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Revenue Manager: FAQs

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Shelley Labrecque
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Revenue Manager provides management companies with a comprehensive billing solution that handles contracts, charges, invoices, and payments from setup through approval. This article answers the most common questions and provides step-by-step guidance on getting started, managing contracts, working with credits, handling invoices, and more.

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Contents

 

Setup and Configuration

Q: What do I have to do to set up user roles and permissions for Revenue Manager?

A: Set user roles and permissions before you start using Revenue Manager.

Set User Roles and Permissions

  1. Navigate to Settings > Roles.
    The Roles page displays.
  2. Select the role that will use Revenue Manager.
  3. Go to the Management section and click Edit next to Revenue Manager.
  4. Select all of the securities.
  5. In the same location, find the Import section and add both of the following:
    • Admin Billing Charges By Account
    • Admin Billing Charges by Qty
  6. Click Save.

For more information, see the Add the Role Security section of the "Revenue Manager: Setup" article.

 

Q: How do I get started setting up Revenue Manager?

A: Configure your Revenue Manager core components before setting up contracts or templates.

  1. Navigate to Revenue Manager from Management > Revenue Manager.
  2. Click the Configuration tab.
    The Configuration screen displays.

Add Your Company as a Vendor

  1. If your company is already a vendor in your Vendors list:
    • Click Add Existing Vendor.
    • Find your company.
    • Click Use Selected Vendor.
  2. If your company is not yet a vendor in your Vendors list:
    • Click New Vendor.
    • Add your vendor information.
    • Click Add Vendor.

Note: If you have multiple vendors, configure each one here.

Add Corporate Funds (Optional)

If your company uses corporate funds for reporting, add each fund.

  1. Click New Fund.
  2. Add the following:
    • Fund Name: A name for the fund (required)
    • Report Group (2 Col) and Report Group (Multi Col): Optional reporting groupings
    • Default Bank Account
  3. Click Add Fund.

Funds can be reordered when applicable by clicking Set Order.

Note: This step is optional and only required if your company uses fund accounting.

Create Charges

For each item you charge associations for management fees, create a charge.

  1. Click New Charge.
  2. Enter the following for each charge:
    • Description: A name for the charge (e.g., "Management Fee Flat Rate")
    • GL Account: Select from the GL codes dropdown
    • Fund (optional): Select if applicable
  3. Click Add Charge.

Important: If your GL codes do not populate in the dropdown, it is because they are not configured on your Management Company Association. See Add Corporate Income GL Codes below for instructions on how to add them.

Note: If charges are already pre-populated from the Assessments page, you can delete any that you do not charge associations for.

Setup Acceleration Options

Before you create your management contracts, know your options: You can import management service contracts from a template you fill in with your existing contracts, or you can migrate contracts from your current management billing service provider. You must still create a management template even if you choose to import or migrate contracts. Contact your Customer Success Manager before getting started to take advantage of these options.

For more information, see the Vendors Page, Funds Page, and Charges sections of the "Revenue Manager: Setup" article.

 

Q: How do I configure my Management Company Association for Revenue Manager?

A: Set up your Management Company Association so Revenue Manager can post charges and process payments correctly.

  1. Navigate to Management Company Association from Association > Association List.
    Filter the list by adding the Description column to find your Management Company.

Add Corporate Income GL Codes

Add corporate income GL codes for management fees and flat rate charges you plan to use.

  1. Navigate to the Association > GL Accounts tab.
    The Association GL tab shows the active GL codes for the Management Company association. To remove a GL code, click Not Used.
  2. If your corporate income GL code is not shown under the Association GL tab, click UnUsed GL.
    • Filter or search for the applicable code and click Use.
    • To add a new corporate income GL code:
      • Click New GL Account.
      • Fill in Code, Description, and Type of Account.
      • Click Save.
      • Navigate back to Association GL.
      • Click Use.

Add Bank Account

Add your corporate bank account information for where management fees will deposit.

  1. Go to Association > Bank Accounts.
    The Bank Accounts page displays.
  2. Click New Bank Account.
  3. Add the bank account information.
  4. Click Update.

Verify Service Provider Payment Method

  1. Navigate to Service Provider > Payment Method.
  2. Click the highlighted vendor at the top of the screen to bring up a list of vendors.
  3. Locate your company and click Select.
  4. Verify the Pay Type, Bank Account #, and Confirm ABA/Routing # (for ACH), and the contact information for your company.

For more information, see the Management Company Association and Corporate GL Setup sections of the "Revenue Manager: Setup" article.

 

Creating Contracts

Q: How do I create management contracts?

A: Set up management contracts using templates to streamline the process.

Create a Management Template

  1. Navigate to Management > Templates.
    The Templates page displays.
  2. Click New Template.
  3. Configure your template with the following:
    • Billing Frequency: How often you bill associations
    • Charges: Select the charges that apply to all management contracts
    • Default Settings: Configure any other default settings
  4. Click Save.
    Your template is now ready to assign to associations.

Assign Template to Associations

  1. On the Templates page, click Assign.
    The Assign Associations screen opens.
  2. Select all associations you want to create management contracts for.
  3. Click Confirm.
    Contracts generate automatically for the selected associations.

Edit Contracts in Bulk Manage

Use Bulk Manage to edit multiple contracts at once after assigning your templates.

Management

  1. On the Management > Contracts page, click Bulk Manage.
    The Bulk Manage screen opens with a dropdown of options.
    • Use Contract Flat Fees to edit or remove the flat rate management amount (per door fees are not included).
    • Use Contract Terms to edit the following:
      • Start Date/End Date
      • Account Number
      • Generation Method and Date
      • Auto Approval Method
      • Auto Approval Amount
      • Board Approval
      • Signature Approval
  2. To edit contracts, click Edit. You can edit a single contract inline, or use the checkboxes to select multiple associations or charges, edit one line, and press Enter or Tab to update all selected rows. Click Save Changes.
  3. To remove charges, use the checkboxes to select the association or charge, click Remove, then click Remove Charges.

Admin

  1. On the Admin > Contracts page, click Bulk Manage.
    The Bulk Manage screen opens with a dropdown of options.
    • Use Action Items to edit or remove the Action Item charge rate, minimum, or maximum.
    • Use External to edit or remove the External charge rate, minimum, or maximum.
    • Use Flat Fees to edit or remove the flat fee charge rate.
    • Use Ledger to edit charge rate, minimum, maximum, percentage, and transaction type, or to remove Ledger charges.
    • Use Contract Terms to edit the same fields as management contracts (Start Date/End Date, Account Number, Generation Method and Date, Auto Approval Method, Auto Approval Amount, Board Approval, Signature Approval).
  2. Use the same Edit and Remove steps described above for management contracts to edit individual associations or charges, edit multiple rows at once, or remove charges.

Note: The Contract Terms option in Admin Bulk Manage may not be available for all clients yet.

Edit Contracts Individually (If Needed)

After bulk setup, contracts can also be edited individually.

  1. Navigate to the Contracts tab.
  2. Find the contract you need to edit and click Edit.
    The contract details screen opens.
  3. Use individual editing to:
    • Update non-editable fields that could not be changed in Bulk Manage
    • Fill in blank fields for missing information that did not match the template to a specific association (e.g., a GL code differs for one association, or a billable charge was not set up on that association)
  4. Click Save.

Note: After completing all contract setup and reviews, your Revenue Manager contracts are ready to go live and start billing your associations.

For more information, see the "Revenue Manager: Contracts and Templates" and "Revenue Manager: Bulk Manage" articles.

 

Q: My contract did not generate.

A: Check for the following possible issues:

  • No conflicting contracts already exist.
  • All required template fields are properly configured.
  • The model association contains all necessary association billable charges and GL codes.

 

Q: I'm getting validation errors when trying to activate contracts.

A: This typically occurs when:

  • Association billable charges from your model have not been set up on the target association.
  • Required GL codes are missing from the association setup.
  • There are data migration issues from Management Center.

To resolve, edit the contract, fill in any blank required fields, and save. If you're unsure which fields are causing issues, try saving to see specific validation messages.

For more information, see the Error Handling and Validation section of the "Revenue Manager: Contracts and Templates" article.

 

Q: Can I modify a template after creating contracts from it?

A: Yes, you can modify templates at any time. Changes you make will not update to contracts already created from that template.

For more information, see the Managing Pending Contracts section of the "Revenue Manager: Contracts and Templates" article.

 

Working with Credits

Q: How do I create a credit?

A: Revenue Manager credits are used for association billing corrections, overpayments, and similar adjustments. They differ from vendor credit distributions because they apply at invoice time and are tied to specific charges.

  1. Navigate to Admin > Credits.
    The Credits page displays.
  2. Click Credit.
    The Add Credit screen opens.
  3. Enter the following:
    • Memo Number: An identifier for you to search your credits
    • Association
    • Association Charge Type
    • Credit Date
    • Credit Amount
    • GL Account: Defaults to the GL code on the charge type selected; can be modified
    • Description (optional)
  4. Click Add Credit or Save & Add Another.

For more information, see the Creating Credits section of the "Revenue Manager: Credits" article.

 

Q: How are credits applied on the general ledger?

A: Credits post to different GL accounts depending on whether the credit is being created or applied.

Creation of Credit

  • Association Side: Credit to expense GL | Debit to credit memo GL
  • MC Side: Credit to Homeowner Credits GL | Debit to income GL

Application of Credit

  • Association Side: Credit to credit memo GL | Debit to Accounts Payable
  • MC Side: Credit to Accounts Receivable | Debit to Homeowner Credits GL

 

Q: How do I view a credit on the invoice?

A: When pending charges generate an invoice, you can see the credit applied.

  1. Open the Invoice approval screen.
  2. Add the Balance column to see the net amount (Invoice Total minus Credits).
  3. Review the credit details in the invoice.
    Note: The GL codes showing on invoice details may differ from your credit GL. The credit has already applied; you are now seeing which GLs the charges expense to.

For more information, see the Viewing Credits on Invoice PDFs section of the "Revenue Manager: Credits" article.

 

Q: How do I approve and pay an invoice with credits?

A: Review and process invoices with applied credits.

  1. Click Approve on the invoice.
  2. Proceed with payment.
    Only the Balance (net of credits) will be paid from association to MC. The net automatically distributes across the charges based on their individual GL codes.

 

Q: How do I manage my credits?

A: View and manage credits from the Admin > Credits page. Credits have different management options depending on their application status:

  • Credits Not Applied: You can edit or void them.
  • Credits Partially Applied: You can void the remaining balance only.
  • Credits Fully Applied: You cannot edit or void them.

Note: You can also view available credits by adding the Credits column to the Admin > Billing grid and from the pending charges screen.

For more information, see the Void Partial Credits section of the "Revenue Manager: Credits" article.

 

Managing Invoices

Q: What do I do when I void a management invoice?

A: When a management invoice has been voided, you must regenerate the charges and post a new invoice.

  1. Adjust the contract to reflect any needed changes (dates, amounts, etc.).
  2. Navigate to the Billing screen and toggle to the billing period you need.
  3. Locate the specific association and click Regenerate Charges through your chosen date.
    The charges regenerate for the selected association.
  4. Confirm the pending charges are correct.
  5. Select the association again and click Post a New Invoice with your chosen date.
    The new invoice is posted.

For more information, see the Void Management Fee Invoices section of the "Revenue Manager: Billing" article.

 

Q: What do I do when I void an admin invoice?

A: Follow the same steps as management invoices, but note the following additional considerations:

  • External charges that were on the voided invoice must be re-imported for them to populate back into pending charges.
  • Adjust flat rates on the contract to reflect changes.
  • Review and adjust any ledger activity on the homeowner account.
  • Clear or update action items (through the action item XN) as needed.

For more information, see the Admin Billing Invoices section of the "Revenue Manager: Billing" article.

 

General Questions

Q: Does Revenue Manager handle Admin and Management Billing contracts, or just the charges generated by the contracts?

A: Revenue Manager is a comprehensive billing solution that handles both contracts and charges. It replaces Management Center as your complete admin and management billing solution, managing the entire lifecycle from contract setup to invoice posting and approval.

The system includes:

  • Contract Management: Create and manage Admin Fee and Management Fee contracts through the dedicated Contracts tab.
  • Charge Generation: Generate charges based on contract terms (manually or automatically).
  • Billing Processing: Post charges to create invoices through the Billing tab or automatically.
  • Configuration: Set up charge types, fees, and automation rules.
  • Invoice Workflow Integration: After charges are posted, the resulting invoices follow your established Invoice Action Item workflow, using the approval settings configured in each contract (including Auto Approve Method, Board Approval, and Signature Approval requirements).

For more information, see the "Revenue Manager: Getting Started" article.

 

Q: How does Revenue Manager improve the Billing contract setup and update process?

A: Revenue Manager introduces significant improvements through several key features:

Contract Templates (Admin and Management)

  • Reduces contract setup time from days to minutes for companies managing hundreds of associations.
  • Create templates for both Admin Fee and Management Fee contracts.
  • Apply templates to multiple associations simultaneously through bulk assignment.

Enhanced Contract Management

  • Centralized View: All contracts for all associations are displayed in one comprehensive list.
  • Multiple Pending Contracts: Create and manage multiple pending contracts for a single association.
  • Multiple Templates: Build different templates for various association types or fee structures.
  • Standardization: Ensures consistency while accommodating different association needs.

Streamlined Process

  • Templates use Model Association settings to pull standard configurations.
  • All contract elements are included: charges, payment methods, generation settings, and approval workflows.

Key Benefits

  • Better visibility across your entire portfolio
  • Flexibility to prepare contracts in advance
  • Ability to maintain different standard contracts for different association types

For more information, see the "Revenue Manager: Contracts and Templates" article.

 

Q: Will Revenue Manager provide better charge auditing tools than currently offered?

A: Revenue Manager includes several features that support charge review and auditing:

Charge Visibility

  • Pending Charges Detail Screen: Review itemized charges before posting, that show the charge type, generation date, and amounts.
  • Posting History: Admin fees maintain complete posting history viewable through expandable rows (Caret icon).
  • Consolidated Display: View current and historical postings for any association in one place.

Export Capabilities

  • Export pending charge details to Excel for detailed analysis.
  • Export posted charges and invoice information.
  • Grid exports include all displayed data with applied filters.

Revenue Analytics

  • Revenue Trends Tool (in Vantaca IQ): Track fee revenue over time, monitor revenue streams, and identify trends. For more information, see the "Vantaca IQ - Business Dashboard" article.
  • Use performance metrics for data-driven decisions.

For more information, see the Pending Charges Detail Screen section of the "Revenue Manager: Billing" article.

 

Q: What solution does Vantaca propose for association-specific configurations, like action types that are only used in certain communities?

A: Revenue Manager addresses configuration flexibility through a combination of standardization and template functionality.

Best Practice: Start with maximum standardization through templates, then add association-specific configurations only where necessary. This balance maintains flexibility while significantly reducing setup and maintenance complexity.

Recommended Approach

  • Standardization First: Standardize action items, association GLs, and association billable charges across your portfolio as much as possible.
  • Contract Templates: Use Admin Fee Contract templates to create consistent base configurations that can be applied to multiple associations.
  • Association-Specific Configuration: Action items are configured within each association's unique admin contract, allowing for flexibility for each association.

Benefits of This Approach

  • Reduces complexity by minimizing variations
  • Templates provide a consistent starting point
  • Individual contracts can still be configured after template application
  • Standardized GLs and billable charges simplify reporting and management

For Specific Challenges (Multiple Violation Types)

  • Consider consolidating similar violation types where possible.
  • Create templates for common violation patterns.
  • Use standardized charge structures across associations.
  • Configure variations only where business requirements truly differ.

For more information, see the Understanding Model Associations and Template Best Practices sections of the "Revenue Manager: Contracts and Templates" article.

 

Q: Do clients need a management company association to use Revenue Manager?

A: Yes, Revenue Manager requires a management company association (default code: MGMT-COMP). If the client does not have one, Revenue Manager will create it automatically during setup.

For more information, see the Get Started section of the "Revenue Manager: Setup" article.

 

Q: What happens if I change something in my model association?

A: Changes to the model association will affect the entire Vantaca system. For example, if you rename an association billable charge in the model, it will be renamed throughout all of Vantaca. This is powerful for maintaining consistency but should be done carefully.

For more information, see the Understanding Model Associations section of the "Revenue Manager: Contracts and Templates" article.

 

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