What your residents and owners see

This article exists so that staff can answer a resident or owner's question about a bank debit agreement email, a sign request, or a set-up invitation, without having to guess what happened on their end. It walks through every screen they see, in the order they see it, and quotes the exact wording on each one, so you can tell a caller exactly what is in front of them.

The person who is asked to sign

This is what happens when staff choose "Send each person the agreement to sign" as the consent path for a bank debit row. The resident or owner has done nothing yet. The property has already uploaded their bank details, and the system is now asking them to review those details and sign.

The email

The payer receives an email with the subject "Verify your bank details and sign up for bank debit: ". The link inside it expires 14 days after it is sent. If they wait longer than that, the link stops working and staff need to send them a new one.

Step 1 of 2: signing in

Clicking the link no longer opens the agreement on its own. It first asks the person to sign in, so that only the right person can open it. They see the heading "Sign in to the resident portal", labelled "Step 1 of 2", with this explanation:

"For your security, this agreement opens only after you sign in. Enter the email your bank debit request was sent to and we will email you an 8-digit code."

1. They type the email address the request was sent to.
2. URBI emails them an 8-digit code.

Step 2 of 2: entering the code

Labelled "Step 2 of 2", they see:

"We sent an 8-digit code to . Enter it below to continue."

They type the code and continue. This two-step check exists so that the agreement cannot be opened by anyone who only has the link. It opens only for the person who can also read the email at that address.

The verify and sign screen

Once signed in, they land on a screen headed "Verify your bank details", with the sub-line:

"Review the bank details below, confirm they're correct, then sign the bank debit agreement for ."

A panel titled "Bank details on file" ("Provided by for this agreement") shows:

• Bank: the bank's name.
• Account: "Ending in ". The full account number is never shown or asked for again.
• Unit(s): the unit or units the agreement covers.
• Pays for: "Your monthly fee".
• First payment: shown one of two ways. Before signing, either "If you sign by , your first payment is ", or, when there is nothing yet to project, "Confirmed as soon as you sign".

What the verify and sign screen shows a payer before they sign.

Underneath the panel, two help lines cover timing and what to do if something looks wrong:

"If you sign later, that charge is paid another way and bank debits start the following month. You will see your real first payment date as soon as you sign."

"If these details are incorrect, do not sign. Contact so they can correct the information and send you a new link."

The agreement itself

Below the bank details panel is a scrollable box holding the agreement: its title, who is being paid, who administers it, a description of the payer and the account, and the numbered clauses of the agreement.

Signing

To sign, the person types their full name into a field labelled "Type your full name to sign *", with the placeholder "e.g. Sarah Chen". As they type, a live preview of their signature appears (before they start typing it reads "Your signature preview will appear here"). Underneath the field:

"Your typed name constitutes a legally binding electronic signature."

Then the consent line:

"By clicking "Sign & Continue" you confirm you have read and understood this agreement, and that you are authorized to make this authorization on behalf of the account holder."

If the link has an expiry, one more line appears: "This link expires . If it expires before you sign, you can request a new one from ."

They press Sign & Continue (it reads "Signing..." while it works). The button will not work until they have typed a name.

Every outcome they can hit

The expired link screen a payer sees once their 14-day link has run out.

The person who gets a set-up invitation

This is what happens for anyone in the batch with no bank debit row, once staff turn on "Send set-up invitations" and the messages go out. They receive an email with the subject "Set up bank payments for your fee: ", linking into the resident portal's billing area. From there they walk through a five-step flow, shown as a progress bar reading Method, Bank, Accounts, Agreement, Confirm.

1. Method. Headed "Choose your autopay method", with "Select how you'd like your charges to be collected automatically each month." They pick Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD), offered as "Debit directly from your Canadian bank account. No transaction fee.", tagged "Recommended" and "No fee". Where the property also offers it, Credit / Debit Card is offered as "Charge your card automatically each month." The sources describe a card option as carrying its own surcharge where one is offered, without naming a fixed amount, so check the property's own card settings if a resident asks what that surcharge is.
2. Bank. Headed "Connect your bank account", with "Securely connect your Canadian bank account. URBI uses Plaid to verify your account. Your credentials are never stored by URBI." They press Connect bank account and complete the secure connection.
3. Accounts. Headed "Locations covered by this agreement", with "One agreement covers every eligible location listed below." It lists the property and its locations.
4. Agreement. Headed "Pre-Authorized Debit Agreement", with "Read and sign this agreement for . This is a legally binding mandate." (numbered "Agreement N of M" when they cover more than one property). They sign the same way as the sign request flow, by typing their full legal name, then press Sign & Continue (or Sign & Complete on the last agreement).
5. Confirm. A tick and "You're enrolled in PAD", with "Your pre-authorized debit mandate is active. We've emailed the mandate PDF to ."

The person covered by a staff declaration

When staff use "I already hold signed agreements (staff declaration)" as the consent path, this person signs nothing and visits no page at all. They receive one email, with the subject "Your bank payments are set up: " and the preheader "No action is required." That single notice is the whole of what they see: the property is telling them their bank payments are set up, and confirming there is nothing for them to do.

When it arrives. The email goes out automatically at the moment the import commits. Staff do not press Send for it, and it does not wait on the Send card. It is sent as long as at least one declared row was billed.

What it says. The bank, the account ending, the monthly amount, the debit day ("Debited on the 15th of each month" or "last day of each month"), and the first debit date, with a View your bank payments button.

What they do not get. There is no invoice email for the first bill. The invoice is created at commit and is collected by the bank file for the first debit date, and it still appears in the resident portal's billing area.

Emails a resident on bank debit no longer gets

Residents on an active bank debit agreement no longer get the nightly billing summary email (the one saying charges were added to their invoice). This applies at every property. Their invoices still appear in the portal's billing area. Other residents still get that email, as before.

Bank debit residents still get the set-up email, failure and return emails, an advance notice when the amount differs from the agreed amount, and cancellation and account update emails.

Questions residents actually ask

Why am I being asked for my bank details? The property has set up bank debit agreements (also called pre-authorized debit) so your monthly fee is collected automatically instead of you paying it another way each month. If you received a sign request, the property has already entered your bank details and is asking you to review them and sign. If you received a set-up invitation instead, you are the one connecting your own bank account.

Is this safe? The full account number is never shown back to you and is never stored as a file, only the last four digits are ever displayed. The agreement only opens after you prove who you are with an 8-digit code sent to your own email. If you connect your own bank account through the portal, URBI uses Plaid to verify it, and your bank credentials are never stored by URBI.

When will money leave my account? Before you sign, the page shows either "If you sign by , your first payment is " or, when there is nothing yet to project, "Confirmed as soon as you sign". Once you sign, the real date is set, and you will see "Your first bank debit is scheduled for ." If staff declared that they hold your signed paper agreement, you do not sign anything, and the first debit date is in your set-up email.

Why did I get no invoice email for my first bill? When staff declared that they already hold your signed paper agreement, your first bill is created when the import commits and is collected by the bank on your first debit date. You get one email instead, the "Your bank payments are set up" email, with the monthly amount, the debit day and the first debit date.

What if I signed late? "If you sign later, that charge is paid another way and bank debits start the following month. You will see your real first payment date as soon as you sign."

What if my details are wrong? "If these details are incorrect, do not sign. Contact so they can correct the information and send you a new link." Signing confirms the details are correct, so tell them not to sign if anything looks wrong.

Related articles

• Uploading fees, leases and bank debit agreements in bulk: overview
• What you need before you start
• What exists after you commit, and what you can still change