Move-In Funds: Know the Money Has Cleared Before You Hand Over Keys
See whether every move-in payment — the first rent and any holding deposit — has cleared, wait out the bank-return window, and get an email when it is safe to hand over keys.
A bank payment takes days to settle and can still come back after it does. Move-in funds shows, for every lease moving in, whether the money for it has actually cleared — so the keys go to a resident whose payment arrived. Owners and managers find it in Lease Center → Move-in funds on the website and under Move-in funds in the Tools hub on the iPhone and Android apps. Residents see their own under My Home → Moving, and under Move-in payment on the phones.
What counts as move-in money
Move-in money is the lease's first rent charge — prorated or full — and any rent due on or before the move-in date, plus a holding deposit paid through Seayora for this home.
The security deposit is shown from your deposit ledger. It is collected outside Seayora's payments, so it does not count toward "cleared" — you confirm it yourself.
Your policy
| Policy | What happens |
|---|---|
| Show the status only | Move-in payments are shown as they clear. Nothing is held and nobody is emailed. |
| Hand over keys once the money has cleared | The move-in checklist waits for every move-in payment to clear, and you are told when it has. |
With "Hand over keys once the money has cleared" on, the move-in checklist gains a step — "Move-in money cleared" — that ticks itself, and you can be emailed once when it does. Every account starts on "Show the status only".
Waiting out the bank-return window
Under the Nacha rules most bank returns — insufficient funds, a closed account — come back within two banking days of settlement, so waiting two business days after a bank payment settles covers them. A debit the account holder says they did not authorize can be returned for up to 60 days, and no setting can prevent that.
So under the hold-keys policy a bank payment counts as cleared a number of business days after it settles — 2 unless you change it, anywhere from 0 to 10. Business days skip Saturdays and Sundays; public holidays are not counted out, so the date is a guide.
A card payment clears as soon as it goes through. Cards are protected against insufficient funds, though a cardholder can still dispute a charge.
The other settings
- Count a holding deposit paid through Seayora — on by default, because it is money paid toward this move-in.
- A payment you recorded as paid yourself — cash, a money order, a check — counts as cleared, because you are the one who received it. You can switch that off.
- Email me when it clears, and email the resident — each once per move-in, and only for money that cleared after the policy was switched on.
Each payment
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cleared | The money has settled — and, for a bank payment under your policy, the extra days have passed. |
| Settled — waiting out the return window | A bank payment settled, and your policy is waiting out the extra business days after settlement. |
| Paid by bank — clearing | Paid from a bank account and not settled yet. |
| Recorded as paid | You recorded it as paid yourself — cash, a money order, a check. |
| Not paid yet | Due and not paid yet. |
| Payment failed | The payment did not go through. |
| Returned by the bank | The bank sent a settled payment back. The money did not arrive. |
| Disputed | The cardholder disputed the charge. |
| On a payment plan | A payment plan took this charge over, so the money is being paid in instalments. |
| Refunded | You refunded it. |
| Nothing to pay | Nothing to pay — a month a concession made free, for example. |
The move-in as a whole
- Could not check
- Payment problem
- Waiting for payment
- Clearing
- Cleared
- No move-in charges yet
"Could not check" means the payments could not be read just now. It never means unpaid and never means cleared — open it again shortly.
Why Seayora does not require a card
Seayora does not require a card for move-in money: it would add a card surcharge to the largest payment a resident makes, and in some states card payments for rent are not available at all.
What "cleared" does not mean
"Cleared" means the payment processor reports the money as settled. It is not a guarantee that the money cannot be reversed, and whether to hand over keys is always your decision.
Asking your assistant
A connected assistant can say whether a move-in has cleared (move_in_funds), for an owner, a manager or the resident. Changing the policy stays in Seayora.
Related features and guides
- Online Rent Collection — Documentation. How to collect rent online with Seayora — setup, payment methods, card surcharges and where state law limits them, records, and how funds move.
- Security Deposit Handling — Feature. Collect deposits through the platform, keep them tied to the lease and the unit, and back any deduction with dated move-in and move-out evidence.
- Move Checklists: the Steps Before and After Moving Day — Documentation. A checklist for every move-in and move-out that both you and the resident can see — steps Seayora ticks for you from what has already happened, plus your own steps for keys, utilities and a forwarding address.
- Security Deposits on Seayora — Documentation. How to collect, hold, document, and return a security deposit — the ledger behind the figure, the statutory deadline, the itemized statement, and what freezes when.
- Landlord Payouts & Direct Deposit — Feature. Collected rent is paid out to your bank account once it settles, and every payout is reconciled against the ledger.
- Online Rent Collection Software — Feature. Online rent collection: bank transfers free to the tenant, card payments, AutoPay on the lease’s due date, automatic late fees, roommate splitting and receipts issued when rent settles.