Recurring items: how-to

Step-by-step instructions for recurring items. For what each option means, see Recurring items; for problems, see Recurring items: troubleshooting.

Find your task

If you’re here because…	Go to
A tenant rents parking, storage or internet from you every month	Add a recurring item
A tenant pays a service charge or bills contribution	Add a recurring item
A tenant is paying off a debt in instalments	Add a recurring item
The charge is going up or down from a date	Change the amount from a date
The tenant no longer needs the space, or is moving out	End a recurring item
You moved a tenant’s move-out date	End a recurring item
You set an item up with the wrong date, day or description	Edit a recurring item
You added an item by mistake	Delete a recurring item
You want to pause a charge for a few months	Pause a charge
You want to see all regular charges, or check one	Check your recurring items
The charge needs VAT	Add a regular charge with VAT

Add a recurring item

Do this when a tenant pays the same extra charge regularly, on top of their rent.

Before you start:

• You need permission to change recurring items.
• The tenancy needs a start date, and its rent needs to be collected in COHO.
• Decide who earns the income (you or the property owner) and whether the charge is extra Rent or Other. Most charges are Other.
• If the charge needs VAT, see Add a regular charge with VAT instead.

1. Open Recurring Items from your dashboard Menu, or Recurring items on the property page.
2. Click Add recurring item.
3. Under Room & Tenancy, choose the Property (already set on a property page) and the Tenancy.
4. Under Starting from, choose Same as tenancy or Let me pick.
5. Under Continue until, choose The end of the tenancy or Let me pick.
6. Under Type, choose Other (for parking, bills, service charges and similar) or Rent (extra rent only).
7. For Other, under Who earns the income?, choose Property Owner or You.
8. Type an Optional description, such as “Parking”. The tenant will see it.
9. Under Item Details, set the start date and end date if you chose Let me pick.
10. Choose how often under Repeat, then the day (Every for weekly, On the for monthly).
11. Enter the Amount for each period.
12. For a monthly item, choose the Pro-rata Calculation: Month Specific or Yearly Average.
13. Click Preview. Check the dates, descriptions and amounts. Charges shown in grey are the tenant’s existing charges.
14. Click Save, then Continue.

What happens next: COHO creates the charges shown, from the start date to a little ahead of today and at least to the end of the fixed term. They appear on the tenant’s rent schedule in Rent Collection, and as financial items in Finances. COHO adds later charges by itself ahead of their due dates.

Caution

A start date in the past creates every charge back to that date, all due straight away. Check the preview before saving.

Change the amount from a date

Do this when the charge goes up or down, for example a yearly price rise.

Before you start: charges from the new date that already have payments can’t be replaced. Pick a date after the last paid charge, ideally the first day of a billing period.

1. Open Recurring Items and click View on the item.
2. Click Review Rate. It only shows on the latest part of the item.
3. Enter the New Amount and the New Start Date.
4. Click Preview. Check what will be created, updated and deleted.
5. Click Save, then Yes.

What happens next: the current item ends the day before the new date, and a new one carries on with the new amount. In the table they show as First of Series and Last of Series. Unpaid charges from the new date are replaced at the new amount.

End a recurring item

Do this when the tenant stops using what they’re paying for, or is moving out.

Before you start: charges after the end date that already have payments can’t be removed. Deal with those payments first in Rent Collection.

1. Open Recurring Items and click View on the item.
2. Click Edit.
3. Under End Date, choose Specific date, then set the date under Until.
4. Click Preview and check the charges that will be deleted.
5. Click Save, then Yes.

What happens next: charges after the end date are removed, the last charge is pro-rated, and COHO stops creating charges once billing reaches the end date.

Note

Setting or changing a tenant’s move-out date doesn’t remove recurring charges already created after it. COHO only stops creating new ones. End the item yourself to remove them.

Edit a recurring item

Do this to correct the dates, how often it repeats, the day, the amount, the description or the pro-rata method.

Before you start: if the item has been changed with Review Rate, you can only change the start date on the first part and the end date on the last part. For a price change from a date, use Change the amount from a date instead.

1. Open Recurring Items and click View on the item.
2. Click Edit.
3. Change what you need.
4. Click Preview. The Rent Schedule Preview shows which charges will be created, updated and deleted.
5. Click Save, then Yes.

What happens next: COHO lists what it did, for example “Deleted current transaction with date …” and “Created proposed transaction with date …”. Charges with the same dates and amount keep their payments. Charges someone changed by hand in Rent Collection are skipped. If you sync to Xero, invoices for deleted charges are deleted on the next sync.

Delete a recurring item

Do this only for an item added by mistake, before any of its charges is paid.

Before you start: to stop an item but keep the charges already made, end it instead. You can only delete the latest part of an item that has been reviewed.

1. Open Recurring Items and click View on the item.
2. Click Delete.
3. Check the Rent Schedule Preview: “Continuing will delete … transactions.”
4. Click Delete, then Yes.

What happens next: the item and its charges are removed from the rent schedule and Finances. Charges someone changed by hand in Rent Collection are kept.

Pause a charge

Do this when a charge should stop for a while and start again later. There’s no pause button.

1. End the recurring item on the last day of the charge.
2. When the charge should start again, add a new recurring item starting on that date.

Check your recurring items

Do this to see every regular charge, or check one tenant’s.

1. Open Recurring Items (all properties) or Recurring items on a property page.
2. Click Active, Future, Past or All.
3. Narrow it with the property, All tenancies, All frequencies and All types filters.
4. Click View on an item to see Billed up to, Next billing run and every charge it created.

Add a regular charge with VAT

Recurring items can’t include VAT. Add each charge in Rent Collection instead.

1. Open the tenancy’s Rent Collection.
2. Click Money due > Tenant costs (or Rent for extra rent).
3. Enter the amount, VAT, category and due date, and save.
4. Repeat for each period, or add the next one when it’s due.

See Rent Schedules & Rent Collection.