Rental Property Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2016 · 303 posts · 154 votes
Hello fellow BP Investors and landlords.
we all experience from time to time tenants that don't pay on time. After adding a lot of properties in the rochester NY area to my portfolio in the last 2 years, it is becoming harder to keep track on who has paid and who still owes rent or has a balance. At the moment I am writing things down on pieces of paper but was wondering if there was some sort of reminders or programs that I can access on my phone on the go.
Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Aqil
Personally, I just keep a spreadsheet of all my properties and units with an area to show rent collected for each unit. I check the PO box at the beginning of the month, and before I even hit the bank, I credit each unit that has paid, so I know who still owes what.
If you need access to this on the go, Google drive is fantastic, you can upload the spreadsheet onto your drive account and just edit it there. If you use something other than a spreadsheet, you could still try using a Google drive, although you may not be able to edit the file depending on what format it's saved in.
you might fix some of that with a program called Cozi. This program takes each residence and invites them to join and pay through it then it shows a tally for each residence. Might help.
Personally, I just keep a spreadsheet of all my properties and units with an area to show rent collected for each unit. I check the PO box at the beginning of the month, and before I even hit the bank, I credit each unit that has paid, so I know who still owes what.
If you need access to this on the go, Google drive is fantastic, you can upload the spreadsheet onto your drive account and just edit it there. If you use something other than a spreadsheet, you could still try using a Google drive, although you may not be able to edit the file depending on what format it's saved in.
Thank you all for your input. I forgot to mention that i currently use trexglobal to enter my monthly income/ expense.
But I think keeping a simple spreadsheet and uploading to google drive might be the way to go for now.
If you have that many units under your belt it may be time to look into a property management software like Appfolio or Buildium (not sure if I spelled right). It may add to your management cost but depending on your management agreement you could allocate this expense back to your clients on a per unit basis. These types of programs not only keep track of rent roll, accounting, delinquency, leasing, renewals, etc. but they also help you manage the maintenance, move in move out process and are very mobile friendly.
I've had significant experience with all types of management software so drop me a line if you want to chat.
Besides my accounting software, Quicken, which I know a lot of people don't like, but it works great for us, I keep a spreadsheet with a separate tab for each unit and track their payments and the date received as well as who paid the rent. This makes it easy at year end when I have to provide rent certificates for tenants. Also, if I get a reference call on a tenant, I can easily send a report for that tenant on when exactly they paid their rent. I also have tabs for each year that recap each unit by month and provides a rent roll. Our Credit Union that provides our mortgages just loves that and has shown the format to other people because it makes it so easy for them to see that we are collecting on time, maintaining cash flow, etc.
I am far from an expert but these processes work just great. And since they keep my bank and my accountant, and most of all, my wife, happy, I am good with it.
Using some accounting package (I'm on QB 2009), there's a summary report of who owes what and a detail report on receivable aging.
On the first of the month you create Invoices, then Receive Pmts as they arrive (or at least accurately note the date received if you elect to batch process).
Anytime you open the books, just click Summary Report.
thanks this has all been really helpful. Am currently using trexglobal which is an online PM program. It's great and easy to use. I was just looking for something I could have handy when visiting delinquent tenants. I guess for now I will continue to work off printed spread sheets and look to automated this process in the future.