Add a tenant

What this is

A tenant is a person (or company) who rents from you. Adding a tenant creates their record so you can attach them to a lease, send them charges, and receive their payments. You can also add applicants you’re still considering by setting their status to Potential — they then appear on your Potential Tenants list.

When to use it: Add a tenant when you take on a new renter, or when you want to track a prospective applicant before any lease is signed. You can add the tenant record before or after they’re tied to a lease.

Before you start

• None. You can add a tenant before or after they’re tied to a lease or unit.

Steps

1. In the left sidebar, click Tenants.

2. Click Add Tenant (or use Shortcuts > Add Tenant in the sidebar).

   

3. Fill in the tenant’s details:

   • First Name (required) — the tenant’s first name. For a company tenant, you can enter the company name here.
   • Last Name — the tenant’s last name.
   • Home Phone and Cell Phone — contact numbers.
   • Email — the tenant’s primary email. This is used as their login if you enable the Tenant Portal, so add it if you plan to use that feature.
   • Alternative Email — a backup email address, if you have one.
   • Address, Country / State / City, and Zip Code — the location dropdowns cascade (country first, then state, then city).
   • Status (required) — choose Active for a current tenant, or Potential for an applicant you’re still evaluating. Potential tenants show up on your Potential Tenants list.
   • Email Tenant Receipt of Charge — check this to have the tenant emailed automatically whenever a charge is recorded for them.
   • Email Tenant Receipt of Payment — check this to have the tenant emailed automatically whenever a payment is recorded for them.

4. Click Save.

What you’ll see

After saving, you land on the tenant’s Summary page with a confirmation that the tenant was added. The tenant now appears in your Tenants list, ready to attach to a lease.

Tips

• Add an email address if you plan to enable the Tenant Portal later — it relies on the tenant’s email.
• Set the status to Potential for prospective renters; they then appear on the Potential Tenants list. See View available units and potential tenants.

Related articles

• Edit a tenant
• Delete a tenant
• Enable Tenant Portal access for a tenant
• View available units and potential tenants