One property, one ledger.

Rental books have one requirement that surprises new landlords: they work per property. One ledger for each. If your books lump three rentals into one pile of transactions, someone has to un-lump them at year-end, and you never find out which property is quietly losing money. Set up right, each property reports itself.

Track these categories, per property

Use this list as the chart of accounts for every door. Mirror it in your books and year-end becomes a printout, organized the way your CPA needs for Schedule E:

• Advertising and tenant screening
• Auto and travel (documented trips to the property)
• Cleaning and maintenance
• Insurance
• Legal and professional fees (including bookkeeping)
• Management fees
• Mortgage interest (interest only; principal is not an expense)
• Repairs
• Supplies
• Property taxes
• Utilities you pay
• Depreciation: your CPA calculates it; your fixed-asset records make it possible

The distinctions that matter

Repairs and improvements

A repair keeps the property in working order: fixing a leak, patching drywall. An improvement makes the property better or extends its life: a new roof, a renovated kitchen. Record them in separate accounts, and keep a fixed-asset record per property with the date, cost, and invoice for every improvement. How each is treated on your return is your CPA's call; your job is to make sure they can tell the two apart without guessing.

Security deposits are not income

A refundable deposit is a liability. You are holding the tenant's money. It only becomes income if you keep part of it. Booking deposits as rent overstates your income and hides how much you owe back.

Mortgage payments are three things

Each payment is part interest, part principal, and often part escrow for taxes and insurance. Interest is an expense. Principal reduces the loan balance. Escrow is money set aside, recorded as an expense once when it is actually paid out, not again when the escrow disburses. Books that expense the whole payment get all three wrong at once.

How to set it up

• Give every property its own tag. QuickBooks classes, Xero tracking categories, or separate bank accounts. The tool matters less than the discipline that every transaction carries its property.
• Keep a folder per property for leases, closing statements, improvement invoices, and loan documents. The closing statement from the purchase is the foundation of your fixed-asset record. Never lose it.
• Review a per-property P&L quarterly. It is not just for year-end. It is how you find the unit that stopped earning its keep.