Compare
Excel or property management software?
A spreadsheet is a fine way to start. This page is about the point where it stops keeping up, and what changes when you move.
A spreadsheet works well while one person keeps it, the tenants are few, and everyone pays on time. Most landlords move when one of those stops being true: a second person needs to update it, a few tenants fall behind and their balances have to be worked out by hand, or an owner or the taxman asks for figures the sheet was never built to give.
The difference is not that software can do sums. It is that every number comes from a record, such as an invoice, a payment or an expense, so a balance cannot drift away from what actually happened.
Side by side
The same jobs, done both ways
| Rent due each month | Excel: copy last month's rows and edit them. PropertyView: invoices are raised from each lease's rent schedule. |
|---|---|
| Who owes what | Excel: update each tenant's balance when a payment comes in. PropertyView: the payment is recorded against its invoice and every balance follows. |
| M-Pesa payments | Excel: match the statement to tenants by name or phone. PropertyView: payments made from the M-Pesa prompt are matched to the invoice they pay. |
| Reminders | Excel: send messages one by one. PropertyView: reminders go out by email, SMS or the tenant portal. |
| Deposits | Excel: a column that is easy to overwrite. PropertyView: held as a liability and settled with the tenant when they leave. |
| Staff | Excel: whoever has the file sees everything. PropertyView: each person sees what their role allows. |
| History | Excel: an edited cell leaves no trace. PropertyView: every change is logged with who made it. |
| Reports and tax | Excel: build the totals yourself. PropertyView: income statement, arrears and monthly rental income tax figures from the same records. |
Signs it is time
When landlords usually move off a spreadsheet
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More than one person updates it
Two copies of a file soon disagree.
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Arrears are worked out by hand
If you need a calculator to know what a tenant owes, the sheet has stopped helping.
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You add a building or an owner
Each one adds another tab and more chances to miss a row.
Moving over
Bringing your spreadsheet across
- 1
Download the workbook
One Excel file with a sheet each for properties, tenants, leases and balances.
- 2
Paste in your records
Copy across from your current spreadsheet. Nothing has to be retyped from scratch.
- 3
Check the preview
See exactly what will be created, and fix any rows that need it, before anything is saved.
- 4
Pick your go-live month
Invoices start from that month, so nobody is billed again for months already settled.
Bring one property across
Start on the free plan and import a single building to see how it compares with your sheet.