How to use a rent ledger
A rent ledger is one running list per tenant: every charge, every payment, and the balance after each. Charges go in as they come due; payments go in the day they arrive. If the balance column reads $0 after a payment, the tenant is current.
- One ledger per tenant, not per property — when a tenant moves out, their ledger closes.
- Record payments on the date received, even if they're late. The gap between the charge date and the payment date is the history you'll want later.
- Add other charges on their own line — a late fee, a utility bill the lease makes the tenant pay — so the balance always explains itself.
- Keep the deposit out of it. A security deposit isn't rent and belongs to the tenant until you've accounted for it at move-out.
Why it matters
A ledger is what you hand a judge in an eviction, a lender who asks about rental income, or an accountant at tax time. A pile of bank statements and Venmo screenshots can say the same thing — but it takes an afternoon to prove it.
