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Early Payment Rent Discount

Learn to set up and manage early payment rent discounts, add negative line items, and automate discount removal for overdue payments.

Theodore Lau avatar
Written by Theodore Lau
Updated over a month ago

If you are offering early payment discounts and your tenants are aware of these discounts, this article will guide you through setting up and managing those discounts effectively. Early payment discounts encourage tenants to pay their rent on or before the due date by reducing the total amount due if they pay promptly.

For example, if the standard rent is $1,000, tenants who pay early might owe only $950, receiving a $50 discount. If the payment is late, tenants must pay the full $1,000.

Setting Up an Early Payment Discount

Early payment discounts are managed by adding a negative line item to the transaction schedule and creating an automatic action to remove the discount if a tenant pays late.

Adding a Discount to a New Transaction Schedule

  1. When creating a new lease transaction schedule, proceed to the Edit Schedule page.

  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the New Item button.

  3. Fill out the details for the new line item:

    • Amount: Set this to a negative value (e.g., -50).

    • Item: Select or create a unique item specifically for discounts. Note the item name for later reference.

Adding a Discount to an Existing Transaction Schedule

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Tenants and select the tenant whose schedule you wish to edit.

  2. Click the Future tab.

  3. Next to any future transaction, click the 3-dot menu, then select Edit.

  4. In the edit window, click the 3-dot menu again and select Add line item.

  5. Enter the new item details:

    • Amount: Negative value (e.g., -50).

    • Item: Choose the previously noted unique discount item.

  6. Click Save, select All scheduled transactions, then click Save again.

Managing Items Within Transaction Schedules

When editing an existing transaction schedule, you can add or manage items:

  1. Click the Item dropdown.

  2. Scroll to the bottom and select Manage…

  3. A management page will open, allowing you to create or adjust items as needed.

For detailed instructions, refer to this article.

Setting Up an Automatic Action to Remove Discounts

To ensure discounts apply only to timely payments, set up an automatic action:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Automatic Actions.

  2. Click New Automatic Action.

  3. Provide a descriptive name (e.g., "Remove early payment rent discount").

  4. Set the trigger conditions:

    • Select "When the due date for a(n)" from the first dropdown.

    • Set Charge Type to Invoice.

    • Set Date Criteria to is overdue by 'X' amount of days.

    • Enter 0 in the Number of days field.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Set the condition:

    • Choose Transaction is for certain item(s) from the dropdown.

    • Set Transaction Type to Invoice.

    • Set Amount requirement to Any amount.

    • Check the box next to the unique discount item previously noted.

  7. Click Next.

  8. Set the event:

    • Choose Delete the matching items specified in the condition.

  9. Click Save.

For a comprehensive overview of Automatic Actions, see this video.

Important Notes

  • Payments made through Forte typically take 3-5 business days to process. However, invoices are marked as paid in the system immediately upon payment, ensuring accurate records of early/on-time payments even during processing.

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