A Deep-Dive Guide to Yardi Breeze & AI Integration
When you log in, think of the Dashboard as your "Morning Coffee" screen. It highlights what requires immediate attention: Occupancy, Delinquency (Unpaid Rent), and Open Maintenance.
Never skip this. This is your lead tracking. Enter name, email, and source (e.g., Apartments.com) to track marketing ROI.
Convert Guest to Applicant. Run the credit check. Tip: Ensure income meets the 2.5x or 3x rent requirement before proceeding.
Generate the lease PDF. In LA, ensure you attach the RSO Addendum and Proposition 65 notices.
The final button click. This moves them to the Rent Roll and generates the first month's charge.
| Properties | Where you edit building details (Units, Floorplans). |
| Leasing | Guest cards, applications, and screenings. |
| Rent Control | Crucial for LA Tracking RSO registrations. |
| Maintenance | Work orders and inspections. |
Understanding the difference between "Charges" and "Receipts" is critical. A charge is a request for money; a receipt is the money itself.
The Rent Roll is the most important report you will run. It tells the financial story of the building at a specific moment in time.
What you *would* make if 100% full at market rate.
Difference between Market Rate and RSO capped rent.
Total unpaid charges aged 30/60/90 days.
"You owe me $2000." Usually automated on the 1st of the month.
"I received $2000." This zeroes out the balance.
Grouping receipts into a "Batch" that matches your bank statement.
Tenant logs into portal and submits "Leaking sink".
Manager approves request, converting it to a WO. Assigns specific "Plumbing" category.
Yardi emails the Work Order to the approved vendor (e.g., Joe's Plumbing).
Vendor uploads invoice. Manager approves invoice and closes the WO.
LA management is legally high-stakes. Pay attention to these specific fields:
You have 21 days to return deposits. Use the Deposit Disposition function in Yardi to calculate deductions and print the check. Warning: Under CA AB 12 (July 2024), security deposits are capped at 1 month's rent.
Use Custom Fields in the Unit setup to mark units as "RSO: Yes/No". This prevents accidental illegal rent increases.
Set up recurring charges for SCEP fees ($3.61/mo surcharge) so you don't have to manually post them every month.
Yardi holds the data. AI (like ChatGPT or Gemini) processes it. Here are three specific "Prompts" to use in your daily workflow.
The Scenario: You need to tell a tenant to clear their balcony of debris per the lease, but you want to be polite yet firm.
Result: Copy the AI output -> Paste into Yardi Correspondence -> Send.
The Scenario: You took over a new building and don't know the pet rules in the old leases.
Result: Update the "Pet Addendum" field in Yardi with the correct rules.
The Scenario: Yardi gives you a spreadsheet, but you need insights.
Result: You realize 2-bedroom units are struggling, so you offer a payment plan promo.
Direct links to official Yardi Breeze video resources. (External Links)
General dashboard navigation and setup.
Entering prospects and signing leases.
Payables, Receivables, and Recon.
Work orders and vendor management.