Utility advance payments: overpayments, underpayments and settlement when tenants change
Your tenants pay fixed monthly advances for water, electricity, gas and heating — Brokik invoices them automatically every month. When the provider or building manager sends you the settlement, you enter the amount. Brokik knows the advances it already invoiced and shows the overpayment or underpayment for each apartment separately.
You can create a manager account without a VAT ID.
Does the end of the year look like this?
Settling advances in spreadsheets works with five apartments. With fifty, it turns into weeks of tedious work.
Dozens of spreadsheets
Every apartment has its own sheet with advances, settlement amounts and differences. One broken formula and the whole settlement has to be redone.
Retyping numbers from provider documents
The settlement document from the water company, energy supplier or building manager lists the amount per apartment — for fifty apartments, that is fifty documents to open, read and retype by hand.
Calculating differences by hand
Advances versus the amount from the settlement — for every medium and every tenant separately. With 50 apartments, that is days of work.
Advances versus the settlement amount — in black and white
For the period you choose, Brokik compares the sum of advances you invoiced with the amount from the provider's or building manager's settlement. The result is a concrete overpayment or underpayment amount.
| Utility | Advances | Amount from settlement | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | €336 | €353 | −€17 |
| Electricity | €420 | €396 | +€24 |
| Gas | €228 | €239 | −€11 |
| Heating | €552 | €580 | −€28 |
| Total | €1,536 | €1,568 | −€32 |
Underpayment: €32
You charge the underpayment as an extra line on the tenant's next invoice with one click. You see the overpayment in the report and settle it with the tenant separately.How it works in Brokik
From fixed advances to a settled difference — five steps, screen by screen.Set the advances for an apartment
For each property you define fixed monthly advances separately for water, electricity, gas and heating — exactly as in the lease.Brokik invoices the advances every month
Every monthly tenant invoice carries the rent and the fixed advances — Brokik issues it automatically, with no work on your side.Enter the amount from the settlement
When the provider or building manager sends the settlement document, you enter the total amount for the period — per utility or as one combined figure. That is the only figure Brokik needs for the settlement.Brokik shows the difference instantly
Brokik already knows the advances it invoiced, compares them with the amount you entered, and calculates the overpayment or underpayment per utility immediately. It also suggests a new monthly advance for the next period.You charge the underpayment with one click
One click adds the underpayment as an extra item on the tenant's next invoice. An overpayment is shown in the report for you to settle separately.
Utility settlement when a tenant changes — step by step, from both sides
The same process from two places: the owner's or manager's screen and the tenant's screen. Every screenshot comes from the live Brokik app.
Fixed advance and unit price
Start of the tenancyOwner or manager: In the utility settings you turn on the fixed advance and control readings, and enter the price per kWh, m³ or GJ. Tenant: You pay the same advance every month — the invoice still shows rent and the utility advance, just like before. Meter reading with a photo — every month
Every monthOwner or manager: You see the tenant's reading together with the photo and approve it with one click. The advance on the invoice stays the same. Tenant: When a reading request comes in, you enter the meter value and add a photo — straight from your phone. Provisional settlement — during the tenancy or on move-out day
Move-outOwner or manager: Brokik calculates usage from the readings at your price, subtracts the invoiced advances and shows the underpayment or overpayment — without waiting for the bill. Tenant: At the handover you get a protocol with meter readings to sign — the settlement is based on these readings. Supplier's bill split between tenants
When the bill arrivesOwner or manager: You enter the amount and usage from the bill. Brokik splits it between the previous tenant, the vacancy and the new tenant by the readings from the protocols. Nothing to doIf the bill leaves a difference against the provisional settlement, the owner settles it with you separately.Underpayment or overpayment — on the invoice or in the deposit settlement
ClosingOwner or manager: In the final settlement you see the result from the readings, the amount already added to an invoice, and what remains in the deposit balance. Nothing to doYou receive the underpayment as one invoice line or in the deposit settlement — no calculations of your own.
One bill, two tenants and a vacancy in between
The supplier's bill covers the whole billing period, but the tenant changed in the meantime. Brokik splits the amount by the readings from the handover protocols — everyone pays for their own usage at the bill rate, and usage without a reading stays with the owner.
| Who | Period | Usage | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant A | 1 Jan – 31 Mar · 90 days | 300 kWh | €375.00 |
| Vacancy | 1 Apr – 30 Jun · 91 days | 25 kWh | €31.25 |
| Tenant B | 1 Jul – 31 Aug · 62 days | 300 kWh | €375.00 |
| Usage without a reading (common areas) | — | 175 kWh | €218.75 |
| Bill total | €1,000.00 | ||
Everything an advance settlement needs
From the rates in the lease to the line on the invoice — without leaving Brokik.
Advances per utility
Water, electricity, gas and heating each have their own fixed monthly rate — exactly as written in your leases. Brokik invoices them automatically every month.
The bill amount is enough — readings are optional
You enter the amount from the provider's or building manager's settlement — per utility or combined. You turn on control readings only for the utilities you want to settle provisionally when tenants change.
A report for any period
Settle a year, a half-year or the period up to a move-out — you choose the report's date range yourself.
Underpayment straight to the invoice
You charge the difference as a single line on the next invoice with one click — no separate documents, no amounts to track by hand.
The whole portfolio in one panel
You settle each flat separately and see them all in one list, without switching between spreadsheets.
Suggested new advance
Once you enter the settlement amount, Brokik suggests the new monthly advance for the next period — the amount divided by the number of months.
See also
Settling advances is one part of a manager's daily work in Brokik.Frequently asked questions
How settling advances works in Brokik.