The Chintaro Quick Start Guide NZ 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 NZ 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

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:


The Main Menu is a nested menu structure that groups system functions in to logical groupings (EG Clients, Tenancies, Waiting List, etc.) All of the system functions are held within these groupings.




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.

 
Support is the button to click if you need help with something in Chintaro. In this screen find links to our online Knowledge Base which is your online User Manual, and you can also raise a ticket to send to support if you need help with something.

 


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.



TheExit  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 theQuick 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 the Client: Surname, Known As Name, Address, Tenancy Status, 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, click the curser on any Client 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 LENNON*

 




To view a Client record, double click on the row of the Client.


A similar technique can be used to filter the Search Screen to display all Client’s with a surname that begins with the same 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 filter a Search Screen in Chintaro is to use a Text Filter. 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 column to include all entries that by ‘Begins With’, ‘Contains’, ‘Does Not Contain’, etc.

 

 





You will see if a column has a filter applied by the column heading. If you do have a filter applied on a column heading, a funnel icon will be displayed 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.

Tenancies may include multiple people (EG a family, a couple) 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:

Title, Given Name(s), Surname

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).

Date of Birth: Enter the Client’s date of birth.

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 can be used to send SMS’s through Chintaro.




NOTE: All drop down lists are completely customisable for your Organisation, and are maintained through System Maintenance> Reference Tables.

 

The Demographics section is used to record demographic information about your Client, and also is used to record information such as WINZ number, Community Service Card Number, etc.




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 Client’s 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. Select the relevant fields to your organisation, otherwise leave these fields blank.


Tags: Opens the Tags pop up box to add or remove Tags.

 

SMS: Is used to send a single SMS to your Client.


Email: Is used to send a single Email to your Client.


Word Merge: Is used to create a single Word Merge for your Client.

Next of Kin: Is used to enter 2 instances of Next of Kin details for your Client.  


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. 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

To add a Property in Chintaro, from the Property Search Screen, click the Add Property button.


Enter in the following information in the General section:


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 Stanhope 15 for 15 Stanhope Grove).

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.)


 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 User Guide 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 enter at least one room in a Property in Chintaro. 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:


Number: The number field is used for a Rooming House or Shared Accommodation model of Property and is not required for a single household model.


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


Creating a Tenancy

In Chintaro, one Tenancy corresponds to one Tenancy Agreement. The Tenancy Agreement can cover one person or many.

In this example, Jimi Hendrix has a partner (Monika) who will be tenanted with him.

 


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 you will be tenanting the Client/Household in 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 there is a previous Rent Record for the Room, you must first close the current Rent Record off by entering an End Date, and then enter the new Rent Record in the line below the existing Rent Record (Start Date, Rent, Other Charges, Market Rent).


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 the white box next to the  icon, and the Rent Record will be saved.


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 and other charged will appear in the Tenancy Transactions ledger.



For more information on this topic see Solution: Tenancy Screen - Generating 14 Days Rent for one Tenancy


OR watch the eLearning Training Modules below: Generating Rent for a Single Tenant




Click on the PDF attachment below for a downloadable version of the Chintaro Quick Start Guide.