), if you want a guarantor’s check as well;
   • Do nothing for now (you can try again with another provider), to decide later or try again.

The referencing provider may ask for a guarantor. The step then says so, and you can agree it with them or start guarantor referencing in COHO instead.

What happens next: if you continue, referencing completes and the next step opens (professional guarantor if used, otherwise the contract).

To move on without referencing, click Skip for applicant (or Skip for guarantor). This isn’t possible when a professional guarantor is used.

Set up the rent schedule and send the contract

Do this when the Contract step opens.

Before you start: you need the Tenancy Agreements and Rent Collection permissions. Have a contract template set up in Onboarding Settings, or your own contract ready to upload.

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Contract step.
2. If rent is tracked in COHO, click Generate rent schedule first; the contract options appear once it exists.
   • Choose the rent day, payment method, payment details and payment reference (or let COHO generate one).
   • Check the proposed rent records; add, edit or remove lines if needed.
   • Save.
3. Click Create contract.
4. Choose a saved template, or upload your contract.
5. Choose how it will be signed: COHO eSignature (recommended), Already Signed or Wet Signature.
6. Add any extra documents, such as house rules. Don’t add the Gas Safety Certificate, EPC, EICR or HMO licence; COHO includes these automatically.
7. Send the contract.

What happens next: the applicant (and guarantor, if needed) is asked to read the documents and sign. They see “Waiting for other tenants to sign” or “Waiting for the manager to sign” while others finish.

Confirm the signed contract

Do this when everyone has signed. You’ll see an Action.

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Contract step.
2. Click View & Confirm, check the signed contract, and confirm.

What happens next: the tenancy becomes real: future, or active if the move-in date has passed. Move-in monies set to Upon contract signing are requested automatically. For deposit protection, replacement scheme, lodger and “other” deposits, a deposit record is created in Deposit Management.

To change the contract before everyone has signed, click Replace contract. To take a guarantor out of signing, click Remove guarantor from signing.

Request and confirm move-in monies

Before you start: if you’re collecting rent in advance, it must be set on the tenancy (Edit Tenancy).

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Move-in monies step.
2. Click Set move-in monies.
3. Choose the Rent amount (1 month’s rent or Set amount), and when the deposit and the rent are payable (Immediately, Upon contract signing, On tenancy start or Custom).
4. Check the total; a holding deposit already paid can be taken off.
5. Add payment instructions and a reference, or choose Collect With GoCardless?.
6. Save.

What happens next: the applicant is asked to pay. If the payment is recorded in Rent Collection, collected through GoCardless, or matched from your bank in Transactions, COHO confirms it for you. If the applicant only marks it as paid, you’re notified: check the money has arrived in your account, then click Confirm receipt. (Mark Unpaid undoes this.)

Send move-in details and complete the onboarding

1. Open the onboarding and go to the Follow up step.
2. Click Set Move-In Details. Add key collection, appointment, access and arrival information, or choose saved move-in instructions. Save.
3. Optionally:
   • add a Financial item or the move-in Inventory;
   • on multi-let properties, Introduce to housemates;
   • change the follow-up date to remind you to check in after move-in.
4. Click Complete this step.
5. If the onboarding doesn’t complete by itself, click Complete at the top.

What happens next: the onboarding shows Onboarding completed, and the tenant gets their full My COHO dashboard.

Caution

Saving move-in details emails and texts every tenant (“Congratulations! Everything is ready for your move in…”) straight away, so only save them when they’re final.

Skip a step, or add one later

1. Open the onboarding and go to the step.
2. To skip it, click Skip this step (for referencing: Skip for applicant or Skip for guarantor).
3. To add a step you left out, click its Require… button: Require holding fee, Require Application Form or Require move in monies.

What happens next: a skipped step shows Not Required and the next step opens. An added step becomes part of the onboarding.

You can’t add a holding deposit once the contract step has started; you can still add an application form while the onboarding is in progress. You can’t skip the application form or referencing when a professional guarantor is used.

Cancel an onboarding

Use this if the applicant withdraws or you won’t go ahead.

1. Open the onboarding and click Cancel.
2. Answer Mark the room as available?: if yes, choose Available from; if not, give an Unavailable reason and Notes.
3. If there’s a holding deposit, choose Return or Keep.
4. Click Cancel onboarding.

What happens next: the prospective tenancy is cancelled, its rent records are removed, and any referencing is cancelled. Unused referencing credits are returned and unpaid referencing invoices cancelled. The onboarding is locked until restored.

Restore a cancelled onboarding

1. Open the cancelled onboarding.
2. Click Restore Onboarding.

What happens next: the onboarding and its tenancy are back in progress, and you can carry on. If the tenancy was deleted rather than cancelled, it can’t be restored.

Set up onboarding settings

Do this before your first onboarding, so templates and instructions are ready to pick.

1. Click Menu > Onboarding, then the settings cog on the panel.
2. In Onboarding Settings:
   • Contract templates: download COHO’s templates or add a New template;
   • Onboarding application forms: Add form and choose your questions;
   • Payment details: add where and how to pay (not the amount);
   • Move-in instructions: Add new reusable move-in details;
   • Holding Deposit: Additional terms: add terms and files to send with holding deposits.
3. Save each one.

What happens next: these appear as choices when you start an onboarding or reach each step.

Offer a professional guarantor

Before you start: you need the Integrations permission.

1. In Onboarding Settings, open Professional guarantor and click Connect.
2. Choose When a guarantor is required: Always allow (recommended) or Ask per onboarding.
3. Choose the Permitted property owners, Organisation users and Default user, then Save.
4. When starting an onboarding, set Is a guarantor required? to Yes, and allow a professional guarantor.

What happens next: after the application form and referencing, the applicant can choose I’ll use a professional guarantor and apply. It’s only offered when the property owner is permitted and the rent is at least £300 a month (for joint tenants, each tenant’s share too).

With Ask per onboarding, you can also offer it after the onboarding has started. Once a guarantor is required, click Offer professional guarantor on the referencing step and confirm. The applicant then chooses I’ll use a professional guarantor or I’ll ask someone. The button only shows while referencing is still open, the applicant’s reference has been dealt with, and the guarantor’s reference hasn’t started or has failed without your decision. It can’t be offered once the contract has started.

Help your applicant through onboarding

Share these steps if an applicant asks what to do.

1. Open the invite email or SMS from COHO and click the link.
2. Log in, or register a COHO account using the email the invite was sent to.
3. Enter the verification code sent by email, then click Verify. (Click Resend Code if it didn’t arrive.)
4. On the dashboard, open the onboarding under My Onboardings.
5. Complete each step as it opens: pay to reserve the room, fill in the application form, provide referencing details, sign the contract (View & sign contract), and pay the move-in monies (Pay the move-in monies).
6. Wait for the move-in details, then move in.

What happens next: after completion, their account becomes a full tenant dashboard.