Monthly Rent and Food Invoicing for PGs
Invoice management raises rent, food and utility bills for every tenant each month, tracks what is paid and what is pending, and sends reminders from the same screen.
Where the month’s bill comes from
The bill is derived from the stay rather than typed up after it. The bed carries a rate and the tenant carries a food plan. Extras are recorded when they occur.
Anatomy of a PG bill
A clear bill answers a tenant’s questions before they ask them.
- Tenant name, bed and billing month
- Rent for the days occupied
- Food plan charge
- Extras and concessions as separate lines
- Total, due date and where to pay
- Previous balance, if any
When a tenant questions a line
A tenant may query the food charge for days they were away. Because each line comes from a dated record, you can show the tenant where it came from. There is nothing to reconstruct from memory.
The monthly billing run
Part payments and advances
Tenants do not always pay in one go. A parent may send half and the rest later. A tenant may pay two months ahead. The bill shows what has been received, what remains and the date of each receipt. Advances sit against the tenant and reduce later bills, so the balance the tenant sees matches your records.
Why PG bills go wrong
Most billing disputes in a PG come from the same few causes, and none of them is arithmetic.
Tests for a PG billing tool
- Is the bill built from stay dates, or typed in each month?
- Can one tenant carry rent, food and extras as separate lines?
- How does it show part payment?
- Can reminders go to a parent?
- What does the accountant receive at month end?
Entries into Tally
Bills, receipts and deposits export as Excel or PDF, and your accountant works from those. A direct link into Tally is separate work, scoped at set-up if you want it. It is not included as standard.
Agree the evidence before signing off this part.
Use a representative scenario to decide what this part of the system must show and where review is still needed.
The monthly billing run
Can you explain the balance from its original documents?
Select a partly settled example in “The monthly billing run”. Ask for the invoice, allocated receipts and remaining balance to be shown together before agreeing the opening figures.
Background reading: ERPNext: outstanding invoices
Mark receipts
Can the same receipt be allocated without counting the money twice?
Take an unallocated amount in “Mark receipts” and apply it to the intended balance. Review the remaining amount and the original receipt reference together.
Background reading: ERPNext: payment allocation
Frequently asked questions
Can rent and food be billed separately for some tenants?
Yes. Food is a line on the bill, so a tenant on a room-only plan carries no food charge. Tenants on different plans can share a room.
A tenant joined on the 18th. Is a tenant charged for the full month?
Only from the 18th, unless your rule says otherwise. The joining date comes from the bed record.
Do tenants get the bill on WhatsApp?
Yes, or by SMS or email, from the screen that raised it. The message carries the total and the due date.
Can we still take cash?
Yes. Whoever collected the cash marks it against the bill, which keeps the pending list accurate.
Can we charge a late fee?
Yes, as a line you add under your own rule. Decide the rule and tell tenants at joining. The system records the line and does not set the policy.
Can a bill be corrected after it is sent?
Yes. A correction is entered as a dated adjustment, and the tenant sees the revised total.
Does a tenant get a receipt?
Every payment is entered on the bill with the day it came and the mode used. A receipt can go to the tenant by message, and we confirm the format at scoping.
Tell us what you need.
Share your requirements and one of our engineers will come back to you within one business day.
What happens after you share your requirements
- A senior engineer reads your answers. Nobody phones first.
- Within one business day you get a written note: what we understood, what we would start with, and the questions we still have.
- If it fits, a proposal follows with the order of work, what we need from you and what you receive at each step.
- No call is booked and nothing is paid until you have read the note. Your details stay with us.
Start with your requirements
Seven short steps that tell us what you need. A senior engineer reads them before anyone gets in touch.
Share your requirements