Tenant move-in: a complete workflow

Placing a new tenant is one of the highest-leverage moments in property management: the decisions you make in the first hour shape rent collection, deposit handling, and disputes for the entire tenancy. This guide walks through a clean, repeatable move-in routine in TenantLedger — screen the applicant, create the tenant and lease, automate the rent, record the deposit correctly, give the tenant a portal, and document the unit’s condition. Doing each step in order, the first time, saves hours of cleanup later and protects you if a dispute ever arises.

The move-in routine at a glance

Run these steps in order. Each one builds on the previous, and skipping ahead (for example, recording a deposit before the lease exists) creates rework.

#	Step	Why it matters
1	Add the applicant as a Potential tenant and screen them	A documented screening decision protects you and keeps prospects off your active rolls until they sign
2	Create the lease (link tenant to unit, set rent and term)	The lease is the anchor everything financial hangs off — no lease, nothing to bill
3	Turn on Recurring Rent Charges	Rent posts itself every period so you never miss or mis-key a billing cycle
4	Add the Deposit Charge and any move-in fees	Captures the deposit and first-month obligations as real, payable charges
5	Record the deposit and first payment	Confirms funds are in hand before you hand over keys
6	Enable the Tenant Portal	Tenant can see their balance and pay online (if payment processing is set up)
7	Document move-in condition	Photos and notes at move-in are your best defense in a deposit dispute

Best practice: Don’t hand over keys until steps 1–6 are done and funds have cleared. The move-in inspection (step 7) should happen on or before key handover, while the unit is empty.

1. Screen before you commit

Add a prospect as a tenant with status Potential, not Active. Potential tenants stay on your Potential Tenants list and out of your active counts, so a prospect who never signs doesn’t clutter your books.

Enter a valid email address on the tenant record — the eventual portal invite depends on it.
Run a credit and background check through a screening service of your choice, and keep the results and your decision with your records.

Why it matters: A consistent, documented screening step gives you a defensible, repeatable basis for approval decisions and reduces the risk of placing a non-paying tenant.

Only move the tenant’s status to Active once you decide to sign them and create their lease.

See Add a tenant.

2. Create the lease

The lease links the tenant (or co-tenants) to a unit and sets the financial terms. Create it as soon as the applicant is approved.

When you create the lease, get these right up front:

Property and Unit — the unit list only shows units in the property you picked, so choose the property first.
Tenant(s) — add one tenant, or all co-tenants for a shared lease.
Lease Type — Fixed for a firm end date, At Will for month-to-month.
Lease Start / End Date — the End Date must be after the Start Date.
Payment Responsibility — Individual Responsibility bills the rent to one named main tenant; Multiple Responsibility owes the rent to the lease as a whole (use this for true roommate/shared leases).
Rent Amount — the base monthly rent the recurring charge will use.

Best practice: Decide Payment Responsibility deliberately. If only one person should ever be billed, choose Individual Responsibility and name the main tenant. For genuine roommate situations where the group is collectively on the hook, choose Multiple Responsibility so the charge sits at the lease level rather than on one person.

See Create a lease.

3. Automate the rent with recurring charges

While you’re creating the lease, turn on the Recurring Rent Charges panel rather than planning to enter rent by hand each month.

Set the Start Date, End Date, and Frequency (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly). It uses the Rent Amount you already entered.
For extra recurring fees — parking, pet rent, storage — set up a separate recurring charge for each rather than bundling them into rent. Separate lines give you cleaner income reporting and make it obvious what a tenant is paying for.

Why it matters: Recurring charges are the automation engine. Set them on day one and rent posts itself every cycle — no missed months, no typos, no “did I bill them yet?” Manual rent entry is the most common source of billing inconsistency.

If you’d rather add the schedule after the lease exists, you can do it later from the Lease Summary page. See Set up recurring charges on a lease.

4. Capture the deposit and move-in fees as charges

In the lease form, turn on the Deposit Charge panel to bill the security deposit. Choose whether one tenant pays it or it’s split across co-tenants, then set the due date and amount. This creates a payable charge the tenant settles like any other.

Use the Additional Charges panel for one-time move-in items such as a key fee or pet fee, each due on a specific date.

Important — deposits are liabilities, not income. A security deposit is money you hold in trust for the tenant and must return (less allowable deductions) at move-out. TenantLedger tracks deposits separately so they don’t inflate your income. Treating a deposit as rent income is a serious bookkeeping error that misstates your numbers and your obligations. Where local rules require it, keep deposits in a separate bank account from operating funds.

5. Record the deposit and first payment

When the tenant pays the deposit (and first period’s rent), record it on the Receive Payment screen and apply it to the specific charges it covers:

Select the tenant; their open charges load.
Confirm the Paid Date and choose the Method (Check, Cash, Direct Deposit, etc.). For methods that deposit to a bank, also choose the Bank Account the money lands in.
Check the box next to the deposit charge (and the rent charge, if collected now) and enter the amount toward each.
Make the Total Amount equal the sum you allocated — the form won’t save if they don’t match.
Save.

Best practice: Confirm move-in funds are actually received before handing over keys. Record them against the correct charges so the deposit lands on the deposit charge (your liability) and rent lands on rent (your income). If a tenant pays only part of what’s owed, see Handle a partial payment.

See Receive a rent payment.

Adding a co-tenant to an existing lease

If you’re placing a roommate onto a lease that already exists rather than building a new one, use Move In Tenant from the Lease Summary Action menu instead of recreating the lease. It adds the person and records their move-in date. Note that moving a tenant in does not bill them automatically — review the lease’s recurring charges or add charges as needed, and edit the lease if the new roommate should change who owes the rent.

See Move a tenant in.

6. Enable the Tenant Portal

Turn on the Tenant Portal so the tenant can see their balance, view their lease, and — if payment processing is set up for your account — pay rent online.

Enable it from the tenant’s Summary page via the Action menu. The tenant must have a valid primary email; it’s their username and where the invitation goes.
The tenant receives a username (their email), a temporary password, and a sign-in link. If the email doesn’t arrive, the confirmation page shows the sign-in URL and username so you can share them, and the tenant can use Forgot password to set their own.

Why it matters: Self-service portal access cuts down on “what do I owe?” calls and, where online payments are enabled, speeds up collection and reduces bounced checks. Encourage every new tenant to log in and change their temporary password on first sign-in.

See Enable Tenant Portal access for a tenant.

7. Document the move-in condition

Before the tenant takes occupancy, walk the empty unit and document its condition with dated photos and written notes attached to the property or unit. Capture every room, appliance, floor, wall, and fixture — and note any pre-existing wear so it isn’t mistaken for tenant damage later.

Best practice: A thorough, dated move-in record is your strongest evidence in a security-deposit dispute. Pair it with an identical move-out inspection so you can compare like-for-like and justify any deductions. Have the tenant acknowledge the move-in condition in writing where possible.

A note on owner payouts

Distributing profit to an owner is not an in-app step in the move-in flow. There’s no owner-distribution feature; when it’s time to pay an owner their share, you record that as a manual payment (write the check or transfer the funds and record the expense) outside this workflow. Owner contributions — money an owner puts into a property — do have a dedicated screen, but that’s separate from move-in.

Common mistakes to avoid

Don’t record a deposit before the lease and deposit charge exist. Create the lease first so the payment has a charge to land on.
Don’t treat the security deposit as rent income. Apply it to the deposit charge so it’s tracked as a liability you owe back.
Don’t mark a prospect Active before they sign. Keep them Potential through screening so unsigned applicants don’t pollute your active records.
Don’t plan to bill rent by hand. Turn on recurring rent charges at lease creation so rent posts automatically.
Don’t bundle parking, pet rent, or storage into the rent amount. Use separate recurring charges for cleaner income reporting.
Don’t hand over keys before move-in funds clear and the condition is documented.
Don’t skip the email address on the tenant record — the portal depends on it.
Do keep deposits in a separate bank account where local rules require it, and reconcile that account monthly like any other.
Do assume online payments are available only “if payment processing is set up for your account” — don’t promise a tenant online payment before confirming it’s enabled.