How do I record the security deposit when I create a lease?
ForLandlordsProperty managers
Who can do this
Landlord, Organization admin, Organization members with Create Leases. Marking it as already received also needs Create Transactions and View Accounting.
Where to find it
Add lease → Are you collecting a deposit?
Steps
- Choose one of three cards. Nothing is picked by default:
- No deposit ("Nothing to collect").
- Outside Kera ("Cash, cheque or e-transfer").
- Through Kera ("Kera bills the tenant and holds it against the lease"). Available only when online payments are on.
- For Outside Kera or Through Kera, check Deposit type and Amount. Kera prefills the province's deposit type and a one-month amount and shows the cap as helper text (for example "Ontario · last month's rent only").
- Outside Kera only: if you already have the money, turn on I've already received it and fill in Received from tenant, Deposited to trust ("Within 2 banking days of receipt"), payment method, reference, Bank account and notes. Kera records the deposit when you save.
- Through Kera only: under Which bill is it on?, choose The first rent bill or Its own bill, due at signing.
- Click Continue. The summary reads, for example, "Last month's rent deposit · $2,000 · collected outside Kera".
What happens next
- Outside Kera, not yet received: the lease shows the deposit as expected. Record it later from Actions → Deposit on the lease page.
- Outside Kera, already received: the save toast ends with "Deposit recorded." and the deposit is held in trust in Accounting.
- Through Kera on the first bill: in Ontario a last month's rent deposit holds Months on the first bill at 2 or more, and the first bill shows rent and deposit split.
- Through Kera on its own bill: when the tenant accepts, Kera creates a separate deposit invoice and routes the tenant to pay it.
Good to know
- Province caps and types: Ontario allows a last month's rent deposit only, up to one month. British Columbia allows a security deposit up to half a month (and pet deposits later from the lease page). Quebec doesn't allow deposits, so the step is skipped and the summary reads "Not permitted in Quebec". An unrecognised province shows "Province not recognised; no cap applied".
- Organization admin on a property with an active owner contract: with I've already received it on, Who has the deposit? asks In my trust account or The owner has it. The owner answer only needs the date the tenant paid it and notes; nothing is posted to your trust account and the summary reads "… · held by the owner".
Limits
Through Kera is greyed out ("Turn on online payments above") until online payments are on.
Troubleshooting
"Add a bank account in Accounting to record deposits here." on I've already received it: add a bank account in Accounting first (not needed when the owner holds it).
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