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Money

Books that keep themselves

Every payment Rentari handles is already a ledger line. This lesson is about the three things you still do by hand: categorise what came in from elsewhere, record what you spent, and check the tax position before your accountant does.

4 steps About 5 minutes Landlord
Before you startNothing. The ledger fills itself from rent as it settles, so this page is useful before you ever type anything into it.
1

The ledger is the page

Every rent payment, fee and refund Rentari processes lands here automatically, already tied to the property and the tenant.

You are not doing data entry. You are reviewing what is already recorded and adding the things Rentari cannot see, like a cash repair or a mileage claim.

Step 1: The ledger is the page
2

Record what Rentari cannot see

Money out is any expense you paid elsewhere: a plumber in cash, a hardware run, an insurance premium. Money in is income that did not come through Rentari.

Both ask for a property, which is what makes the Schedule E further down the page correct rather than approximate.

Worth knowingLog mileage is the one people forget. Drives to a property are deductible and the IRS rate changes yearly, so recording the miles rather than a dollar figure keeps it right.
Step 2: Record what Rentari cannot see
3

Filter to one property before you judge a number

The property selector narrows everything below it. A portfolio total tells you very little; one property against its own history tells you whether it is working.

The type filter has a Needs review option, which is the queue of transactions Rentari could not categorise on its own.

Step 3: Filter to one property before you judge a number
4

Check the tax position early

Returns and tax position estimates what you will owe on the rental income, from the categories above rather than from a guess.

Looking at this in August is the point. In April it is a receipt; in August it is a decision about whether to spend on the property before the year closes.

Step 4: Check the tax position early
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