Chintaro Quick Start Guide
The Chintaro Quick Start Guide is a reference document for existing Chintaro users that provides step by step instructions on performing 3 main functions; how to set up a Client (and a household), how to add a Property, and how to tenant a Client (or household) in to a Property.
This Chintaro Quick Start Guide is divided in to 7 sections,
and covers the following:
1. Home Screen & Navigation
2. Using Search Screens in Chintaro
3. Adding a Client
4. Creating a Household
5. Adding a Property
6. Creating a Tenancy
7. Generating Rent for a new Tenant
As the Chintaro Quick Start Guide NZ focusses on the essential fields required to complete the task, this document highlights the corresponding eLearning Training Module and the relevant Solution where you will be able to expand your knowledge on the section.
Chintaro Home Screen
When you first log in to Chintaro, you will see the Home Screen:
The Home Screen is divided in to a number of sections.
Each group has 3 dots after it (known as an ellipsis). When clicked, the Menu will change to a Sub-Menu for that group. For example, clicking on the Clients Menu button will take you to the Clients Sub-Menu where the various Client functions are held.
The Toolbar
enables you to jump quickly to the most commonly used screens such as the Home
screen, add a Maintenance Task screen, the Client search screen, Waiting List
search screen, etc.
The Exit Button (
) on the Toolbar will close the current screen. From the Home
Screen, the Exit Button will close
the system. On Sub-Menus, the Exit
Button will close the current screen and return to the previous Menu.
The Control Panel is
used to get to places within the system quickly. Double clicking on any entry
within these fields will take you directly to that screen.
For more information on this topic see Solution: The Home Screen and Navigation in Chintaro
OR watch the eLearning Training Module below: Getting Around Chintaro
Using Search Screens in Chintaro
Search screens are widely used in Chintaro to help you find the information that you need quickly and easily. The process for searching in Chintaro is the same across Clients, Tenancies, Properties, Waiting Lists, Notes, and all other Search Screens.
Many Search Screens can be accessed by clicking the Quick Link in the toolbar, for example, the Client Search Screen can be access by clicking the 
Quick Link.
This screen contains a record of all of the Clients who are currently active in Chintaro. Each horizontal row represents one Client, and each vertical column is a particular piece of information about that client: Surname, Known As Name, Address, Tenancy Status, CRN, Contact Phone Numbers, etc.
You can sort and filter the data on the Search Screens like you would with a
Microsoft Excel spread sheet. You are
able to sort or filter one column, or many columns.
To filter
the Search Screen to a specific Client, sing left click on any Surname in the
Surname column, and begin to type the Surname of the client you are looking
for. What you have typed will appear underneath the words ‘Manage Clients’:
Press Enter to filter the Search Screen:
*Note: The
filter applied is Active = True AND Surname Like HENDRIX*
To view a Client record, double click on the row of the Client.
The same technique can be used to filter the Search Screen to display all Clients with a surname that begins with a letter. For example, if you want to search for all Clients whose surname begins with M, type M over any entry in the Surname column, and press enter:
*Note: The filter applied is Active = True AND Surname Like M*
Another way to search in Chintaro is to use Text Filters. To use Text Filters, click on the black arrow in the column heading and go down to Text Filters.
Clicking on any entry in Text Filters will bring up a
dialogue box, where you will be able to filter the Clients by ‘Begins With’,
‘Contains’, ‘Does Not Contain’ etc.You will
see if a column has a filter applied, as the column heading you have filtered
will have a funnel icon on the right hand side (instead of just a black arrow
appearing on non-filtered columns). 
To
clear all applied filters and go back to the default view, click the Show All function, at the top of the screen. 
For more information on this topic see Solution: Using Search Screens in Chintaro
OR watch the eLearning Training Module below: Search Screens
Adding a Client
In Chintaro, Clients are all the people that you deal with. Clients are people who are currently Tenants, and Clients are also people who are not currently tenanted but are waiting to be Tenants. Clients are people who are related to Tenants (EG children of Clients), or people that have been tenanted with your Organisation in the past. Each individual you deal with must have their own Client record.
From the Client Search Screen, to add a Client, click the Add Client button.
Households may include multiple people (EG a family, a couple, single parent, friend, etc.) but can have only
one Primary Tenant. This doesn’t give any additional
rights/responsibilities to the Primary Tenant.
The first step is to add the person who will be the Primary Tenant. Enter in the following information:
AKA (Also Known As): If the Client is known by another name.
Referral: Records the service/Organisation that referred the Client to your Organisation, if applicable.
Registration Date: Is the date that your Organisation first came in to contact with your Client (EG date on an application form).
Address: The current address of the Client. Address will be automatically populated by Chintaro when the Client becomes tenanted.
Contact Phones: Usually a mobile phone number, which is used to send SMS’s
through Chintaro.
Email: Is used to send Emails to through Chintaro.
NOTE: All drop down lists are completely customisable for your
Organisation and are maintained through System
Maintenance> Reference Tables.There are lots of other drop downs and fields which you may or may not use. Consult the Client General Information Solution for an explanation of all fields.
The Demographics section is used mainly for statistical reporting. If this information is not used by your Organisation, leave this section blank.
The Income section is used to record the Clients income, permissions and is used to calculate the amount of rent they will pay.
To manually add a Client’s income, click the Add Income button:
Fixed Amount: Will display the weekly Centrelink Rates for the selected Income Type.
Rate: Is the
percentage of Income Type that will be used to assess rent.
Start Date: Enter the Start Date of the Income, and End Date: If the income is ongoing, leave the End Date blank.
Enter the Client’s Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) and Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) in Income Section. If you have
received Proof of Income, tick the
box. If you have received permission from the Client for Centrepay Deduction,
Centrelink Income Authority and CRA
Changes (Electronic Verification of Rent), tick the applicable boxes.
The Support Agencies Section is used to record any agencies currently providing support to your Client.
To add a Support Agency, click the Add Agency button. If the Support Agency is not in the list, you
are able to type the Organisation’s name in the Support Agency field and add it
manually.
The Tags section is where you are able to add specific characteristics to group Clients together in Chintaro. Double click in the Tags section to add one or multiple Tags to a Client. (To add more Tags to the system, go to System Maintenance> Reference Tables> Tags.
The Alerts section is similar to the Tags section (above), except Alerts are more about potential risks associated with a Client. To add Alerts, double click in the Alerts field and double click on the Alerts you want to add to the Client Record.
The Related Links section allows you to link information that is stored on your computer network to a Client record in Chintaro. Enter a Link Name, and press <CTRL> + K to add a link.
The Notes section
creates a historical record of the interactions your Organisation has with your
Client. Click the Add Note button to
add notes and tasks for your Client. From a Client Note, you are able to create
Action Notes, and assign Action Tasks such as a follow up or Client Visit
Required to yourself or another Chintaro user. These tasks will appear on the
front screen of Chintaro for the person to whom they are assigned. Some notes
are generated automatically by the system.
The Client Record has a number of Additional
Data and Functions at the top of the screen:
Barring: Is used to bar a Client from being tenanted for a period of time, or indefinitely.
Housing History: Is used to enter more detailed data regarding the Client’s housing history.
Tags: Opens the Tags pop up box to add or remove Tags.
SMS: Is used to send a single SMS’s to your Client.
Email: Is used to send a single Email to your Client.
Word Merge: Is used to create a Word Merge for your Client.
Residency Links: Is used to record how long a client has lived in a Local
Government Area (LGA).
Make Booking: Is used to book rooms for Out Care Organisations.
Next of Kin: Is used to enter 2 instances of Next of Kin details for Clients.
Confirmed: Is used to record confirmations that have been made by the Client, such as confirmations that you have obtained consent or have signatures for.
Income Details: Displays the default screen view.
Waiting List: Is used to create a Waiting List entry.
Create/View Tenancy: Is used to create/view a Tenancy.
For more information on this topic see Solution: Adding a Client
OR watch the eLearning Training Modules below: Adding a Client, Client Tags and Alerts, Client Notes and Actions, Client Incomes.
Creating a Household
Any Related (Non Primary) Clients must have their own Client Record. From the Client Search screen, click Add Client and enter the General Information about the Client to their Date of Birth.
To link the Related Tenant to the Primary Tenant, tick the ‘No’ box in the Primary Tenant Yes/No section.
Select the Primary Tenant from the pop up box so the Primary Tenant is highlighted black. Click Update.
Primary Tenant
will automatically populate from the pop up selection in the previous step. Select the Relationship
to Tenant between the Non Primary and Primary Tenant, and tick the box to
indicate if the Non Primary Tenant is a child or a student.
Complete the Client Record for the Related Tenant, adding any Income that the Non Primary Tenant receives. Repeat the process for other Related Tenants in the household.
Exit the record to save, and the Related Tenants will now appear on the Primary Tenant’s record in the Household section.
For more information on this topic see Solution: Setting up a Household
OR watch the eLearning Training Modules below: Client Households
Adding a Property
From the Main Menu, click Properties> Manage Properties, then click the Add Property button in the blue buttons at the top of the screen.
Enter the following General
information:
Property Name: As the Property Name is used for sorting purposes on search screens, it is recommended that you name your Properties by the street name, followed by the number of the Property (EG Smith 198 for 198 Smith Street).
Online Date: The date the Property came in to your Organisation’s
possession.
Returned Date: The date the Property will be returned if Government owned.
Target Group: Identifies the sector of the community that this Property is
targeted for (EG Homeless, Youth, Men’s Housing, etc.)
Program: Identifies which part of your business the Property is used for (EG Group Housing, Rooming House, Crisis Accommodation, etc.)
Garage/Car Port: Identify vehicle space at a Property. Can be used to tie
back to the Car Owner tick box on
Client Details screen
Property Manager / Owner: Added to the system via the Properties sub menu.
NOTE: There are
lots of other drop downs and fields which you may or may not use. Consult the Property General Information Solution for an explanation of all fields.
Rooms
Rooms in Chintaro indicate a Tenantable
Unit, or One Tenancy Agreement.
One Room in Chintaro equates to one Tenancy Agreement, and has nothing to do with the number of physical rooms in a Property. You must have at least one room in a Property. If you don’t enter at least one Room, you cannot create a Tenancy in that Property.
If you have a Rooming House or shared accommodation model of Property, where
you have one Property and many Rooms each with their own Tenancy Agreement,
enter the number of Rooms able to have a Tenancy individually.
If you have a 2 or 3 bedroom Property and you have one household in that Property, you just want to create one Room because there will only be one Tenancy Agreement for that Property.
To add a Room to a Property, click the Add Room button:
Room Type: The Room Type describes the type of Property or room. Room Type must be entered, and is selected from the drop down list.
Current Rent: Can be entered if you are charging a fixed rate for the room, regardless of who the Tenants are (or who the household is). This is usually entered when a Tenancy is created.
Click Update to
save the Room. The newly added Room will show as ‘Vacant Tenantable’ in the
Room Status column. Upon tenanting a Client in the Room, the status will become
‘Occupied’.
For more information on this topic see Solution: Property Screen - Rooms
OR watch the eLearning Training Modules below: Rooms
Creating a Tenancy
In Chintaro, one Tenancy corresponds to one Tenancy Agreement. The Tenancy
Agreement can cover one person or many.
Open the Primary Tenant’s Client Record and click the Create Tenancy button. A blank Tenancy Record will open, where most of the fields
are disabled. You need to have 3 pieces of information before you can activate
a Tenancy in Chintaro.
These are:
1. Tenancy Start Date: What is the first date that the Tenant will pay rent?
2. Select Room: Which Property/Room will the Client/household be tenanted in?
3. Edit Rent: How much rent will the Tenant be paying?
1. Enter the Tenancy Start Date: The Tenancy Start Date will default to today’s date, but you will enter the first date that the Tenant will be charged rent. If you are creating the Tenancy record in Chintaro after the Tenancy started, you should always enter the Tenancy Start Date as the first date the Tenant was charged rent.The Rent Charged To date defaults to the date before the Tenancy Start Date. Do not change this date – the Rent Charged To date should always be the day before the Tenancy Start Date.
2. Select Room: Click the Select Room button and select the Room from the vacant Rooms pop up. Click Update to save.
3. Edit Rent: Unless the Room selected is a new Room in a Property, the previous Rent Record will be displayed in the Edit Rent section of the Tenancy Record.
If this is a new Room which has not have a previous Tenancy, enter:
The Start Date as
the same date as the Tenancy Start Date.
Leave the End Date blank.
The weekly rent amount in the Rent column.
Any Additional Charges (Furniture,
Management, Garden, Utilities) if applicable.
The Market Rent
for the Property in the Market Rent
column.
Click any of the white boxes below this line to save the Rent Record.
Activate the Tenancy
When you have selected a Room, entered a Tenancy Start Date and entered a Rent Record, you are able to activate the Tenancy. Click Activate.
For more information on this topic see Solution: Creating a Tenancy
OR watch the eLearning Training Modules below: Create a Tenancy
Generating Rent for a New Tenant
When creating a new Tenancy, you will want to generate the first 14 days rent for your Tenant. Usually, rent will be generated in bulk for all Tenants but there are times when you will want to manually generate the rent individually for single Tenants. Click Generate Rent.
The Generate Rent pop up will appear:
Rent Calculated To: Will be the date before the Tenancy Start Date.
Calculate Rent To: The Date the
Tenant will be charged rent to.
Days Rent: Defaults to either 7 or
14 days depending on your System Preference (can be set via System
Maintenance> Reference Tables> Parameters> RentCalculationDays).
Click Generate. The Rent Charge will appear in the Tenancy Transactions
ledger.
OR watch the eLearning Training Modules below: Generating Rent for a Single Tenant