If the thought of paperwork makes you shudder, you’re not alone! We’re all guilty of shoving the paperwork in a drawer and putting it on a ‘to do’ list.

From rental applications, invoices and receipts, to leases and inspection checklists, paperwork is quite possibly one of the most tedious part of the rental process.

However, you do need to document everything, so it is vital you stay organised and on top of paperwork for your tenants and most of all, for tax purposes.

Paperwork needn’t be difficult or time consuming; these tips will help you manage your investment property paperwork:

Set time aside

First and foremost, set the time aside, ideally once a month, to go through your paperwork. Easier said than done sometimes when the kids are vying for your time, but look at it like this:

• you avoid the year-end panic of wading through bank statements and expense receipts,
• it avoids giving accountants a task that’s often more expensive and long-winded than it should be.

This means more money in your back pocket and less stress in the long run.

Plus, you have peace of mind you are on top of all the necessary legal work, such as renewed insurance and annual fire alarm checks.

Record financial transactions

It is essential you record all the incomings and outgoings. Incomings are easy, as this is the agreed amount of rental paid to you from your tenant each month. Outgoing are a bit more demanding as there are more of them – essential maintenance, strata fees, interest and insurance but to name a few.

Every time you incur an expense for the property, the minimum you should record is the date, amount, type of expense and who you paid. It is also essential you keep both your electronic and paper receipts whenever you make a payment.

Many landlords use a spreadsheet to log their financial transactions – if you can’t create your own, there are numerous other property management templates or apps available.

The other plus of regularly monitoring your finances is you will know exactly how much you have made (income), the amount you have spent (expenses), and hence your cash flow (ie how much your property is bringing in). This will help you for financial planning and making future decisions.

Get a good filing system

As well as financial paperwork, there is also other paperwork associated with the tenancy, such as leases. Ensure you create a dedicated folder on your computer for electronic documents and they are named and dated, and filed in an ordered way.

When it comes to physical paperwork, again, ensure you have dedicated, clearly labelled folders and they are stored in a safe place. If you are storing documents electronically, you will need to back up your system regularly.

Many landlords keep both a digital and a printed copy of all their documents, that way there is a backup in both formats.

Streamline processes

The digital world is enabling more and more to be done electronically. Tenants expect to be able to contact you via email or text message, but using an online portal has a few more advantages; not only can tenants quickly flag issues, but you can quickly respond and give regular updates. In fact, many rental tasks have now moved online, such as online signing.

Another plus of tenants accessing and filling out forms online, you are making life a lot easier for the tenant, and giving them a better rental experience.

The feedback from our owners’ online portal is that it is convenient and a comprehensive way of managing rental properties. Landlords who use our portal can view statements, financial reporting, ongoing maintenance, upcoming events, inspection reports and more. Furthermore, tenants love our portal as they can see their statements, create new maintenance requests, see upcoming events, access receipts, rental information and lots more.

Use a property manager

A good property manager not only manage the physical side of your investment property, such as finding a tenant and managing your maintenance, they also manage and correctly record the financial outgoings paperwork and present to you at the end of each month.

With many of our team having investment properties themselves, we are always exchanging ideas and giving top tips!

If you want to know more about our property management services or investing in property, get in touch. Our motto is very simple – we treat every property as if it’s one of our own.

We’ve helped thousands of people realise their dreams through property and our aim is to make your life easier. Simply give us a ring on 02 4956 9777, send us an email to mail@newcastlepropertymanagement.com.au or pop into our Cardiff office for a chat.

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