Help Center
How to use eSamaHomes: setting up, rent and bank payments, reconciliation, leases, owners, and the tenant, owner and vendor portals.
Getting started
- Add properties and unitsAdd a house or a building, give it its units, and answer the USPS address check so its listing can be published.
- Connect Stripe so tenants can pay onlineConnect your own Stripe account as your deposit account, finish Stripe's setup, and turn on ACH Direct Debit so tenants can pay rent from their bank.
- Invite tenants, owners, vendors and your teamSend a portal invite so a tenant, owner or vendor can sign in, and invite team members from Settings.
- Move your current tenants into eSamaHomesAdd a lease for a tenant who already lives in the unit, so eSamaHomes bills from the right month and never bills the move-in rent or the deposit again.
- Opening balances and your cutover dateTell eSamaHomes what is in each bank account on the day it starts keeping your books, then confirm it with your first reconciliation.
- Set up your accountSign up, pick Landlord or Property Manager, fill in your company details, and work through the setup checklist on your dashboard.
Money
- Bank payments, processing, failed and returnedA tenant's bank payment takes a few business days to clear. A failed one is never recorded; a returned one is taken back out when Stripe withdraws the money.
- Cash flow (landlords)See money in minus money out for each property, by the month it reached your bank. Security deposits are left out.
- Checks, cash and bank depositsA check, cash or money order waits in Undeposited funds until you record the day it reached your bank.
- Diagnostics, what each check meansDiagnostics lists what needs fixing in your books right now, and how to fix each item.
- Disputes and chargebacksWhen a tenant's bank takes back an online payment, eSamaHomes lists the dispute and takes the money back out of your books when Stripe withdraws it.
- How rent billing workseSamaHomes creates each rent invoice a few days before it is due, reminds the tenant by email 3 days before, and tracks it until it is paid.
- Late fees and late noticesWhen rent is still unpaid after the lease's grace period, eSamaHomes adds the lease's late fee once and posts up to three late notices in eSamaHomes on your schedule.
- Money in and out (landlords)Record every bill you pay from your rental account, money you take out, and money you put in, so your books match the bank.
- Reconcile your bank accountOnce a month, check that eSamaHomes's ledger and your bank statement agree to the cent, and confirm your opening balance the first time.
- Record a payment you receivedRecord rent a tenant paid outside eSamaHomes, such as a check, cash, Zelle, a money order or a bank transfer, and apply it to their invoices.
- Security depositsKeep tenants' deposits in a deposit account, or with rent under a surety bond, and see how eSamaHomes keeps deposit money apart from rent.
Property managers
- Management feesSet a property's management fee as a percent of rent, a flat monthly fee, a monthly minimum or a mix, give an owner their own rate, and charge one-time fees.
- Owner approvals for repairs and new tenantsHave owners approve repairs above a dollar amount, and approve the applicant you recommend before you approve an application.
- Owner payoutsPay an owner from their available balance, by hand or from the monthly payouts eSamaHomes prepares for your approval, then mark it complete, failed or canceled.
- Owner reservesSet aside part of each rent payment for an owner until their reserve reaches a cap, and release reserve money back to the owner when it's needed.
- Owner statementsGenerate an owner statement for a period, check it, and send it to the owner, who reads it in the owner portal.
- Owners and who owns each propertyAdd the owners you manage for, give each property its owners and their ownership percent, and set each owner's bank account and payout method.
Leasing
- Create a leaseCreate a lease for one or more tenants, start it now or send it for signing, and edit, renew or end it later.
- Leads and rental applicationsTurn a lead into an application, record the application fee, approve or deny, and turn the approved renter into a tenant with a lease.
- Lease templatesUpload your own lease as a Word file with placeholders, and eSamaHomes fills it in for each lease and adds a signature page.
- List a unit for rentWrite a listing, add photos, publish it to its own public page, and send it to Apartments.com and Dwellsy.
- Maintenance requests, vendors and repairsTake a repair request, get quotes from vendors, assign a work order, record what it cost, and track what you paid the vendor.
- Move out and archive a propertyEnd a lease when the tenant moves out, mark the unit vacant, and archive a property you no longer rent without losing its history.
- Post a listing on FacebookCopy a published listing to Facebook Marketplace or your Facebook Page, record the post, and see which renters came from it.
- Several tenants and occupantsPut up to four tenants on one lease, choose the primary, list the other people who live there, and see who pays and who is told.
- Sign a lease onlineSend a lease for online signing, follow who has signed, and send it again when the lease changes. The lease starts when the last person signs.
For tenants
- Pay rent automatically with auto-payTurn on auto-pay so your rent is paid from your bank account on its due date, and how auto-pay works on a lease you share.
- Pay your rent from your bank accountPay an open invoice from your bank account in the tenant portal, and what "Processing" and a failed payment mean.
- Sign your lease onlineWhat the signing email asks you to do, the order people sign in, and where your signed lease is kept.
- Your documents, repair requests and messagesDownload your lease and other documents, ask for a repair, and message your property manager from the tenant portal.
Owners and vendors
Your account
- Add your teamInvite people to work in your eSamaHomes account, choose Owner or Member, and remove someone who leaves.
- Cancel your account and get your dataCancel your subscription, undo a cancel, and keep copies of your records before you leave.
- Plans, the free trial and billingPick a plan, start or change your subscription, update your card, and get back in when a trial or subscription lapses.