Leases, tenants, and rent

Record the lease, log each rent payment, see who's late, and settle the deposit at move-out.

Where it is: A house › Rental › Rental › Lease and rent
Who can use it: Owners and admins

The Rental page is for the first house or two you keep. It tracks the lease, the rent, and the deposit, and counts rent as income on the house. It doesn't collect rent, screen tenants, or write leases.

The Rental group shows in a house's menu when its stage is Rented or Holding, or its strategy is a rental one. Everything on it is for owners and admins only.

Add the lease

Step 1: Open Rental and choose Add lease.
Step 2: Under Tenants on the lease, type each tenant's Name, Phone, and Email.
Step 3: Set Lease starts, and Lease ends (leave it blank for month to month).
Step 4: Type the Monthly rent and pick Rent due on day.
Step 5: Set Grace days before it's late and the Late fee.
Step 6: Type the Security deposit and the date Deposit received.
Step 7: Choose Save lease.

Jordan Ellis rents the house at $2,150 a month, due the 1st, late after 5 days, with a $75 late fee and a $2,150 deposit.

Upload the signed lease under Documents, in Leases.

Record rent

Step 1: In Rent roll, find the month and choose Record rent.
Step 2: Check the Amount. It starts as what's still owed for that month; lower it for a part payment.
Step 3: Set the date Received and How they paid.
Step 4: Choose Save payment.

Example

Rent roll

All caught up

Jordan Ellis · $2,150 due the 1st · late after 5 days, fee $75

NovUpcomingDue Nov 1$0.00 of $2,150.00
OctPaidDue Oct 1$2,150.00 of $2,150.00
Paid $2,150.00 on Oct 9 · Zelle Late fee $75.00 on Oct 9
SepPaidDue Sep 1$2,150.00 of $2,150.00
Paid $2,150.00 on Sep 1 · Zelle

A rent roll with one month paid late and the next one coming up.

Receipt beside a payment opens a rent receipt you can print or save as a PDF for the tenant.

How a month gets its status

Status	Means
Upcoming	Not due yet
Due	The due day has arrived and nothing's been paid
Partly paid	Some has been paid and the grace days aren't up
Late	There's still a balance and the grace days are up
Paid	The rent for that month is covered

With rent due the 1st and 5 grace days, a month turns Late on the 7th. On a late month, Record late fee logs the fee separately. A late fee doesn't reduce the rent owed.

The first month of a lease that starts mid-month is prorated by the day.
A payment covers the month you record it for. If a tenant pays two months at once, record two payments.
Each payment is also added to the house's income, so the P&L and cash flow include it. Deleting the payment removes the income.

What the top of the house shows

Once a house has a lease, the four numbers at the top change for owners and admins: Rent, Collected this month, Owed, and Cash flow for the year. Between tenants, Rent becomes Vacant with the date.

Reminders

The bell shows a reminder when a month turns late and when a lease is within 60 days of its end date. Rent due dates and lease end dates are on the calendar.

Heads upThese reminders are in the app only. Nothing is emailed to you, and nothing is ever sent to the tenant.

Raise the rent or renew

Step 1: On the lease, choose Renew lease.
Step 2: Set the New end date, the New monthly rent, and the month the New rent starts.
Step 3: Choose Save renewal.

Months before the new rent starts keep the rent they had, so paid months stay paid.

Heads upDon't change the rent with Edit lease. The rent roll is worked out from the lease each time, so editing the rent recalculates every past month and paid months will show a balance.

Move-out and the deposit

Step 1: Record the move-out walk on the Condition tab first. See Move-in and move-out condition.
Step 2: On the lease, choose End lease and set the date they Moved out.
Step 3: Set Deposit returned. It starts as the full deposit.
Step 4: If you're keeping part, write Why you kept part of it.
Step 5: Choose End lease.

How it countsThe deposit is the tenant's money, not income. At move-out, only the part you keep is logged as income on the house.

The lease moves to Past leases, with a Tenant ledger and a Deposit statement you can print. The statement lists what you kept, why, and the rooms that were worse than at move-in.

An ended lease can't be reopened or edited, so collect and record any last rent before you end it.
Delete lease is only for a lease entered by mistake, and only before any payment is recorded.
Many states set a deadline for returning a deposit and require an itemized list. Check yours.

A duplex or small multifamily

Step 1: Open the Units tab and choose Split it into units.
Step 2: Name each unit, such as “Unit A” or “Upstairs.”
Step 3: Add a lease for each unit.

Each unit gets its own lease, rent roll, and condition walks. The costs, the books, and the numbers at the top stay with the house, the way your tax return treats it as one property.

Can’t find it, or something here is wrong? Email [email protected]. A founder reads every message.