How-to guide

Lintel is built so most work happens without leaving the page you're on.

1. 1Sign in: everyone has their own email and password, given by the account owner. Your name and Sign out are at the bottom of the sidebar.
2. 2Company: the box at the top of the sidebar (top bar on a phone) shows the company you're working in. If you belong to more than one, tap it to switch. Everything you see is that company's: properties, tenants, money, inbox and files.
3. 3Menu: the sidebar groups everything into Operate (Today, Rentals, Leasing, Associations, Maintenance, Tasks, Calendar), Money (Accounting, Reports, Analytics), Connect (Inbox, Files) and Setup (Services, Shortcuts, Team, this guide). Numbers next to a name show how many things are waiting there.
4. 4On a phone: the bottom bar has Today, Inbox, the round + button for new things, Rentals and More for every other section.
5. 5Record panel: tap any name, unit, property or repair and it opens in a panel on the right. The page underneath stays where it was. Close it with ✕, Esc, or by tapping outside it.
6. 6Search or do anything: tap Search or do… at the top of the sidebar, or press Cmd K (Ctrl K on Windows) or /. Type a name, a unit, or an action like “record payment”.
7. 7Copilot: Ask the copilot at the bottom of the sidebar, or Cmd J. Ask in plain words; anything that moves money or messages someone waits for your OK.
8. 8Jump with the keyboard: press g, then a letter: g r is Rentals, g a is Accounting, g w is this guide. The full list is on Shortcuts.
9. 9Dialogs: every “Add” or “Record” button opens a short form. Its main button saves; a dark message at the bottom of the screen confirms it, and the numbers on the page update right away.
10. 10Two-tap safety: buttons that undo something (Void, Archive, Record move-out, Delete) ask you to tap a second time to confirm.

Your home base. Open it first thing.

1. 1Top line: today's date, a greeting and a one-line brief (emergencies, how much is owed, AI drafts waiting). Brief me asks the copilot for a fuller briefing.
2. 2Your buildings: each unit is a window. Lit means paid up, red means they owe, dark means vacant, a brass sill means the tenant is on notice. Tap a building name or a window to open it.
3. 3This month so far: collected (with the share of what was billed), owed to you, spent, and units occupied, plus a bar for rent collected.
4. 4Pinned buttons: your most used actions (Record a payment, New work order, Add a task…). Change them on Shortcuts.
5. 5Needs you: one ranked list of what needs a decision: emergencies first, then who owes, AI drafts to approve, bills due, unread messages, tasks, leases ending, violations and expiring documents. Each item has its buttons right there: Record payment, Draft reminder, Assign a vendor, Approve and send, Mark paid, Done, Tomorrow, Next week. Filter with All, Money, Repairs and People. Handled items drop off by themselves.
6. 6Recent activity: what happened lately and who did it: You, Copilot or Automation.

Guided tour: Collect rent and chase who owes.

Properties belong to a company. Partners are the people who run a company; each one sees only the companies they're added to.

1. 1First sign-in on a new copy: the owner creates their account (name, email, password, first company's name). On a hosted copy it also asks for the setup key from the server settings. The properties already in Lintel become that first company.
2. 2Open Team. Each company has a box with its name, how many properties and units it has, and its partners.
3. 3Add a partner: in the company's box, type their name, email and a temporary password (10 or more characters), then Add partner. Give them the email and password; they sign in at the same address. If the email already has a sign-in, they're just added to this company and keep their password.
4. 4New company: under New company, type the name and tap Create company. It starts empty and you're switched into it. Add its properties under Rentals, then come back and add its partners.
5. 5Switch company: use the company box at the top of the sidebar. Partners in one company don't see a switcher; the owner sees every company.
6. 6Rename a company in its box (type and Save name). Reset password sets a new password for a partner and signs them out everywhere. Remove (tap twice) takes them off that company at once; their other companies are unaffected.
7. 7Your own password: under Your sign-in, enter the current one and a new one, then Change password. You're signed out on every device.
8. 8Everything a company owns is kept apart from every other company: its properties, tenants, ledger, repairs, inbox, files, tenant portal links and calendar feed. Only the owner can create companies and manage partners.

Guided tour: Companies and partners.

1. 1Open Rentals and tap Add property. Choose Rental property or HOA / association, give it a name, street address and city.
2. 2Under Units, type the unit names separated by commas (1A, 1B, 2A). Leave it empty for a single-family house. Tap Add property.
3. 3To add a unit later, tap Add unit: pick the property, then unit name, bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet and market rent.
4. 4Tap Add contact for vendors, homeowners, or a tenant who has no lease yet. Vendors get a trade (Plumbing, HVAC…); others get a home or unit. Set the preferred language: AI drafts to that person are written in it.
5. 5The Units tab lists each property with status, tenant, rent, lease end and balance. The People tab lists Tenants, Homeowners, Vendors, Past tenants and Archived, with search and filters (Owes, Paid up).
6. 6Edit or archive: open any person, unit or property and use Edit or Archive at the top of its panel. Archived records leave your lists but keep their history; restore them from People, Archived.
7. 7Existing tenants: add each one with Create lease on Leasing (see “Create and sign a lease”). A paper lease can be read from its PDF when AI is on.
8. 8Fill in Services, Your details (your name or company and your state's deposit deadline) and check the automations are on.

Guided tour: Set up your rentals.

1. 1Open Leasing. Units to fill shows every vacant unit and every unit whose tenant gave notice, with days empty, rent lost so far and how many people are interested.
2. 2Tap What should I ask?. You get a suggested range from comparable units with the reasoning (and Rentcast data when connected); Show the comparisons lists them. Set asking rent to … saves it as the unit's market rent.
3. 3Under the listing box, tap Write with AI (or Rewrite with AI) for a draft ad from the unit's details, in Fair Housing-safe wording. Edit it, Save, then Copy and paste it into Zillow or Facebook.
4. 4Need it cleaned or painted first? Turnover work opens a work order already filled in for the unit.

A unit's notes (appliances, parking, quirks) feed the AI listing. Add them with Edit on the unit.

Guided tour: Fill a vacancy.

1. 1When someone asks about a unit, tap Add prospect. Enter name, phone, email, the unit under Interested in, where they found you, move-in date, budget and notes.
2. 2The Pipeline has four columns: Inquiry, Touring, Applied, Approved. Each card has call and email buttons.
3. 3Move people forward with one tap: Tour booked when a showing is set, Applied when they apply, Approve when you accept them. Lost (tap twice) takes them off the board.
4. 4Screening: first paste your screening service's applicant link in Services, Tenant screening (TransUnion SmartMove, RentPrep, MySmartMove…). On a Touring or Applied card tap Screening, then Get the message to send. Copy it, or send it with Email or Text.
5. 5When the report comes back, open Screening again, write your decision notes, and tap Report received, Approve or Decline.

Lintel never accepts or rejects anyone for you. Apply the same written criteria to every applicant.

If you decline or ask for more because of a credit or background report, the law requires an adverse action notice naming the screening company.

Guided tour: Fill a vacancy.

1. 1Tap Create lease on an Approved prospect (their details fill in), on a unit in Units to fill, or at the top of Leasing for anyone.
2. 2Pick the Unit, then Tenant name, phone, email, Start and End dates, Monthly rent and Deposit (one month by default).
3. 3Open Due day, grace period and late fee to change the defaults (rent due on the 1st, 5 grace days, $50 late fee).
4. 4Signed on paper? With AI on, tap Already signed on paper? Read it from the PDF: the tenant, dates, rent and fees fill in and the file is saved with the lease. Check every field.
5. 5Tap Create lease. The unit becomes occupied and rent starts posting on its due day each month.
6. 6E-signature: open the tenant (tap their name anywhere) and under Lease tap Send for signature. They get a private link, read the lease and sign with a finger; the signed PDF is saved to their files and the lease shows “Signed”. Send again resends it.
7. 7Change terms later with Edit terms next to Lease in the tenant's panel.

Leasing a unit that's on notice is fine: the new tenant becomes the occupant when you record the current tenant's move-out.

Guided tour: Fill a vacancy.

Every tenant and homeowner gets a private page. No password: the link is the key.

1. 1Open the tenant and find Tenant portal. Copy link copies it, Send link texts or emails it, Turn off links stops every link they have.
2. 2What they can do there: see their balance and pay it online (once Stripe is connected), turn on autopay, sign their lease, report a repair with photos and say whether you can enter, message you, and see their lease terms and documents.
3. 3Payments made in the portal post to their ledger by themselves. Repairs they report land on your Maintenance board marked “From the portal”. Their messages land in your Inbox.
4. 4Upload the signed lease, move-in photos or the inspection checklist with Upload file on the unit or the tenant.

Guided tour: Fill a vacancy.

1. 1Rent posts itself: on each lease's due day, the rent charge is added to the tenant's balance (automation “Post rent every month”).
2. 2A payment comes in: tap Record payment on Today's “owes” item, in the tenant's panel, on Accounting, or Who owes. Pick who paid; the amount fills in with what they owe. Set Date received, Method (ACH, Check, Zelle, Cash, Card, Money order) and a Note like the check number. Tap Record payment.
3. 3Paying more than they owe leaves a credit, shown in green, that applies to the next charge by itself.
4. 4Charge something: Charge in the tenant's panel or on Who owes: amount, Category (Late fee, Utilities, Damage, Cleaning, HOA dues, HOA fine, Other), date and note. Tap Add charge.
5. 5Online rent: with Stripe connected, tenants pay by card or bank from their portal, and can turn on autopay.
6. 6Fix a mistake: in Accounting, Ledger (or the tenant's recent transactions), tap Void twice. Nothing is deleted, so history stays intact.

Guided tour: Collect rent and chase who owes.

1. 1Late fees add themselves: when rent is still unpaid after the lease's grace days, the lease's late fee is added once that month (automation “Late fees after grace period”).
2. 2Anyone with a balance appears on Today under Needs you with Record payment and Draft reminder. The reminder is written by the copilot and waits for your OK.
3. 3Accounting, Who owes lists every balance, biggest first, with the last payment, search and filters for tenants and homeowners.
4. 4Reports, Who owes adds unpaid-since dates, days late and late fees in the last 12 months. Export to CSV or print.
5. 5A bounced payment from a bank import can be recorded as “A tenant's payment bounced”, which puts the amount back on their balance.

Guided tour: Collect rent and chase who owes.

1. 1Log a bill: tap Log expense. Pick the Property, who it was Paid to (or New vendor…), amount, category, bill date and due date. Leave Already paid unticked to keep it in Unpaid bills, or tick it if you've paid. Save.
2. 2Scan instead: Scan a bill reads a photo or PDF of an invoice or receipt and fills the expense form for you to check. The file is saved to Files and attached to the expense.
3. 3Accounting, Unpaid bills lists what you owe, soonest first, past-due in red, with the total. Tap Mark paid when you pay one. Due bills also show on Today.
4. 4Repeating costs: Recurring, Add recurring: what it is, property, category, amount, vendor, how often (every month, every 3 months, every year), the day and the first month. Tick Paid automatically (autopay) if it comes out by itself. They post on their day; Pause or Remove any time.
5. 5Vendor payments count toward each vendor's 1099 total.

Guided tour: Bills, bank and reports.

1. 1Download your transactions as a CSV file from your bank's website.
2. 2Open Accounting, Bank and drop the file in, or tap Choose a CSV file.
3. 3Each line gets a suggested match, labeled Sure match, Likely or Needs you: a tenant's payment, an existing bill, or a new expense with a category.
4. 4Tap Accept to record it, Change (or Choose) to pick yourself, or Ignore for transfers and personal items. Accept N sure matches does all the sure ones at once.
5. 5Nothing is recorded until you accept, and importing the same file twice never doubles anything. Recently handled has Undo.

Guided tour: Bills, bank and reports.

1. 1Open Reports and pick one: Profit and loss, Rent roll, Who owes, Expense detail, Month by month, Work order log, Schedule E (rents and expenses by tax line and property) or 1099 vendors.
2. 2Choose the period (This month, Last month, Year to date, Last 12 months, Last calendar year) and a property, then Apply.
3. 3CSV downloads it for a spreadsheet or your accountant. Print or PDF prints it or saves a PDF.
4. 4Or type what you want in the Ask box, like “repairs by property this year”, and the copilot builds it.
5. 5Owner statement: under the report list, pick a property and month and tap Open PDF: income, expenses, the rent roll and every transaction for that property.

Guided tour: Bills, bank and reports.

1. 1What to act on lists signals with the reason: renewal risk, rent below market, vacancy cost and repair hot spots. Ask the copilot on each one gets advice.
2. 2Charts show money in and out by month, the share of rent and dues collected, where the money went, and net income by property for 12 months.
3. 3Investment returns: fill in each property's value, loan and cash invested with Edit to see cap rate, cash flow, cash-on-cash return and gain since purchase.
4. 4Filter everything to one property and tap Apply.

1. 1Report it: tap New work order (or Report a repair on a tenant or unit, Make work order on an Inbox message, or the tenant uses their portal). Pick the property and unit and describe What's wrong. Dictate lets you just say it.
2. 2Keep Priority on Auto: the app judges urgency (Emergency, High, Normal, Low) and, with AI on, adds a safe tip for the tenant under While they wait. Tap Open work order.
3. 3The Work orders board has four columns: New (needs a vendor), Assigned (needs a date), Scheduled, Done (last 30 days). Emergencies sort to the top.
4. 4Tap a repair to open it. Pick a Vendor and it moves to Assigned. Set Scheduled for and it moves to Scheduled and onto the Calendar. A vendor with expired or missing insurance is flagged.
5. 5Add photos attaches pictures. Message vendor and Update the tenant open a message already addressed.
6. 6Done: tap Mark done, enter the Final cost, keep Add to unpaid bills ticked, and tap Mark done. The vendor's bill waits in Unpaid bills for you to pay. Quick close on a card closes it without a cost; Reopen brings it back.

Guided tour: Handle a repair.

1. 1Maintenance, Upkeep schedule: tap one of the usual items (furnace service, AC tune-up, filters, smoke detectors, gutters, water heater, dryer vents, extinguishers, roof walk-around) or Add upkeep.
2. 2Set the property (and unit), how often in months, the next due date, your usual vendor and how many days before to open the work order. Save schedule.
3. 3Before each due date a work order opens by itself, booked with that vendor, then the schedule moves to the next date. Pause or Remove any time.
4. 4Vendors shows each vendor's jobs, open jobs, days to finish, how often they came on the booked day, average cost, paid in 12 months, insurance and W-9.
5. 5Upload a vendor's insurance certificate as type Insurance with its expiry date: you get a reminder 30 days before it lapses. Ask for it on the vendor drafts the request.

Guided tour: Handle a repair.

1. 160 days before a lease ends, a “Decide on renewal” task appears (automation “Renewal reminders”) and the lease shows on Today.
2. 2Leasing, Renewals in the next 90 days lists each one with rent now, market rent and whether they pay on time. Plan with AI recommends a rent and drafts the offer.
3. 3To renew, open the tenant, tap Renew next to Lease, set the New end date and New rent, and tap Save renewal. The reminder task closes itself.
4. 4Check the rent in the unit's panel suggests a renewal rent too.
5. 5Not renewing: tap Tenant gave notice (twice). The unit shows On notice, with a brass sill on Today, and appears in Units to fill as “Available soon” so you can lease it to the next person now.

Guided tour: Renew or move out.

1. 1On moving day, open the tenant and tap Record move-out (twice). The lease ends today, the unit goes vacant (or to the next tenant), and a task to settle the deposit appears with your deadline.
2. 2Set your state's deadline once in Accounting, Deposits or Services, Your details.
3. 3Accounting, Deposits shows deposits held, what to settle after move-out with its deadline (red when passed), and what's settled. Tap Start inspection.
4. 4Walk-through: mark each area Good, Normal wear, Needs cleaning or Damaged, with notes. Needs cleaning or Damaged adds a deduction line.
5. 5Deductions: check each line's type, reason and amount, or Add a deduction. If they still owe rent, Deduct it adds the balance.
6. 6The side panel shows deposit held, deductions and the refund (or what they still owe). Add the Forwarding address and how you sent the refund.
7. 7Save draft to finish later. Finalize and create the letter, then Finalize, posts the deductions, applies the deposit, makes the itemized PDF letter and puts it in their portal.

Normal wear and tear (faded paint, light carpet wear, small nail holes) generally can't be deducted. Rules vary by state and city.

Guided tour: Renew or move out.

1. 1Add the association with Add property, type HOA / association, and list the homes. Add owners with Add homeowner.
2. 2Dues post on the 1st by themselves (automation “Post HOA dues every month”), at each owner's usual amount. Post dues now is for a special assessment or a missed month.
3. 3The top of Associations shows homes, dues collected this month, owners behind and open violations. Board summary has the copilot write a short update you can paste into an email.
4. 4Violations: tap Log a violation: the home, the rule, what you saw, a fix-by date and a fine (empty for a courtesy notice).
5. 5Tap Draft notice. The notice waits on Today for Approve and send, Edit or Dismiss. Draft follow-up writes the next one; Resolved closes it and Reopen brings it back.
6. 6Homeowners lists each home, its owner and dues balance. Tap a row to record a payment or add a fine.

Guided tour: Run an HOA.

1. 1Inbox has every text and email thread with tenants, vendors and homeowners, newest first, with a dot for unread.
2. 2Open a thread and type a reply, then Send (or Cmd Enter). Draft with AI writes a reply in the person's preferred language for you to edit.
3. 3Under each message you see Saved, Sending, Sent, Delivered or Not sent, with Retry.
4. 4Make work order turns their message into a repair; Task adds a follow-up.
5. 5New message (or Message on any person) starts a new one.
6. 6Texts and emails go out once Twilio or email is set up in Services. Until then, messages are saved here but not delivered.

Guided tour: Inbox, tasks and the copilot.

1. 1Type a task in Add a task and press Enter, pick Today, Tomorrow, Next week or a date, and press Enter.
2. 2Tasks are grouped Overdue, Today, Next 7 days, Later and No date. Tap the circle to finish one, snooze it a day or a week, or delete it with Undo.
3. 3Renewal, deposit and document-expiry reminders appear by themselves, marked Automatic; the copilot's are marked From copilot. Linked tasks show the person, unit or property.
4. 4Add a task (on Today) and Task (on a person or message) add more detail: due date, priority and notes.

Guided tour: Inbox, tasks and the copilot.

1. 1The month shows rent days, move-ins, lease ends, booked repairs, upkeep, bills, deposit deadlines, tasks and expiring documents. Arrows change the month.
2. 2This month, day by day lists the same as an agenda. Tap anything to open it.
3. 3Make my link gives a private calendar feed. In Google Calendar choose Other calendars, From URL, and paste it. New link stops the old one.

Guided tour: Inbox, tasks and the copilot.

1. 1Tap Upload (or Upload file on a unit, person or property). Choose files, the Type (Lease, Insurance, Invoice, Receipt, Photo, Notice, Other), an Expires date for certificates, and the property or person it belongs to.
2. 2Filter by type or search by name. Each file shows what it's linked to, its expiry and when it was added. Download it, Edit its details or Delete it (twice).
3. 3Insurance and other documents with an expiry date create a reminder task 30 days before, and show in the “Expiring soon” line.

1. 1Open it with Ask the copilot or Cmd J, then ask (“Who owes rent right now?”) or tell it to do something (“Log a repair for a leaking faucet at Maple Court 2A”). Suggested questions are there to tap.
2. 2It reads your records: balances, leases, repairs, bills, tasks, messages, prospects and financials.
3. 3It creates tasks and work orders directly. Messages, payments, charges and paying bills wait on Today as drafts with Approve, Edit and Dismiss.
4. 4Tell it to remember something (“Hector is my first call for small jobs”). Manage what it remembers in Services, What the copilot remembers.
5. 5Ask the copilot about this at the top of any record panel starts a conversation about that record.
6. 6It needs an Anthropic API key. Without one, the copilot is off, AI buttons use templates or keyword rules, and everything else works the same.

Guided tour: Inbox, tasks and the copilot.

1. 1Automations: post rent every month, late fees after the grace period, renewal reminders, document expiry reminders and HOA dues. Toggle each one; Run now checks immediately. They never post the same charge twice.
2. 2Your details: the name on leases, the portal, letters and statements, and the days you have to return a deposit.
3. 3Weekly digest: money in and out, who owes, open repairs and the next two weeks, by email or text on the day you pick. Send one now to try it.
4. 4Tenant screening: your screening service's name and applicant link.
5. 5Connections: AI, Rentcast, Twilio texts, email and Stripe payments, each Connected, Simulated or Not set up, with what to add to turn it on.
6. 6Scheduler: background jobs (rent and fees, sending messages, autopay, recurring bills, upkeep, digest) and when each last ran.
7. 7Shortcuts: pin and order the actions shown on Today, first in search and in the phone's + menu, then Save shortcuts.

Guided tour: Set up your rentals.