Buildium Training - Ep. 2 Setting Up Buildium Account

Hello everyone, and welcome back to APM Help Academy. In today’s video, we’re going to go over how to set up your Buildium account. This includes your company profile, account settings, billing information, and user permissions. Getting this setup right from the beginning will save you a lot of time and prevent accounting issues later.

Account & Billing Overview

The Account and Billing page is where you’ll manage your subscription, invoices, and payment methods. To access it, go to Settings > Account and Billing. Here, you can:

• View your monthly invoices and payment method on file.
• See your subscription plan type and cost.
• Edit your company information, including:
  • Company name
  • Address
  • Default phone number and email
  • Tax identity (EIN or SSN)

This is also where you set the account owner and the default company bank account, which is especially important if you track company books in Buildium.

Branding & Resident Portal

From the Account and Billing page, you can also manage company branding:

• Navigate to Settings > Application Settings > Application Branding.
• You can customize the company name and logo that residents see in the resident portal.
• This allows you to have a legal company name in Buildium while showing a DBA or branded name to residents.

Application Settings & Business Rules

The Application Settings section is where you configure default system behavior and business rules. Key areas include:

• System Preferences: Set time zone, currency, property types, and reporting defaults.
• Reports: Customize how company information appears on statements, income reports, and other owner-facing reports.
• Printer Alignment: Adjust settings for printing checks or deposit slips.
• Text Messaging: Enable or disable tenant and owner texting.
• Beta Features: Opt in to test new Buildium functionality.

Business Rules are critical for your workflow. Make sure to review:

• Default accounting basis
• Trust account warnings
• Locked periods
• Management fee settings (flat fee, percentage, or mixed)
• Prepayments, reminders, and statements
• Payment allocation defaults (e.g., rent first, then late fees)
• Automatic late fee setup
• Non-commissionable income (income that doesn’t generate a management fee)

Getting these settings right from the beginning ensures smooth accounting and avoids confusion with tenant payments and owner statements.

User Setup & Permissions

To manage your team, go to Settings > Users. Here you can:

• Add staff members, rental owners, or vendors and assign login credentials.
• Choose a user role, which controls access to Buildium features.
• Edit or inactivate users at any time to manage permissions.

User Roles:

• The Administrator role has full access and cannot be edited.
• You can create custom roles and define exactly what each role can access.
• Be cautious when modifying rental owner roles to avoid giving them access to information about other owners.

Management Fee & Accounting Settings

The Management Fee settings are particularly important:

• Determine the type of fee charged (flat, percentage, or mixed).
• Assign the management company name, which can be edited under Maintenance > Vendors. For example, change “My Management Company” to “APM Help.”
• Define accounts for management income (pass-through income like application fees or convenience fees).
• Configure non-commissionable income accounts, such as security deposit forfeitures or utility reimbursements, which do not generate management fees.

Other Key Settings

• Rental Applications: Customize your application form, application fees, and tenant screening options.
• Default Lease Renewal Offers: Pre-configure renewal terms for tenants.
• Late Fees: Set up automatic late fees to streamline accounting and reduce manual work.
• Return Payment Automation: Enable automatic processing of reversed or returned payments.
• Rent Owner Statements: Configure statement periods and what details are displayed to owners.

Additional settings include vendor insurance tracking, event history customization, bill approvals, locked periods, and markup settings. Each setting can be tailored to match your business practices.

By taking the time to set up your company profile, application settings, management fees, and user permissions, you ensure Buildium is configured correctly from day one. This will help your team operate efficiently, streamline accounting, and maintain clear communication with tenants and owners.

Thank you for watching APM Help Academy, brought to you by APM Help. For questions, visit apmhelp.com or reach us at info@apmhelp.com. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more tutorials.

‍