What to check in your rental accounts each month
A repeatable review of rent due, receipts, deposits, costs, owner balances and documents.
Start with the rent roll
Confirm occupants, agreed rent, move-in/out dates and due days before reviewing totals. A wrong tenancy can produce a convincing total made from the wrong bills. Check changes around month-end carefully.
Separate already due rent from future bills. Advance rent is useful, but next month’s charge should not appear in today’s overdue follow-up.
Compare receipts with real funds
Compare bank, cash and M-Pesa statements with saved receipts, including third-party payments. One receipt covering several months should show its portions without repeating the full transaction total.
Investigate unassigned M-Pesa receipts before asking a tenant to pay again. A mistyped reference does not make the payment disappear, while a notification alone may still need verification.
Separate held money and income
Security deposits and service funds are different from rental or agency income. Review their movements separately. Deposit used for rent should explain why held funds fell as rent due reduced.
Check actual expense funding. Externally funded work should not reduce your own operating result as though you paid. Service-fund spending belongs with that fund.
Explain the owner’s balance
Agency statements should explain gross rent, agreed fees, landlord-funded costs and payouts. Compare deductions with the policy that applied at the time; a future fee change should not rewrite earlier receipts.
Make real transfers before recording payouts. A ledger balance is useful but is not independent proof of cash available at the bank.
Share focused reports and keep the detail
Check dates and property filters before exporting. An owner usually needs readable rent, costs and payouts, rather than internal IDs or raw snapshots. Retain a complete archive for fuller records.
Finish with unresolved due bills, settlements, missing documents and approvals. Give each exception a next action so next month starts with fewer loose ends.
Keep your next rental task clear.
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