AI Automations
Automated Owner Charges
Owner charges are amounts billed to property owners for expenses such as maintenance, repairs, and supplies. These charges are deducted from or added to an owner's statement, giving you a clear, auditable record of what each owner owes or has been credited. Use owner charges whenever you need to pass a cost through to the owner rather than absorbing it as a business expense.
What Are Owner Charges?
When a cost arises that is the responsibility of a property owner — such as a plumbing repair, restocking supplies, or an emergency service call — you can create an owner charge to bill that cost directly through their owner statement. The charge flows into the statement and either reduces the owner's payout or increases the amount they owe, depending on your statement configuration.
Creating an Owner Charge
You can create a charge for an individual owner directly from their owner statement.
- Navigate to the owner's statement.
- Select Add Charge (or the equivalent action available on the statement page).
- Fill in the charge details:
- Description — Enter a clear label for the charge (for example, "Roof repair — Unit 4B").
- Amount — Enter the dollar amount of the charge.
- Date — Select the date the expense was incurred.
- Property — Select the property associated with this charge.
- Select Save to create the charge in Draft status.
Adding a detailed description helps owners understand what they are being charged for and reduces disputes. Include vendor names or work order references where applicable.
Charge States
Every owner charge moves through a defined approval workflow. Understanding each state helps you track where a charge stands and what action is needed next.
| State | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Draft | The charge has been created but not yet submitted for review. |
| Submitted | The charge has been submitted and is awaiting review. |
| Reviewed | The charge has been reviewed and is pending final approval. |
| Approved | The charge has been approved and is ready to be applied to the owner statement. |
| Paid | The charge has been paid and the transaction is complete. |
Only charges in Draft status can be deleted. Once a charge has been submitted, it must be voided rather than deleted if you need to remove it.
Bulk Creation
When you need to create charges for multiple owners at once, Topkey offers two bulk methods: a bulk entry form and a CSV import.
Bulk Entry Form
- Go to the owner statements section and open the Bulk Actions menu.
- Select the option to create charges in bulk.
- A form appears with multiple rows — each row represents one charge. By default, three blank rows are displayed.
- For each row, enter the owner, amount, description, memo, and property.
- Select Save to create all filled rows at once.
You only need to fill in the rows you want to create. Empty rows are ignored automatically.
CSV Import
If you have many charges to create, importing a CSV file is the fastest approach.
Downloading the Template
- Open the Bulk Actions menu from the owner statements section.
- Select Import via CSV.
- Download the CSV template provided on the import page.
Required Columns
Your CSV file must include the following columns, in any order:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Owner Name | The full name of the owner as it appears in Topkey. |
| Amount | The charge amount in dollars (for example, 150.00 or $150.00). |
| Payment For | A short label describing the purpose of the charge. |
| Memo | Optional additional notes about the charge. |
| Property | The name of the property associated with the charge. |
Topkey can match owners by exact name, reversed name order (for example, "Smith John" → "John Smith"), or by property name. If an owner cannot be matched, that row will be skipped and an error will be reported.
Handling Import Errors
After uploading your CSV, Topkey previews the results before creating any records. Rows that cannot be processed are marked as Skipped with a reason, such as:
- Missing owner name — The owner name column is blank and no property was provided to look up the owner.
- No matching owner — The name in the file does not match any owner in your account.
- Invalid amount — The amount is missing, zero, or formatted in a way Topkey cannot read.
Review the preview carefully. Correct any errors in your CSV file and re-upload before confirming the import.
Charges are not created until you confirm the import after reviewing the preview. Skipped rows are never created — you must fix them in your CSV and re-import.
Work Order Integration
Owner charges can be generated automatically when a work order is completed and its cost is flagged as an owner expense. When this happens, Topkey creates a Draft charge linked to the relevant property and owner, pre-filled with the work order details.
You can review and edit the auto-generated charge before submitting it, just as you would with a manually created charge.
Using work order integration reduces manual data entry and ensures that charge descriptions and amounts match the underlying work order record.
Posting and Deferring Charges
When a charge is ready to appear on a statement, you have two options for when it takes effect:
- Post to current period — The charge appears on the owner's current statement period and is calculated into the totals for that period.
- Defer to a future period — The charge is held and will be applied to a future statement period you specify. Use this when an expense was incurred this period but should be billed in the next cycle.
Select the appropriate option when submitting or approving a charge. Deferred charges remain visible in the owner's charge list with a pending status until the future period begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do owner charges affect statement totals? Owner charges are deducted from the owner's payout or added to the amount they owe, depending on how your statements are configured. A charge reduces what the owner receives at the end of the period. The charge appears as a line item on the statement so the owner can see exactly what they are being billed for.
What happens when an owner disputes a charge? If an owner questions a charge, you can add a comment or memo to the charge record to document the discussion. If the dispute is valid and the charge has not yet been approved, you can edit or delete the Draft charge. If the charge has already been posted, you will need to void it — see the voiding process below. Contact Support@topkey.io if you need assistance managing a disputed charge.
How do I void a posted charge? To remove a charge that has already been posted to a statement, locate the charge in the owner's charge list and select the option to void it. Voiding reverses the charge's effect on the statement total without permanently deleting the record, preserving your audit trail. Note that charges in Approved or Paid status cannot be deleted — they must be voided.