Security deposits

Who this is for

Landlords and property managers who collect security deposits. Only the account owner can change the deposit setting and add bank accounts.

Before you start

• Know where you keep deposits: in a separate bank account, or in the same account as rent with a surety bond. Florida law (§83.49) allows the second when you post a surety bond. Check your state's rules.
• A Security Deposit account in eSamaHomes. None is made for you.

Steps

1. Open Settings, the Account tab, card Security Deposits. Under "How do you keep security deposits?", pick In a separate bank account or In the same account as rent, with a surety bond. It saves when you click.
2. Open Accounting, the Trust Accounts tab, and click New Trust Account. Give it an Account Name, pick Account Type Security Deposit, add the Bank Name and Last 4 Digits, and click Create Account.
3. If deposits are kept with rent, set Money is held in to your operating account. Its bank balance then covers both, and the two are reconciled together.
4. On each new lease, type the Security Deposit. When the lease starts, eSamaHomes creates a Deposit invoice for it, due on the start date.
5. Record the tenant's deposit payment like any other. Pick the deposit bank under Deposited to, or, for a check, record the deposit into that bank.

Example

Maria's lease starts November 1: rent $1,800.00, Security Deposit $1,800.00. You keep deposits in a separate bank account.

• When the lease starts, two invoices are created: rent $1,800.00 and deposit $1,800.00.
• Maria pays one check of $3,600.00 and you take it to your operating bank. eSamaHomes puts $1,800.00 on rent and $1,800.00 on the deposit account, and lists Money held for another account: the operating bank holds $1,800.00 that belongs in the deposit account.
• You move $1,800.00 at your bank, then click Move money on Deposits and Record transfer. Each bank now holds only its own money: $1,800.00 + $1,800.00 = $3,600.00.

What happens next

• Deposit money is never counted as income, so it is not on Cash flow.
• Money in a deposit account pays deposit charges only. Rent paid from it is refused.
• For a tenant who lived there before eSamaHomes, turn on Tenant already lives here on the new lease and enter the Deposit already collected. No invoice is created for it. See Move your tenants in.
• Returning a deposit. Open the deposit payment on Rent & Payments and click Refund, with the Refund Amount (USD). A deposit paid online can't be refunded in eSamaHomes yet. There is no way yet to keep part of a deposit for damages and move it to your operating account, and moving out does nothing to the deposit.

If something looks wrong

• "No trust account configured for invoice type DEPOSIT". You have no Security Deposit account. Create one on Accounting, Trust Accounts, then apply the payment.
• Diagnostics shows an Escrow Mismatch. A bank holds deposit money that belongs in the deposit account. Move it at your bank, then record it with Move money on Deposits.
• "… is a security deposit account, so money in it can only pay deposit charges". Rent must be paid from money in an operating account.
• You can't switch back to a separate bank account. It is refused while a deposit account is held in an operating account.
• The Deposits page. It is for checks and cash taken to the bank, not security deposits.