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Tenant Ledger: How To Track Charges, Payments & Balances

Easily track rent, other charges, payments, and tenant balances—all in one place.

Updated over a week ago

What Is the Tenant Ledger?

The Tenant Ledger helps you stay on top of who owes what across all your units. It captures:

  • Rent charges

  • One-time or recurring fees (utilities, late fees, etc.)

  • Payments received

  • Running balances by tenant

How to Access the Tenant Ledger

  1. Go to your Leases & Tenants page

  2. Click a tenant’s name

  3. Scroll to the "Current Balance" section

That’s your tenant ledger!

Automate Your Ledger: Set It & Forget It

Most entries in the ledger are automatically generated if your account is set up properly:

  • Monthly rent charges are auto-added on the 1st of each month if:

    • Valid lease dates and rent amounts are saved in Rent History

  • Payments are pulled from your Transactions page when:

    • Categorized as Income

    • Assigned to the correct Unit/Tenancy

Keep your rent roll and transactions up to date, and your ledger will take care of itself.

Troubleshooting Missing Entries

  • Missing Rent Charges?Double-check the lease dates in Rent History.

  • Missing Payments?Find the income item on your Transactions page and make sure it’s assigned to the correct Unit and Tenancy.

  • Ledger Discrepancies?Review the ledger for any inconsistencies, then adjust lease term details to cover missing charges and ensure accurate data.

  • Overdue Rent Errors?Disable and re-enable rent collection for the affected lease. Ensure the new start date aligns with the lease terms to refresh the system and update ledger data.


Adjusting the Ledger Timeline

To clean up older data or skip prior history:

  1. Click More > Adjust Balance

  2. Set a custom start date

Options:

  • All Time – Starts from the first lease

  • Today – Current date only

  • Earliest Payment Recorded – Based on Transactions page

  • Earliest Charge – First rent or manual charge

  • Custom Date – You choose


Add Charges & Credits

Need to bill for something outside rent? Do this:

Add a Charge

Landlords can also use the "Add a Charge" option to enable tenants to pay more than their usual rent amount. For instance, this can be helpful if the tenant wants to pay in advance or cover additional expenses like utilities or repair costs.

  1. Click "Add a Charge" (top right of the ledger)

  2. Enter amount and reason (e.g., utilities, pet fees)

  3. When payment is received, assign the income to the tenancy via the Transactions page

Both the charge and payment will appear in the ledger.

When rent collection is enabled, this changes the balance due for the tenant. The tenant will need to make a manual payment for the charge. It will not automatically be included in their auto-renew.

Add a Credit

Credits can also be used to adjust tenant balances, allowing tenants to pay less than their current rent balance.

Use credits to:

  • Write off unpaid amounts

  • Reimburse the tenant for prior overpayments or repairs

Simply click Add Credit and enter the amount.

“Record a Payment” Shortcut

The "Record a Payment" button in the ledger is a shortcut to the Transactions page.

Manual entries should be rare—automated bank connections or QIF uploads are the preferred method.

Payment Rules and Limitations

Understanding payment limitations helps prevent confusion between you and your tenants:

  • Tenants can only make payments up to their current balance shown in Stessa.

  • To allow tenant payments exceeding the balance, landlords must first add the additional amount as a charge.

  • Added Charges are not automatically included in Auto-Pay. Tenants will need to manually make a payment for any added charges.

  • The balance field cannot be edited to permit entries greater than the due amount.

  • Applying credits can enable tenants to pay less than their current balance when needed.


Ledger Issues

Check these if your ledger looks off:

  1. Lease start dates missing or incorrect

  2. Payments not categorized or not assigned to the right tenancy

  3. Tenant charges not entered manually (e.g., for utilities or late fees)

  4. Refresh the ledger by disabling and re-enabling rent collection for streamlined updates and accuracy.

  5. Negative ledger balances due to missing charges? Re-enter specific lease term details to reconcile discrepancies.

  6. Tenant app shows incorrect rent status? Restart rent collection settings and wait for the system to refresh within 24 hours.

  7. Lease renewal discrepancies? Review and update lease start and end dates. For partial-month adjustments, add prorated charges manually.

  8. Overdue rent notices despite payments being current? Disable and re-enable rent collection for the applicable lease to refresh the system and update balances.

Tips

  1. Tenant wants to pay more than their balance? Add the additional amount as a charge first.

  2. Setting up custom payment schedules (e.g., weekly)? Use the credit system to adjust the displayed balance accordingly.

Watch our quick video on reviewing your tenant ledger for Rent Collection below.

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