Free rent ledger template
A rent ledger is one running record per tenant: what they owed, what they paid, and the balance after each line. This template has the columns most landlords keep. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
The columns
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date | The day rent was due, or the day you received a payment. |
| Description | “November rent”, “Late fee”, “Payment”, “Water bill share”. |
| Charge | Anything the tenant owes: rent, fees, their share of a bill. |
| Payment | Money you received. |
| Payment method | Check, cash, Zelle, Venmo, money order. |
| Check or reference no. | The check number or app reference, so you can match it to your bank. |
| Balance | Previous balance + charge − payment. Positive means they owe you. |
| Status | Type PAID on a charge once a payment has covered it, with the date. Type PAST DUE if it is still open a few days after the due date. |
How to fill it in
- Make one copy per tenant. Fill in the header: name, unit, rent, due day, deposit, lease start.
- On each due date, add a line with the rent in the Charge column.
- When money comes in, add a separate line with the amount in the Payment column. Don’t overwrite the rent line.
- In the Balance column of row 8, type
=G7+C8-D8and fill it down the sheet. - Never edit an old line to fix a mistake. Add a correcting line instead, so the history stays honest.
Sample
| Date | Description | Charge | Payment | Method | Balance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1 | October rent | 1,250.00 | 1,250.00 | PaidOct 3 | ||
| Oct 3 | Payment | 1,250.00 | Check 1042 | 0.00 | ||
| Nov 1 | November rent | 1,250.00 | 1,250.00 | Past due | ||
| Nov 4 | Payment | 700.00 | Zelle | 550.00 |
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
A template works fine for one or two tenants. It gets harder when you have several units, partial payments, a rent increase mid-year, and an accountant asking for totals in January. Read how to keep rent records for the habits that keep a ledger clean either way.
LedgerLatch is this ledger, kept for you: rent posts itself on the due date, payments clear the oldest charge first, and each tenant prints as a statement. Free for 1 unit.