Onboarding

Onboarding takes a new tenant from accepted offer to move-in. You set it up once, and COHO guides you and the applicant through each step: reserving the room, the application, referencing, the contract, payment and move-in.

For step-by-step instructions, see Onboarding: how-to. For problems, see Onboarding: troubleshooting.

Why you’d come here

You want to…	Usually you start from	Go to
Move an accepted applicant in: get from “yes” to a signed contract and keys	Onboard new applicant on the Onboarding panel, Onboard on a viewing, or New onboarding on a room	Start an onboarding
See what needs doing today	The dashboard’s “What is going on today?” Onboarding tile (To action, To sign, Total), or the panel’s step cards and ACTION rows	The Onboarding panel
Deal with an Action or notification, such as an application to review or referencing to start	Your Actions list, which opens the onboarding	Find your task
Answer “where are we up to?” from the applicant, a colleague or the owner	The panel’s Search, or the room’s Onboarding panel	An onboarding’s page
Unblock an applicant who’s stuck or hasn’t received something	The onboarding’s page	Onboarding: troubleshooting
Let a house to a group on one contract	Onboard new applicant, with grouping	Onboard a group
Change course: a different room, new dates or rent, or the applicant withdraws	The onboarding’s page: Change room, Edit Tenancy or Cancel	Cancel an onboarding
Plan the week’s move-ins	The panel’s Move in date column and the Follow Up card	Send move-in details
Get set up before the first onboarding: contracts, application forms, payment details	The settings cog on the Onboarding panel	Set up onboarding settings

Which panel to use:

Panel	Use it when you’re thinking about
Organisation (Menu > Onboarding)	Everything in progress: daily triage, your team’s workload, the week’s move-ins
Property	Filling one property, for example a house of students starting together
Room	One specific let: starting it, or checking how that applicant is doing

How it works

An onboarding is made of up to seven steps, done in this order. You choose the holding deposit, application form and referencing when you start it, and can skip move-in monies later; steps not used are marked Not Required.

#	Step	Optional?	The applicant	You
1	Holding deposit	Yes	Pays to reserve the room, and accepts any terms	Confirm receipt; keep or return it if things change
2	Application form	Yes	Fills in your form	Review and accept it
3	Referencing	Yes	Gives details for referencing	Choose a referencing option and act on the result
4	Professional guarantor	Only if you allow it and a guarantor is needed	Applies for cover	Review the outcome if it isn’t approved
5	Contract	No	Signs the tenancy agreement	Set up the rent schedule, create the contract, confirm it once signed
6	Move-in monies	Can be skipped	Pays the deposit and rent in advance	Set the amounts, confirm receipt
7	Follow up	No	Receives move-in details	Send move-in details and finish

When an onboarding starts, only the early steps are open. The contract, move-in monies and follow up wait until those are done, which gives the applicant time to accept their invite. Each step shows whose turn it is.

The tenancy. Starting an onboarding creates a prospective tenancy for the room. It becomes a real tenancy (future, or active if the move-in date has passed) when you confirm the signed contract. Until then, nothing is final.

Note

Deposit Management and Right to Rent aren’t steps. You can record them at any point from the onboarding page; they have their own guides.

Where to find it

Level	Where	Shows
Organisation	Dashboard: Menu > Onboarding	Every onboarding
Property	A property page: its Onboarding panel	That property’s onboardings
Room	A room page: its Onboarding panel	That room’s onboarding

What you see

The Onboarding panel

When closed, the panel shows how many onboardings are active, for example “There are 2 active onboardings”. Click Show panel content to open it.

On screen	What it does
Onboard new applicant	Starts a new onboarding
Person filter	Opens on Mine & Unassigned, so onboardings assigned to colleagues are hidden until you change it
All properties	Shows only chosen properties
Search	Finds an onboarding by name
Step cards: Holding deposit, Application, Reference Check, Contract, Move-in Monies, Follow Up	How many onboardings are at each step; click one to show only those
Assigned, Move in date, Who, Property, Step, Actions	The list. Step says what’s needed next: ACTION means it’s your turn (for example “ACTION Start referencing”); plain text means you’re waiting for the applicant (for example “Application to be completed”)
Assign	Gives the onboarding to a team member
View	Opens the onboarding
Export (CSV)	Downloads the list
Settings cog	Opens Onboarding Settings

A group icon beside a name means the onboarding is part of a grouped tenancy.

An onboarding’s page

Click View on an onboarding. The heading reads “Onboarding of [applicant] for [property], [room]”, and the onboarding’s history runs alongside.

On screen	What it does
Move-in date, Rent, Deposit, Rent in advance, Guarantor, Room hold	Summary tiles. Room hold shows until when the room is held
Clash or Quick turnaround warning	The dates overlap, or run straight on from, another tenancy in the room
View Tenancy / Edit Tenancy	Open or change the prospective tenancy
Change room (or Change unit)	Moves the onboarding to another room; multi-let and block properties
Cancel	Cancels the onboarding
Complete	Finishes it; shown once every step is Completed or Not Required
Applicant panel	Their profile, Right to Rent and Deposit Management status, and Send Invite / Resend Invite
The steps	Each with its status and a What to do… box giving the next action

Starting an onboarding

You can start an onboarding from:

• the Onboarding panel, or a property’s Onboarding panel: Onboard new applicant;
• a room page: New onboarding (the property and room are filled in);
• Start something… in the menu;
• a viewing: Onboard.

All of these open the Onboard New Applicant form. Its options:

Property, room and tenants

Option	What it means
Property, Room	Where the tenancy will be. Rooms show their availability, for example “Available now”. Include unavailable rooms lists let or unavailable rooms too
Do you intend to group this tenancy?	Yes – Sign the contract as a group or No – Has its own contract. See Grouped tenancies
Lead tenant	First name, Surname, Email and Mobile number; email and mobile are both required. Gender and date of birth or age are optional
Select existing	Uses a contact already in COHO, for example from a viewing
Add company name	For a commercial (company) tenant
Add another tenant	More people on the same room and tenancy

Tenancy term

Option	What it means
Fixed term	Becomes periodic at the end of the fixed term
Periodic	Periodic from the start, with no specific end date
Fixed term only	A fixed term that will not become periodic
Move-in date	When the tenancy starts
Fixed term ends	For fixed terms. Shortcuts: +1m, +2m, +3m, +4m, +6m, +12m, +18m, +24m
Set room as unavailable	Takes the room off the market now. The form shows the room’s current availability date

Rent and money

Option	What it means
Rent	Filled in from the room; changing it here doesn’t change the room. Paid Per month, Per week, Per fortnight, Every 4 weeks, Per quarter, Per year or Per term
VAT	“VAT is not applicable” by default; Change adds VAT
Tenant money held	None, Deposit protection scheme, Deposit replacement scheme, Lodger deposit, Rent in advance or Other
Are bills included?	Included (in the rent), Arranged by tenant, or Collected by manager
Are the Rent Schedule and Payments tracked in COHO?	Manage in COHO (COHO tracks rent due and payments) or Manage externally
Is a guarantor required?	Yes or No (default)
Allow professional guarantor	Lets the applicant use a professional guarantor service. Turns on the application form and referencing steps, which it needs. Click Why we recommend this for more about the service

Steps to include

Option	What it means
Set holding deposit?	Yes, or Leave it for later. If Yes, set the amount, how it’s paid, the payment reference, Room held for (7 days by default), and optional extra terms, a draft contract, or extra T&Cs for the applicant to accept
Set application form?	Yes (pick a saved form or create one), or Leave it for later
Do you plan to carry out referencing?	Yes (default) or Leave it for later. You choose how to reference later, once the applicant has consented
Custom Onboarding Workflow	Attaches one of your workflow templates as an Action, such as your own checklist. It doesn’t change the onboarding steps

Tip

Rent and bills settings feed the rent schedule later, so check them before you submit.

Grouped tenancies

Use a grouped tenancy when several people will sign one shared contract but each has their own onboarding, for example students taking different rooms on a joint agreement. People renting separate rooms on their own agreements are onboarded separately instead.

The first onboarding (with Yes to grouping) anchors the group; each person after it is onboarded into the same property and joins the group. Tenancy details are locked to match the group. Everyone signs the same contract and acknowledges the same compliance documents.

Caution

If you use your own contract template with mail merge, it needs tags for every tenant in the group.

The steps

Holding deposit

A payment that reserves the room while the onboarding goes ahead. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 it can’t be more than one week’s rent. COHO suggests an amount when you start the onboarding, so check it there. COHO won’t accept more than one week’s rent when you set or change the amount.

For a grouped tenancy, the limit is one week of the group’s combined rent. Until the group has at least two tenancies, COHO uses the combined rent of all the rooms in the property instead. The holding deposits across the group that are waiting to be paid, paid or kept are added together, and the total can’t go over that limit. COHO still suggests one week of each person’s own rent, so change the amount if you need to.

• The applicant sees Reserve the room. They pay using your instructions and reference, then confirm. If there are terms or a draft contract, they must acknowledge them first. With GoCardless they pay in COHO. To take it another way instead, click Cancel GoCardless before they pay, and enter your payment details and reference.
• You confirm receipt once the money arrives. If the payment is recorded in Rent Collection, collected through GoCardless, or matched from your bank in Transactions, COHO confirms receipt and opens the next step for you. You can also change the amount, skip the step, add one later (until the contract step starts), or return or keep it.
• Room held for counts from the date receipt is confirmed. It’s a guide for you and your team: COHO doesn’t block other viewings or onboardings during the hold, or release the room when it ends.

Application form

Your questions for the applicant, set up in Onboarding Settings. The applicant must accept the form’s consent and declaration before submitting. Answers they gave in a Tenant Find pre-qualification are filled in for them, and answers carry through to referencing.

Part	Contents
Always included	Forename, surname, email, mobile number
Optional	Date of birth, gender, current address, National Insurance number, next of kin, current landlord details, proof of identification, recent bank statements, right to rent proof
History	Ever bankrupt, any CCJs, any criminal record
Employment	Employment type, annual income, employment status
Your own	Custom questions, and files for the applicant to read

You review each form and accept it, or complete it for the applicant if you have the details. If the form collects right to rent, accepting or rejecting it can verify or reject their right to rent.

Referencing

Checks on the applicant (and guarantor, if needed). You choose the option when the step opens; prices per applicant and guarantor are shown there.

Option	Covers	Typical time
Comprehensive reference	Identity, credit, KYC/AML, income, affordability, rent history, document checks, fraud and liveness, employer and landlord references, 6-year address history	1–3 working days
Essential check	As Comprehensive, without employer or landlord references, address history or the wider document review	24–48 hours
Credit check	Identity, credit and KYC/AML only	Immediate
Source your own reference	Referencing you do yourself or elsewhere; record the result, request files, or cancel	You decide

When a result comes in, you choose to accept it and continue, ask for a guarantor reference, or wait. You can continue even after a failed reference. You can also skip referencing for the applicant or guarantor.

Professional guarantor

A guarantor service the applicant pays for, instead of asking a friend or family member. The applicant sees I’ll use a professional guarantor or I’ll ask someone instead. The step opens after the application form and referencing are complete, and the contract waits until it’s finished. When the outcome comes back, COHO completes the step and opens the contract; if not every tenant is covered, the step stays open. When you start the onboarding, COHO shows an estimated price. If you’re asked whether to allow a professional guarantor, it shows a rounded figure beside that choice; otherwise it also shows a price range. The final price depends on the applicant’s circumstances.

Contract

Rent schedule first. If rent is tracked in COHO, the contract options only appear once the tenancy’s rent schedule has been generated. COHO proposes one from the rent, frequency and dates. You set the rent day, payment method, payment details and reference, and can add, edit or remove lines.

Contract source: a saved template from Onboarding Settings (mail-merge templates are filled in automatically; COHO’s assured tenancy agreements are available), or a contract you upload, which is sent exactly as uploaded.

Signing method	How it works	Compliance documents acknowledged?
COHO eSignature (recommended)	Signed in COHO	Yes
Already Signed	Records a contract signed outside COHO	No
Wet Signature	Downloaded, signed by hand and uploaded	Yes

Compliance documents: COHO adds the property’s latest Gas Safety Certificate, EPC, EICR/EIC and HMO licence (where relevant) automatically, and the applicant acknowledges each before signing. You can add more, such as house rules.

Guarantors sign the tenancy contract, a separate guarantor agreement, or both, depending on your template. In a grouped tenancy everyone signs the same contract. The contract is ready for you to confirm once everyone required has signed. You can replace it before signing finishes. Confirming it makes the tenancy real, and the signed contract is stored on the tenancy.

Move-in monies

What the applicant pays before moving in. COHO works it out from the deposit and rent in advance on the tenancy, and can take off a holding deposit already paid.

Option	Choices
Rent amount	1 month’s rent or Set amount
When is the deposit payable? / When is the rent payable?	Immediately, Upon contract signing, On tenancy start or Custom
Payment instructions and reference	Can differ from the holding deposit’s
Collect With GoCardless?	Pay in COHO by bank payment

The applicant sees Pay the move-in monies and pays, or marks it paid. You confirm receipt after checking the money has arrived. If the payment is recorded in Rent Collection, collected through GoCardless, or matched from your bank in Transactions, COHO confirms it for you.

Follow up

The last step. The applicant sees Move in and waits for your move-in details: keys, appointment, access and arrival information. You can also add a financial item or the move-in inventory, introduce the tenant to housemates (multi-let), and set a follow-up date to check in after move-in. When nothing is left in progress the onboarding shows Onboarding completed, and the tenant gets their full My COHO dashboard.

Caution

Saving move-in details sends them to every tenant by email and SMS straight away.

What the applicant sees

The applicant works through onboarding in their own COHO account.

1. The invite arrives by email (from COHO, with your organisation’s name), and by WhatsApp or SMS. Its link takes them to log in, or to register: “Register for your onboarding – Onboard as [name] in [property]”.
2. They verify their email with a code COHO sends.
3. Their dashboard shows the onboarding under My Onboardings, with each step as it opens: Reserve the room, the application form, referencing details, the professional guarantor (if offered), View & sign contract, Pay the move-in monies, then Move in.
4. When they’re waiting on you, the step says so, for example “Waiting for the manager to sign” or “Waiting for manager to provide move-in details”.
5. After completion they get their full My COHO dashboard.

If they register with a different email from the one you used, they’re asked whether they’ll tell you or COHO should.

Statuses

Each step:

Status	Meaning
Not Started	Waiting for an earlier step
In Progress	The current step
Completed	Done
Not Required	Skipped or not chosen

The onboarding is in progress, completed or cancelled. A cancelled onboarding can’t be changed until it’s restored.

Settings

Open Onboarding Settings from the settings cog on the Onboarding panel.

Setting	What it does
Contract templates	Your tenancy agreement templates; COHO’s templates can be downloaded
Onboarding application forms	Your application forms; archived ones can be shown
Payment details	Saved instructions on where and how to pay (not the amount)
Move-in instructions	Reusable move-in details
Holding Deposit: Additional terms	Terms and files sent with holding deposits
Professional guarantor	Connects the service; sets when it’s offered (Always allow (recommended) or Ask per onboarding), which property owners and users it applies to, and the default user

Who can use it

To	You need
See onboardings	View permission for Onboarding
Start or change onboardings	Edit permission for Onboarding
Confirm, keep or return a holding deposit	Also the holding fees permission in Rent Collection
Create or confirm contracts	Also Tenancy Agreements
Generate the rent schedule	Also Rent Collection
Edit the tenancy or change room	Also Tenancies
Send or resend invites	Also Tenants

Without view permission, the panel says “You do not have access to onboarding, but you can still open the settings (cog icon)”.

Rules and automatic behaviour

Starting an onboarding

• Required: a room, a move-in date and at least one tenant. A fixed-term end date can’t be before the move-in date.
• No duplicates: the same person or email can’t be added to one onboarding twice.
• Occupied rooms aren’t blocked: COHO lets an onboarding overlap another tenancy, and warns you instead.
• Set room as unavailable takes the room off the market as soon as the onboarding starts.

Money

• Holding deposit: its amount can’t be changed once a payment has been matched to it. Collecting it with GoCardless needs a connected GoCardless account and rent tracked in COHO.
• Rent in advance must be set on the tenancy before it can be requested as a move-in monies payment.
• Deposit cap: COHO doesn’t stop a deposit above the legal limit (five weeks’ rent in most cases), so check the amount yourself.
• Referencing costs:
  • Essential check and Credit check use your organisation’s COHO credits, topped up automatically from your saved card.
  • Comprehensive reference starts as soon as you request it. COHO invoices you and tries to take payment straight away; if payment fails, you get an Action and the invoice stays in Your Account until it’s paid. You need a valid payment method saved before you can start one.
  • Cancelling an onboarding cancels its referencing. If the check hasn’t started yet, unused credits are returned and unpaid invoices are cancelled.

Referencing

• One at a time: only one reference can run on an onboarding at once.
• Essential and Credit checks need your organisation’s address and public phone number to be filled in.
• Comprehensive references need the property address, and the applicant’s (and any guarantor’s) current address, to include a town, with no line longer than 30 characters.
• Results arrive automatically; you don’t need to check the provider.

Professional guarantor

• Offered only when your organisation is connected to the service (or the connection is awaiting approval), your settings allow it, the property owner is on your permitted list, and the rent is at least £300 a month. For joint tenants, each tenant’s share must also be at least £300 a month.
• Only when starting: it can only be switched on when the onboarding is created.
• Needs the application form and referencing, which then can’t be skipped. The applicant’s reference must have run and been accepted by you before they can apply.
• Joint tenants: every tenant in a joint tenancy needs cover.

Contract

• Rent schedule first: if rent is tracked in COHO, the rent schedule must exist before the contract can be created.
• Joint tenancies: every tenant and required guarantor must sign before you can confirm.
• Signing codes: signing uses a 6-digit code, valid for 4 hours. A new code can be requested after 60 seconds. After 5 wrong tries in 15 minutes, signing pauses for a while.
• Confirming the contract turns the prospective tenancy into a real one, and requests any move-in monies set to Upon contract signing. For deposit protection, replacement scheme, lodger and “other” deposits, it also creates a deposit record in Deposit Management.

What COHO sends

When	Who gets it	How
The onboarding starts, or you resend the invite	Each applicant	Email (“[Your organisation] has invited you to begin a tenancy”), and WhatsApp or SMS, with their invite link
A step needs the applicant	The applicant	A notification for that step
A step needs you	The assigned team member	An Action and a notification
You assign an onboarding	That team member	A notification
A guarantor needs to sign, or their agreement is confirmed	The guarantor	Email
You save move-in details	Every tenant	Email, and WhatsApp or SMS: “Congratulations! Everything is ready for your move in to [property]”

Nothing about onboarding is sent to the property owner.

What COHO does automatically

• Confirms payments: a holding deposit or move-in monies payment recorded in Rent Collection, collected through GoCardless, or matched from your bank in Transactions marks the step paid and opens the next one.
• Records signatures: as each person signs, the contract step moves on; you then confirm the contract.
• Brings in results: reference results and the professional guarantor outcome arrive in COHO, and you get an Action when one needs you.
• Starts the tenancy: a confirmed tenancy becomes active on the move-in date.
• On starting an onboarding: opens a message thread with the applicant and updates the room’s listings.

What COHO doesn’t do automatically

• chase an applicant who hasn’t accepted their invite (resend it instead);
• release a room when Room held for runs out;
• expire an onboarding. (Cancelling or deleting the tenancy from the room page does cancel its onboarding.);
• create the rent schedule during onboarding. You generate it at the contract step; later, Rent Collection can add future rent;
• confirm a payment the applicant marked as paid but that hasn’t been recorded or matched. Check your bank, then confirm receipt.

Related guides

• Onboarding: how-to: step-by-step instructions for every task.
• Onboarding: troubleshooting: fixes for common problems and error messages.
• Rent Schedules & Rent Collection, Deposit Management, Right to Rent, Viewings, Availabilities & Leads, and the GoCardless user guide.