A contract's balance tells you at a glance whether the accounts between you and your tenant are settled. It compares everything the tenant was due to pay with everything they actually paid.
How is the balance calculated?
The balance is the total of payments received minus the total of due amounts (what was expected from the tenant).
If the due amounts exceed the payments received, the balance is negative.
If the payments received exceed the due amounts, the balance is positive.
What does the sign of the balance mean?
Balance at zero (green): the accounts are settled. Everything due has been paid.
Negative balance (red): your tenant owes you money. One or more amounts have not been paid yet.
Positive balance (orange): you have received more than what was due. This usually means you owe money to the tenant.
Why is my balance positive?
Three situations are common:
The tenant paid one or more rents in advance. The balance will settle once the matching due amounts are generated.
You need to reimburse the tenant, for example after a charges adjustment. Remember to record the reimbursement once it is done.
You received an exceptional payment (rental guarantee, spare key, etc.). In that case, add the matching due amount to keep the balance settled.
Where to see the balance
In the contracts list, a coloured tag shows each contract's balance (green for zero, red for negative, orange for positive).
In a contract, the balance is shown in the top right, and repeated in the Contract information tab.
Viewing the detail, line by line
Open the relevant contract and click the Financials tab.
In the Financial transactions section, stay on the Transactions details view.
Lines are grouped by month, with two columns: Due amount (what is expected from the tenant) and Payment (what was received).
The icons shown on the lines indicate the reconciliation status (the matching of a payment to a due amount), not whether the balance is paid. Their meaning is explained in the dedicated reconciliation article.
Learn more:
How do I reconcile payments and due amounts?
How do I add a due amount manually?
How do I add a payment manually?