AME PROCESS
ACCOUNTING MONTH END (“AME”) PRE-CLOSE REFERENCE - ENTRATA ACCOUNTING MONTH END PRE‐CLOSE INSTRUCTIONS 1. Per the Pre‐close Commencement date specified AME Calendar, the On‐Site Team starts the Pre‐close process (approximately the 10 days before closing; the date may vary based on AME Calendar). a. The Pre‐close process ends on the day notated within the Cardinal Calendar Guide located within AODocs. 2. Per the Pre‐close Checkpoint date specified in the AME Calendar, the Community Manager emails a partially completed Pre‐close Checklist to their Assistant Portfolio (approximately 5 days after the Pre‐close Commencement Date). a. This involves completing Sections I and II of the Pre‐Close Checklist b. Section II Notes: Click each check box and complete all fields. The red text at the end of each corresponding section in the Pre‐close Checklist Reference details instructions for completing the additional input fields.
3. On the last day of the AME Calendar month (varies per ownership group), the Community Manager updates Section I, II and III, completes the closing checklist within Entrata, and then emails a fully executed Pre‐ Close Checklist and Rent Roll to the Property Accounting, CCing the Assistant Portfolio Manager and Portfolio Manager. *PLEASE NOTE: THE Entrata closing checklist MUST be completed prior to submitting the fully executed Accounting Month End Pre‐Close Checklist to the Accounting team. a. Deadline: 12pm Local b. Email Subject: AME: PropertyCode (mm‐yyyy) [AME: s001a(08‐2014)] c. Pre‐Close Documents (q2) i. Executed Accounting Month End Pre‐Close Checklist 1. Either 1) Digitally signed by clicking the Signature field ‐or‐ 2) Print, sign, and scan. 2. File Name: PropertyCode_AME_Checklist (mm‐yyyy) [s001a_AME_Checklist (08‐ 2014)] ii. Rent Roll 1. Run as of the last day of the month (see 1.c.iv from the Pre‐Close ChecklistReference) 2. File Name: PropertyCode_AME_RR (mm‐yyyy) [s001a_AME_RR (08‐2014)] 4. As soon as they receive the email and documents, The Property Accountant closes the period using the “Close Property” function, processes the Monthly Postings using the Residential Monthly Posting function, and saves the Posting Report in PDF format to their desktop using the naming syntax: PropertyCode_AME_Posting (mm‐ yyyy). [s001a_AME_Posting (08‐2014)] 5. The HQ Accountant saves the three documents to the appropriate month’s OnSite Folders/Property Accounting/‐AME folder and responds to the original email indicating they processed charges, closed the period, and saved the documentation.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
ACCOUNTING MONTH END PRE‐CLOSE CHECKLIST -ENTRATA ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE a. Dashboard Resident Tab The Dashboard Audit Resident Tab and Financial Tab involves using the Community Manager Dashboard accessed by clicking Dashboard on the top Entrata menu. The Dashboard audit includes the Resident Tab and Financial Tab. If there are one or more items outstanding, the number will appear in red or yellow. Click the number and an itemized list of all occurrences will appear at the bottom of the Dashboard. You can attend to each occurrence directly from this list using the appropriate functions.
i. Resident Tab: Ensure there are no move‐ins, move‐outs, renewals, or transfers. If there pending move-ins, outs or transfers, use the What’s Next to process them or click the resident name to adjust the dates. 1. If there are any deposits that need to go out before you close, email your Portfolio Manager about approving them before close. ii. CHECKLIST INPUT: After complete, check the boxes on the checklist.
b. Dashboard Financial Tab i. Financial: Ensure there are zero outstanding Check 21 batches posted. Generally the batch will be complete when you submit it in DocScan. This is just to double check all batches are posted. 1. Check to see if there are any deposits that need to be mailed out before month end. If there are, email the Portfolio Manager which deposits need to be approved before closing the month. 2. Review any past accounts under the collection tab to see if there are any balances over 30 days that need to be written off, or any balances over $100 over 30 days that need to go to collections. 3. All financials move‐out should be completed and have zero. ii. CHECKLIST INPUT: After complete, check the boxes on the checklist
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
c.
Rent Roll Audit From the menu panel in Entrata, click Reports >> Operations >> Resident Management>>Rent Roll. Run each report per the screenshots below and click Display after you have completed the appropriate fields.
i.
Rent Roll: You will submit a rent roll with your Pre‐close Checklist each month. During Pre‐close, you should run the Rent Roll and review for accuracy.
ii. CHECKLIST INPUT: After confirming the Rent Roll accuracy input the Total Occupied Units and Total Units from the Status Summary section at the bottom of
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
the report to the Checklist in the 1st and 2nd fields, respectively.
iii. Lease Expirations: Using the rent roll, review all lease expirations for accuracy. iv. CHECKLIST INPUT: After complete, check the boxes on the checklist
d. Lease Activity Run the Lease Activity report from the Current Calendar Month period with all available sections. Reports>>Operations>>Performance Indicators>>Lease Activity
Review each row for accuracy, especially Move‐Ins (1st section), Move‐Outs (last section), Transfers (3rd section). Drill‐down on column details by clicking the blue resident name to
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
investigate issues. i. CHECKLIST INPUT: After complete, check the boxes on the checklist
e. Accounts Receivable Audit On Entrata menu panel, click Reports>> Operations>>Charges & payments>> Resident Aged Receivable Select Leases Status All Leases Status with the period as Current Post Month. You must verify the report’s accuracy when run with Group by Charge Code and with all Pre‐Payments selected. It may be beneficial to export to Excel by clicking Excel next to the Display.
i.
Verify there are not any Open Credits 1) without charges ‐or‐ 2) with outstanding positive charges. 1. Credits are disclosed as negative amounts in the Unpaid Charges column (1stcolumn). ii. Verify all balances that should have been submitted to a Collections’ Agency have been submitted. 1. Reference the Write‐off column in the GPR Report (see 2.a) 2. After the 25th, if you notice balances that should have been writtenoff already, contact the HQ Accounting Team to discuss the issue. iii. Look for residents that have an outstanding charge that is irrelevant to their tenancy, such as a current resident having a Move‐out Charge outstanding. Issues like this should be fixed using correcting Charges. iv. CHECKLIST INPUT: After confirming the report’s accuracy, re‐run and input the Totals at the bottom of the report for Total Unpaid Charges (2thcolumn) and Prepays (6thcolumn).
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
f.
Security Deposit Audit On the Entrata Dashboard, click Reports>> Operations>>Charges & Payments>>Resident Deposit Audit. Input the period as Current Post Month and click Generate Report. It may be beneficial to export to Excel by clicking Excel right next to Display and formatting the data as a Table to help filter, search, and organize the information.
i. End Deposit Held This disclosure indicates the amount of receipts applied to a security deposit‐type charge (Security Deposit, Last Month’s Rent, Pet Deposit, etc). ii. Verify any occurrence where a resident should have paid a deposit and has not been charged should be attended to immediately by inputting the appropriate Charges and following‐up with the resident. iii. This is most applicable to Current residents. iv.CHECKLIST INPUT: After confirming the report’s accuracy, re‐run and input the Total Deposits on Hand (10th column) from the bottom of the report to the Checklist in the 1st and 2nd fields, respectively.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
g. Income Statement – Audit On the Entrata menu, click Reports>> Accounting>>Financial>>Income Statement‐ Budget vs. Actual. Complete the rest of the fields per the image below and click Display on the right side of the screen.
i. Income Audit: ii. The Accounting HQ Team will not have processed end of month activities for several items, so the following items should not be considered in the Pre‐Close Revenue Audit. 1. 4101‐0001: Rent – Potential 2. 4102‐0001: Rent – G/L to Lease 3. 4102‐0002: Rent – Vacancy 4. 4102‐0004: Rent – Model Units 5. 4102‐0005: Rent – Down Units 6. 4102‐0007: Rent – Admin/Guest 7. 4700‐0001: Bad Debt Expense iii. Review the month‐to‐date review and ensure all amounts are expected. 1. Input and post Charge Batches for any revenue that still needs to be booked. 2. Investigate line items that have significant budget‐to‐actual variance. iv. Focus on the following accounts and sections (if applicable). 1. 4102‐0003: Team rent concessions
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
4102‐0006: Concessions 4200‐0000: Residential Fees 4300‐0000: Commercial Revenue 4500‐0000: Parking Revenue 4600‐0000: Other Revenue v. If your community uses a Utility Management Service, such as Conservice or Yardi Energy Solutions (“YES”), do not input charge batches for missing revenue. These charges will be added by the HQ Accounting Team. vi. Expense Audit: vii. Familiarize yourself with the month‐to‐date activity. Ensure that any variance is expected. Focus on the following sections: 1. 6001-0000: G&A Office 2. 6201‐0000: Maintenance Expense 3. 6203‐0000: Service Contracts 4. 6300‐0000: Turnover Expenses viii. If there are invoices that should have already been received, follow‐up with the vendor. 1. Focus on recurring service contracts 2. This exercise will mitigate Accruals Requests during the Preliminary Reporting Period. ix. You can begin to complete the Reclassification Request section of the Reclass and Accrual Workbook; however, these requests will not be delivered to Accounting until the Preliminary Reporting Period after the month has ended. x. CHECKLIST INPUT: On the checklist enter in the total Income and total Operating expenses. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
h. Concessions Audit: i. Review the concessions line item and ensure all amounts are to be expected. To review the line item in detail, drill down on the blue figure in the actuals column. ii. When you see a concession figure you want to review simply drill down on the resident’s hyperlink for the resident in question. This will be up the resident’s ledger. Make ledger corrections as needed to ensure concession charges are correct for the following month.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
i.
iii. CHECKLIST INPUT: Input the total amount of Rent- Concession on the Income Statement- Actual vs. Budget.
Lease Charges Audit On the left‐side Entrata Menu Panel, click Reports>> Operations>>Charges & Payments>> Recurring Charges Forecast. Select Custom Date Range for the period and input the beginning of the current operating month and the end of the following month, check all charges codes and all Lease Statuses.
i. This Audit verifies that the Monthly Lease Charges Posting that Accounting will process for the 1st of the month is accurate. If you are completing the August 2018 Checklist, run the report for September 2018. 1. The report shows scheduled Lease Charges for each resident and is sorted sequentially by Unit Number. 2. The individual items are determined by resident’s Lease Charges and any errors should be fixed on the resident’s Scheduled Charges and Credits screen. Only Future, Current and Notice should have charges. Make sure they are no charges for the other statuses showing.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
ii. Charge Total (9th column): Discloses the amount that is scheduled to post when Charges are processed. This is the column that must be accurate before checking off this item on the Checklist. iii. CHECKLIST INPUT: Input the Charge Total amount on the checklist. Save this report and attach with the final email to accounting and the APM. iv. Variance (7th column): Discloses the difference between the scheduled charges (5th column) and last month’s charges (6thcolumn). v. Review the Variance column (7th column) in detail. Ensure that any variance is expected. Variance should primarily be explained by: 1. New residents ‐ this is their first full month of residency 2. Move‐outs ‐ a resident no longer has a lease charge 3. Corrections from last month ‐ you had to correct rent charges in the previous month and you have updated the Lease Charges. vi. CHECKLIST INPUT: Subtract the previous month’s charges with the Charges total to get the Variance. Input the variance on the checklist. This report will be saved and sent with the checklist.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
a. Invoices Approved On the Dashboard, review the Approvals tab. To close out the month, review the subtabs of Applications, Screening, eSign Docs, Payments, Renewals, and Invoices. All categories should be ZERO. i. If there are any pending Invoices, email your Portfolio Manager, CCing the property accountant, to let them know that these invoices are showing outstanding for approval before closing the month out. This will prompt the Portfolio Manager to go in to Entrata to approve them before closing. ii. CHECKLIST INPUT: If invoices is zero or you have emailed your PM, check off the Invoices Approved on the checklist.
GENERAL LEDGER b. GPR Report Audit From Entrata’s main menu, click Reports>> Operations >>Charges & Payments>> Gross Potential Rent (GPR). It may be beneficial to export to Excel by clicking Excel right next to Display and formatting the data as a Table to help filter, search, and organize the information. From the “Display Options” tab, remove Vacancy Adjustments and Out of Period Rent and add Unit Status.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
vii. This report shows several calculations for rent charged by unit in the current month. This report is only for Rent charges and adjustments. viii. Calculations (Note: Column number in parenthesis): 1. Gain/Loss to Lease (5th column) = Market Rent (3) ‐ Potential Rent(4) • Potential Rent (4) = Recurring Lease Charges for current resident • You can make edits directly to this screen. Any corrections will help with the Lease Charges Audit. 2. Vacancy Loss (7) = Potential Rent (4) ‐ Scheduled Rent (7) • Scheduled Rent (10) = total rent‐type charges for that unit in the current month. th ix. Potential Rent (8 column): Check Scheduled Charges and Credits to change the recurring Lease Charges if you notice errors. Re‐run the report to ensure the report updated. x. Scheduled Rent (10thcolumn): Identify and investigate negative, zero, low, and very high dollar amounts. Correct any errors using rent‐type or concession‐type charges. 1. Negative amounts should only occur if there were correcting inputs due to errors in previous months. 2. Zero dollar amounts should only be for units that were vacant the entire month. If an occupied unit has zero dollar Actual Rent, then no rent was charged to a ledger in the current month or a negative rent‐type charge was entered instead a concession‐type charge. Concessions should always be used instead of a negative rent charge. 3. Low dollar amounts compared to the market rent are fairly common but should be investigated. This usually indicate that a prorated amount was charged to a new resident in the current month. 4. Very high dollar amounts compared to the market rent can be common but normally represent that an error was corrected in the current month. For example, perhaps a resident was charged rent twice in the current month.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
xi. Please note this report is by UNIT; not by Resident. 1. If you are having issues understanding a Potential Rent or Actual Rent amount, try searching for the Unit using the Find Resident function and review all ledgers. xii. CHECKLIST INPUT: After confirming the report’s accuracy, re‐run and input the Total Market Rent (3rd column), Loss/Gain to Lease (5th), Vacancy (6th), and Write‐ offs (10th) from the bottom of the report to the Checklist. Input using the same negative or positive amount from the report.
6. CLOSING A PERIOD IN ENTRATA In Entrata, go to the quick links on the Dashboard.
a. Click “Period Close Checklist”. Make sure the post month is the current month and select
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
the community being closed. Then “Load Properties”. *You’ll notice that some may already be checked and in green. This means that there are currently no outstanding items for that line item.
b. Accounts Receivable: i. Select the associated tab to view the closing tasks for the property’s Accounts Receivable tab.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018
ii. Make sure all boxes are already green or checked off. iii. CHECKLIST INPUT: Check the box on the checklist once complete c. Accounts Payable: i. Select the Accounts Payable tab to review if there are outstanding payables. If there are, if you have sent the email to the Portfolio Manager, there is nothing you need to do. ii. CHECKLIST INPUT: Check the box on the checklist once complete d. General Ledger: i. Select the General Ledger tab. Community Manager will only select Close AP, Close AR, and GRP Audit only. The property accountant will be responsible for the other boxes on that tab. ii. CHECKLIST INPUT: Check the box on the checklist once complete Once all items are completed in each of the checklists, the Community Manager will send the Checklist, Rent Roll and Recurring Charges Forecast to the Property Accountant, the Portfolio Manager and Assistant Portfolio Manager by noon local time. The Property Accountant will take over from this point, click Advance all the tabs, and Lock the period. Once the Property Accountant has locked the period, a notification displays informing you that the period was locked successfully.
SOP 4000_AME Preclose Reference Guide - ENTRATA_Accounting and Treasury_General_04.27.2018