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28 Ranked #28 on Kerfuffle
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End-of-tenancy admin is costing your team 3 hours per checkout. The Depositary takes it back.

Built by letting agents who spent two decades on both sides of the deposit dispute. The Depositary removes up to 90% of end-of-tenancy admin, returns deposits a third faster, and gives your landlords and tenants a transparent process they can actually trust.

90%
Admin reduced
up to 90% of end-of-tenancy admin eliminated
3h
Hours saved per tenancy
vs standard manual process
1/3
Faster deposit returns
disputes resolved and funds released sooner
52
Kerfuffle reviews
4.9 star average from UK letting agents
The end-of-tenancy problem

Your checkout process runs on email chains, PDFs, and one person in the office who knows the deposit scheme login.

End-of-tenancy is the highest-friction moment in the lettings lifecycle. Every checkout involves gathering checkout reports, cross-referencing check-in inventories, calculating deductions, chasing contractors for quotes, and negotiating with tenants and landlords who are both looking at different paperwork. Most letting teams have built a process that more or less works -- and it takes three hours of admin per tenancy to hold it together.

"We spend more time on checkouts than on new instructions. It shouldn't be this way."

The checkout process requires coordination across inventory reports, deposit scheme portals, landlord communications, contractor quotes and tenant negotiations -- all at the same time, often with a hard deadline. The Depositary centralises every step in one dashboard so your team knows where every checkout stands without the daily email check-in.

"Every time there's a dispute the tenant thinks we're biased and the landlord thinks we're soft."

When the deposit process happens over email, both parties only see what you choose to share with them. The Depositary gives tenants and landlords their own view of the same checkout data -- the same photos, the same meter readings, the same deduction breakdown. Transparency is built into the process, not bolted on at the dispute stage.

"Our checkout reports sit in inboxes and shared drives. Pulling everything together for a dispute is a nightmare."

When the inventory clerk sends the checkout report, it goes into email and may never surface again until a dispute is raised weeks later. The Depositary automatically pulls checkout reports, meter readings and photographs directly from inventory providers -- so the evidence trail is complete before anyone has to ask for it.

What The Depositary does

Six ways it removes the admin from every checkout on your books

Built by agents who logged the exact points where the process broke down and built tools for each one. Every feature maps to a real checkout workflow problem.

1

Centralised checkout dashboard

Every tenancy approaching its end date appears in one dashboard. Your team can see the stage each checkout is at, what's outstanding and who is responsible -- without digging through email or calling the inventory company.

2

Automatic inventory integration

The Depositary connects directly with Inventory Base, Inventory Hive, ACT Property, Hinch PM, Imfuna, TouchRight and No Letting Go. Checkout reports, meter readings and photos pull in automatically -- no manual file transfers, no chasing the clerk for the PDF.

3

TDS and MyDeposits integration

Full integration with both TDS Insured, TDS Custodial, MyDeposits Insured and MyDeposits Custodial. Raise repayment requests and submit dispute evidence directly from The Depositary -- no separate scheme logins required.

4

Transparent tenant and landlord portal

Tenants and landlords each get their own view of the checkout process. They see the same evidence your team is working from -- so when deductions are proposed, the conversation starts from shared facts rather than competing versions of events.

5

Deduction negotiation workflow

Propose deductions, collect landlord approval, present to the tenant and record acceptance or counter-offers -- all within the platform. Every communication is logged, timestamped and attached to the tenancy record for audit purposes.

6

Web-based, any device, anywhere

No software to install. The Depositary runs in the browser on desktop, tablet and mobile. Your team can progress checkouts from the office, from home or from a property visit. No waiting for IT to set up a new licence.

How the checkout process changes

From notice served to deposit returned -- five steps with The Depositary

The same steps happen in every checkout. The difference is whether your team is coordinating them manually across five systems or managing them from one platform in a fraction of the time.

1

Notice triggers the checkout

When a tenancy moves to notice, The Depositary opens the checkout record automatically. The dashboard shows the notice period, the checkout date and the deposit scheme details -- everything your team needs before the checkout even happens.

2

Inventory data pulls in

The checkout report, meter readings and condition photos pull directly from your inventory provider -- Inventory Base, Inventory Hive, No Letting Go and the others. No email, no PDF attachment, no manual upload. The evidence is in the system before anyone has to ask.

3

Deductions are calculated and proposed

Your team reviews the checkout evidence, proposes any deductions with supporting evidence, and sends to the landlord for approval -- all within the platform. The landlord approves or amends. Everything is recorded.

4

Tenant receives a transparent breakdown

Once deductions are agreed with the landlord, the tenant receives their portal access with the full breakdown -- photos, costs and proposed split. They can accept, query or counter-propose. Your team handles the negotiation in the platform rather than over email.

5

Deposit released via the scheme

When all parties agree, The Depositary submits the repayment request directly to TDS or MyDeposits. Funds are released a third faster than the standard manual process. The tenancy closes with a complete audit trail attached to the record.

Kerfuffle member offer

Get your first checkouts through The Depositary at a preferential Kerfuffle member rate

The Depositary offer Kerfuffle members a structured trial that puts the platform through real checkouts on your live book -- so you can see the time saving before you commit to a full rollout. Book via Kerfuffle and the trial is set up with your existing inventory providers already configured.

  • Preferential member pricing for Kerfuffle agencies
  • Onboarding against your live inventory provider integrations
  • White-glove setup for TDS and MyDeposits connections
  • Dedicated support through your first 10 checkouts
  • Full team access from day one -- no per-seat caps during trial
Member benefit
3 hrs
saved per tenancy checkout
At living wage rates, 3 hours of admin costs roughly £27 per checkout. The Depositary's per-tenancy cost is approximately £3. The ROI case makes itself -- and that's before you count faster deposit returns and fewer dispute escalations.

Book via Kerfuffle to access the member rate and fast-track onboarding.
More on Kerfuffle

52 letting agents have reviewed The Depositary on Kerfuffle. Here is what they say.

Kerfuffle is the UK's largest independent review platform for letting and estate agent technology. Reviews are verified and written by agents who have used the platform in live operations -- not collected via incentive programmes or aggregated from trial accounts.

52
verified reviews
4.9
average star rating
#28
Kerfuffle overall rank
Read all 52 reviews on Kerfuffle →
The Depositary has completely transformed how we handle checkouts. What used to take a full afternoon now takes less than an hour. The transparency for tenants and landlords has virtually eliminated disputes reaching adjudication.
UK Letting Agent Verified Kerfuffle review

See a live checkout processed in The Depositary in under 20 minutes

Book a demonstration with The Depositary team and walk through a real checkout end-to-end -- from notice to deposit release. Bring your own checkout scenario if you have one. The Kerfuffle team can join to make sure the member rate is applied and the integration with your inventory provider is confirmed before you start.

Common questions

Questions letting agents ask before switching on The Depositary

We use Inventory Base for our checkout reports. Will The Depositary pull them in automatically?
Yes. The Depositary integrates directly with Inventory Base, Inventory Hive, ACT Property, Hinch PM, Imfuna, TouchRight and No Letting Go. When your inventory clerk completes a checkout report, The Depositary pulls in the data -- photos, meter readings and condition notes -- automatically. There is no manual upload required on your side.
We use both TDS Custodial and MyDeposits Insured across our portfolio. Can The Depositary handle both?
Yes. The Depositary integrates with TDS Insured, TDS Custodial, MyDeposits Insured and MyDeposits Custodial. All four scheme types can be managed from the same platform. Your team does not need separate logins for each scheme -- repayment requests and dispute submissions go through The Depositary directly.
Our landlords are not particularly tech-savvy. Will they actually use a portal?
The landlord portal is designed specifically for occasional, low-tech users. Landlords receive a direct link to their checkout record by email -- no account creation, no password to remember. They view the evidence, see the proposed deductions, and approve or comment in one click. The Depositary team has optimised the landlord journey based on feedback from letting agencies with exactly this concern.
How much does it cost per tenancy?
The Depositary uses a per-tenancy pricing model -- you pay for the checkouts you process, not a flat licence fee. For Kerfuffle members, preferential per-tenancy rates apply and are confirmed during the onboarding call. The headline comparison is approximately £3 per tenancy against around £27 of admin time at living wage rates -- the ROI is demonstrable from the first checkout.
We already have a process that works. Why would we change it now?
If your current process genuinely takes under an hour per checkout including landlord approval, tenant negotiation and deposit scheme submission, then the ROI case is weaker. Most letting teams find that an honest audit of checkout time comes in at two to four hours when all communication is included. The Depositary was built by agents who ran that same manual process for over a decade before concluding the admin cost was too high to leave unaddressed.
Is The Depositary suitable for smaller agencies with fewer than 200 properties under management?
Yes. The per-tenancy pricing model means smaller agencies pay only for what they process. There is no minimum commitment that requires a large portfolio to make the numbers work. The Depositary has users across small independent agencies and multi-branch networks -- the checkout admin problem is consistent at every scale.
About The Depositary

Built by two letting agents who spent 40 years managing the problem they eventually decided to solve

The Depositary was founded in 2016 by Kristjan Byfield and An Deckers, both career letting agents with decades of hands-on experience managing deposit disputes, checkout processes and tenant negotiations. They built the platform they needed and launched it to the wider market in 2020.

The platform is fully web-based, runs on any device, and requires no software installation. The founders remain active in the business and accessible to the agencies using the platform.

Visit The Depositary →
KB
Kristjan Byfield
Letting agent since 2001. Co-founded his own agency in 2004. Spent 15 years accumulating the exact checkout admin problems The Depositary was built to eliminate.
AD
An Deckers
Letting agent since 1999. Over two decades of managing the tenant-landlord relationship at the deposit dispute stage. Co-designed The Depositary's transparency workflow from her own case experience.
Integrations
Inventory Base Inventory Hive No Letting Go ACT Property Hinch PM Imfuna TouchRight TDS MyDeposits
PropTech That Pays

The Depositary is part of the PropTech That Pays programme -- where agents are rewarded when the technology they use delivers results

PropTech That Pays is Kerfuffle's framework for recognising suppliers whose tools generate measurable outcomes for letting and estate agents. The Depositary's per-tenancy model -- paying only for checkouts processed -- is precisely the kind of outcome-aligned pricing the programme is designed to surface. Kerfuffle members on the programme get additional visibility of The Depositary's real-world performance data from agents using it today.

Learn about PropTech That Pays →

Three admin hours per checkout. Every checkout, every tenancy, every year. That number adds up.

The Depositary was built by people who ran that number for a decade before they stopped accepting it. Book via Kerfuffle and we will set up your first checkouts with your inventory providers already connected.