How to move your rentals from spreadsheets to AI first property management
Switch when the spreadsheet starts costing you more than it saves: rent you have to chase by hand, receipts you cannot find at tax time, or a second tab that no longer matches the first. Move in this order: your units and tenants, your lease dates, your opening balances as of a cutover date, then your bank. Keep the old file read-only afterwards. Nothing needs to be re-typed if the software reads your file.
Signs the spreadsheet has run its course
- You check the bank by hand to see who has paid.
- You have more than one copy of the file, and they differ.
- You cannot answer "what did I spend on repairs at Oak Court this year" without a half hour of filtering.
- A tenant asks for their payment history and you build it by hand.
- You forget lease end dates, or only remember because a tenant reminds you.
- Tax season starts with a search through email for receipts.
A spreadsheet is a good tool for a few units. It stops being one when several things depend on it at once: money, dates, documents and tax records.
Clean the file before you move it
Ten minutes of tidying saves an hour afterward. In the rent roll tab:
- One row per unit, with the unit name written the same way everywhere.
- For each unit: tenant names, email, phone, monthly rent, lease start and end, deposit held and current balance.
- Dates in one format. Amounts as numbers, not text with dollar signs.
- Vacant units listed too, with the rent you ask.
- A note for anything unusual: a payment plan, a voucher, a roommate who pays a share.
If your expense history is in another tab, check that each row has a date, a payee, an amount and a property. A category column is helpful but not required; software can usually suggest one.
What to move, in order
| Step | What | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Properties and units | Everything else hangs from them |
| 2 | Tenants and leases | Rent, dates and renewals depend on them |
| 3 | Opening balances at a cutover date | So history before that date is not re-entered |
| 4 | Bank connection | New rent is matched from here on |
| 5 | Vendors and open bills | So repairs and payables continue |
| 6 | Past expenses, if you want a full year in one place | Useful for Schedule E and reports |
Pick the cutover date as the first of a month. Everything after it lives in the new system and everything before it stays in the old file, which you keep for your records. The IRS recommends keeping records that support a return for as long as they may be needed; see Publication 583.
Example a made-up owner moves 12 units on July 1. Tenants carry over with the balance they owe on June 30: ten owe $0, one owes $400 and one has a $150 credit. Deposits carry over at $14,400 in all, which equals the bank's deposit account. From July 1, new rent is matched to the bank. The old spreadsheet stays as the record of January to June.
Mistakes to avoid
- Running both systems for months. Pick a cutover date and stop updating the old file.
- Importing balances without checking them against your bank and tenant ledgers.
- Forgetting security deposits. They are a liability that has to match the bank.
- Moving everything at once with no check. Import one property first, look at it and then do the rest.
- Deleting the spreadsheet. Keep it, read-only.
How DoorKeeping handles it
In DoorKeeping you drop your spreadsheet, or a rent roll PDF or an export from another product, onto one screen. The AI reads the columns and maps them for you, shows a preview with problems flagged and one-tap fixes, and carries opening balances over as of your cutover date. Nothing posts until you confirm. If you would rather not do it yourself, you can send your files and have the import drafted for you to confirm.
After the import you run your rentals by asking Claude or ChatGPT, with a web app for approvals and dashboards. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. Tenants pay $0 by bank transfer or Zelle. DoorKeeping is $2 per unit a month, every feature included, no setup and no minimum, so the 12 unit owner above would pay $24 a month.
Sources
- IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Can I import my rent roll from Excel or Google Sheets?
- Yes. Export it as a spreadsheet file and drop it into the import screen. The columns are read and mapped for you to check.
- What cutover date should I pick?
- The first day of a month, ideally after you have closed the previous month in your old file.
- Do I need to move all my past expenses?
- No. Opening balances are enough to continue. Past expenses are worth importing if you want a full year of reports in one place.
- Should I delete my spreadsheet afterwards?
- No. Keep it as read-only history for your tax records.