Template

Rent Ledger Template: Free Excel Download for Landlords

October 3, 2026 · 5 min read

Most rent spreadsheets record the money that came in. That works until the month it doesn't: an unpaid month has no payment, so it gets no row, and a month with no row looks exactly like a month you haven't got to yet. By the time you notice, it's two months.

This template does it the other way round. Every unit gets a row every month, before the rent arrives, with the rent due already filled in. Then you add what came in. Download it below, no email and no sign-up.

What is in the rent ledger template?

The RentDue rent ledger template is one Excel file with five tabs: instructions, the rent ledger, units, an annual summary and a list of statuses. It holds 60 units and 600 monthly rows, so a year of a small portfolio fits with room to spare, and four example rows show how it works before you delete them.

• Rent ledger. One row per unit per month: rent due, amount received, date received, status and the balance still owed.
• Units. Each unit once, with its property, tenant, monthly rent and due day. The ledger reads the rent from here.
• Annual summary. Pick a year: rent due, received and balance per unit, months paid and months unpaid, plus the same totals month by month.

How do you use a rent ledger template?

A rent ledger template works when you add each month's row before the rent arrives, not after. In the RentDue template you list your units once, add one row per unit at the start of the month with the rent due filled in, then type the amount, the date and the status when the money lands. Five minutes to set up, a minute a month after that.

1. List your units. In «Units», one line per unit: property, a unique unit name, tenant, monthly rent and due day.
2. Open the month. In «Rent ledger», add a row per unit with the first day of the month. Pick the unit and the property, tenant and rent due fill in.
3. Record the payment. When the transfer lands, type the amount and the date, and set the status to Paid. A partial payment stays Pending, with the balance showing what's left.
4. Check the year. In «Annual summary», type the year at the top and read the totals per unit and per month.
5. Clean up. Delete the four rows marked EXAMPLE before you start for real.

What should a rent ledger record for each month?

A rent ledger should record six things for each unit and month: the month, the rent due, the amount received, the date it arrived, a status and the balance. RentDue's template has a column for each, because each one answers a different question later, from "is anyone behind?" to "which tax year does this payment belong to?".

The date column matters more than it looks. Under the cash method, which the IRS says most individual taxpayers use, rental income is reported in the year you actually or constructively receive it, for example when it is credited to your bank account, regardless of when it was earned. January's rent paid on 30 December counts in the earlier year. The rules are in IRS Publication 527 (2025), Residential Rental Property, last reviewed on 30 April 2026. Outside the US, ask what your tax authority uses; this template is not tax advice.

Why do most free rent templates hide unpaid rent?

Most free rent templates hide unpaid rent because they only record what came in: a row appears when a payment arrives, so a month without a payment leaves no trace. RentDue's template starts from what was due instead. Each month opens with a row and a balance, and an unpaid month stays on screen as a number nobody can miss.

It is a small design choice with a large effect. A payments log answers "how much did I collect?", which you only ask at tax time. A ledger with rent due answers "who is behind, and by how much?", which you need in the first week of the month, while a missed payment is still one friendly message away from being fixed.

Is a rent ledger the same as a rent roll?

A rent ledger is not a rent roll, although the names get mixed up. A rent roll is a snapshot of a portfolio at one date (units, tenants, lease terms and current rent), the list a lender or a buyer asks for. A rent ledger is the month-by-month record of what was due and what was paid. RentDue's template is a ledger, with a units tab that works as a simple rent roll.

If someone asks you for a rent roll, the «Units» tab gives you most of it: property, unit, tenant, rent and the date the lease started. If they ask for payment history, the ledger is what they want.

What doesn't a spreadsheet rent ledger do?

A spreadsheet rent ledger doesn't remind you before the due day and doesn't mark a month unpaid on its own: every status in the RentDue template is set by hand, so a month nobody filled in simply stays blank. It also keeps no receipts and gets updated on a computer, usually days later.

When they start to cost you, RentDue does the same job from your phone, with no account: it opens each month for every unit on its own, reminds you before the due day while a unit is still pending, keeps an unpaid month in view until you resolve it, and stores the receipt as a photo or PDF. It's free for up to 2 properties with 3 units each. The comparison with spreadsheets in general is in how to track rent payments without a spreadsheet.

Is the rent ledger template free?

The rent ledger template is free: no email, no sign-up and no macros, and you can use it for your own rentals or for clients. RentDue makes it as a starting point for landlords who prefer a spreadsheet, and it works offline in Excel, Numbers and LibreOffice, or online once imported into Google Sheets.

Keep reading: How to Track Rent Payments Without a Spreadsheet · How to Track Missed Rent Payments