Understanding Invoices

Charges and invoices are related but different things in the portal. This article explains what an invoice is, how its status changes over time, how automatic charges become an invoice, and what to expect from the email your property sends when a new invoice is ready.

What is an invoice, and how is it different from a charge?

A charge is a single fee, like one month's maintenance fee or one special assessment. An invoice is the actual bill: it groups one or more charges together into a single amount you pay in one transaction.

Most of the time, your invoice will contain the charges that were due for that billing cycle, for example your monthly maintenance fee. Sometimes an invoice can include more than one charge if several fees were billed together.

You can find your invoices in the Billing tab of the portal. Opening an invoice shows you its line items (the individual charges that make it up), the amount, the due date, and its current status.

Example

Your property bills a $150.00 monthly maintenance fee and, in the same cycle, a $40.00 late fee from a prior payment. Both of those are separate charges, but your property groups them into one invoice for $190.00. You pay that single invoice once, rather than making two separate payments.

Invoice statuses, in plain language

As an invoice moves through its life, its status changes. Here is what each one means:

If you are ever unsure what a status on your account means, reach out to hello@myurbi.co and we can walk through it with you.

How automatic charges turn into an invoice

Many charges, like your regular monthly fee, are generated automatically by your property on a set schedule. Once those charges are created, a separate automated process groups the relevant charges together and turns them into an invoice, which then gets sent to you.

In short: the charge is the raw fee, and shortly afterward, an invoice is built from it (and possibly other charges from the same cycle) and issued to you. This usually happens overnight, so you may see a new charge appear on your Home tab one day and find it billed as part of an invoice in your Billing tab shortly after.

The billing summary email

If you pay by card or pay by hand, you may receive a summary email when your property's automatic billing process creates and sends new invoices for you. Rather than sending you a separate email for every single invoice, the portal combines everything from that billing run into one email, so you get a single, clear summary instead of a flood of individual notices.

This email lets you know that new charges have been billed and gives you a way to get back into the portal to review and pay them.

If you are set up for bank debit, you do not get this summary email. Your payment is taken from your bank account on the debit date, so there is nothing for you to pay. When your bank debit is set up, you get an email confirming it. If your property set it up from a paper agreement you already signed, that email also shows the bank, the monthly amount, the debit day and the first debit date. Your invoices still appear in the Billing tab, so you can look at them any time. You will still hear from us if a debit fails or is returned, if the amount to be debited changes, or if your bank debit is cancelled or your account details are updated.

What this means for you

• A charge is a line item; an invoice is the bill you actually pay.
• Check the invoice's status before assuming action is needed. "Sent" and "Overdue" need your attention; "Paid" does not.
• If an invoice shows "Partially Paid," there is still a remaining balance due.
• If you pay by card or by hand, expect your regular monthly billing to arrive as a summary email rather than one email per charge. If you pay by bank debit, you will not get that email, and your invoices are in the Billing tab.

FAQ

Q: Why does my invoice include more than one charge? A: Your property may bill multiple fees together in the same cycle (for example, a monthly fee and a late fee) to keep things simple, combining them into one invoice and one payment.

Q: I paid my invoice. Why does it still show "Partially Paid"? A: This means the payment that was recorded did not cover the full invoice amount. Check the invoice detail page for the remaining balance, or contact hello@myurbi.co if you believe you paid in full.

Q: What does "Overdue" actually change for me? A: It means the due date has passed without full payment. Depending on your property's policies, a late fee (its own separate charge) may be added. Pay as soon as you can to avoid further charges.

Q: I got a billing summary email but do not see the invoice yet in the portal. What should I do? A: Give it a few minutes and refresh the Billing tab. If it still is not there, contact hello@myurbi.co.

Q: I pay by bank debit. Why did I not get a billing summary email? A: Bank debit payers do not get the summary email, because the payment is taken from your bank account for you. You got an email when your bank debit was set up, and you can see every invoice in the Billing tab.

Q: Can an invoice be canceled? A: Yes, your property can void an invoice if needed. A voided invoice is no longer payable and will show as "Void" in your Billing tab.

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Questions about a specific invoice on your account? Contact hello@myurbi.co.