Rentracker Software Requirements Specification

This Software Requirements Specification (SRS) defines the scope, stakeholder needs, functional behavior, non-functional expectations, and control requirements for Rentracker, a multi-tenant SaaS property management platform serving landlords, agencies, staff, and tenants.

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Document Type
Software Requirements Specification
Product
Rentracker
Version
Draft v1.0
Architecture
Multi-Tenant SaaS
Technology Stack
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQLi
Access Control Model
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

1. Introduction & Product Overview

Rentracker centralizes leasing, billing, payment routing, maintenance, gate operations, utility calculations, financial reporting, and tenant engagement into a unified real estate operations platform.

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this SRS is to define system behavior, constraints, interfaces, and measurable requirements for a secure, scalable, and transparent property management platform.

1.2 Business Goals

  • Streamline rent collection, invoicing, and reconciliation workflows.
  • Improve transparency for tenants, owners, and property managers.
  • Digitize field operations, maintenance tracking, and access control.
  • Provide reliable analytics, compliance support, and branded documentation.

1.3 Assumptions & Dependencies

  • Managers configure billing rules, utility rates, and payment destinations.
  • External payment, messaging, and notification services are available.
  • Users access the platform through supported web and mobile-capable browsers.
  • Each tenant's data must remain logically isolated within its agency context.

2. Stakeholders, Roles & User Classes

Role Primary Responsibilities Key Access Scope
Super Admin Manage global SaaS settings, onboard agencies, configure utilities, monitor platform health. Cross-tenant administration, analytics, platform governance.
Field Sales Agent Track leads, onboard landlords/agencies, monitor conversions and commissions. Lead terminal, sales pipeline, personal commission dashboard.
Property Owner / Landlord Review portfolio performance, occupancy, compliance, ROI, and owner remittances. Portfolio-level financial and operational visibility.
Property Manager / Agency Configure properties, units, branding, billing, routing, and communications. Agency-level operational and financial administration.
Tenant View lease status, receive invoices, pay bills, and submit maintenance requests. Personal lease, billing, document, and ticketing portal.
Caretaker / Maintenance Log inspections, readings, field updates, and evidence-backed maintenance information. Mobile-friendly operational dashboard with evidence upload.
Security / Gateman Verify access, log visitors, validate QR codes, and record vehicles. Gate terminal with tenant access and visitor management features.

3. System Scope & Major Modules

Property & Configuration

  • Portfolio, building, and unit hierarchy management.
  • Flexible utility setup by unit and billing mode.
  • Custom branding for leases, receipts, and notices.

Financial & Accounting Engine

  • Invoice generation, payment routing, reconciliation, and receipt issuance.
  • Expense tracking, ledgering, escrow handling, and tax support.
  • Exports for external accounting workflows.

Tenant & Operations Experience

  • Tenant billing portal with status indicators and transparent calculations.
  • Maintenance ticketing with evidence and workflow tracking.
  • Inspection logging, meter reading capture, gate access, and visitor records.

4. Functional Requirements

The following requirement blocks convert the provided product notes into traceable, industry-style SRS statements.

FR-01

Tenant-Aware Property Hierarchy

Priority: High Module: Property Setup
Requirement The system shall allow managers to create and maintain a hierarchy of portfolio, building, and unit records within their assigned tenant space. Rationale Supports structured leasing, billing, reporting, and access control. Acceptance A manager can create, update, deactivate, and view properties and units without accessing another agency's records.
FR-02

Role-Based Access Control

Priority: High Module: Security
Requirement The system shall enforce RBAC so each role can access only the modules, records, and actions explicitly permitted for that role. Rationale Protects sensitive operational and financial information. Acceptance Unauthorized users cannot view, edit, approve, or export restricted information outside their role scope.
FR-03

Automated Invoicing & Reconciliation

Priority: High Module: Finance
Requirement The system shall generate recurring invoices for rent, utilities, and arrears, and automatically reconcile incoming payments against outstanding balances. Rationale Reduces manual billing effort and improves payment accuracy. Acceptance Successful payment matching updates the tenant ledger and generates a branded receipt.
FR-04

Dynamic Financial Routing

Priority: High Module: Payments
Requirement The system shall allow managers to configure approved payment destinations and automatically associate payments with the correct collection channel. Rationale Supports diverse agency collection models such as bank transfer and mobile money. Acceptance Payments recorded through enabled channels are traceable to the configured destination and reflected in reports.
FR-05

Utility Meter Reading Automation

Priority: High Module: Utilities
Requirement The system shall store raw meter readings, compare them to the previous reading, calculate usage, and compute utility charges based on configured rates. Rationale Provides transparent and repeatable billing for metered utilities. Acceptance Each billing cycle shows prior reading, current reading, computed usage, rate, and resulting charge.
FR-06

Evidence-Backed Maintenance & Inspections

Priority: Medium Module: Operations
Requirement The system shall allow tenants and caretakers to submit maintenance requests, inspection reports, and supporting photo evidence. Rationale Improves accountability, dispute resolution, and field-service visibility. Acceptance Users can create tickets, attach images, and track workflow states such as pending, in progress, and resolved.
FR-07

Tenant Self-Service Portal

Priority: High Module: Tenant Portal
Requirement The system shall provide tenants with a portal to view lease status, due dates, billing breakdowns, documents, payment options, and ticket history. Rationale Creates a frictionless and transparent tenant experience. Acceptance The portal displays current balances, status indicators, and downloadable related documents for the authenticated tenant only.
FR-08

Gate Access & Visitor Logging

Priority: Medium Module: Security Terminal
Requirement The system shall allow gate personnel to verify tenant access status, log visitors, validate QR-based access, and record vehicle information. Rationale Supports physical access control and operational accountability. Acceptance Security staff can confirm tenant lockout state and create a visitor entry linked to visit details.
FR-09

Financial Reporting & Exports

Priority: Medium Module: Analytics
Requirement The system shall provide dashboards and exportable reports for cashflow, occupancy, arrears, taxes, expenses, and owner remittances. Rationale Enables timely decisions and supports downstream accounting processes. Acceptance Authorized users can generate role-relevant summaries and export report data in formats suitable for third-party accounting software.
FR-10

Field Sales Tracking

Priority: Low Module: Sales
Requirement The system shall track leads, conversions, and commission calculations for field sales agents. Rationale Measures business development performance and incentives. Acceptance Sales agents can view their assigned leads, conversion status, and computed commissions.

5. External Interface Requirements

User Interfaces

  • Responsive web interface for desktop and mobile-capable browsers.
  • Dedicated simplified views for tenant, caretaker, field agent, and security roles.
  • Status-driven dashboards with clear indicators for due, paid, overdue, and ticket progress.

Software Interfaces

  • Payment gateway integration for card, bank transfer, and mobile money collections.
  • Messaging integration for SMS, WhatsApp, and email notifications.
  • Secure role-specific API endpoints between front-end modules and PHP back-end services.

Communication Interfaces

  • HTTPS shall be used for browser-to-server communication.
  • API requests shall be authenticated and scoped to tenant context.
  • Document and photo uploads shall support secure transfer and controlled retrieval.

6. Non-Functional Requirements

ID Category Requirement Statement
NFR-01 Security The platform shall isolate tenant data and enforce authenticated, role-scoped access to all protected resources.
NFR-02 Availability The platform should support continuous access for operational users, including finance, tenant, and gate workflows.
NFR-03 Performance Core dashboard, invoice listing, and tenant billing views should respond fast enough for daily operational use under normal load.
NFR-04 Usability User interfaces shall prioritize clarity, low training effort, and mobile-friendly access for field-based roles.
NFR-05 Auditability The system shall record auditable events for billing, payments, access checks, ticket updates, and configuration changes.
NFR-06 Scalability The multi-tenant architecture shall support onboarding multiple agencies without compromising logical isolation or global governance.
NFR-07 Maintainability The solution should preserve modular role-based endpoints and separable business modules to simplify future enhancements.
NFR-08 Compliance The platform shall support financial record retention, tax tracking, and document generation suitable for agency and landlord compliance workflows.

7. Data, Security & Governance Requirements

Core Data Entities

  • Agency, portfolio, building, unit, lease, tenant, owner, user account.
  • Invoice, payment, receipt, ledger entry, expense, remittance, tax record.
  • Meter reading, inspection report, maintenance ticket, visitor log, vehicle record.

Security Controls

  • Authentication shall precede access to protected data and operational features.
  • Authorization decisions shall be enforced server-side for every role-restricted action.
  • Evidence uploads and documents shall be accessible only to permitted users.

Audit & Traceability

  • Financial actions should be traceable to actor, time, amount, and affected record.
  • Configuration changes should be attributable to the responsible administrator or manager.
  • Operational evidence should remain linked to the originating ticket, inspection, or reading.

8. Acceptance Summary

Minimum Release Readiness Criteria

  • All core roles can authenticate and access only their authorized features.
  • Managers can configure properties, units, billing settings, and branded documents.
  • Tenants can view invoices, make payments, and submit maintenance tickets.
  • Monthly invoicing and automated reconciliation complete without manual ledger inconsistencies.
  • Meter readings generate transparent utility charges with evidence support.
  • Analytics and exports are available to authorized owners and managers.

Out of Scope for This Draft

  • Detailed UI wireframes and screen-by-screen mockups.
  • Infrastructure sizing, hosting topology, and deployment pipeline specifications.
  • Vendor-specific API contract details and third-party commercial terms.