To set your program defaults In SiteLink Web Edition, navigate to Setup.
Click Program Defaults.
Below is a description of the settings on each tab.
General
Gate Defaults
- You can set a Default Time Zone and Keypad Zone that will be assigned to a tenant at move-in.
- Enter a Minimum balance due before gate lockout occurs if you would like to.
Tax Defaults
Enter your default tax rates in fields Tax 1 and Tax 2 to be used when creating a new charge and/or merchandise. Changing the defaults does not change how much an existing charge is taxed. You can find instructions to change an existing charge’s tax in our article: Editing Charges.
Charge Rounding
Enter a Charge Rounding if you would like calculations like prorations and % late fees to be rounded to for example, to the nearest $0.05.
Security Log On
- Checking Require the user to log on each time any of the following buttons is clicked: Move In, Payments, Transfers, Move Out, Credit Cards, Ledger Edit, NFS Checks, Leads allows you to ensure transaction logging is accurately recorded for the correct user when one of those actions takes place.
- Checking Enforce PCI DSS credit card security standards requires users to set strong passwords, change the password every 90 days, and will lock the user out after 3 failed login attempts.
Auto-Refresh Local Data
SiteLink maintains a local cache of data from the server. You can adjust the number of minutes of inactivity before the program checks for updates from the server.
StorageForum
This limits a button from appearing on the Operations screen that links to the SiteLink Storage Forum for certain security levels if you choose.
Proration
Billing Default
Set your default tenant billing to one of the following:
- First of Month (FOM) - Rent is prorated from the day a tenant moves in through the end of the month. Future bills will be due on the first of each month.
- 28 Day Anniversary - Rent is due every 28 days and is calculated by multiplying weekly rent by 4. This option allows you to bill for 13 periods per year versus 12 periods for monthly tenants.
- Anniversary - Rent is due on the same day of the month each month. Anniversary billing does not prorate the first month’s rent like First of Month billing does. The tenant owes the full month at move-in regardless of when in the month they move in.
Paid Thru Date
You can choose to change a tenant’s paid through date only when they pay in full or if they make a partial payment.
First-of-Month Proration
If you select First of Month or 28 day billing, you can choose to charge prorated rent during the first or second month. 2nd month proration charges the tenant a full month’s rent up front and then charges the prorated rent for the 2nd month. You can also adjust how rent is prorated depending on the customer’s move-in date. For example, you may want to charge the full month’s rent if the customer moves in during the 1st - 5th of the month rather than prorating the charge.
Move Out Proration
- First of Month Billing: If you choose First of Month billing, you can select to prorate by calendar month or by 30 day periods. Selecting 30 day periods will charge tenants every 30 days regardless of the number of days in the month.
- 28 Day Billing: If you choose 28 Day Billing, you can choose to prorate by 28 or 7 day periods. 7 day proration will round the proration to the next full week. For example: If the tenant moves out on day 5 of the 28 day billing period, the customer will receive 3 weeks proration. If the customer moves out on day 13 of the billing period, they would receive 2 weeks proration.
Move In
Move In Date
You can choose to allow move-ins on the current date only, current and future dates, or allow backdating move-ins. Note: If you allow move-in dates to be changed to a past date, historical reporting such as the Move In and Move Out report will be changed as well.
Concessions
You can choose to allow rent and other charges to be changed at move-in to be lower than the standard rate. Note: Security Level settings may override this setting.
Miscellaneous Move In
Check any options you wish to apply to move-ins.
- Default to send invoices to new tenants: This option will automatically generate an invoice for all new tenants.
- Require marketing data: Managers will be required to enter marketing data for all leads and rentals.
- Charge the default Administrative Fee at move in: Your admin fee will automatically be applied to new move-ins.
- Prompt to print Lease: Managers will be prompted to print the tenant’s lease at move-in.
Document Delivery
You can set your invoices and past due letters to default to print or email delivery.
Move Out
Move Out Date
You can choose to allow move-outs on the current date only, current and future dates, or allow backdating move-outs and set a maximum number of days a move-out can be backdated. Note: If you allow move-out dates to be changed to a past date, historical reporting such as the Move In and Move Out report will be changed as well.
- Restrict backdating for move-outs to current month: The earliest available back-date that can be selected at move-out will be limited to the first of the current month. This option will ensure reports for previous months are not changed.
Miscellaneous Move Out
Check any options you wish to apply to move-outs:
- Disable move-out proration X days after the start of the billing period: Managers will not be able to prorate the tenant’s final billing period if they move out after a certain number of days into the billing period.
- Prompt to print the tenant’s ledger history and notes: Managers will be prompted to print ledger history and notes at move-out.
- Allow writing off bad debts at move out: Managers will be allowed to write off bad debt during the move-out process.
- Prompt to change and re-use access code: Managers will be prompted to change access codes at move-out.
- Require exit survey data: Managers will be required to enter exit survey data during move-outs.
- Do not allow reversals of move-outs from previous months: Move-outs that occurred in a previous month cannot be reversed. This option will ensure reports for previous months are not changed.
Transfer
Charge the default Transfer Fee when transferring from one unit to another: Tenants will be automatically charged your set Transfer Fee if they transfer to another unit.
Invoice
Set your tenant invoice defaults.
- Select the number of days before rent is due that invoices should be generated.
- You can choose to automatically charge an invoice fee by checking the box for Charge the default Invoice Fee when processing invoices.
Remittance address
Your remittance address can be a PO Box instead of a physical address or you can choose to auto-fill your facility address.
Unpaid Charge Selection
- Include unpaid charges for all billing periods: This option will include all current charges and all future charges on invoices.
- Include unpaid charges for past and current billing periods: This option will only include unpaid charges for the current and next month's rent.
Format
Select formatting options for your invoices:
- One Page Invoice - All unpaid charges: This option will fit all unpaid charges on one page but will not include details such as charge start and end dates.
- Detailed Invoice - Only charges that have not been previously invoiced: This option will show charge details, however, charges that were already invoiced will not be shown even if they are still due.
- Detailed Invoice - All unpaid charges: This option will include all charges due at the time of the invoice. This invoice will list out all charge details such as start and end dates.
Payment Types
You can choose to allow or not allow various payment types. For payment types you allow, you can choose whether reversals and online payments are allowed. Note: Cash cannot be set up to allow reversals or online payments.
Be sure to save changes to each payment type change before proceeding to another payment type.
Payments
Receipt printing
This tab allows you to choose whether to prompt printing receipts, always print, or never print.
Receipt emailing
This tab allows you to choose whether to prompt emailing receipts, always email, or never email.
Order of payments
This tab allows you to choose whether to take payment for fees or rent first or take payment based on which is the oldest charge.
Credits
This tab allows you to set limits on which security levels can issue credits and the number of credits that can be issued. You can also set limits to how many credits can be issued per tenant and set restrictions on merchandise discounts.
Refunds
This tab allows you to set the number of days after purchase merchandise can be returned and also the minimum and maximum amount a manager can refund.
Daily Close
This tab allows you to choose to automatically perform a Daily Close to ensure fiscal date reporting will equal calendar date reporting.
Late Fees
Late fees can be assessed based on the percentage of rent owed by the tenant or based on a fixed amount. Charging late fees based on a percent of rent allows late fees to be added to accounts only when the tenant owes more than a certain percentage of their rent rate. This may be a good option for you if you have a wide range of rental rates because it allows you to be more specific about the threshold before a tenant is charged a late fee.
Note: This setting does not set the amount of the late fee, it only determines when to charge the fee.
Click the radio button for Percent of Rent and then enter the minimum percent of rent that a tenant would owe before a late fee is applied. For example: Entering 5% would mean that if a tenant owes you less than 5% of rent, the late fee will not be assessed. If the customer owes anything over 5%, the late fee will be charged
Printing & Reports
This tab allows you to set up report default options and set start of day report printing automation if you would like.
SMS
This tab allows you to enter one-time predefined SMS messages that can be sent to tenants.
International
This tab gives additional settings for measurements, currency, and tax that would be relevant to customers based outside the U.S.
User Responses 1 and 2
These tabs allow you to set up predefined reasons for credits, call notes, complimentary units, and unit notes. Predefined reasons help managers save time by selecting an option instead of typing common responses.
Activity Logging
Check the boxes if you would like a reason to be required for any of the available activities.
Reservations
This tab allows you to set a default number of days for reservation expiration and lead follow up.
Attributes on Website
If your website uses the SiteLink API, you can select unit and store attributes to show on your website. You can create custom attributes in addition to preset attributes in order to display differentiating information about your facility and/or units.Unit Attributes can be assigned to specific units on the Modify Units screen.
IP Restrictions
If you enable IP restrictions, users will only be able to access SiteLink from certain IP ranges to limit the computers that can log into your SiteLink account.
Batch
This tab allows you to set up automatic batch processing for email invoices and Auto Bills.
Your site manager will receive a summary email after the batch has been created. The site manager will receive a second email after tenant emails have been sent with the delivery status and a list of any failed messages.