Quick Summary
A rental property cash flow spreadsheet tracks income, expenses, and net per unit. Includes Excel template, worked example for a 4-unit portfolio, and Schedule E categories.
Quick answer. A rental property cash flow spreadsheet has one tab per unit plus a portfolio summary tab. Each unit tab tracks monthly rent, vacancy, and 12 expense categories that match IRS Schedule E. The summary aggregates net cash flow, occupancy rate, and YTD income across all units. Our Rental Property Cash Flow Excel template is $12 with the structure pre-built.
For small landlords (1 to 10 units), a spreadsheet handles cash flow tracking better than property management software. It’s cheaper, customizable, and the data structure matches what you need at tax time. This post covers the per-unit and portfolio sheet structure, expense categories aligned with Schedule E, and a worked example for a 4-unit portfolio.
Per-unit sheet structure
One tab per rental unit. Each tab tracks 12 months across 14 rows.
Header rows (rows 1 to 3):
- Row 1: Unit address
- Row 2: Type (single-family, duplex, multi-family unit, condo)
- Row 3: Tenant name and lease end date
Income rows (4 to 5):
- Row 4: Monthly rent
- Row 5: Other income (parking, pets, late fees, laundry)
Expense rows (6 to 17):
- Row 6: Mortgage principal and interest
- Row 7: Property tax (allocated monthly even if paid annually)
- Row 8: Insurance
- Row 9: HOA
- Row 10: Utilities (landlord-paid)
- Row 11: Property management fees
- Row 12: Repairs and maintenance
- Row 13: Cleaning and turnover
- Row 14: Lawn and snow
- Row 15: Pest control
- Row 16: Vacancy reserve (typical 5 to 10 percent of monthly rent)
- Row 17: Capital reserve (typical 5 to 10 percent of monthly rent)
Net cash flow row (18): Income minus expenses.
Columns 2 through 13: January through December. Column 14: Annual total.
That’s the structure. 14 rows by 13 columns per unit, plus header. Filled out monthly.
Expense categories aligned with Schedule E
If you file Schedule E for rental income (which you do, in the US), the categories above map directly to the form’s lines:
| Spreadsheet row | Schedule E line |
|---|---|
| Mortgage interest | Line 12 (Mortgage interest paid to banks) |
| Property tax | Line 16 (Taxes) |
| Insurance | Line 9 (Insurance) |
| HOA | Line 19 (Other) |
| Utilities | Line 17 (Utilities) |
| Property management | Line 11 (Management fees) |
| Repairs | Line 14 (Repairs) |
| Cleaning | Line 7 (Cleaning and maintenance) |
| Lawn and snow | Line 14 (Repairs) or Line 19 (Other) |
| Pest control | Line 14 (Repairs) |
Mortgage principal isn’t deductible (it’s a balance sheet item). Vacancy and capital reserves aren’t tax-deductible either; they’re cash management for your own planning, not IRS lines.
Year-end, you copy the totals from each unit tab to your Schedule E. The mapping is one-to-one if your category names match.
Portfolio summary tab
Aggregates across all units.
| Metric | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual rent | 24,000 | 18,000 | 21,600 | 19,200 | 82,800 |
| Other income | 600 | 480 | 0 | 720 | 1,800 |
| Total income | 24,600 | 18,480 | 21,600 | 19,920 | 84,600 |
| Mortgage P+I | 11,400 | 8,800 | 9,800 | 10,200 | 40,200 |
| Property tax | 3,200 | 2,400 | 2,800 | 2,600 | 11,000 |
| Insurance | 1,200 | 950 | 1,100 | 1,050 | 4,300 |
| Utilities | 0 | 1,800 | 0 | 0 | 1,800 |
| Management | 1,968 | 1,478 | 1,728 | 1,594 | 6,768 |
| Repairs | 800 | 1,200 | 600 | 1,400 | 4,000 |
| Other | 600 | 720 | 480 | 540 | 2,340 |
| Vacancy reserve | 1,200 | 900 | 1,080 | 960 | 4,140 |
| Capital reserve | 1,200 | 900 | 1,080 | 960 | 4,140 |
| Total expenses | 21,568 | 19,148 | 18,668 | 19,304 | 78,688 |
| Net cash flow | 3,032 | (668) | 2,932 | 616 | 5,912 |
The summary makes Unit 2 visible as a problem. Negative cash flow on a single unit can be tolerable in context (long-term appreciation, tax benefits, paying down a mortgage that builds equity), but knowing it requires the breakdown.
A worked example: 4-unit portfolio
Marcus owns a duplex (Units 1 and 2) and two single-family rentals (Units 3 and 4). 2026 totals (per the table above):
- Total income: $84,600
- Total expenses (cash): $70,408
- Net cash flow: $5,912 (after vacancy and capital reserves)
- Mortgage principal paid (equity buildup): $9,800
Total economic return: $5,912 (cash) + $9,800 (principal) = $15,712 in 2026. Plus appreciation (not in cash flow).
Marcus also gets depreciation deductions, which reduce his taxable rental income (often to zero or negative for new investors), even though depreciation is a non-cash item. His tax-paper return looks much better than his cash return; both are real.
Where the spreadsheet helps
Visibility into per-unit performance. Aggregated portfolio numbers hide single-unit problems. The per-unit tabs surface them.
Tax preparation. The category alignment with Schedule E means year-end Schedule E filing is mostly copy-paste from the spreadsheet’s totals.
Sale or refinance decisions. When you’re considering selling Unit 2 or refinancing Unit 3, the historical cash flow data is the input. The spreadsheet keeps it organized.
Cash flow forecasting. Comparing year-over-year cash flow per unit shows which trends matter (rent growth keeping pace with expense growth, repair patterns indicating end-of-life on systems).
Where the spreadsheet falls short
Tenant communication and lease management. Property management apps (Avail, Rentec Direct, Buildium) handle this much better. Spreadsheets aren’t the right tool for collecting rent payments or sending lease renewal notices.
Maintenance request tracking. Same; apps with photo upload and ticket workflows beat spreadsheets here.
Tax document generation. The spreadsheet helps you assemble Schedule E but doesn’t file it. Use accounting software or tax prep software for the actual return.
For a small landlord (1 to 5 units) doing self-management, the spreadsheet for cash flow plus a free tool like Avail for tenant management is a low-cost stack. For 10+ units, a dedicated property management platform is usually worth the cost.
What I’d add after a year of using one
Three additions that turned out to matter.
A “lease renewal” date column on the unit tab header. A 60-day reminder before lease end gives time to negotiate renewal or list. Easy to forget without a visible reminder.
A “year built” and “system ages” notes section. When the HVAC, water heater, roof, and major appliances were last replaced. Helps anticipate capital expenses. Saved me from a surprise furnace replacement that I should have seen coming.
A “neighborhood comp rent” cell. Updated annually based on local listings. Tells you whether you’re under-market and could raise on renewal, or whether you’re at top of market and need to focus on tenant retention.
Five extra cells, real change in landlord situational awareness.
Where to keep the data
Excel or Google Sheets both work. A few practical considerations:
- Multi-device access: Sheets via cloud sync; Excel via OneDrive.
- Sharing with a partner or accountant: Sheets has finer-grained permissions; Excel works via OneDrive shared links.
- Backup: Both auto-save to cloud if you use the cloud versions. Local Excel files require your own backup discipline.
- Mobile entry: Both have apps. Sheets renders better on phones in my experience; Excel is better on tablets.
The Rental Property Cash Flow Excel template ships in Excel format and works in Google Sheets after upload. Most landlords use Sheets for the multi-device access; some prefer Excel for offline reliability.
Get the template
- Cash Flow Forecast — 12-month small-business cash flow with runway and pipeline weighting.
- Annual Tax Planner — Schedule A and Schedule C categories with quarterly estimate math built in.
- Annual Tax Planner — Schedule A and Schedule C categories with quarterly estimate math built in.
- Rental Property Cash Flow Ultimate ($19) — Multi-property tabs, depreciation schedule, cash-on-cash return, and year-over-year comparison.