The term "lockout" refers to a past-due tenant who is not allowed access to their unit until their outstanding balance is paid in full and the account is removed from lockout status. Lockouts can be applied automatically via the Late/Lien Settings or manually by the manager from the Tenant's Profile under the "Gate Access" tab at the top of their profile.
Automatic Lockout
The system can automatically change a customer's status if you set up a Lockout Rule under Setup > Late/Lien. (See also Late/Lien Overview for More Information)
Click Add Rule under the lockout section of the Late/Lien rules.
Indicate the number of days past the customer's due date you wish the customer to be locked out of his/her unit. Also, select any notifications you wish to be sent to the customer (if the check marks are left blank, no notifications will be sent). and add a fee if desired. Then click Create Rule.
If a fee is added to the lockout rule, it will be charged only when a unit goes into lockout status, meaning it will not repeat each late month; it will apply only once when the lockout status is updated, until the account is paid in full. If you want a monthly fee for each month of late payment, it must be added to a late rule, not a lockout rule.
Going forward, customers who are past due will automatically show a "locked out" status on the site map and in their account, in the "rental" section of their profile.
If you have it enabled in your software's notifications settings, you will be notified whenever a lockout is added or removed. The system will send an email to the notifications email the following morning, notifying the facility of the changes to the lockout report.
Manual Lockout
If you choose not to create a rule, you will need to manually lock out a customer by going to their page and clicking the Gate Access tab at the top of their profile. This option should be used even if you don't have a gate integrated, as it updates the customer account status and allows you to associate the lockout with a specific unit.
If the facility needs to be emailed when someone is removed from Lockout status (such as when they need to remove physical overlock devices), and the facility is not using the Lockout Rule feature, the account must be locked out for the software to generate the Lockout removal email.
Click Lock Out.
Click Save.
The customer's status will now change. This status can be removed manually, or it will be automatically removed when the customer pays the entire balance on their account -- the system needs a $0.00 balance after a payment to automatically remove a lockout.
Lockout Approval
There is a way to require approval for changes to the Lock Out Report. This setting is located under Setup > Settings > Lockout Approval. This setting does not prevent a lockout; it only prevents reports from changing without the owner being aware of the changes. This setting is helpful if you have physical overlocks installed on unit doors. The approval of the lockout removal can serve as a reminder for management to remove the overlock device once the balance is paid in full.
