Hollybrook Lettings

Buildings, units, tenants, leases, rent invoices, deposits, repairs, safety checks and the accounts for a landlord.

Download 110 KB13 tables, 20 queries, 10 reports, 7 print templates and 2,638 invented records, dated back from 2026-10-22.

The everyday tasks of Hollybrook Lettings, a step at a time. Each step names the table, form, query, report or print template to open. Inside the database, the Start Here report holds the same steps. Every table has a form of the same name under Forms.

1. Let a unit to a new tenant

Open the query Vacant units to see what is empty and what it would let for.
Open the Tenants form and press New. Give the next rent account in Account (TEN- and the next number), then the name, Address (the unit's address, where letters will go), City, Postcode, phone, e-mail and emergency contact. Tick References Checked and ID Checked when they are done.
Open the Leases form and press New. Choose the Unit and the Tenant, set Type to Residential or Commercial, and type Signed On, Start, End, Monthly Rent, Rent Day, Pays By and Deposit. For a home type the Pets agreed, or None; for a shop or workshop type the Permitted Use, the Rent Review date and a Tax Rate of 0.2 if the building is opted to tax. Set Status to Upcoming or Active.
Open the print template Tenancy agreement (or Commercial lease summary for a shop or workshop) from Print templates, choose the new lease and press Print. Both sides sign two copies.
Open the Units form, find the unit, set Status to Let and clear Vacant Since.

2. Take and protect a deposit

When the deposit comes in, open the Deposits form and press New. Give the next receipt number in Number (DRC-, the year and the next number), choose the Lease, and type Received On, Amount, Paid By and Held By.
Open the print template Deposit receipt, choose the new deposit and press Print or Save as PDF, and give it to the tenant.
For a home, protect the deposit with your scheme within 30 days. Open the query Deposits to protect to see which are still waiting and how many days are left.
When the scheme gives you its reference, open the Leases form, find the lease and type it into Deposit Ref.

3. Raise the rent invoices

Each working day, open the query Rent due in the next 14 days, or the Leases form, to see whose rent day is two weeks away.
Open the Rent Charges form and press New for each one. Give the next number in Number (RENT-, the year and the next number), choose the Lease and the Tenant, and type Period (as 2026-11), Invoice Date (today), Due Date (the rent day) and Period End (the day before the next rent day).
Type Net (the lease's Monthly Rent) and Tax Rate (the lease's Tax Rate), then Tax (the rent times the rate, to the penny) and Amount (Net and Tax together). Leave Amount Paid at nought.
Open the print template Rent invoice from Print templates, choose the new invoices and press Print or Save as PDF to send them.
At the end of the month, open the report Rent invoices this month to check the month's invoicing.

4. Record a rent payment

When rent reaches the bank, open the Transactions form and press New. Choose the Property, type the Date, set Kind to Rent, choose the rent invoice in Charge, type the tenant in Payee or Payer, the Method, and the sum in Money In.
Open the Rent Charges form, find the same invoice, add the payment to Amount Paid and type the day in Last Paid On.
Open the query Unpaid rent: the invoice drops off it once Amount Paid reaches Amount.

5. Chase rent that is late

Open the query Rent arrears by tenant, or the report Arrears letters for every unpaid month by tenant.
For each tenant a week or more behind, open the Rent Reminders form and press New. Give the next reference in Number (ARR-, the year and the next number), choose the Lease, and type Sent On, Stage, Amount Owed, Months Owing, Since and Pay By (fourteen days on). Copy the Next Step wording from an earlier letter of the same stage.
Open the print template Rent arrears letter, choose the new letter and press Print. Print the tenant's Rent statement from Print templates too, choosing the tenant, and send it with the letter.
When the pay-by date comes, set Outcome to Paid in full, Part paid or Not paid. Open the query Arrears letters sent to see the last three months of letters and what came of them.

6. Arrange an inspection or safety check

Open the query Inspections due, or the report Checks due, to see what falls due in the next 30 days. For gas and electrical checks, open the query Safety certificates due, which looks 60 days ahead.
Agree a day with the inspector or the engineer. Open the Inspections form, find the visit, set Due to the day, type the Visit Time, choose the running Lease, and type today in Notice Sent.
Open the print template Notice of inspection, choose the visit and press Print, and send it to the tenant at least a week ahead.
After the visit, type Done, Inspector, Outcome and, for a safety check, the Certificate Number. Then press New and enter the next one with its due date. If something needs mending, add it to Maintenance Requests with Reported By set to Inspection.

7. Deal with a repair

When a tenant reports a problem, open the Maintenance Requests form and press New. Choose the Unit, type Reported, Reported By, the Problem and the Priority.
Book a contractor: choose them in Contractor, type Booked For and set Status to Booked. Open the report Repairs for contractors to print each firm's list of jobs.
When the work is done, type Completed and Cost and set Status to Done. Open the Transactions form and enter the bill as money out with Kind set to Repairs and the building in Property.
Open the query Open repairs each morning to see what is still waiting, the most urgent first.

8. Close the month

Open the report Monthly accounts for money in and out each month, and the report Income and expenditure for each building over the last year.
Open the query Costs by kind to see where the money went.
At the end of each VAT quarter, add up the Tax on the quarter's paid invoices for the opted building and pay it over; enter it in Transactions with Kind set to VAT.
Open the report Rent roll for the units, tenants and rents as they stand, and the report Leases ending to plan renewals.

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