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Choosing How Billing Dates Appear on Resident Invoices (Vendor Dates vs. Tenant Dates)

Learn how the Invoice Dates Type setting controls the billing period shown on resident invoices and whether like charges are combined on one line. This article explains the difference between Vendor Dates and Tenant Dates, the reporting trade-offs of each

Written by Clayton Erekson

Resident invoices can display billing periods for Ratio Utility Billing (RUBs) line items in one of two ways, depending on the Invoice Dates Type setting in your Billing Plan. This setting also determines whether similar charges are combined on one line or listed separately.

The two options

Vendor Dates pulls the billing period directly from the utility bill used for the charge. Each charge shows the actual service dates from the provider (for example, 5/17/2026 – 6/15/2026). Because different utility bills rarely share the same service dates, charges are listed on separate lines when their dates don't match — even if they're the same charge type.

Tenant Dates lets you set a specific billing period for the invoice (for example, 6/1/2026 – 6/30/2026). Charges with the exact same Charge Group/Billing Label are combined and totaled on a single line.

Which one is right for you?

Choose Tenant Dates if you want invoices to show a clean calendar billing period and combine like charges (such as multiple Trash charges) into one line. This is often easier for residents to read.

Choose Vendor Dates if accurate month-to-month recovery tracking is a priority. Because Tenant Dates billing periods may not line up with your utility providers' billing periods, recovery can appear lower one month and higher the next. It always evens out over time, but it can take a full calendar year for that to be visible in your reporting.

Before you switch

Changing this setting shifts the billing periods on invoices, which can affect owner financial reporting (such as T12s) for the remainder of the year. If consistent reporting matters to your owners, plan the change for the start of a calendar or fiscal year.

How to change the setting

  1. Open your Billing Plan.

  2. Go to the Misc. tab.

  3. In the Invoice Dates Type dropdown, select Tenant or Vendor.

  4. Save your changes.

The new setting applies to invoices generated after the change.

Note: Charges only combine onto one line when their Charge Group/Billing Label match exactly. If like charges still appear separately under Tenant Dates, check that their labels are identical.

Questions?

If you're unsure which option fits your portfolio, reach out to our support team — we're happy to walk through the reporting impact with you.

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