How to tell which tenant paid: memo codes and exact-cent amounts
Give every unit two identifiers that travel with the money: a short memo code such as 12B SMITH, and a rent amount with its own cents. When a deposit arrives, the cents point to one unit and the memo confirms it. With both in place, reconciling a month of rent becomes a ten minute check instead of an afternoon of guessing.
Why rent deposits are hard to match
When tenants pay your bank directly, your statement shows what the sending bank chose to pass along: usually an amount, a date and some version of a name. That name may be a spouse, a roommate, a parent or a business. Memos can be shortened or missing, depending on how the tenant sent the money. And in an apartment building, many units share the same rent.
Example a made-up 16 unit building has ten units at $1,150 and six at $1,325. On the 2nd of the month the bank shows nine deposits of $1,150. Two came from people whose names are not on any lease. Without another clue, you cannot say which two units they cover, or which unit has not paid.
The fix is to make each payment carry its own fingerprint, so you never depend on one clue alone.
Memo codes: what to ask tenants to type
A memo code is a short, fixed text the tenant types into the memo or note field of every payment. Keep it short so it survives any bank that trims long notes, and make it unique to the unit.
- Use the unit first, then the last name: 12B SMITH. The unit never changes during a lease, and the name helps when a roommate pays.
- Use capital letters and no punctuation. Some systems drop special characters.
- Keep it under about 20 characters.
- Give the code once, in writing, in the lease packet and the welcome note, and repeat it in every reminder.
- For properties with the same unit numbers, add a short property tag in your own records, not in the memo, by giving each property its own bank account.
Exact-cent amounts: the clue that never gets lost
A memo can be forgotten. The amount cannot, because it is the payment itself. If every unit pays a slightly different amount, the cents alone tell you which unit sent it. Owners do this by setting each unit’s monthly amount with its own cents, for example $1,150.12 for one unit and $1,150.27 for another, and listing that exact figure in the lease or rent notice. Agree the exact figure with the tenant in writing and keep it the same every month.
| Unit | Memo code | Exact amount | What a deposit tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 1A GARCIA | $1,150.12 | Cents .12 belong only to 1A |
| 1B | 1B NGUYEN | $1,150.27 | Cents .27 belong only to 1B |
| 2A | 2A PATEL | $1,150.41 | Cents .41 belong only to 2A |
| 2B | 2B OKAFOR | $1,325.08 | Higher rent and cents .08 point to 2B |
Example a made-up deposit of $1,150.27 arrives from "J. Lee" with no memo. No tenant is named Lee, but only unit 1B owes an amount ending in .27. You check 1B’s file and find that the tenant’s partner is Jordan Lee. Matched in seconds.
A monthly reconciliation routine
- Export or open the property bank account for the rent period.
- Sort deposits by amount. Match every deposit whose cents are unique to one unit.
- For what is left, read the memo code and the sender name.
- Mark each unit paid, short (paid less than owed) or unpaid in your rent roll.
- List anything that matched no unit. Ask the bank for the sender details or message the likely tenant.
- Send reminders to unpaid units the same day your grace period ends.
- Record the total of matched rent and check it equals the deposits for the period, minus anything that is not rent.
Doing this weekly during the first ten days of the month keeps it short. Doing it once at year end is how owners lose track of who owes what.
When payments do not match
One payment covers two units
A tenant who rents two units sends one sum. Split it in your records by the two exact amounts. If the total is a few cents off, record the difference as a balance on one of the units rather than guessing.
Two payments for one unit
Roommates often pay separately. Expect two deposits that add up to the unit’s exact amount. Ask roommates to use the same memo code so you can pair them.
The amount is short
A short payment is a partial payment, and in some states accepting one has legal effects. Read partial rent payments before you decide what to do.
A deposit you cannot place at all
Do not guess. Leave it as unapplied cash until you know whose it is. ACH and Zelle payments from the same bank arrive quickly, per Nacha and Zelle, so a quick message to the tenants still marked unpaid usually solves it the same day.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping gives each tenant a memo like 12B SMITH and an exact amount with its own cents, and tenants pay your own bank, by transfer or by Zelle where your bank supports it. DoorKeeping never holds the money. Each property keeps its own ledger and bank account, so rent for one building never mixes with another. Bank feeds match each deposit to its unit automatically, and you can ask your AI app who still owes rent this month.
Sources
- Nacha, What is ACH, read Oct 29, 2026
- Zelle, FAQ, read Oct 29, 2026
Questions
- What should tenants put in the memo when paying rent?
- A short, fixed code with the unit and last name, such as 12B SMITH, in capital letters with no punctuation. The same code every month makes matching quick.
- Why give each unit rent with different cents?
- Because the amount always arrives with the payment, even when the memo is missing. If only one unit owes an amount ending in .27, any deposit ending in .27 belongs to that unit.
- How often should I reconcile rent deposits?
- Weekly for the first ten days of the month, then once more at month end. Short, frequent checks catch missing and partial payments while they are still easy to fix.