Managing 140 units: Bookkeeping makes or breaks real estate

If you really want to see whether your systems work, try managing 140 rental units.

That’s what Collin Scott does. He’s an investor, property manager, and licensed agent who’s handled everything from single-family rentals to 30–40 unit complexes. And listening to him talk about property management made one thing clear:

Property management isn’t just tenants and repairs.
It’s systems, documentation, and financial control.

If your books and records are messy, everything else eventually breaks.

Property Management Is a Numbers Job (Whether You Like It or Not)

Collin put it simply:

“The goal is to maximize the owner’s passive income while minimizing their active stress.”

Sounds simple. It’s not.

Because behind the scenes, property management really means:

• Collecting rent and tracking who paid (and who didn’t)
• Paying vendors, utilities, insurance, and taxes
• Handling deposits, late fees, and reimbursements
• Reporting clean numbers to owners and partners

If your rent ledger is off or expenses are scattered across accounts and spreadsheets, you’re not managing a property — you’re guessing.

And guessing gets expensive.

Maintenance = Paperwork (Even When You Ignore It)

Every repair creates a trail:

• Work orders
• Vendor invoices
• Photos
• Approvals
• Warranties

If you don’t document it now, you’ll be digging for it later — during tax season, an insurance claim, or a dispute with a tenant or partner.

Real estate remembers everything. Even when you don’t.

Compliance Is Where Bad Records Hurt the Most

Fair housing rules, safety standards, inspections, notices, all of it is paperwork heavy.

If someone ever asks:

• “Did you fix this?”
• “When was this handled?”
• “Can you prove it?”

Your answer is only as good as your documentation.

No records = no protection.

One Smart Move: Deposit Installment Agreements

A great real-world example came up around security deposits.

Instead of discounting deposits for tenants who can’t pay upfront, Collin uses deposit installment agreements:

• Written agreement
• Monthly payments added to rent
• Fully funded by lease end

That only works if:

• The agreement is documented
• Payments are tracked cleanly
• Everything ties back to the lease file

That’s bookkeeping and recordkeeping working together — not extra work, just smarter structure.

Why Bookkeeping Automation Matters (Especially After a Few Units)

Once you pass a handful of rentals, manual bookkeeping becomes a time drain:

• Rent payments
• Late fees
• Vendor bills
• Utilities
• Turns
• Deposits
• Inspections
• Taxes and insurance

This is why experienced operators move toward bookkeeping automation and document-first systems.

Not for perfection — for clarity.

When a lender, CPA, or partner asks:
“What happened here?”

You should be able to answer in minutes, not days.

A Simple Rule for Better Records

Every property should have:

• One place for leases and renewals
• One place for applications and screening
• One place for photos and inspections
• One place for invoices and receipts

And every expense should have a reason, not just a receipt.

If you can’t explain why money left the account, it’s a future problem.

The Real Lesson From 140 Units

Managing more properties doesn’t make real estate easier.

It just forces a choice:

Get organized, or stay stressed.

Bookkeeping and recordkeeping aren’t “back office” tasks. They’re what give you control, protect your downside, and let you scale without chaos.

Because in real estate, one rule always holds:

If you can’t prove it, you don’t really control it.