Rent Payment Date & First-Period Apportionment
Many commercial leases commence part-way through a month but pay rent on a fixed contractual day (for example, the 1st of each month), with the first instalment pro-rated for the broken first period. Lease102 can model this directly so the schedule matches the lease wording.
What this handles
When a lease starts mid-month but the rent is contractually paid on a fixed day, two things differ from a simple monthly schedule: the payment dates and a pro-rated first payment. Lease102 captures both.
Rent payment day
The day of the month rent is actually due (1-31), when it differs from the commencement day. Set it and every payment is dated on that day instead of the commencement anniversary. This applies to monthly, quarterly and annual leases that pay on a fixed day of the month; leases that pay on English or Scottish Quarter Days use the Quarter Day calendar instead, and the two are mutually exclusive. Setting 31 on a monthly lease paid in arrears means the last day of every month: payments fall on 31 October, 30 November, 28 or 29 February and so on, and the broken first and final periods run through their own payment date.
Pro-rated first period
If the lease apportions the first instalment for the broken period between the commencement date and the first payment date, Lease102 inserts a pro-rated opening payment for those days, then bills the full periodic rent on the fixed day thereafter.
First instalment on the commencement date
Some leases require that pro-rated first instalment to be paid on the commencement date itself, rather than on the first contractual rent day. Set First Instalment Timing to "On the commencement date" (on the lease form or the import review screen) and Lease102 treats it as a commencement payment: it is excluded from the discounted lease liability, which covers only the payments not paid at the commencement date (FRS 102.20.49), and added to the right-of-use asset as a payment made at or before commencement (FRS 102.20.47(b)), shown as a Period 0 settlement on the schedule. Set it to "On the first rent payment day" when the first instalment falls on the first rent day instead.
Explicit first payment date
When the lease names a specific first payment date that is not the derived rent day, set it directly. AI extraction reads it from the lease and pre-fills the editable "First Payment Date" field on the import review screen (it is also available on the lease form), so you can review or correct it before approving. It overrides the rent payment day for the first instalment and must be after the commencement date; leave it blank to derive the first payment from the rent payment day.
Pro-rata basis
Two apportionment bases are supported for pricing the broken first (and final) period, so the figure matches the landlord's invoice. "Calendar month fraction" charges the monthly rent multiplied by the days held over the days in that month. "365ths of annual rent" charges a daily rate of the annual rent divided by 365, the basis used by landlords who invoice daily apportionments. Set an organisation-wide default under Settings, Calculation Methodology; each lease can override it on the lease form or the import review screen. Where the lease wording explicitly states daily apportionment, Lease102 applies the 365ths basis automatically, and existing leases are never changed by editing the organisation default.
Worked example
A lease commencing 16 May 2026 that pays £425 per month in arrears on the 1st of each month:
How it is applied
Mid-month start, paid on the 1st
Day-count conventions
Separately, Lease102 already supports the day-count basis used to discount cash flows (actual/365, 30/360, actual/actual). The rent payment day controls when payments fall; the day-count convention controls how interest is accrued between them.