Billing strata fees

Strata fees are the corporation's income. Billing them is the most repeated task in the finance section, and it takes about thirty seconds.

There are three routes, and the first is the one to use once you have a budget. Once you are billing that way, you can also let it run on a schedule.

Bill from the adopted budget

FinancesBudgetMonthly strata fees.

Once a budget is adopted, ManageStrata works out each lot's monthly fee itself: its share of the operating budget and the CRF contribution (s.92), divided by unit entitlement (s.99). Review the table, then bill the month with one press.

This is the right route because the fees and the budget cannot then drift apart — the amount billed is derived from the figures owners approved rather than typed in beside them. The month billed is chosen for you (the next one unbilled), so a double press cannot double-bill.

Full detail, including what happens with missing entitlements and how the rounding works: budgets.

Bill it automatically every month

SettingsFinancial controlsBill monthly strata fees automatically.

Tick it once and each month's fees are issued without anyone pressing the button. Every council member and manager is emailed a lot-by-lot summary of what was billed, so the run is still reviewed — after the fact rather than before it.

It bills exactly what the button bills. The schedule and the button call the same code, so the amounts you read in the preview are the amounts that get posted; there is no second calculation that could drift from the one you checked.

Off by default, and per corporation — turning it on is a decision each council makes for itself.

What it needs first

1. An adopted budget for the fiscal year

   The schedule bills the s.99 split of the adopted budget. With no budget there is no amount, and the run stops and tells you. Budgets →

2. Unit entitlements on your lots

   They are the basis of the split. A lot with none recorded is weighted equally against the lots that have one. Units and lots →

3. Your fiscal year start and time zone

   Both under SettingsFinancial controls. A fiscal year need not be a calendar year, and the date an invoice is stamped with is reckoned on your corporation's clock, not a server's.

Charge every lot a flat amount

FinancesCharge all units.

For a corporation not yet billing from an adopted budget, or for a one-off charge that genuinely falls on every lot equally.

Enter the amount per unit and the due date, and every lot is invoiced at once. Each invoice lands on that lot's owner ledger, and owners with a login see it immediately.

1. Check the amount against your approved budget

   Fees should follow the budget the owners approved. If you're billing a different number, something needs explaining — see budgets.

2. Set a due date owners will recognise

   The first of the month is conventional. Consistency matters more than the specific date: a due date that moves around generates arrears out of confusion rather than non-payment.

3. Confirm

   Every lot is invoiced. Check the total against the number of lots × the amount before you walk away.

Fees that differ by lot

Fees differ between lots because their unit entitlements differ — not because the council decided to charge them differently. Section 99 sets the formula: each lot's share is its entitlement over the total entitlement of all lots. Where lots are unequal, so are the fees, and that is the common case in mixed buildings.

A flat charge-all is wrong wherever entitlements are unequal. Bill from the adopted budget instead — it does the s.99 split for you, per lot, every month.

Either way, make sure the entitlements on your lots are right first. They're the basis for the split, and a lot with none recorded is weighted equally against the lots that have one.

Invoice one lot

FinancesIssue invoice, for anything that isn't the regular fee run:

• a chargeback for damage caused by an owner, where your bylaws allow it;
• a move-in or move-out fee;
• a fine — but only after the s.135 procedure has been followed in full;
• a lot billed at a different rate;
• an owner's share of something specific.

Describe it in terms the owner will understand. "Chargeback — plumber call-out 14 May, blocked stack traced to lot 204" prevents the phone call that "Misc charge" guarantees.

Getting paid

Three routes, and you'll probably use all three:

Online card payment. If you've connected Stripe, owners pay from their portal and it posts to their ledger by itself — no one records anything. This is far and away the lowest-friction option, and the one that most reduces arrears.

Pre-authorised debit. Money moves on schedule; record the receipts as they land.

Cheque or e-transfer. Record the payment against the lot when it arrives.

A fee increase

1. Get it approved

   The annual budget — and the fees that fund it — is approved by the owners, on a majority vote at the AGM. Running a meeting →

2. Tell owners before the first bill

   Post an announcement with the new amount, the date it starts, and the reason. Owners forgive an explained increase; they escalate an unexplained one.

3. Bill the new amount from the effective date

   Adopt the new budget and the fee schedule follows it — the next month you bill from FinancesBudget is at the new figure, with no number to re-enter. On a flat charge-all, enter the new amount yourself.

4. Remind anyone on automatic payment

   Owners with a standing bank transfer must update it themselves, or they'll quietly fall into arrears at the difference every month. Nothing tells them for you — including automatic billing, which emails council rather than owners.

Common questions

Can it bill automatically each month? Yes — turn on automatic billing under SettingsFinancial controls. It bills from the adopted budget only, and emails council a summary of every run. Leaving it off is also a reasonable choice: the monthly press is a two-minute task, and the review that comes with it catches things a schedule sails past.

A lot sold mid-period. The apportionment between buyer and seller is handled in the conveyance, not by the corporation. Bill the lot as normal, and generate a Form F certifying what's owed as at the completion date.

I billed the wrong amount. Don't delete it. Cancel the invoice with a reason and issue the correct one. The cancelled entry stays visible, which is exactly what you want when someone asks later.

An owner disputes the charge. Show them their ledger — every charge, payment and correction with a running balance. Most disputes end there.