Management fees

Who this is for

Property managers. Management fees exist only in Property Manager mode. Only the account owner can set or cancel a rate, charge a one-time fee or waive a fee. Team members can see them.

Before you start

• The property needs at least one owner. See Owners and who owns each property.
• Decide the terms: a percent of rent collected, a flat fee per month, a minimum per month, or a mix of them.

Steps

1. Open Rentals → Properties, click the property and open its Owners tab. The Fees and reserve table is under the owners: a Property default row, then one row per owner, with columns for Management fee, Reserve and Owed. An owner who pays the default shows Default; the terms are on the Property default row. On a phone, each row is a card with the column names above its values, and the edit panel opens under it.
2. Click Edit under Property default. Under Management fee, fill in % of rent collected, Flat $ and Minimum $ (per month). Leave a box empty if you don't use it.
3. Pick the From date and click Save default rate. The edit panel stays open so you can set the reserve too; click Close when you're done.
4. To give one owner different terms, click Edit under their name, fill in the same boxes and click Save rate for that owner. An owner's own rate replaces the whole default for them; it isn't added to it, and their row shows Own rate. Use default rate puts them back on the default.
5. To charge a fee that isn't monthly, click Charge a one-time fee at the top right of the table. Choose the owner, the type (Setup or Other), the amount and What is it for?, then click Charge fee.
6. Click History to see every rate and reserve rule in one table, each marked Now, Scheduled or Ended, with its dates and the fees it charged. A rate set to start later also shows on its row as Next: with the date it starts.

Example

Harbor House has one owner, Priya Nair. The default rate is 8% of rent collected with a Minimum $150 per month.

• In October the tenant pays $1,500 rent. The percent fee is charged when the payment is recorded: 8% × $1,500 = $120.
• On November 1 eSamaHomes checks October: $120 is under the $150 minimum, so it charges a minimum top-up of $30. October's fees total $150.
• In a month with no rent collected, no minimum is charged.

Priya also owes a $300 Setup fee, but only $100 is available. eSamaHomes shows "Charged $100.00, owed $200.00. The rest is taken when the owner has money."

What happens next

• Percent fees are charged on each rent payment when it is recorded, and returned if the rent is refunded.
• Flat fees are charged on the 1st for the month before, every month, whether rent came in or not. Minimums only apply in a month with rent collected; eSamaHomes checks them again through the following month, so late rent is counted.
• A property's default flat fee and minimum are for the whole property, split by ownership percent. An owner's own rate is in that owner's own amounts.
• A fee never takes an owner's balance below zero. What can't be taken is listed in the owner's Owed column and taken first when money comes in, before any payout.

If something looks wrong

• An amount shows in the Owed column. The owner didn't have enough when the fee was charged. It is collected from their next rent. Click Waive on a fee you don't want to collect.
• You set a rate with the wrong date. A rate that hasn't started and hasn't charged a fee shows Cancel in History. A rate that has charged fees stays on record; set a new rate from the right date instead.
• No fee was charged on a payment. Check that the property has a default rate or the owner has their own. No default rate on the Property default row, with the owner's row showing "None", means neither is set.