How to track rent and expenses in a spreadsheet (for 1 to 10 units)

If you own a duplex, a triplex, a fourplex or rent out rooms in the home you live in, you don't need property-management software to keep good records. A spreadsheet works, as long as it's set up so that every payment and every expense has one obvious place to go. This guide covers what to track, how to lay it out, and a short monthly routine. The record-keeping steps here are general and don't require Rentlark. Near the end, this guide describes Rentlark, the spreadsheets sold on this site, so you can judge whether it fits.

What to track

Keep four kinds of records, each in its own tab or sheet:

1. Units and leases. One row per lease: unit, tenant name, start and end dates, monthly rent, due day, deposit held. Keep only what you need about tenants to run the tenancy, and never base decisions on protected traits such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status or disability (states and cities add more).
2. Rent payments. One row per payment received: date received, unit, tenant, amount, method (check number, transfer reference) and the month the payment is for.
3. Expenses. One row per expense: date, property, category, payee, amount and a receipt reference (for example the file name).
4. Repairs. One row per job: date opened, unit, issue, vendor, status, date closed and cost.

Lay out rent so that partial and late payments make sense

• Log payments, don't overwrite them. A new row for every payment keeps the history intact. If you type over a cell, you lose the story of what happened.
• Tag each payment with the month it covers. A payment received on the 29th for next month's rent belongs to next month. A separate "For month" column handles that.
• Record partial payments as their own rows. Two rows for the same month (half on the 1st, half on the 15th) add up to the month's rent, and your monthly check shows whether anything is still open. Rules on accepting partial rent vary by state.
• Keep deposits separate from rent. Track security deposits in their own section or tab, so deposit money is never mistaken for rent. Some states and cities have rules on where deposits are held and on interest, so check yours.
• Fix mistakes with a correcting row. Add an adjustment rather than deleting, and note why.

Expenses: one entry per cost

• Enter each cost once, in the expense log, even if it also shows up in your repair log. Counting a plumber's bill in two places is a common way a year-end total ends up wrong.
• Use a short, fixed list of categories (for example repairs, insurance, utilities, property tax, mortgage interest, supplies, professional fees). Ask your tax preparer which categories they want before the year starts, not after.
• Name receipt files the same way every time: date, property, unit, vendor, amount (for example 2026-10-14_Oak-St_Unit-2_Plumber_180.pdf). Sorting by name then sorts by date.
• If you can, run all rent deposits and property expenses through one bank account used only for the rentals. Your records then start from a clean statement.

A monthly routine (about 20 minutes)

1. Check each unit's rent for the month: billed against received. Note anything open.
2. Match deposits on your bank statement to the rent log.
3. Enter the month's expenses and file the receipts.
4. Update open repairs: status, vendor, closed date.
5. Look ahead: leases ending in the next 60 days.

The free one-page checklist covers the same routine. Download the Small landlord monthly record-keeping checklist (PDF).

At year end

Total rent and expenses by property, and hand the totals, along with your receipts folder, to your tax preparer. A spreadsheet summary helps organize records for your tax preparer. It isn't a tax return, and this guide isn't tax advice.

If you'd rather not build it yourself: Rentlark

Rentlark is a set of rent and expense tracking spreadsheets for owners of 1 to 10 units and house hackers, made by AI agents. It uses a similar layout, with one difference: Rentlark applies each payment to the oldest unpaid month first, and its "For month" column is for your reference only. What it includes:

• Tracks rent per unit and per lease. Designed for Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel 2016 or later.
• A Rent Status tab shows each lease month by month with statuses such as Paid, Paid late, Partial, Unpaid, Late, Credit and Vacant.
• Rent Status carries partial payments and credit forward to the next month for each lease.
• An Expenses tab where each cost is logged once.
• A Repairs tab with opened date, unit, issue, priority, vendor, status, closed date and cost.
• An Annual Summary that totals rent and expenses by property, a records summary for your tax preparer.
• Expense categories follow the IRS Schedule E expense lines, to help you organize records for your tax preparer. Not tax advice. Based on the IRS draft 2026 Schedule E; categories may be updated if the final form changes.

What it isn't: it tracks the rent you record; payments don't run through it, and it has no bank connections. It has no leases, notices or screening forms.

Price: the price on our Gumroad page. One-time purchase, no subscription. Free updates within version 1.x. 30-day refund through Gumroad. You must be 18 or older to buy. Gumroad may add sales tax or VAT at checkout.

See Rentlark on Gumroad

FAQ

Do I need software, or is a spreadsheet enough for 1 to 10 units? For most owners of a few units, a spreadsheet is enough if every payment and expense has one place to go and you check it monthly.

How should I record a tenant who pays in two parts? Enter each payment as its own row and tag both with the month they cover. Your monthly check then shows whether the month is fully paid. (In Rentlark, both parts are applied to the oldest unpaid month first.)

Should repair costs go in the repair log or the expense log? Log the cost once, in the expense log. The repair log tracks the job itself: what, where, who and when.

Does a spreadsheet replace my tax preparer? No. It organizes records for your tax preparer. This page is not legal or tax advice.

Does Rentlark take rent payments from tenants? No. Rentlark tracks the rent you record. Payments don't run through it.

Who makes Rentlark? Rentlark is made by AI agents for seller Tomer Avni. Questions: rentlark@mail.grokbot.com.

Made by AI agents. Seller: Tomer Avni. Support: rentlark@mail.grokbot.com. Not legal or tax advice.

How this was made: this guide was researched and written by AI agents for seller Tomer Avni.

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