AppFolio Tutorials - Ep. 6 Tenant moves into wrong unit - Transfer tenant task

Hello everyone, and welcome to APM Academy. In today’s video, we’ll cover tenant transfers — when a tenant has moved into the wrong unit or property and needs to be transferred to their correct unit.

Previously, this process was manual, but now the Transfer Tenant task in AppFolio automates most of it.

Initiating a Tenant Transfer

Let’s transfer Bilbo Baggins to Rivendell Apartments, Unit 1.

1. Navigate to the tenant’s page.
2. Click Transfer Tenant.
3. Review the Tenant Transfer Summary, which shows two important statuses:
   
   • Start a Move-Out for the old unit
   • Start a Move-In for the new unit
4. Enter the Move-Out date for the old unit (e.g., today).
5. Enter the Move-In date for the new unit (e.g., today).
6. Select the new unit (Rivendell Apartments, Unit 1).
7. Click Start Transfer.

Handling Deposits and Accounting

During the transfer:

• Post any charges or credits on the old unit (if applicable).
• Choose to transfer the full deposit to the new unit (e.g., $3,000).
• Click Post Accounting.

If the new unit has a different owner, you could refund the tenant and collect a new deposit. In most cases, the deposit follows the tenant to the new unit.

After posting, the system generates:

• Move-out entries for the old unit
• Move-in entries for the new unit
• Journal entries showing the deposit moving between property ledgers

Generating a New Lease

• The transfer copies the tenant’s information (phone, email, forwarding address) to the new unit.
• You must generate a new lease for the new unit and send it for counter-signing via the tenant portal.
• Any new recurring charges (rent, utilities) will pull from the new property settings.
• The system applies the previous deposit as a credit toward the new lease.

Click Continue Move-Out — the transfer will now show as complete.

Prorated Rent

• If the tenant is moving mid-month, AppFolio will automatically prorate the first month’s rent for the new unit.
• Previous payments can also be applied to the new unit:
  
  1. Go to the tenant page.
  2. Click Enter Charge for the amount you want to move.
  3. Use the clearing account GL (e.g., 21410).
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click Enter Credit, matching the same GL account.
  6. Click Save.

This ensures the tenant ledger balance is zeroed and all funds are correctly applied.

Accounting Payables

• If needed, create a payable for the old property:
  
  • Vendor: management company
  • Amount: transferred rent
  • Property: old unit
  • GL account: clearing account
  • Remarks/Description: e.g., “Transfer of rent payment to new unit”
• Save as Other Payment if the properties share the same bank account.

Do not pay it via ACH or check unless transferring between separate bank accounts.

Posting Receipts to the New Unit

1. Navigate to the new unit’s tenant page.
2. Click Enter Receipt for the transferred amount (e.g., $2,100).
3. Add remarks, e.g., “Transferred from The Shire Outlook.”
4. Click Save.

Reconciling Transfers

• To reconcile the transaction at the bank level:
  
  1. Go to New Bank Deposit.
  2. Select the deposited receipt.
  3. Mark it as reconciled with the corresponding payable from the old unit.

This ensures your books remain balanced while reflecting the cash transfer accurately.

Bilbo Baggins’ rent payment has now been successfully transferred from the old unit to Rivendell Apartments, Unit 1, and all ledgers and bank deposits are reconciled.

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