Overview
Sometimes a tenant's payment doesn't clear, such as a bounced check due to insufficient funds. These reversed payments can be recorded in DoorLoop for later reference.
Note: You'll only need to manually reverse a payment if you originally received it outside of DoorLoop and recorded it manually. Payments made online via ePay through the tenant portal have this process handled automatically. For online payments you want to give back to the tenant, use a refund instead. If you received a payment with the wrong amount entered, edit the payment details instead — don't reverse it.
The Steps
Step 1 - Record the reversed payment
You can record a tenant's payment as reversed using the Reverse option in DoorLoop. This same window also lets you charge a returned payment fee if you want to pass along the cost of the bounced payment.
To begin the reverse payment process, click Leasing > Leases on the main menu.
Find and click on the lease you need to record a reversed payment for.
On the lease, click on the Transactions tab and find the Payment that needs to be reversed. Click on the 3-dots on the right or the payment and select Reverse.
On the Reverse A Payment window, set the Returned Payment Date. You can also toggle on Apply a Returned Payment Fee if you'd like to charge one, then enter an amount. You can choose the Account Category for the fee, though it defaults to Revenue > Returned Payment Fee. You can also enter an optional Memo if you want to make a note about the returned payment.
Note: The reverse payment option isn't available for payments received as ePays through the tenant portal. ePay reversals are handled automatically by the system and can't be manually reversed. If you intend to give the money back, use a refund instead.
Once the tenant pays the Returned Payment Fee, it will show up as revenue once received.
Tip: You'll likely want to create a revenue account in your Chart of Accounts specifically for returned payment fees, so this revenue is tracked correctly on your Profit and Loss report.
Step 2 - Record the bank deposit for the reversed payment
The Reversed Payment will now show as Undeposited. You'll need to "deposit" the reversal to record that the money was taken back out of your bank account.
To record the deposit for the reversed payment, click the Create New at the top o of the main menu. Then under the Transactions section, click Bank Deposit.
On the Bank Deposit window, under Deposit Account, select the bank account the reversal was associated with.
You'll see a list of Undeposited Funds for that bank account, including the Reversed Payment item. Check the box next to it.
Click Save to finish.
The lease ledger now shows that the tenant owes the money again, and your financial reports reflect that this payment was reversed.
Tip: If you have Rent & Payment Notifications set to send returned payment emails, the assigned DoorLoop users and the tenant will get an email notifying them of the returned payment. The tenant needs an email address on file to receive this.
Additional Considerations
If you accidentally reverse a payment, you can delete the reversal from the Transactions tab by clicking the 3-dots icon on the Reversed Payment line and choosing Delete. If you've already deposited the reversal, you'll need to delete that deposit first. This updates the lease ledger and all reporting, but it won't notify the tenant that the reversal was a mistake — use DoorLoop's communication features to message the tenant explaining what happened.
Late fees will automatically be charged retroactively for a reversed payment, depending on your late fee settings, though this may take several hours to process.
For online payments tenants make through the tenant portal, reversed payments and any associated returned payment fees from the payment processor are charged automatically — see Receive Online Payments From Tenants for setup instructions.