Table of Contents

Set up security deposits for contracts

Important

Draft documentation
This content is a draft version of the SkyBill documentation and is subject to final review. Some information may be incomplete or inaccurate. Features, terminology, and procedures may change before the official release.

You can collect a security deposit from customers when they sign a new contract. The security deposit is an amount that the customer pays upfront to cover any potential unpaid bills. SkyBill adds the security deposit to the first invoice. You can also set the conditions for refunding the security deposit upon termination of the contract. SkyBill contains the rules regarding the security deposit calculation. You can find its current status in the Security Deposit FactBox status on the Utility Contract Card page. SkyBill includes a separate ledger for invoiced security deposits, collected security deposits, and amounts used against unpaid bills.

Note

The security deposit is only for unpaid bills. It is not for damage to the property. If a tenant damages something (for example, when renting a house), the landlord would handle that separately. The security deposit in SkyBill is specifically for cases where someone leaves without paying their utility bills. The security deposit amount is typically based on the property's size or on statistics from previous bills, and can be configured using parameters. Each company sets its own policy for calculating security deposits.

To set up security deposit terms

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Security Deposit Terms, and then choose the related link.
  2. On the Security Deposit Terms page, select the Security Deposit Terms action.
  3. On the Security Deposit Terms Line page, define the rules for calculating security deposits based on different criteria. The amount of the security deposit depends on those parameters.

On the Security Deposit Terms page, you can also set up SkyBill to automatically include the security deposit in the first invoice generated for the contract and define the posting groups or accounts for security deposits.

To assign security deposit terms to a contract

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature. in the upper-right corner, enter Utility Contracts, and then choose the related link.
  2. On the Utility Contracts list page, select the contract you want to set up a security deposit for.
  3. On the Utility Contract Card page, on the Invoicing FastTab, in the Security Deposit Terms Code field select one of the terms defined earlier.

You don't specify the actual security deposit amount on the contract. SkyBill calculates it automatically based on the terms you selected and the parameters defined in those terms.

Tip

In most cases, you do not create contracts manually. Security deposit terms are set up in the utility contract template. When you move in a customer using the wizard on the Supply Address Card page, you can choose the contract template, and the contract inherits the security deposit settings from that template. To learn more, see To move in the new tenant.

Compliance
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