How to set up your own branded tenant portal

A useful tenant portal starts with accurate company and property details. Your logo makes it recognisable, your contacts tell tenants who to approach, and your banking details show where rental payments should go. Setting these up first also makes the first invoice and invitation easier to check.

This guide explains how to set up a company portfolio in Albo. Any example is fictional; no real tenant names, email addresses or saved account records are used.

1. Register your own company portfolio

Choose Register free and enter your company and administrator details. Albo is free to use at R0, with no subscription, card requirement or trial countdown. Optional “Buy me a coffee” support is separate from access to the software.

Use an administrator email you can access and a password for your account. Your company receives its own portfolio link. Keep that link for your team and tenants, while using the management view to maintain your company’s properties, tenancies and shared records.

2. Add the logo and contacts tenants should see

Open Company details to check the company name, registration number, address, contact person, phone number and email. Upload your logo during registration or under Company & support (PNG, maximum 2 MB) for your portal and new documents.

The contact email should be one your team monitors, and the phone number should reach someone who can handle tenant enquiries. These details help tenants identify the company managing their account and know who to contact when a charge or document needs explaining.

Company details remain editable. Recheck them before preparing new documents, especially after a change of telephone number, office address or banking information. Do not assume an older document already downloaded by a tenant will change when you edit the profile.

3. Check banking details, the due day and VAT status

Enter the bank name, account holder, account number and branch code for the bank account your tenants will pay. These are your rental banking details. Verify them carefully before issuing documents, and check the payment reference associated with the tenancy.

Set your company’s monthly rent due day. Changes apply to new invoices; already issued invoices retain their original due dates. Check the tenancy agreement and the resulting invoice before sending it.

Choose the correct VAT registration status. If the company is registered, enter its VAT number. If it is not registered, select that option and the number is recorded as N/A. Recording VAT status is company information: do not assume that selecting it automatically adds VAT to a charge or calculates a tax amount. Review the charges you actually enter.

4. Add the property before its tenant

Start with Properties and add the unit or property name and full address. Include the address lines, province and postal code so the occupied property can be identified clearly on tenancy records and rental documents.

Then add a tenant and select that property from the Unit list. If the list is empty, add the property first rather than trying to save a tenant without a unit. Check the lease start and expiry dates against any existing tenancy: a new tenancy must not overlap another one for the same property.

5. Add the tenancy and choose its access arrangement

Enter the tenant’s correct name, email, agreed monthly rent and lease dates. Check the address filled from the property. Enter the agreed annual overdue-interest rate; use 0 where no interest applies. Saving a tenancy does not create historical monthly rent charges.

For joint tenants, enter both names. Use different email addresses for separate logins, or select one shared login where that arrangement is appropriate. With shared access, invitations go to the primary email and no separate joint login is created. Both full names and ID or registration numbers are required before preparing a new joint renewal.

The invitation workflow supplies a password setup link. Tenants choose their own passwords; you do not need to invent and email a password for them. Check Email outbox for sending status, and correct an inaccurate email in the tenancy before resending access details.

6. Show people where to sign in

Administrators and tenants of Albo and registered companies can sign in from the Albo homepage using their account email and password. Your own company portfolio link is also available to share.

For example, a fictional tenant moving into Unit 101 would first receive the invitation, set a password and sign in to the linked tenancy. They do not need to register a property company themselves. If access details are forgotten, use Set or reset your password on the sign-in page or send a fresh access link from the account.

7. Prepare the records tenants will use

Share the relevant leases and notices under Documents & notices. Tenants can open shared documents, see invoices and statements, and acknowledge notices. An acknowledgement records that action; it is separate from signing a lease renewal.

Use Monthly billing to prepare rent and applicable extra charges, select the tenants and review before sending invoices or statements. Tenants pay the bank account you supplied; you record verified EFT payments in their rental accounts. Entering banking details does not connect the software to your bank or reconcile payments automatically.

Try both views in the fictional interactive demo, explore the tenant portal features, and use the lease renewal checklist when an existing tenancy is ready to renew.