Owner statements and rental property accounting
RL Property Management issues a monthly owner statement showing every dollar collected and spent, disburses funds electronically on the 10th, and gives you a real-time owner portal. Year-end reporting is covered by a $125 per business entity annual fee.
The short version
- Monthly owner statement on every managed unit
- Electronic disbursement on the 10th, about 2 to 3 business days to appear in your account
- Real-time owner portal, not a monthly PDF only
- $125 per business entity annual technology and accounting fee, covers annual account and tax reporting.
- $250 to change ownership entity, including year-to-date financials for the prior entity
- Reserve of $350 to $1,500 per unit, shown on your statement and still your money
- 96% of rent collected by the 5th
- Every published fee appears on the fee schedule, so a statement holds no surprises
Why does rental accounting go wrong?
Because most owners are reconstructing a year of activity in March from a bank feed and a folder of emails. By then you cannot remember whether a payment to a contractor in June was a repair you deduct this year or an improvement you depreciate, and the difference is real money.
The second failure is a statement you cannot tie out. If the deposit in your bank account does not match a line on the statement, you are not being reported to, you are being summarized at. Every fee we charge is published on the fee schedule, which is the only way a statement can be genuinely surprise-free.
What is on an owner statement?
Six groups. If a statement you receive from any manager does not separate these, ask why.
Income
Rent collected, late fees, pet fees, any other resident charges that were actually received. Billed is not collected, and a statement that shows only billed rent is telling you what should have happened.
Management fee
Your flat plan fee, $117, $137 or $184 per unit. It does not move when rent moves.
Maintenance
Labor at $84 per hour plus the $15 trip charge, materials at cost, and any vendor invoice with the 15% project fee shown as its own line.
Leasing and renewals
Placing a resident is $0. A renewal is $250 on the date the lease renews. Photography, when it applies, is $250 to $450 and appears separately.
Reserve
The $350 to $1,500 per unit held on your account. It is your money, held so a repair does not wait on a funding request, and it is returned when management ends.
Disbursement
What was sent to you, on the 10th.
What do you need at tax time?
Four things, and a manager should hand you three of them without being asked.
- The annual statement. Income and expense by category for the full year, per property.
- Your 1099. Rent collected on your behalf, reported to you and to the IRS, sent early in the year.
- Capital improvement records. Kept separately from repairs all year, because your CPA depreciates one and deducts the other.
- Mortgage, insurance and tax records. These are yours, not ours, unless we pay them from your account. Keep them where the statement can be reconciled against them.
The annual technology and accounting fee is $125 per business entity per business entity and covers annual account and tax reporting.
Why does a flat fee make the books simpler?
Because the management line is the same number every month. A percentage fee changes with collections, so a month where a resident paid late and then paid double reads as a fee anomaly you have to investigate. Ours is $117, $137 or $184 per unit, every month, whatever the rent did.
One exception, in your favor: if a property has been listed for rent longer than 60 days, we proactively credit management fees back to your account, and that credit appears on the statement.
Owner reporting and accounting questions
What is on a monthly owner statement?
Income actually collected, the flat management fee, maintenance labor and materials, any vendor invoices with the 15% project fee itemized, leasing or renewal fees, the reserve balance, and the amount disbursed to you. The test of a good statement is whether you can tie the deposit in your bank account to the bottom line without a phone call.
When are owner funds disbursed?
Electronically on the 10th of each month, taking about 2 to 3 business days to appear in your account. The days between the 5th and the 10th are when the month closes: payments clear and invoices post, so the statement and the deposit agree.
Do I get a 1099 for my rental property?
Yes. We issue you a 1099 each year reporting the rent collected on your behalf, and it goes out early in the year, ahead of the filing deadline. Your accountant will also want the annual statement, which shows income and expenses by category for the full year.
Is there an accounting fee?
$125 per business entity per business entity per year. Covers annual account and tax reporting. It is per entity rather than per unit, so an owner holding several properties in one LLC pays it once.
What if I move my property into an LLC?
$250. New agreement prepared, plus year-to-date financials for the previous entity. The year-to-date financials matter more than the paperwork: without them the old entity has an incomplete year and your accountant has a gap.
Can I see what is happening between statements?
Yes. The owner portal is real time, so work orders, payments and invoices appear as they happen rather than at month end. The monthly statement is the close, not the only visibility you get.
What records should I keep as a rental owner?
Every statement, every invoice above your own capitalization threshold, closing documents from purchase, and a running record of capital improvements as distinct from repairs. The repair versus improvement distinction is the one that costs owners money at tax time, and it is far easier to track as you go than to reconstruct in March. Ask your CPA where that line sits for your situation.
Do you handle my taxes?
No. We are a property manager and a licensed Ohio brokerage, not an accounting firm. We produce the records your CPA needs and we answer their questions about a line item. Filing, entity structure and depreciation decisions belong with your own tax professional.
Last verified September 2026. Reviewed by Peter Lohmann, Principal Broker and CEO.
Where to go next
Get books you can hand to your CPA
A monthly statement that ties to your deposit, a real-time portal, and year-end records that do not need reconstructing.