Managing a portfolio with multiple properties in Rentastic can sometimes mean dealing with income and expenses that affect all of your properties. In such cases, you may wonder when to classify a transaction under the “Entire Portfolio” category and how that affects your reports.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the logic behind the “Entire Portfolio” classification and when it’s a good idea to split transactions across specific properties.
Understanding the “Entire Portfolio” Category
The “Entire Portfolio” category in Rentastic is essentially treated like a standalone property. Any transaction classified here will not automatically be divided among your individual properties. Instead, you need to run separate reports for the “Entire Portfolio” and manually allocate the amount to each relevant property.
How Does It Work?
Let’s say you have a $20,000 expense categorized under the “Entire Portfolio.” This could represent something like an insurance payment or a property management fee that covers all of your properties. Here’s how you would handle it:
- Run a report (such as a Profit & Loss report or a Money In/Money Out report) for your “Entire Portfolio.”
- Divide the total amount by the number of properties in your portfolio. For example, if you have 4 properties, the $20,000 expense would be divided equally:
$20,000 ÷ 4 properties = $5,000 per property - Once divided, you’ll know how much each property is responsible for.
Note: This process does not automatically update individual property reports, so you’ll need to manually account for this division in your bookkeeping.
When Should You Split Transactions Instead?
If you prefer your reports for each property to automatically reflect the shared expenses or income, the better option is to split the transaction. This allows you to distribute the expense or income across the specific properties directly, making your reports more accurate and easier to manage.
Benefits of Splitting Transactions:
- Automatic reflection in property-specific reports: You won’t need to manually adjust reports after running them.
- More accurate bookkeeping: Ensures that every property reflects its share of the transaction, making future reports (such as Profit & Loss) more straightforward.
How to Split Transactions:
For a step-by-step guide on how to split transactions across multiple properties, follow this guide on splitting transactions.
Which Option Is Right for You?
- If the transaction affects all of your properties equally, but you don’t need it to show up in each property’s individual report automatically, the Entire Portfolio option is simple and effective.
- If you want the transaction to appear in each property’s report, the best practice is to split the transaction. This ensures your reports reflect the expense or income at the property level without manual adjustments.