Ledger Concepts
What the Ledger Is
The ledger is the financial backbone of the platform. Every monetary event — a rent charge, a payment, a late fee, a credit — is recorded as a ledger transaction. The ledger provides a complete, auditable history of all financial activity across your properties.
Double-Entry Basics
The system uses double-entry bookkeeping, which means every transaction has two sides: a debit and a credit. When rent is charged, the tenant’s account is debited (they owe more) and your revenue account is credited. When a payment is received, the tenant’s account is credited (they owe less) and your cash account is debited. This ensures the books always balance.
You do not need to understand accounting to use the platform — the double-entry mechanics happen automatically behind the scenes. What you see is a straightforward list of charges, payments, and balances.
Charges vs. Payments vs. Credits
- Charges increase what a tenant owes (rent, late fees, utility charges, repair costs)
- Payments decrease what a tenant owes (rent payments, deposits)
- Credits also decrease what a tenant owes (goodwill adjustments, error corrections, deposit returns)
Running Balance
Each tenant’s ledger shows a running balance — the cumulative total of all charges minus all payments and credits. A positive balance means the tenant owes money. A zero balance means they are current. A negative balance means they have a credit (overpayment).
Recording a Payment
Manual Payment Entry
- Go to Transactions and click Record Payment
- Select the tenant and lease
- Enter the payment amount
- Select the payment method (cash, check, bank transfer, etc.)
- Enter the payment date
- Add an optional note (check number, reference, etc.)
- Click Save
The payment is immediately posted to the tenant’s ledger and their balance is updated.
Payment Methods
The system tracks how the payment was made for your records:
- Cash — physical currency received
- Check — paper check (record the check number in the notes)
- Bank transfer — ACH or wire transfer
- Money order — postal or bank money order
- Other — any method not listed above
Payment Date vs. Posting Date
The payment date is when the tenant made the payment. The posting date is when it was entered into the system. These may differ — for example, a check received on Friday but entered on Monday. The ledger uses the payment date for chronological ordering and the posting date for audit purposes.
Applying to Specific Charges
Payments are applied to the tenant’s balance in chronological order (oldest charges first) unless you specify otherwise. This ensures that past-due amounts are addressed before current charges.
Recording Charges
Rent Charges
Rent charges are automatically generated based on the lease terms — the rent amount and due date you specified when creating the lease. On each due date, a rent charge is posted to the tenant’s ledger. You do not need to manually create recurring rent charges.
One-Time Charges
For non-recurring charges (repair costs, utility true-ups, parking fees), manually create a charge:
- Go to Transactions and click Record Charge
- Select the tenant and lease
- Enter the amount and description
- Select the charge type
- Click Save
Late Fees
Late fees can be configured to post automatically when rent is overdue (see Workflows & Automation). They can also be added manually if you prefer case-by-case control. Late fee charges appear in the tenant’s ledger alongside rent charges.
Charge Descriptions
Always include a clear description with each charge. This helps you remember what the charge was for and gives the tenant context when they view their statement. Good descriptions include: “September 2024 Rent”, “Late fee — October rent”, “Plumbing repair — Unit 3B”.
Credits and Refunds
When to Use Credits
Credits reduce a tenant’s balance without recording a payment. Common scenarios:
- Error correction — you charged the wrong amount and need to adjust
- Goodwill adjustment — compensating a tenant for an inconvenience
- Deposit return — returning part or all of the security deposit
- Promotional discount — offering a month’s discount for early renewal
Recording a Credit
- Go to Transactions and click Record Credit
- Select the tenant and lease
- Enter the credit amount and reason
- Click Save
The credit is posted to the ledger and reduces the tenant’s balance.
Refund Process
A refund is when you return money to a tenant (as opposed to a credit, which adjusts their balance). To record a refund, create a credit with a clear description indicating it is a refund, and separately process the actual money transfer outside the platform (write a check, initiate a bank transfer, etc.).
Credit vs. Payment
Both credits and payments reduce a tenant’s balance, but they represent different events:
- Payment — the tenant gave you money
- Credit — you reduced what the tenant owes without receiving money
The distinction matters for accounting and tax reporting.
Viewing the Ledger
Transaction List
The Transactions page shows all transactions across your portfolio in reverse chronological order. Each entry shows the date, description, type (charge, payment, credit), amount, tenant, and property.
Filtering by Date and Type
Use the filters at the top of the Transactions page to narrow the view:
- Date range — show transactions within a specific period (useful for monthly or quarterly reviews)
- Type — show only charges, payments, or credits
- Property — show transactions for a specific property
- Unit — narrow to a specific unit within a property
Per-Tenant Ledger
From the tenant detail page, click on their financial summary to see a complete ledger for that tenant. This shows every charge, payment, and credit in chronological order with a running balance — the same view the tenant sees in their portal.
Per-Property Summary
The property dashboard includes a financial summary showing total charges, total payments, and net balance across all units. This gives you a quick financial health check per property.
Reconciliation
Checking Balances
Regularly review tenant balances to ensure they match your expectations. The dashboard shows tenants with outstanding balances, making it easy to spot overdue amounts. Click on any tenant to drill into their transaction history.
Finding Discrepancies
If a balance does not match what you expect, review the transaction history for the tenant:
- Look for missing payments — was a payment received but not recorded?
- Check for duplicate charges — was a charge posted twice?
- Verify dates — is a charge in the wrong billing period?
- Review credits — was an adjustment applied that you forgot about?
Voiding Transactions
If a transaction was entered in error, you can void it. Voiding removes the transaction’s effect on the balance while preserving the record for audit purposes. The voided transaction remains visible in the ledger, marked as void, so there is a complete trail.
Editing Posted Transactions
You can edit the description and notes of a posted transaction but not the amount, type, or date. To correct an amount error, void the incorrect transaction and create a new one with the correct amount. This preserves the audit trail — there is always a record of what happened and why it was corrected.