Automatically Manage Cash Account Balances in AppFolio

It can be challenging to remember to transfer funds between a property's cash accounts when interacting with resident ledgers. One minor data entry mistake can put you at risk of unintentionally sending funds to incorrect parties.

To help reduce constant trips to Financial Diagnostics and Transfer Funds Between Cash Accounts, AppFolio has added the ability to handle cash balances automatically.

How It Works

Whenever a resident receipt is entered, reversed, or reapplied — or a prepayment applies to a charge — AppFolio will create transactions to move funds if the charges paid by the receipt are offset to different cash accounts. The types of transactions created will depend on whether the cash accounts are tied to the same bank account.

Scenario: Operating and Escrow on the Same Bank Account

When you log a single receipt for charges offset to different cash accounts (e.g., Rent to operating and Security Deposit to escrow):

1. 1AppFolio logs the receipt and displays "Automatic Cash Transfers" with links to related transactions
2. 2A journal entry is automatically created to move funds from operating to escrow
3. 3The journal entry is automatically reconciled — it won't appear as an open item during reconciliation
4. 4It is dated the same date as the original receipt

If you reapply the receipt to only rent charges, AppFolio will reverse the linked journal entry so the receipted funds are removed from escrow.

Scenario: Operating and Escrow on Different Bank Accounts

When the accounts are at different banks:

1. 1AppFolio logs the receipt and displays "Automatic Cash Transfers"
2. 2An incomplete bank transfer is created as a reminder to move funds between banks
3. 3Click "Mark as Completed" once you've physically moved the funds
4. 4You can view all pending transfers at Accounting > Bank Transfers
5. 5Batch transfers can be grouped via Accounting > Bank Transfers > Incomplete Transfers > Transfer as Group

Important Notes

• AppFolio recommends not changing dates on generated Journal Entries — they're intended to match the original receipt date
• The remarks for auto-created transactions always start with "Auto transfer of funds…"
• If you've already manually transferred funds, you can cancel or reverse the auto-created transactions

This feature significantly reduces the manual work required to keep your trust and operating accounts balanced and in sync.