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Habitia Help

Recording an off-network payment

When a tenant pays you outside of Habitia — cash in person, a check, a bank transfer, Zelle, ATH Móvil — record it on the lease so the ledger and the tenant’s portal stay accurate.

1. Open the lease

Go to Leases, click the lease, and scroll to the Ledger section.

2. Click Record payment

The green Record payment button is in the top-right corner of the ledger actions row. A modal opens.

Screenshot: Record payment modal

3. Fill in the payment

  • Amount — the dollars received. Defaults to the lease’s monthly rent.
  • Date — when the tenant paid you. Defaults to today; change it if you’re entering a payment that came in earlier.
  • Payment method — pick from the list:
    • Cash
    • Check
    • Bank transfer — use this for Zelle, ACH outside Stripe, and any other electronic transfer between banks.
    • Credit card — only for cards processed outside Habitia (a Square or Stripe transaction outside the platform). Online card payments through Habitia show up automatically.
    • Money order
    • Other — fallback for anything that doesn’t fit.
  • Reference number — the check number, Zelle confirmation, ATH Móvil transaction ID, etc. Optional but strongly recommended — this is what proves the payment if there’s ever a dispute.
  • Description — anything internal (e.g., “Paid in person at the office”, “Mailed check arrived 3 days late”).

Tip on Puerto Rico methods: Zelle and ATH Móvil don’t have their own option in the list. Use Bank transfer and put the confirmation number or transaction ID in the Reference number field. Most landlords also put the method in the description (e.g., “ATH Móvil — confirmation 4HK2P9”) so it’s easy to spot later.

4. Click Record payment

The modal closes and the payment appears at the top of the ledger entry list, in green. The summary cards update immediately:

  • Total payments goes up.
  • Balance due goes down.
  • The matching month tile in the by-month strip turns green (Paid) or amber (Partial), depending on whether the payment covers the rent in full.

5. (Optional) Attach proof of payment

Some landlords like to keep a copy of the check, the Zelle screenshot, or the ATH Móvil receipt. Hover the payment in the entry list, click the paperclip icon, and upload the file. It stays attached to that payment and can be pulled up any time.

Fixing a mistake

Recorded the wrong amount or method? Reverse the entry (hover → reverse icon → confirm) and create a fresh one. Habitia doesn’t allow editing a payment in place — every reversal stays visible in the ledger so the audit trail is intact.

What’s next

  • Connecting Stripe so tenants can pay by card or ACH inside Habitia — payments come in automatically without you recording anything.
  • Reviewing payment receipts and proof-of-payment — what tenants see and how to download a copy.