Yardi has become the go-to software for property managers, accountants, leasing agents, and asset managers across the real estate industry. But while it’s powerful, the system can feel like a maze if you’re just getting started.
This deep dive into how to use Yardi will help you do your job more efficiently. From logging in and navigating the dashboard to managing rent rolls, processing invoices, and running reports, this Yardi software user guide walks you through everything you need to know before getting started with Yardi.
Let’s get started.
Yardi Training for Beginners: Where to Start?
Getting started with Yardi can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re stepping into the system without formal training. But once you understand the structure and the key areas relevant to your role, things begin to click into place quickly.
Understanding Yardi
Yardi isn’t just one single app. It’s a flexible platform, and companies configure it to match their portfolio type and internal processes. That means two users at different companies, or even in different departments, might see entirely different menus and dashboards. Knowing that upfront saves you the stress of expecting a one-size-fits-all experience.
First Steps for New Users
When you’re just getting started with Yardi, a few small actions can save you a lot of confusion down the line. Your first goal should be to get familiar with the specific version and setup your company uses, because no two configurations are exactly the same. That’s why it’s important to understand what tools are available to you and how they’re customized for your role.
Start by taking care of these basics:
When you’re just getting started with Yardi, a few small actions can save you a lot of confusion down the line. Your first goal should be to get familiar with the specific version and setup your company uses, because no two configurations are exactly the same. That’s why it’s important to understand what tools are available to you and how they’re customized for your role.
Start by taking care of these basics:
- Get your login credentials from your system admin or supervisor.
- Identify the modules you’ll be working on. Common ones include Residential, Commercial, PayScan, Maintenance, and General Ledger.
- Ask for a quick orientation; even a 10-minute walkthrough can prevent hours of guesswork.
User Role Matters
Most new users spend the first few days learning how their role interacts with the system. Leasing agents typically focus on resident records, renewals, and unit availability. Accounting staff are more likely to spend time on payables, bank reconciliations, and reporting. If you’re a property manager, you’ll likely touch on multiple areas, including leasing, maintenance, and financial oversight.
If your company offers onboarding videos, written guides, or group training sessions, make time for them. These often cover company-specific workflows that aren’t explained in generic Yardi resources. You’ll learn how your team names reports, how approval chains are set up, and how to avoid the most common user errors.
Tips for Building Confidence
Start by learning to search effectively. Whether you’re trying to find a tenant ledger, a unit, or a batch of posted charges, the search tools are quite helpful, but only if you understand the fields.
Also, get comfortable bookmarking your most-used screens. Yardi can feel like a maze of menus at first, so creating shortcuts for your go-to pages saves time. Every role has its own rhythm, and once you learn yours, navigating the system becomes second nature.
Navigating Yardi Dashboard
Once you log in, you will land on the dashboard. Think of it as your home base. The layout varies based on your role, but most dashboards include:
- A property or entity selector
- Quick links to reports and tasks
- Alerts for approvals, expiring leases, and pending work orders
- Menus for General Ledger, Payables, Receivables, Leasing, and Maintenance
The first key to mastering how to use Yardi is to get familiar with the dashboard structure. If you’re working in accounting, the “Payables” tab will be your daily stop. If you’re a leasing agent, you’ll live in “Residential” or “CRM.” And if you’re a property manager, you’ll be toggling between several modules depending on the day.
Tip: Bookmark key reports and screens you visit daily to avoid clicking through layers of menus.
Setting Up Properties in Yardi
Setting up a new property in Yardi is a task usually handled by admin users or system managers, but understanding the structure helps everyone.
Each property is defined by several layers:
- Property record: Basic details like address, type, and ownership
- Unit types: Templates for apartments, suites, or spaces
- Units: Individual rentable spaces tied to the property
- Entities: Legal or financial structures that own or manage the property
Setting up properties correctly from the start matters because everything, from leases to rent charges, expenses, and reports, ties back to the core setup.
If you’re responsible for this task, double-check the chart of accounts, management fees, and banking setup before proceeding. It’s still important to understand how your property is structured, even if you’re a daily user, so you can troubleshoot or escalate issues correctly.
How to Enter Data in Yardi
Data entry is part of every role, from leasing to accounting. This is also where many users trip up, not because the tasks are hard, but because they don’t know where the data ends up.
Common data entry tasks include:
- Posting rent payments or late fees
- Adding new lease records
- Logging maintenance work orders
- Uploading invoices through PayScan
- Entering journal entries or deposits
The trick to mastering how to enter data in Yardi is consistency. Use standardized naming conventions, double-check your dates, and always verify property codes before saving.
For those working in leasing or admin roles, make use of “recurring” entries and templates to reduce errors. For accountants, look out for unbalanced entries or open batches.
Getting Familiar with Yardi PayScan Workflow
Yardi PayScan is the system’s invoice automation module. It allows you to digitize and route invoices for approval before payment. If you’re in accounting or operations, you’ll likely interact with PayScan daily.
Here’s how the general Yardi PayScan workflow looks:
- Scan or drag-and-drop invoice PDFs into PayScan.
- Assign the invoice to the appropriate property and vendor.
- Apply expense coding, including GL account, property, and unit (if applicable).
- Route the invoice for approval based on user roles and dollar limits.
- Once approved, the invoice is posted and ready for payment.
Incorrect coding is a common pitfall among PayScan users. If GL codes or property designations are wrong, it affects reporting and delays payments. Always verify your coding before submitting an invoice.
Yardi Accounting Basics
Yardi includes a full accounting engine. Whether you’re doing property-level bookkeeping or running consolidated reports, understanding the basics helps prevent headaches later.
Here’s what most accounting staff interact with:
- General Ledger: Journal entries, adjusting entries, and recurring transactions
- Accounts Payable: Vendor setup, invoice processing, and check runs
- Bank Reconciliation: Matching bank transactions and verifying cleared entries
- Owner Draws: Distributions based on available funds
- Intercompany Transactions: Allocating shared expenses between properties or entities
Even if you’re not in accounting, it’s useful to understand how rent charges and fees flow into the GL. This helps when tracking down errors, correcting lease setups, or explaining unusual balances to residents or owners.
Yardi Reporting Tutorial
Yardi offers built-in reports for every module. The trick is knowing which one to run and how to filter it correctly.
If you’re a property manager, your go-to reports might include:
- Rent Roll
- Delinquency Aging
- Unit Availability
- Work Order Summary
- Budget vs. Actual
For accounting and ownership teams, common reports include:
- General Ledger Activity
- Trial Balance
- Owner Statement
- Bank Reconciliation Reports
- Variance Reports
You can also create custom report batches to send to stakeholders on a regular schedule. If your firm uses Yardi Spreadsheet Reporting (YSR), even more customization is possible using Excel templates connected to live data.
Tip: Learn to use “Report Scheduler” to automate recurring tasks. It’s one of the most underutilized features in the system.
Building Good Habits
Yardi has a learning curve, but it also rewards good habits. Whether you’re learning the property management software how-to or transitioning from another system, here’s how you can build long-term proficiency:
- Check your work: Run a report after entering data to verify results.
- Stay consistent: Don’t reinvent processes. Follow internal workflows.
- Document exceptions: If you make manual changes, note why.
- Ask questions: Yardi has depth; learning from others is part of the process.
- Stay updated: System upgrades can shift menu paths or behavior. Make time to read internal release notes.
Unlike simpler tools, Yardi is built to support portfolios of every size and complexity. That means once you get the hang of it, how to use Yardi is no longer a concern for you.
Summing Up
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how to use Yardi without getting lost in tabs and codes, know this: it’s not just you.
Yardi is a robust system, but once you truly understand its structure, it becomes a powerful tool for running and managing properties efficiently.
Whether you’re setting up a new lease, coding an invoice, checking a budget, or just trying to find the right report, every task connects back to how the system is configured and used by your team. This Yardi software user guide isn’t the end of your training, but it’s a solid starting point.
Mastering the dashboard, understanding the accounting flow, and building habits around clean data entry will take you far. And the more you use Yardi with purpose, the more value you’ll get out of it.
If your team is still building out workflows, refining training, or rolling out new modules, this guide can be your baseline. And if you’re part of an organization that’s ready for more advanced tips or role-based optimization, it might be time to invest in deeper process mapping or training.
