Save Money
Livable Pro: Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS) Software
Lumping utility fees in with rent from residents each month is an outdated and inaccurate way to recover your monthly costs. Livable lets you recover up to 90% of your utilities each month, increasing your NOI and making the entire billing process more efficient for you and residents.
What Sets Livable Apart from Other RUBS Platforms?
Before Livable, ratio billing companies served big property managers – they all had unit minimums that independent rental owners couldn’t meet. Livable works whether you have 1 unit or 100.
- Easy to use, DIY platform
- Works for ALL rental owners and property manager
- Affordable
- No hardware to install
- No commitment
- No unit minimums
Livable lets you control and modify your billing, even absorbing more of a bill if needed. With other platforms, you give up that visibility because the third party doesn’t understand the nuances of your property or Residents – and that’s a risk you don’t want to take.
Our Features
Fast & Simple Set Up Process
Set up on Livable’s RUBS platform is a breeze! Our easy-to-use system will have you set up and ready to send out Statements in no time flat. Choose to allocate utilities by occupancy, square foot, or simply by unit to ensure residents are paying their fair share of the utilities (use the recovery calculator to predict what your lease renewal figures might achieve), then take advantage of our additional features:
Payments
Configure payment for each property using a different credit card, and/or receive funds into unique bank accounts by property.
Billing Options
Opt individual units and/or residents out from usage or billing.
Manage Costs
Set utility caps to ensure a maximum cost to be charged for any utility.
Compliance
Apply Common Area Deductions and GoodWill Deductions to stay compliant in your billing.
To see how simple set up is, try it out in a free interactive demo version of Livable Pro.
Straightforward & Flexible Billing Options
Livable Pro’s platform makes it easy for independent rental owners and property managers to upload bills, create statements, send payment reminders, and charge and collect late fees for all residents within the portal. In addition, the platform offers these unique features:
Create one-time or recurring custom charges and credits for items like landscaping or pest control that don’t follow the traditional billing structure.
Collect payment from residents directly and post payments to their ledger.
Get reporting on accounts receivable in addition to program performance on our reimbursement dashboard.
On move out, get a prorated daily amount using historical data, ensuring residents are billed through their final date of possession of the unit.
Convenience
Easy-to-Use Resident Portals
Finding a great RUBS platform for your properties is only half the journey. You also need your residents to be able to easily understand and use the software. Livable Pro has you covered! Our Tenant Connect portal makes it easy for residents to pay their utility bills all in one place.
Easy to use auto-pay.
Our easy-to-set-up resident auto-pay means they’ll never miss a payment.
Paperless for more efficient billing.
Paperless billing is our default, but for those who request it, we can send out paper invitations and statements to communities as well.
Access to entire billing history.
Residents can see their allocation tables, proving how they were billed, what amount and why, which helps you stay in compliance with regulations.
Trend tracking on the dashboard.
Residents can monitor the efficiency of their unit (or the entire building), track trends, and improve utility use.
Complimentary Access to Compliance Documentation
Concerned about having the right forms to get started with RUBS at your properties? Our legal team has come up with the legal forms you need to inform and enroll your renters, protecting you and keeping you in compliance. Of course, you’re always welcome to have your own attorney review our lease addendum and we always encourage you to keep an eye on local ordinance changes and consult with your attorney when needed.
Livable Pro FAQs from Property Managers
Is RUBS legal?
Ratio Billing has different regulations in different markets, so we always encourage you to consult with an attorney before adopting a program. The main restriction is around making a profit on the resale of a utility, which is prohibited.
How do I know what to bill for?
The most common utilities to bill back are master-metered and consumption-based, such as water, sewer and trash.
Can I only bill for past months?
Yes. Our system does not allow you to bill for utility billing periods in advance of the billing cycle date.
How do I bill for more than one month at a time?
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What happens if someone doesn’t pay?
As with other bills, you can charge late fees or withhold owed money from deposits (check local and state laws). Collections assignment, small claims court, and eviction are also options in serious cases.
What is the timeline of important dates?
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What if I make a mistake with an allocation that went out to residents?
Users can post custom charges or credits to adjust a resident balance. Users can also void transactions, so long as the balance has not been paid.
What Our Customers Are Saying
Before learning about Livable via the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, we had no knowledge about the RUBS program as a whole. As a small Mom and Pop (mostly Mom) operation who ourselves are working individuals, and in an environment where the costs of water, sewer and other utilities climb annually and sometimes twice in a calendar year, Livable has been a game changer as represented in our bottom line! Livable's customer service has always been prompt and very responsive. Bravo to the entire Livable team who have made our lives as working property owners a lot easier! Great job guys!!!
Darlene P
Ever since the drought season has consistently happened in our state, I started to look for a program that would allow for a landlord, and also tenant, to some extent, share the responsibility of water conservation. I was not looking just to improve my revenue, but to be mindful of our drought situation as well. My property manager did quite a research and found Livable. It was an excellent choice. Livable utility management offers a conscious responsibility to the owners and to the renters to ensure that the utility ratio billing is fair for both landlords and tenants. Livable lives up to its simple program implementation. They are easy to connect with. I get immediate help if I need it. My suggestion to any multi-family building owner is to try Livable. Finally the master meters are slowly becoming obsolete. Water conservation is a new norm. Thank you, Livable.
Cora N
Livable is an invaluable partner to our organization. For years in our rent controlled City, the only way to increase bottom line was through unit turnover. Utility costs increased by as much as 20%/yr, which directly impacted NOI. With Livable, we are able to not only recoup most of our utility costs, but also are able to pass through future utility price increases. Additionally, we have seen an overall reduction in utility usage since our tenants are incentivized to conserve. The staff at Livable is amazing. Anytime I have had a question or needed assistance, they have immediately been there to help. If you’re reading this, you’re probably on the fence about partnering with them. I promise you’ll see an increase in your bottom line and wonder why you didn’t partner with them sooner.
Ryan S
Utility billing is a tricky part of any tenancy. Typically I covered water, sewer and garbage in multi unit buildings because they came as one bill. However the Livable system has helped me recoup water and sewer charges from a three unit property. I have found for the non-tech savvy like myself your system can be a bit daunting. I would tell anyone who is like myself in that aspect that your customer service is amazing. You have patiently helped me for the last few years, each time moving me further down the learning path. I now feel comfortable logging on and checking my property dashboard. Your system works well but your customer service is lights out!! I would highly recommend Livable to a property owner.
Neil
Livable has benefited my business through offsetting utility expenses through prorata distribution to the lessee's and during the process reduced water usage by 25%. I no longer have to worry about what the amount of the bill will be as the tenants also have
an interest in not wasting water. The Livable team is very proactive and always responds within 24 hours to my emails or voicemail messages. I would definitely recommend other landlords / lessors use Livable for the reasons cited above.
Ryan G
Technology Partners
