Terms & escalation
Define each lease charge and its escalation, with a year-by-year example.
A term is a single billable component of a lease — base rent, parking, storage. Escalation governs how that term increases over the lease, typically an annual step. Configured once, each future invoice is generated at the correct amount.
Example: 3% annual escalation
Base rent of $5,000/month escalating 3% annually:
| Lease year | Monthly base rent | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000.00 | initial rent |
| 2 | $5,150.00 | 5,000 × 1.03 |
| 3 | $5,304.50 | 5,150 × 1.03 |
You capture the $5,000 and the 3% once; the billing engine applies the escalation on each anniversary with no manual amendment.
Configure an escalation
- Open the lease and edit the term to escalate.
- Add an escalation.
- Choose percentage (e.g. 3%) or fixed amount.
- Set the frequency (e.g. every 12 months) and the effective date of the first increase.
- Save. The escalation applies automatically on subsequent billing runs.
Escalation is configured per term, so base rent can escalate 3% annually while a fixed parking charge remains flat.
Review scheduled billing
- Open the lease and review its terms and escalations.
- Confirm the billing schedule cadence and next billing date.
- The contract overview summarizes proration, escalation, and straight-line treatment.
Key concepts
- Frequency — the billing cadence of a term (monthly, quarterly, annually).
- Straight-line rent — recognizes rent evenly over the lease term even when the cash (billed) amount steps up, as required for GAAP lease accounting. Enable it where your reporting requires straight-line recognition; cash-basis billing is unaffected.