A step-by-step guide to prepare for and begin using Livable Pro for utility billing after integrating your properties.
Preparing & Processing Utility Bills in Livable Pro
Once your properties and residents are set up in Livable Pro, it’s time to prepare and process utility bills. Whether you’re using Livable Pro’s Bill Automation service or managing the process through the software, this guide will walk you through the steps to ensure accurate and efficient billing.
1. Bill Automation Customers
If you’ve upgraded to Livable’s Bill Automation service, our team will coordinate access to your utility data directly with your utility providers. Here’s how the process works:
What Livable Handles for You:
- Utility Data Collection: Livable retrieves utility data directly from your utility providers each billing cycle.
- Utility Bill Upload: Our team uploads the data into Livable Pro, ensuring all necessary details are included for accurate allocations.
- Quality Assurance: Livable reviews the utility data for accuracy and flags discrepancies for resolution.
- Automatic Allocations: Utility charges are allocated based on your selected methods (e.g., Ratio Utility Billing or submetering).
What You’ll Need to Do:
- Approve the Utility Charges in AppFolio.
- Navigate to Accounting on the left sidebar in AppFolio, select Receivables, and finally, find the tab at the top titled Utility Charge Review.
- Monitor resident statements for accuracy.
- Reach out to help@livable.com if you encounter any questions or discrepancies.
2. Self-Serve Billing Customers
If you’re managing the utility billing process yourself using Livable Pro, follow these steps to process utility bills:
Step 1: Gather Utility Data
Ensure you have all necessary utility bills for the current billing cycle, including:
- Provider information (e.g., water, sewer, trash).
- Billing period and service dates.
- Total charges for each utility type.
Step 2: Upload & Allocate Utility Bills by the 14th of the month.
- Log into Livable Pro.
- Navigate to the Process Billing section.
- Upload the utility bill PDFs or manually enter the billing details.
- Confirm the service period and total charges, and click calculate.
Step 3: Approve Utility Charges in AppFolio
- Navigate to Accounting on the left sidebar in AppFolio
- Select Receivables
- Select the Utility Charge Review tab to approve or reject the batch.
Step 4: Resident Charges and Statements
- Utility Charges will be posted to the Resident Ledgers in the Property Management Software.
- Resident statements will be automatically generated and scheduled for delivery on the 15th, sent from Livable via email.
3. Key Billing Schedules
- Utility Allocation Deadline: Allocate utilities by the 14th of each month to ensure charges are included on the next resident statement.
- Resident Statement Delivery: Statements are automatically sent on the 15th of each month, with payments due alongside rent.
Need Help?
If you’re new to processing utility bills in Livable Pro or want to learn more about how Bill Automation can streamline your process, contact our team at help@livable.com or schedule a call with your Account Manager.
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