Property bookkeeping support and rent roll controls

Maintain a change report for move-ins, move-outs, renewals, transfers, rent changes, concessions, and unit-status changes. For each change, keep the property and unit, tenant or lease identifier, effective date, prior value, new value, source document, person entering it, and approver.

The bookkeeper can enter a signed lease, approved amendment, or property-manager instruction under a documented process. The bookkeeper should not set rent, alter lease dates, grant a concession, or mark a unit occupied or vacant based on an informal message without the required authorization. Restrict edit rights in the property system and use named accounts with multifactor authentication where supported.

At a common cutoff date, compare the rent roll with active lease records. Check base rent, recurring fees, concessions, start and end dates, deposit requirement, and billing frequency. Then compare those terms with charges posted to each tenant ledger.

Review exceptions such as occupied units without current charges, vacant units still billing rent, increases posted before their effective date, expired concessions still reducing rent, duplicate fees, and leases near expiration with no documented status. A difference is not automatically an error - for example, a charge may be prorated under approved policy - but its basis should be reproducible.

Roll forward tenant receivables using opening balance, current charges, receipts, credits, write-offs, and ending balance. Total the tenant subledger by property and compare it with the general-ledger receivable. Trace receipts to deposit records and bank activity, keeping unapplied cash separate until there is support for tenant allocation.

Review aged balances, negative tenant balances, returned payments, manual credits, and write-offs. Property management decides collection action and tenant application questions; an authorized finance owner approves write-offs and accounting corrections. The bookkeeper can prepare the aging, investigate source records, and post approved adjustments.

Reconcile deposit requirements from leases to deposit transactions, the tenant deposit subledger, general-ledger liability, and applicable bank records. Do not mix security deposits with rent receipts merely because they arrive together. Deposit handling and disposition can be subject to lease terms and jurisdiction-specific rules, so property management or qualified advisers should approve transfers, deductions, and refunds.

A deposit exception log should identify the tenant, amount, receipt date, ledger treatment, bank reference, issue, and owner. This makes missing support and unapplied amounts visible without asking the bookkeeper to make legal or lease interpretations.

Repairs, utilities, management fees, and other property costs should carry the correct property and, when required, unit or owner dimension. Match invoices to approval and evidence of service under company policy. Payment release remains with an authorized role.

Before issuing an owner or management statement, tie rental income, receivables, deposits, and material property expenses back to reconciled schedules and the general ledger. Show unresolved items rather than silently allocating them. IRS recordkeeping guidance provides general context for retaining transaction support.

The finished review packet should include the dated rent roll, lease-change report, charge comparison, receivable and deposit reconciliations, bank references, and exception log. Review depth should respond to changes and risk - not a fixed number of prior cycles. The related SOP handoff template, access review checklist, and close exception log can help document the workflow.