AppFolio Tutorials - Ep. 5 Tenant management

Hello everyone, and welcome back to APM Academy. In today’s video, we’ll cover tenant management, including how to add a tenant to an existing tenant page, activate online portals, and record payments.

Adding an Additional Tenant

Let’s say Bilbo Baggins wants to add a roommate, Frodo Baggins.

To add a tenant to an existing tenant page:

1. Navigate to the tenant page for the primary tenant (Bilbo Baggins).
2. Click Add Additional Tenant in the right-hand task panel.
3. You have two options:
   
   • Pull from existing rental application
   • Add manually (we’ll add manually in this example)

When adding manually, enter:

• Tenant name and contact info (email, forwarding address)
• Tenant type: financially responsible, additional occupant, or co-signer
• Move-in date (should correspond with the existing tenant’s move-in date)
• Optional: Upload tenant’s insurance documents
• Optional: Add screening information

Click Save. You will now see Frodo added to Bilbo’s tenant page.

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Activating the Online Portal

To allow the new tenant to access the online portal and set up recurring rent payments:

1. Ensure the tenant has an eligible email on file.
2. Scroll to the Online Portal Status section.
3. Click the blue box Send Portal Activation Invite.

The tenant will receive an email with instructions to activate their portal through AppFolio. From there, they can:

• Set up recurring monthly payments
• View outstanding charges
• Make payments directly via the portal

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Recording Physical Check Payments

If the tenant pays by physical check:

1. Navigate to Tasks → Enter Receipt.
2. Enter the payment details:
   
   • Amount (e.g., security deposit + first month’s rent)
   • Payment type (for reporting purposes)
   • Remarks (e.g., “Move-In”)
   • Reference (actual check number)

Example: Check #1344, total $5,100 ($3,000 deposit + $2,100 first month rent)

3. Click Save. The tenant ledger will now show updated balances and the deposit as paid.

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Reconciling the Bank Deposit

Entering a receipt is not the final step in recognizing cash received. To reconcile at the bank level:

1. Go to the Tenant Ledger and select the receipt you just entered.
2. Click New Bank Deposit.
3. Search for the specific trust account (e.g., 1235 Yell Street HOA).
4. Select the receipt and click Make Deposit.
5. Enter the deposit date as the day the funds actually clear the bank.

This ensures one-to-one matching when reconciling your bank statement.

Once completed, the cash received is fully reflected in AppFolio.

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