---
id: 6d6b0002
title: Adding Tenants and Managing Them
summary: Add tenants one at a time or all at once from a spreadsheet, find anyone fast, and read the graphs that show who has paid and who owes.
audience: Landlords and property managers
order: 2
keywords: tenants, add tenant, bulk upload, tenant directory, property page, graphs, rent balance
updated: 2026-10-23
cover: ../media/tenants-add-tenant.gif
---

# Adding Tenants and Managing Them

> **In one sentence:** open a building, click **Add Tenant** (or **Upload Tenants** for many people at once), and Mkodisha creates each tenant's account, house and contract for you.

## The simple version

Every building in Mkodisha has its own page. On that page is a list of the people who live there, called the **Tenant Directory**. To add someone, you type their name, phone number, house number and rent. That's it: they get a login, an email telling them how to sign in, and a contract ready to sign.

The building page also has pictures (graphs) that answer two questions at a glance: *"Did everyone pay?"* and *"Who still owes me money?"*

## Why Mkodisha does this better

- **One form creates everything.** The tenant's account, their house, their contract and a welcome email, in one step.
- **Hundreds at once.** Moving your records from Excel? Upload one spreadsheet instead of typing every tenant.
- **Arrears are visible.** Tenants who owe are marked *High Risk* in red, so nobody slips through.
- **Every house has a history.** Payments and invoices stay with the house, even after a tenant moves out.

## Where to find it

| What | Link |
|------|------|
| All your buildings | [mkodisha.com/app/properties](https://mkodisha.com/app/properties) |
| A building's Tenant Directory | Open a building, then `#tenant-directory` (for example `mkodisha.com/app/rental-units/<building id>#tenant-directory`) |
| Payments vs balances graph | `…/rental-units/<building id>#financial-overview-payments-vs-outstanding-balances` |
| Tenant rent payments table | `…/rental-units/<building id>#tenant-rent-payments-overview` |
| A building's rent balances | `…/rental-units/<building id>/rent-balance` |
| One tenant's profile | Click their name, or `mkodisha.com/app/tenant/<tenant id>` |

> **Tip:** every section has a small chain-link button next to its title. Click it to copy a link straight to that section of *your* building.

## Step 1: Open your buildings

![The Properties page: one card per building, then View Details opens it](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-properties-list.gif)

Click **Properties** in the menu. Each building has a card showing:

- **Method**: how its rent is paid (M-Pesa paybill, or a bank through Tuma). See [Collecting Payments](collecting-payments.md).
- **Building type**: apartment, bedsitter, and so on.
- **View Details**: opens the building page.
- **Automated Bills**: the invoices Mkodisha creates for this building by itself.
- **Balance**: who owes what in this building.
- **The gear button**: the building's settings.

To add a new building, click **Add Property**.

## Step 2: Read the building summary

![The coloured summary boxes at the top of a building page](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-property-summary.png)

The coloured boxes at the top of a building page tell the whole story:

| Box | Meaning |
|-----|---------|
| Total Units | How many houses are in the building |
| Occupied Units | Houses with a tenant |
| Empty Units | Houses ready to rent |
| Floors | Number of floors |
| *Month* Received rent | Rent actually paid this month |
| *Month* Expected rent | Rent that should come in this month |
| *Month* Balance | What is still owed this month (expected minus received) |
| Reported faults | Open repair requests. See [Maintenance](maintenance.md) |

## Step 3: Add one tenant

![Filling in the Add Tenant form for Naomi Chepkoech, house A11](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-add-tenant.gif)

1. In the **Tenant Directory**, click **Add Tenant**.
2. Fill in:
   - **House No.**: the tenant's house, for example `A11`. It must be a house number that is not already in this building (up to 5 characters).
   - **First name** and **Last name**.
   - **Mobile number**, for example `0712345678` or `+254712345678`.
   - **Email** (optional but recommended): Mkodisha sends their login details here.
   - **Bedrooms**, **Floor**, **Rent** and **Deposit**.
3. Click **Add Tenant**.

What Mkodisha does for you:

- Creates the tenant's login and emails them (see [how tenant accounts are created](dashboards.md#how-tenant-accounts-are-created)).
- Creates the house in the building and marks it occupied.
- Drafts a one-year contract, signed by you, waiting for the tenant's signature. See [Contracts](contracts.md).

**One more step: start their rent invoices.** Open the building's **Automated Bills** (Active Bills), click **Create Invoice**, choose the tenant, pick **Use tenant rent**, **Monthly**, and tick **Automatically generate future invoices**. See [Collecting Payments](collecting-payments.md#step-5-let-mkodisha-create-invoices-for-you).

## Step 4: Add many tenants from a spreadsheet

![Uploading a spreadsheet of two tenants with Upload Tenants](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-bulk-upload.gif)

1. In the **Tenant Directory**, click **Upload Tenants**.
2. Click **See Columns** to see what the file needs, or **Download Template** for a ready-made sheet.
3. Fill in one row per tenant and save it as **.xlsx** or **.csv**.
4. Drop the file in the box and click **Create Tenants**. You will see how many were added, and which rows (if any) had a problem.

| Required columns | Optional columns |
|------------------|------------------|
| `full_name` (or `first_name` and `last_name`), `email`, `mobile`, `house_no`, `floor`, `bedrooms`, `rent`, `deposit` | `national_id`, `passport_no`, `emergency_contact`, `occupation`, `lease_start_date`, `lease_end_date` |

Every person in the file gets their own account, house and welcome email, exactly as if you had added them one by one.

## Step 5: Find a tenant

![Searching the Tenant Directory for Kevin](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-directory-search.gif)

Click the magnifying glass above the Tenant Directory and type part of a name, house number or phone number. The other buttons let you **download** the list as a spreadsheet, **print** it, choose which **columns** to show, and **filter** it. Click a tenant's name to open their profile.

## The graphs, and how they help

### Payments vs outstanding balances

![Pointing at each month of the payments vs balances chart](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-financial-overview.gif)

Each month has two bars. **Orange** is rent paid. **Purple** is rent still owed. A month with a tall orange bar and no purple bar is a perfect month. A purple bar that grows month after month means arrears are building up, so it's time to follow up.

### Tenant rent payments overview

![The rent payments table with risk labels, then the Analytics tab](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-rent-payments-overview.gif)

A table of every invoice in the building. The progress bar shows how much of each invoice is paid. **Secure** (green) means paid; **High Risk** (red) means money is owed. The **Analytics** tab shows the same invoices as a chart, so you can see the pattern.

### A tenant's profile

![Scrolling through Kevin Mutua's profile: details, transactions, chart, invoices](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-tenant-profile.gif)

Click any tenant to see, on one page: their contact details and house, every **transaction** they have made and how they paid, a **financial overview** chart of paid vs owed, their **invoices**, and their **utility bills**.

### A house's page

![A house page: tenant, rent, deposit, meter numbers and invoice history](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-house-page.gif)

Each house has its own page with the current tenant, rent, deposit, meter numbers, photos, the money in and out for that house, and **every invoice ever raised for it**, even from earlier tenants.

### Rent balance

![The rent balance page for a building](https://articles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/tenants-rent-balance.png)

The **Balance** button on a building card opens **Rent Balance**: an overview of unpaid rent and a table of each tenant's balance. It's the page to open before you start reminder calls.

## Videos

[![How to Add a Property on Mkodisha: Step-by-Step Guide for Landlords](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7rzCh9Zw3L4/hqdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rzCh9Zw3L4)

[![How to Add a Tenant on Mkodisha: Landlord Guide to Managing Tenants](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zZdj3HL6a00/hqdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZdj3HL6a00)

[![Stop Adding Tenants One by One: Bulk Tenant Upload Made Simple](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mNfHhOGyNZc/hqdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNfHhOGyNZc)

[![How to Create a New Tenant on Mkodisha (the older V1 method)](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Jd1J_sj48zw/hqdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd1J_sj48zw)

## Quick answers

**It says the house number already exists.**
Each house number can only be used once per building. Use the tenant's actual house number if it isn't in Mkodisha yet, or check the Tenant Directory in case they were already added.

**Does the tenant need an email address?**
No, but without one Mkodisha cannot email them their login details. Give them their username and password yourself.

**What does "High Risk" mean?**
That tenant has an invoice that is not fully paid. It turns green (**Secure**) once it is paid.

**Can I add tenants from Excel?**
Yes. Use **Upload Tenants** with an .xlsx or .csv file. Download the template first so the columns are right.

**Where do I see one tenant's whole history?**
Click their name to open their profile: payments, invoices and bills are all there.

## Words to know

| Word | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Tenant Directory | The list of tenants in a building |
| House No. | The house's label in the building, like A3 |
| Deposit | Money paid at the start and kept until the tenant leaves |
| Arrears / balance | Rent that is owed and not yet paid |
| Bulk upload | Adding many tenants from one spreadsheet |

## Related guides

- [Landlord and Tenant Dashboards](dashboards.md)
- [Collecting Payments, Invoices and Active Bills](collecting-payments.md)
- [Contracts: Create, Renew and Expire](contracts.md)
- [Insights and Analytics](insights-and-analytics.md)