Rent & Payments Guide

Goal: Understand how rent invoices are issued, how tenants pay and submit payment proof, and how landlords confirm receipt.

EstateTrack automates your monthly rent tracking. Landlords can view payments in real-time, and tenants can easily submit payment receipts from their bank or mobile money app.

1. Setting Up Receiving Accounts (Landlord)

Before your tenants can pay you through the platform, add your payment receiving details:

1. 1
   Go to Settings → Payment Rails (or the Receiving Accounts tab in Payments).
2. 2
   Click Add Account.
3. 3
   Select your provider type: Bank Account, Till/Paybill, or Mobile Wallet.
4. 4
   Enter your details (Account Name, Bank/Provider, Account Number).
5. 5
   Click Save. Your verified payment accounts are now automatically displayed to your tenants with copyable numbers and instructions.

2. Monthly Invoices & Dynamic Currency

You do not need to create invoices manually each month:

• Invoices are automatically generated before the start of each month for every active tenant.
• The invoice amount reflects the agreed rent on the lease, denominated in your property's configured currency (e.g. USD, EUR, KES).
• The platform operates with dynamic macro-currency transparency: amounts, inputs, and receipts always reflect your local property currency without confusing hardcoded assumptions.
• Tenants receive an in-app alert when their invoice is ready to view.

3. How Tenants Pay (Tenant Portal)

When paying rent, follow these steps in your tenant account:

Step 1: Check Payment Details & QR Code

1. 1
   Open the Payments page in your tenant portal.
2. 2
   Select Where to Pay to view your landlord's official account details.
3. 3
   Every account displays copyable details (Account Number, Bank Name, and your unique Payment Reference, e.g. ET-RENT-...).
4. 4
   On desktop: You can scan the QR code with your smartphone camera to open the payment screen directly on your phone with your reference pre-filled.

Step 2: Make the Payment

• In your banking app or mobile money service, transfer the rent amount.
• Always paste your unique Payment Reference into the memo or payment notes field.

Step 3: Submit Payment Proof & Waterfall Preview

1. 1
   Switch to the Submit Payment Claim tab.
2. 2
   Choose your proof type:
3. Upload Receipt: Select a screenshot or PDF receipt from your bank or mobile app.
4. Paste Message: Paste the confirmation SMS received from your bank or mobile payment provider.
5. 3
   Waterfall Allocation Preview: If you have multiple outstanding charges, the preview dynamically indicates how your payment will be applied (oldest overdue balance first, then late fees, then current rent, with any surplus recorded as an advance credit).
6. 4
   Verify the details in the confirmation preview and click Submit Claim.
7. 5
   Your claim will appear under Claims & Invoices, and late payment penalties are temporarily frozen while your landlord verifies the deposit.

Step 4: Curing a Declined Claim

• In the rare event that a landlord declines a claim (e.g. due to an incorrect reference code or missing proof), you will receive an immediate alert with the landlord's decline reason.
• Click Cure & Resubmit directly from your notification or payment history.
• The submission modal reopens with your previous information preserved, allowing you to quickly correct the disputed field and resubmit without retyping everything.

4. How Landlords Review and Confirm Payments

Landlords review incoming payments from the Payments hub (/rent/payments):

4-Tier Match Audit Pills

Every pending claim displays an AI-assisted confidence audit indicator:

• 100% Ironclad (Emerald): Exact match on payment reference and expected amount.
• 85–95% High Confidence (Blue): Minor reference typo corrected or slight fee variance detected.
• 65–84% Partial Match (Amber): Payer identified by name or phone, awaiting landlord bank confirmation.
• <60% Discrepancy (Rose): Mismatched amounts or missing evidence requiring closer review.

1-Click Batch Settlement

For busy property managers with numerous high-confidence payments:

1. 1
   Click Batch Settle High Confidence at the top of the Claims queue.
2. 2
   Review the summary of all claims with $\ge 90\%$ match confidence.
3. 3
   Confirm settlement in a single click: all selected invoices are marked paid, tenant ledger accounts update, and receipts are automatically dispatched.

Verifying a Transaction In Person (Single Verifier)

If a tenant presents a payment confirmation code or message in person:

1. 1
   Open the Single Verifier tab in Payments.
2. 2
   Paste the SMS message or enter the transaction reference code.
3. 3
   EstateTrack matches the payment against open invoices.
4. 4
   Click Confirm Settlement to mark the payment received and print or send a receipt.

5. Overdue Payments & Penalties

• Rent is due on the date specified in your lease (commonly the 1st to the 5th of the month).
• If payment is not submitted by the due date, the invoice status changes to Open with an overdue badge.
• When a payment claim is submitted, late fee calculations are paused while the landlord verifies the deposit.