Closing out a Meld covers everything after the work ends. A Coordinator verifies that the work is done and every cost is captured, then closes the Meld without a bill or bills it, and the Meld moves to Closed. This overview is for Coordinators and people who manage billing settings, and shows which version of the flow fits your company.
Availability: Rolling out to AppFolio customers first, with other integrations to follow.
Who This Is For
Closing out completed Melds is daily work for Coordinators and setup work for people who manage billing settings.
- Who this is for: Coordinators, and people who manage billing settings.
- Applies to: All Property Meld customers. The billing path applies only if your company bills Owners or its own entities for maintenance.
- Access needed: Agent (the platform role for property management company staff who coordinate Melds). The Verify and Bill pages also need the Add/Edit Bills permission. Every Agent can see the Closed page. MAX Verify requires the Ops plan.
Closing out is the step where TrueCost confirms the full cost of a Meld: a Meld isn't Closed until its costs are confirmed and it's billed or marked No Bill Needed.
Key Concepts
These terms appear throughout the articles about closing out completed Melds.
- The full cost of a Meld: Vendor invoices, plus Technician labor, plus Costs.
- Resolution: how the work on a Meld ended, for example Completed or Canceled. The resolution stays with the Meld as it moves through verification and billing. Melds that were canceled or couldn't be completed follow the same close-out flow as completed ones.
- Verified: a Coordinator has confirmed that the work on a Meld is done and that every cost is captured.
- No Bill Needed: the way a verified Meld is closed when no bill is created for it. Every No Bill Needed mark has a reason.
- No Bill Needed rule: a setting that marks Melds No Bill Needed automatically when a Coordinator verifies them, either for every Meld or for specific properties.
- Closed: the final state of a Meld. A Meld is Closed after it's billed or marked No Bill Needed. Completed is a resolution, not the final state.
- MAX Verify: MAX's review of a Meld's costs and evidence before a Coordinator verifies it. MAX recommends, and the Coordinator decides.
How a Meld Moves From Finished Work to Closed
After the work on a Meld ends, the Meld moves through three pages under Melds in the sidebar. The table below shows the close-out steps in order.
| 1. Verify | 2. Close without a bill, or bill | 3. Closed |
|---|---|---|
| Review & Verify | No Bill Needed, or Ready to Bill | Closed |
Verifying the Work
Verifying is the first close-out step for every Meld. Each Meld whose work has ended appears on the Review & Verify page, which you open from Verify in the sidebar. A Coordinator reviews the evidence, such as Vendor invoices and Technician work logs, and confirms that every cost is captured. Where MAX Verify is available, MAX also reviews each Meld and flags what needs attention, and the Coordinator decides what to do.
Articles for verifying:
- Verify Completed Melds (Coordinators)
- How MAX Verify Reviews a Meld (Coordinators)
Closing a Meld Without a Bill
Closing a Meld without a bill applies to every company. Most companies close some Melds this way, and if your company never bills for maintenance, it's how all your Melds close. A verified Meld closes without a bill when it's marked No Bill Needed with a reason, in one of two ways:
- Automatically: if the Meld matches a No Bill Needed rule, verifying it also marks it No Bill Needed with the rule's reason, and the Meld moves straight to Closed. The Verify Work Completed flyout shows a callout before you verify, so you know the rule will apply.
- Manually: a Coordinator marks the Meld No Bill Needed and chooses a reason, from the Verify Work Completed flyout or from Ready to Bill with Mark No Bill Needed.
If a closed Meld should be billed after all, a Coordinator opens its Meld details and selects Mark as Bill Needed. The Meld leaves Closed and moves to Ready to Bill.
Articles for closing without a bill:
- Close Melds That Don't Need a Bill (Coordinators)
- Set Up No Bill Needed Rules (people who manage billing settings)
Billing a Meld
Billing a Meld applies if your company bills Owners or its own entities for maintenance. Verified Melds that aren't closed without a bill wait on the Ready to Bill page, which you open from Bill in the sidebar. A Coordinator builds a bill from the full cost of the Meld, with labor at your billing rate and any cost markup, then approves it. After the bill is finalized and synced to AppFolio, the Meld moves to Closed.
Articles for billing:
- Bill a Verified Meld (Coordinators)
- Set Your Labor Rates and Cost Markup (people who manage billing settings)
- Set Up and Use Billing Profiles (people who manage billing settings)
- Set Up Bill Sync to AppFolio (people who manage billing settings)
Finding Closed Melds
The Closed page lists closed Melds, whether they were billed or closed without a bill. Open it from Closed in the sidebar. You can search and sort the list, and open any Meld with View Meld. Every Agent can see the Closed page, and billing amounts are hidden from Agents who don't have permission to see bills.
Who Does What at Close-Out
Who handles each part of closing out completed Melds varies by company. The table below shows each responsibility, who usually handles it, and common variations.
| Responsibility | Who usually handles it |
|---|---|
| Verify Melds and review their costs | A Coordinator. At some companies, a Property Manager does this, or a Maintenance Supervisor reviews receipts and costs. |
| Bill Melds or close them without a bill | A Coordinator. At some companies, a Property Manager does this, or a Coordinator who handles only billing. |
| Set up No Bill Needed rules, labor rates, cost markup, billing profiles and bill sync | People who manage billing settings |
| Log time with work logs, so labor counts toward the full cost of a Meld | Technicians |
| Submit invoices for the work | Vendors |
| Review and record finished bills | Accounting, usually in AppFolio. Some companies also give Accounting access to review bills in Property Meld. |
| Receive the bill | The Owner, if your company bills Owners for maintenance |
Choose the Close-Out Flow That Fits Your Company
How a Meld closes after verification depends on whether your company bills for maintenance. The table below shows which No Bill Needed setting fits each situation. The setup articles are listed under each close-out step above. People who manage billing settings choose the setting in No Bill Needed Defaults, under Account Settings > Billing Settings.
| If your company... | No Bill Needed Defaults setting | After verification |
|---|---|---|
| Never bills for maintenance, for example because it owns the properties it manages | No Melds Need a Bill | Every Meld is marked No Bill Needed and moves to Closed. |
| Forwards Vendor invoices to Owners to pay, instead of paying Vendors itself | No Melds Need a Bill if you never pay Vendors directly, or It Depends on the Property for the properties of those Owners | Vendor invoices sync to AppFolio, where they go to the Owner. No bill is created in Property Meld. The Meld is marked No Bill Needed and moves to Closed. |
| Bills some properties and not others | It Depends on the Property, for the properties that are never billed | Melds on those properties move to Closed. Other Melds go to Ready to Bill. |
| Bills Owners or its own entities for all maintenance | Decide Case by Case | Every Meld goes to Ready to Bill, is billed and synced, then moves to Closed. |
A No Bill Needed rule set by property is saved on each property. To find properties quickly, filter the property list by Owner or property group. For how Vendor invoices sync to AppFolio, see Integration Settings - AppFolio.
Get Help With Closing Out Melds
If a Meld doesn't reach Closed, check that it's verified, and that it's billed or marked No Bill Needed. For anything else about closing out completed Melds, see Contacting Customer Support.