What's New with Leases

Summary: This article will explain how to navigate and use the new Leases page, the various methods available to manage your Leases as well explaining how to configure each method.

The fastest way to access your leases is Homeowners > Leases, which will display all Lease information for a single property.

The top half of the page displays the Contact Info of the Property Owner/Homeowner. Note: All the information on the top half of the grid pertains to the Property Owner/Homeowner of the Lease.

• The Lease grid has the following options available:
  • +New Lease: Add a new Lease.
  • View Tenants: Switches from the Leases grid to the Tenants
  • Include Closed: Closed Leases will be included in the grid. Note: They are excluded by default.
  • Export to Excel: Creates a CSV file of the current Lease grid information.
• The following columns can be sorted, searched and/or filtered:
  • Lease ID
  • Tenant
  • Lease Start
  • Lease End
  • Status: The status is dependent on whether there is an action item number associated with the lease.
    • The Lease Status will show the current Action Step Name for Leases with an XN.
    • Available statuses for Leases without an XN:
      • Not Started
      • Active
      • Expired
      • Closed
      • XN: Displays the associated action item number.
        • Note: If you haven’t configured your action items to be tied to Leases, your leases will not have an XN number.

Creating a Lease

There are some different ways you can create a new lease depending on your association’s needs. Some of these will require some configuration beforehand but we let’s start with the only method that’s out-of-the-box ready to create a New Lease.

🛠 It’s important to note that you’ll only be utilizing one of these workflows based on what works best for you! Each one has its benefits but the main differences between them is their means of managing your Leases. 🛠

Method One: Creating a Lease without an XN Number

This method needs no action item configuration because it doesn’t have an XN number tied to the Lease. This method also utilizes the system-based Lease Statuses which will automatically update based on the start and end dates of the lease.

1. Go to Homeowners > Leases
2. Select the + New Lease button.
   1. Note: Make sure you’ve selected the correct homeowner/property to create the new Lease for.
      
      
3. You can add multiple Tenants to the new Lease, but they aren’t required for Lease creation.
4. Select a Lease Start and Lease End These fields are required.
   1. Once the date has met or exceeded the Lease End date the Lease Status will change to Expired.
      1. Note: There is a distinction between the two statuses, Expired and Closed. A Closed status has been manually flagged for closing by the user.
   2. Select the Month-to-Month checkbox if the Lease is operating on a month-to-month basis.
      1. Note: This will disable the Lease End field and it will no longer be required. If you have a Lease End date entered and select the checkbox after, the Lease End date will be blank upon saving.
   3. Lease Documents can be added as needed.
      1. Note: Leases can be edited at any time but be wary of adverse effects on your reporting if you edit start and end dates after the fact. Don’t forget you can track all your Lease Activity on the Homeowners > Activity Notes page!

Method Two: Setting up your Lease Action Item with an XN Number

For this method of managing your Leases, you’ll need to configure an Action Item Type first to have an XN number tied to the lease immediately after creating the new lease.

Create a New Action Type.

1. Go to Settings > Action Types/Steps.
2. Select the +New Action Type button.
3. Set Category to Standard.
4. Action Type should be indicative that this is a Lease action type.
5. Send To and Administrator Role can be filled out as needed.
6. Action Type Requirements can be set as needed.
7. Select the Block Creation

Add Steps to the new Action Type.

Note: There’s no best configuration for how set up the Action Type’s Steps and Rules because each client’s needs are different. What works for them might not work for you.

1. Create and name your Lease Creation step with the +Add New Step button
   Note: The Lease Status on the Homeowners > Leases screen will display the current Action Step of your Lease Action Item, so name them accordingly.
   1. The Rules can be configured as needed but the Additional Action setting must be set to Create Lease Action Item.
      
2. Create and name your Lease Closing step
   1. The Rules can be configured as needed but the Additional Action setting must be set to Closed Lease.
      1. This additional action will trigger the action item to step to the closed step when the Lease is closed.
         
3. Finish configuring your Rules as needed.

Now when you create a new Lease on the Homeowners > Leases page, it’ll have an XN number applied to it, and you can manage the lease action item along with your other action items.

Optional: Setting the Lease Expiration Reminder

A Lease Reminder can be set to notify you of you Leases that will be expiring soon. The default value is 60 days but can be modified by going to Association > Settings > Communications. Note: This setting only applies to the Create Lease Action Item, it does not affect the Add Lease Action Item.

Method Three: Adding a Lease to an XN Number

For this method of managing your Leases, you’ll be adding a New Lease to an existing Action Item. This process is favored towards workflows with prerequisite Action Item steps before the Lease can be created, like if there is a board approval process for applying tenants.

Create a New Action Type.

1. Go to Settings > Action Types/Steps.
2. Select the +New Action Type
3. Set Category to Standard.
4. Action Type should be indicative that this is a Lease action type.
5. Send To and Administrator Role can be filled out as needed.
6. Set Action Type Requirement to Require Owner.
7. Leave the Block Creation checkbox blank.

Add Steps to the new Action Type.

Note: You may have additional Action Steps before your Lease Creation Step like Lease Application or a Lease Interest step.

1. Create and name your Add Lease step with the +Add New Step button.
   Note: The Lease Status on the Homeowners > Leases screen will display the current Action Step of your Lease Action Item, so name them accordingly.
   1. The Rules can be configured as needed but the Additional Action setting must be set to Add Lease.
      
2. Create and name your Lease Closing step.
   1. The Rules can be configured as needed but the Additional Action setting must be set to Closed Lease.
      1. This additional action will trigger the action item to step to the closed step when the Lease is closed.
         
   2. Finish configuring your Rules as needed.

Creating the Lease

1. Create your newly created Lease Action Item and select a homeowner for it.
   Note: It’s encouraged to include the lease’s homeowner on the creation of this lease action item to ensure that the lease is immediately associated with a homeowner/property.
2. When you’re ready to create the Lease, step the Action Item to its Lease Creation step.
3. You’ll notice a Lease button on the Action Item in the Action Center, an example can be seen in the screenshot.
   1. Selecting this button will open the Edit Lease form:
      
   2. You can add multiple Tenants to the new Lease, but they aren’t required for Lease creation.
   3. Select a Lease Start and Lease End These fields are required.
   4. Select the Month-to-Month checkbox if the Lease is operating on a month-to-month basis.
      1. Note: This will disable the Lease End field and it will no longer be required. If you have a Lease End date entered and select the checkbox after, the Lease End date will be blank upon saving.
   5. Lease Documents can be added as needed.
      1. Note: Any previously attachments on the Action Item will not carry over to the lease itself, but anything added when creating/editing the lease will be tied to the lease.