Run your rentals with the full picture in view.
These guides take you from first setup through monthly billing, M-Pesa reconciliation, tenant communication and move-out. They are written for owners and property teams—no technical background needed.
Follow the short path from account to first active lease.
See how incoming payments are matched and reviewed.
Use a repeatable checklist for bills, money and reports.
BomaSuite only displays workspaces allowed by your role and subscription. Ask your organisation owner if an expected area is missing.
Quick start
BomaSuite works best when you add information in this order. Each step gives the next one the context it needs.
- 1
Create your organisation
Sign up with the owner or lead operator’s email. Enter the organisation’s legal or trading name, phone number and default settings.
- 2
Add a property and its units
Open Properties, create the property, then add units individually or in bulk. Use unit names that tenants already recognise.
- 3
Add a tenant and draft lease
Enter the tenant once, create a lease for the correct unit, and review dates, rent, deposit and billing day before activation.
- 4
Connect collections and messages
Under Settings → Connected services, configure the M-Pesa and communication services your organisation will use.
- 5
Preview before you post
Use the monthly billing preview to confirm which leases and amounts will be billed. Generate only after the preview looks right.
Start with one real property and a few leases. Confirm statements and payment matching, then import the rest of the portfolio.
Set up your portfolio
A consistent property structure makes every later report, charge and permission easier to understand.
Organisation details
Your organisation is the private workspace that owns its properties, users and financial records. Confirm its contact details and reporting preferences in Settings before inviting a team.
Properties and units
Use one property for
- A building, estate or managed site
- A single owner reporting scope
- A place with shared services or staff
Use units for
- Homes, shops or rentable spaces
- Distinct rent and occupancy records
- Meter and maintenance history
When several units share the same layout and pricing, give them a common unit type. This lets you assign recurring charge templates consistently without editing every lease.
A unit name appears in leases, payment allocation, tenant messages and reports. Prefer short stable labels such as “Block B · B12”.
Tenants & leases
The lease connects a tenant to a unit, dates, rent terms and the financial history that follows.
Draft first, activate when checked
A draft lease can be corrected safely before money is posted. Verify the tenant, unit, start date, monthly rent, deposit, billing day and recurring services, then activate it.
| Status | Use it when | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Terms are still being prepared | No active occupancy yet |
| Active | The tenant has taken or is taking occupancy | Billing and service workflows can run |
| Closed | The tenancy has ended | History stays available for statements and settlement |
Moving a tenant
Use the lease transfer workflow for a real relocation or when an active lease with financial history points to the wrong unit. BomaSuite records who moved it, why, and whether eligible financials followed the tenant.
Open the lease and use its correction or transfer action. This keeps receipts and tenant history together.
Closing and settling
Complete the move-out checklist, add agreed deductions, close the tenancy, and then record any deposit refund. A refund record confirms money already returned; it does not send an M-Pesa transfer.
Billing
Build the month from lease terms and charge templates, review the result, then post it once.
Monthly billing workflow
Select the month and property. Review proposed charges, leases processed and any bills that already exist.
Confirm rent, utilities and exceptions. Fix the lease or template before posting.
Create the approved charges. Existing charges are not duplicated.
First-month rent
When a lease starts partway through a month, BomaSuite can bill the configured full first month or a prorated amount based on occupied days. Confirm the lease’s move-in billing choice before activation.
Recurring and one-off charges
Use charge templates for predictable items such as rent, garbage, security or internet. Use an ad-hoc charge for a tenant-specific item that should not repeat. Meter readings should be entered through the meter workflow so consumption remains visible.
A preview does not affect tenant balances. After approval, select Generate bills and wait for the completion message before leaving the page.
M-Pesa & payments
The M-Pesa inbox brings direct paybill and STK activity into one review queue.
How a payment moves
- 1ReceivedA callback reaches BomaSuite with the M-Pesa reference and amount.
- 2MatchedBomaSuite uses the account reference and available context to find the tenant or lease.
- 3AllocatedThe payment is applied to open charges and a receipt becomes available.
- 4ReviewedUnmatched, duplicate or unusual items stay visible for a person to resolve.
Working the inbox
- Start with Needs action to focus on payments BomaSuite could not safely allocate.
- Open an item and confirm the phone, reference, amount and received time.
- Allocate to the correct tenant or lease. If there is no valid target, record a clear reason before ignoring it.
- Print or download the receipt only after the allocation is correct.
Search by the transaction reference first. If the original is attached to the wrong place, use payment reallocation so the canonical receipt stays intact.
Corrections & refunds
BomaSuite favours a visible correction over silently rewriting financial history.
Correct the charge
Open the lease charge and choose the correction action. Enter the right amount or details and a specific reason.
Move the payment
Use payment transfer or reallocation. The original M-Pesa reference and receipt identity remain canonical.
Record a refund
Send the money outside BomaSuite first, then record the confirmed method, date and reference against the lease.
When to void or cross a record
Use the available void or crossed-receipt action only when the record itself is invalid. Add a reason that another person can understand later. If the event genuinely happened but needs to point elsewhere, transfer or reallocate it.
The original bill and receipt remain in history. The refund appears separately and reduces the refundable amount still available.
SMS & WhatsApp
Use one communication balance for tenant messages while keeping automation, consent and human attention visible.
Communication credit
The balance shown in the navigation and messaging areas pays for supported SMS and WhatsApp messages. Before a broadcast or reminder run, BomaSuite estimates the audience and maximum cost. Top up with M-Pesa when the balance is low.
Safe reminder workflow
- Open Settings → Messages & reminders.
- Choose WhatsApp, SMS fallback, or both, and select the approved template and language.
- Review eligible tenants, exclusions and the estimated cost.
- Send immediately or save the automation schedule, depending on your access.
Human handoff
The WhatsApp inbox includes a Needs a person filter. Use it for conversations where the tenant asks for an agent, automation cannot answer safely, or a service issue needs judgement. Resolve the issue, then update its handling state so the queue stays useful.
Active tenants are included in eligible service audiences, while explicit WhatsApp STOP requests are excluded. Do not work around an opt-out by sending the same content from another number.
Maintenance
Keep the request, property response and completion evidence in one timeline.
From report to resolution
- 1
Capture
Tenants can report an issue from their portal. Staff can also create one when it arrives by phone or WhatsApp.
- 2
Triage
Confirm the property and unit, set urgency, add useful notes and assign the right team member.
- 3
Progress
Update status and keep photos, costs and communication attached to the request.
- 4
Close
Record the resolution clearly enough that a later owner report explains the work.
Reports
Choose the report based on the question you need to answer—not simply the data you want to export.
| Question | Use this report |
|---|---|
| Who occupies each unit and at what rent? | Rent roll & occupancy |
| Who owes money, and for how long? | Arrears aging |
| What payments arrived in this period? | Payment collections |
| What should an owner receive? | Owner statement or remittance |
| What happened on one tenancy? | Lease statement |
Filter by the correct property and period before generating a PDF or export. If a report looks incomplete, confirm your property access and whether late transactions fall outside the selected dates.
Roles & access
Roles decide the kind of work a person can do; property assignments narrow where they can do it.
Review users when someone changes role or leaves. Hiding a menu is not a substitute for removing their account or property assignment.
Month-end checklist
Use the same sequence every month so exceptions surface before statements go out.
Your checklist is saved on this device.
Troubleshooting
Start with the record and context already in BomaSuite. Avoid recreating transactions while you investigate.
An M-Pesa payment is missing from the tenant statement
Search the M-Pesa inbox by transaction reference. If it is unmatched, allocate it. If it was allocated elsewhere, use reallocation. Do not record a manual duplicate.
A tenant received no SMS or WhatsApp message
Check communication credit, the message history, phone format, audience eligibility and consent state. For automated WhatsApp, also confirm the approved template and connected service status.
The monthly bill amount is wrong
Stop before generating. Review the lease rent, billing start, first-month rule, assigned charge templates and meter readings. If already posted, use charge correction and record why.
A report does not show a property
Check the selected filter and your property assignment. Organisation owners can update user access; other roles should ask their owner or manager.
I cannot see an action described here
Your role, property assignment or plan may not include it. Ask your organisation owner, or contact BomaSuite support with the page name and what you expected to do.
Send us the page, time and reference.
Include the affected property and transaction reference where applicable. Never email passwords, verification codes or private keys.