How to keep a rent ledger

Start with three numbers

For each month, record the rent owed, the money actually received and the amount still unpaid. Keep expenses in their own section. If rent is $1,300.00 and the tenant has paid $1,000.00, that month still has $300.00 due. A $200.00 repair belongs in expenses; it does not reduce the tenant’s rent balance.

You can fill out and print the ledger without an account. Add an account at the bottom of the tool only if you want to save online and return to the same records later.

1. Set up the property you are recording

1. Open the ledger. The blank form is ready to use. Enter a property name or address that you will recognize later.
2. Enter the tenant’s details. Add the name, an optional phone number and the move-in date if you know it. The move-in date records when that tenant arrived; it is not proof of a payment date.
3. Check the year and start month. Starting in July shows July through December. Earlier months are hidden, not deleted. Use Show all 12 months to see them again.
4. Enter the usual monthly rent. This suggests the rent for unused months from your start month. You can edit a month’s Total rent if its amount is different. Months already edited separately or with recorded payments are protected from the automatic update.
5. Add another property only when you need it. Use Add new property, then choose the property you want to work on from the list.

Before typing a payment, check both the property and the month’s year. On a phone, swipe inside the table to see the columns farther to the right. The month stays at the left so you can follow the same row.

2. Know what each amount means

Total rent

The rent assigned to that month. It is what should be paid, not what has already arrived.

Paid by tenant

The total rent money you have actually received from the tenant for that month.

Housing portion / Tenant portion

The agreed amounts each side should pay when housing assistance is enabled.

Paid by housing program

The money actually received from the housing program for that month. Do not enter an expected payment here before it arrives.

This month’s balance

The remaining amount for this month. With housing assistance, the tool shows each payer’s position separately.

Notes

Written explanations, payment records and reminders. Editing a note does not change a dollar amount in the ledger.

Paid in full means the amounts entered cover that month’s rent. It does not mean the tool checked a bank account or verified when a payment arrived.

3. Record rent paid in two or more parts

Suppose April’s rent is $1,300.00. The tenant first pays $1,000.00 and later pays another $300.00.

1. Enter $1,300.00 under April’s Total rent.
2. Enter $1,000.00 under Paid by tenant. The remaining amount is $300.00.
3. When the next payment arrives, choose Pay more, enter only the new $300.00 and save that additional payment.
4. Check that Paid by tenant now shows $1,300.00 and the month says Paid in full.

Pay more appears after a partial payment when that payer still has an amount due. Before the first payment, use the Paid by tenant field. Each month is independent: paying April in full does not pay an unpaid March balance.

4. Record housing assistance and tenant payments separately

Turn on Section 8 / other rental assistance only for a property that uses assistance. Enter the program or agency name and the agreed monthly split. Use the amounts established for that rental; the tool does not determine program eligibility or calculate an agency’s required payment.

For example, total rent is $1,750.00, the housing portion is $1,700.00 and the tenant portion is $50.00. If housing pays its full amount and the tenant pays $25.00, the tenant still has $25.00 due.

When the tenant pays the remaining $25.00, choose Tenant paid more and record that amount. When both portions are covered, the month shows one Paid in full status. Use Housing paid more if an additional payment actually comes from the program.

Keep the payers separate even if their combined payments equal total rent. If housing pays $1,725.00 while the tenant pays $25.00, the tenant’s $25.00 shortfall is still shown separately from the housing program’s $25.00 extra payment. Check the underlying records before deciding what that difference means.

5. Keep notes that explain the numbers

Use Add note or Edit note in the month’s row. The note opens in a window that fits the screen. Write what you need, then choose Save notes.

The tool records the first entered payment and later Pay more additions in Notes. An automatic recorded date is the date you entered the payment. If you are entering an older payment, add its actual receipt date yourself. A direct correction of the received total is different from a new payment.

Keep bank records and receipts alongside the ledger. If a date is unknown, say so rather than guessing. Notes alone do not establish whether a payment was legally late, and writing “late fee $50” does not add a $50 charge to the calculation.

6. Add the expenses you actually paid each month

In Monthly expenses, open the relevant month with Add expense. Choose a suggested expense or type your own name, enter the amount and use Save expenses. One month might have only water; another might have water, repairs and HOA dues.

Suggestions include repairs and maintenance, HOA, water, electricity, gas, trash, gardening, pool service, cleaning, pest control, insurance, management fees, leasing and supplies. They are choices, not required expenses.

Put the repair breakdown in the expense’s note. If the $200.00 already includes materials and labor, do not also add those amounts as separate expense lines. A quote for work that has not been paid belongs in your notes until you are ready to record the actual expense.

Expenses do not reduce rent owed in the monthly rent table. They are subtracted from money received in the year’s Received less expenses summary.

7. Use Vacant for a whole month with no rent due

Choose Vacant beside the month when no rent is due for that whole month. The rent charge becomes $0.00; expenses and notes remain. A vacant property can still have a repair bill.

If someone moves in halfway through the month, enter the rent amount that applies in Total rent instead of marking the whole month Vacant. The tool does not decide the correct prorated amount for your agreement. A month with money already received cannot simply be switched to Vacant; review the existing entry first.

8. Review the year without mixing up the months

This month’s balance refers only to that month. The annual summary adds the year’s recorded entries, including entries in months hidden by Start month. Hiding January through June changes the view; it does not remove their money from annual totals.

Use Year-end expenses for annual property tax or mortgage interest amounts that you have not already included in monthly expenses. Enter the interest amount, not the entire mortgage payment. Check the statements and avoid entering the same expense twice.

For example, if you recorded all property tax payments in monthly expenses, do not add that annual total again at year-end. Received less expenses is a summary of the amounts you entered, not a tax-return calculation or a determination that an expense is deductible.

Use View year to return to earlier records and Next year to prepare ahead. When you return in a new calendar year, the tool adds that year. Review suggested rent amounts before using them; do not assume a default change has updated every existing month.

9. Choose the right way to save or print

PDF

Use Preview PDF, Download PDF or Print PDF for a readable copy. Check the property, year, months and Include notes setting. A PDF is not the editable ledger backup.

Editable backup

Choose Download editable backup to keep a file you can reopen with Open saved file. Keep it somewhere private because it contains your rental records.

Browser-only saving

Without an account, entries stay in that browser’s storage. They do not automatically appear on another device. Clearing browser data or closing a private session can remove local entries.

Online account

At the bottom, create an account with your name, phone number and password, or log in to an existing account. Wait for Saved online before relying on the server copy or leaving the page.

If saving fails, keep the page open and download an editable backup. Do not keep entering the same payment in several tabs. When the tool reports a newer online version, review that version before continuing.

Prefer a printable rent ledger?

At the top of the tool, open Download a blank form to fill in by hand. Choose the standard form or the version with housing assistance. Preview it, then use Download blank form.

The blank PDF has a rent page and an expense-and-notes page, with space to write. It contains no personal entries and does not clear the ledger you are working on. Fill in the property, tenant and year before recording monthly amounts.

A short check before you finish each month

• Confirm the property, tenant name and month’s year.
• Compare money received with your payment records, keeping tenant and housing payments separate.
• Check partial payments for double entries and explain any correction or extra amount in Notes.
• Add paid expenses once and keep the supporting receipts.
• Review the month’s balance, save the record and keep the backup or PDF you need.

Common rent ledger questions

Put the next payment in the right place

Start with one property and one month. Record what is owed, record what arrived and add a note when the numbers need an explanation. You can add the other months as you go.