Owner statements: settle the month and bill your fee in 5 steps
It is the third working day of the month and twelve owners are waiting for their statements. You export last month's payments, filter them owner by owner, work out your fee on each line, add VAT, subtract the plumber you paid on someone's behalf, then open your accounting tool to invoice each owner for that fee. At 30-45 minutes per owner, owner statements cost 6-9 hours every month.
VIVIN's Owner Settlements close that loop inside Finance. We have already written about what owners want to see in a report; this post is about the money behind it: building the monthly settlement, invoicing your fee and reconciling every line you pass on. It is built for property managers who run units for several owners, from coliving buildings to mid-term rental portfolios.
Why owner statements take so long by hand
- Collecting the lines - every charge billed on the owner's units that month, collected or not.
- Fee maths per item - commission on rent but not on the deposit, a different rate for one building, VAT on top.
- Late money - a tenant pays on the 12th, after you settled. Was it in last month's statement or not?
- Invoice and reconciliation - the same figure typed into another system, and three spreadsheets to answer "what did we pay this owner in March?".
How to build owner statements in VIVIN
Everything happens in Finance > Owner Reports, part of VIVIN's owner reporting tools, with two views: Settle, to build and generate a settlement, and Movements, to reconcile what has already been settled.
1. Set the commission once per owner
In Settings > Owners, choose whether an owner's rules apply to All properties or Per property, then, item by item, decide what is paid to the owner (Owner payout), what you charge a commission on (PM Charge), and the Fee and VAT percentages. These rates become the default for every new report. Still choosing a model? Our guide to property management fee structures compares the options.
2. Pick the owner and the month
In Settle, choose the Owner, one Property or All properties, and the Month. The Income table fills with every charge billed on that owner's units for the month that no earlier report has settled, collected or not. Each line shows Amount, Paid, Fee % and the resulting Management fee. You can edit the description, the amount or the fee on any line - and editing changes only the report, never the tenant's payments.
3. Add what did not go through VIVIN
Add income covers money collected elsewhere, such as a parking space, with its own fee percentage. Add expense records costs you paid on the owner's behalf, such as a repair.
4. Check the summary and generate
The Report summary adds it all up: Total income, Total management fee (+ VAT), Expenses, Total expenses and the Balance the owner receives. Click Generate report and the settlement is filed.
What documents come with each owner statement?
Each generated report appears under Reports generated for this period, with its documents in one row:
- Settlement report - the owner's statement, from VIVIN's built-in document with your logo and brand colour, or from your own Word template uploaded in Settings > Owners. Download it as PDF, Excel or CSV.
- Liquidación - a separate owner liquidation document built from your own Word template, for operators whose owners expect one.
- Fee invoice - Issue opens Issue the fee invoice with the invoice number, the client and the fee plus VAT, then bills your fee to the owner through the invoicing connection you already use. Once issued, the button becomes Invoice and downloads it.
The fee invoice is a fiscal document, so it is never deleted: undoing it takes a credit note. With VIVIN's own invoicing or Hostkit, deleting a settlement whose fee was invoiced files that credit note for you and frees the settled amounts for the next report. With providers whose credit notes are not final when filed, VIVIN asks you to reverse the invoice at the provider instead.
How to reconcile owner payouts with Movements
Movements is a read-only ledger of every line already settled, across owners and months. Filter by Owners, Properties and Year; each row shows the period, report, owner, unit and tenant, the Movement type (rent and other income, Management fees, VAT or Expense), the amount and the invoice number. The footer totals Total income, Total deductions and Net settled, and Export gives you CSV, or Excel with an extra Settlements sheet with one row per report - the file your accountant asks for at year end.
Time saved on owner settlements: a 12-owner example
An illustrative estimate for a manager with 12 owners and 80 units:
| Task | Manual | With VIVIN |
|---|---|---|
| Building each statement | 30-45 min | 5-10 min of review |
| Issuing the fee invoice | 5-10 min in another tool | One click on the report |
| Money that arrives after the close | Manual cross-check | Complementary report |
| "What did we pay this owner?" | 15-30 min | Seconds in Movements |
| Monthly total (12 owners) | 8-12 hours | 2-3 hours |
That is roughly 6-9 hours back every month.
How to switch on owner settlements in five steps
- Turn it on - in Settings > Global Settings, switch on Enable Owner Reports (off by default).
- Configure your owners - in Settings > Owners, set each owner's commission, items and VAT.
- Connect invoicing - an invoicing connection in Settings > Integrations lets you issue the fee invoice.
- Settle the month - in Finance > Owner Reports > Settle, pick the owner and the month, review and click Generate report.
- Invoice and reconcile - issue the fee invoice from the report row, then use Movements for the year view.
Frequently asked questions
What should an owner statement include?
In VIVIN, each statement lists every charge billed on the owner's units for the month, collected or not, your management fee and its VAT, any income or expenses you added by hand, and the balance due to the owner. Occupancy rate and outstanding debt can be shown or hidden, and your notes print on the document.
How do you invoice an owner for the management fee?
On the generated report's row, click Issue. VIVIN shows the invoice number, the client and the fee plus VAT, then issues the invoice through your invoicing connection, dated on the settlement date. Once issued, the same button downloads it. It is a fiscal document, so undoing it always takes a credit note.
What happens if rent arrives after an owner has been settled?
Generate the same month again. The new report is marked Complementary and carries only the amounts that earlier reports did not settle, so nothing is paid out twice. Each amount can be settled once, and deleting a report makes its amounts available again for the next one.
Can owners be settled on income without VAT?
Yes. In Settings > Owners, tick Settle income without VAT for that owner. Income lines then use their taxable base: the VAT on the tenant's invoice is taken out and the commission is charged on what is left. A €123 cleaning fee with 23% VAT settles as €100, and the report notes Amounts without VAT.
Settle owners in minutes, not evenings. One flow builds the statement, invoices your fee and keeps a ledger of every euro you pass on. Book a demo to see owner settlements with your own portfolio.
