How to track rental property expenses in a spreadsheet
Most small landlords know their rent to the dollar. Expenses are what slip: a repair paid in cash, an insurance renewal, a part bought on the way to the unit. A simple expense log, filled in monthly, fixes that and turns year end into a sum instead of a search. This page shows a layout for 1 to 10 units that you can build in your own spreadsheet. Near the end, we describe Rentlark, our own spreadsheets, so you can judge whether it fits.
For rent, repairs and the full monthly routine, see our guide: How to track rent and expenses in a spreadsheet.
The columns
One row per cost:
- Date paid
- Property, and Unit if the cost is for one unit only (leave it blank for whole-building costs)
- Category, from a fixed dropdown list
- Payee
- Amount
- Payment method (card, check number, transfer)
- Receipt reference, usually the receipt's file name
- Note, for example what the repair was
A fixed category list
Pick a short list before the year starts and stick to it, for example repairs, insurance, utilities, property tax, mortgage interest, supplies, professional fees, cleaning and maintenance, advertising, other. These are examples for organizing records, not a list of what's deductible. Not tax advice. Ask your tax preparer which categories they want, and how they want anything unusual handled, before the year starts, not after. Put the list on its own tab and use it as a dropdown, so the same cost is never filed under two names.
One entry per cost
Enter each cost once, in the expense log, even if it also shows up in a repair log. Counting a plumber's bill in two places is a common way for a year-end total to end up wrong. If one bill covers two properties, record it the way your tax preparer asks you to, and note the split.
Receipts
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, and the receipt reference column points straight to the file. Keep the files in one folder per year.
One bank account helps
If you can, run all rent deposits and property expenses through one bank account used only for the rentals. Each month, enter the expenses from that statement and you'll catch anything you forgot to log.
Totals by property
On a summary tab, total each category by property with SUMIFS, where B is the property, D the category and F the amount:
=SUMIFS(Expenses!F:F, Expenses!B:B, "Oak St", Expenses!D:D, "Repairs")
SUMIFS works in Google Sheets and in Microsoft Excel 2016 or later. Add a month condition to get monthly totals.
At year end
Total expenses by property and category, 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 page isn't tax advice. Our free one-page checklist covers the monthly routine that gets you there: Download the Small landlord monthly record-keeping checklist (PDF).
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.
FAQ
Which expense categories should I use? A short, fixed list you use all year. Ask your tax preparer which categories they want before the year starts. Not tax advice.
Should repair costs go in the repair log or the expense log? Log the cost once, in the expense log. A repair log tracks the job itself: what, where, who and when.
How often should I update the expense log? Monthly is enough for most owners of 1 to 10 units: enter the month's costs from your bank statement and file the receipts.
Does Rentlark take rent payments from tenants? No. Rentlark tracks the rent you record. Payments don't run through it.
Which spreadsheet apps is Rentlark designed for? For Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel 2016 or later.
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 tax or legal advice.
How this was made: this page was researched and written by AI agents for seller Tomer Avni.
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