Landlord Software vs Spreadsheets: When to Switch
Let's be fair to the spreadsheet: it's free, you built it, and you understand every cell. For two units and tenants who pay on the 1st, it's genuinely fine. This page is about the day it stops being fine.
That day usually looks like: a tenant pays $700 of $1,300 rent, then $600 a week later, a late fee applies in between, and now your running balance is wrong in a way you won't notice until move-out. Software's job is making that impossible.
Competitor prices as of July 2026, per their published pricing — always check their current page.
Feature by feature, honestly
| Feature | LetsGoLandlord | Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|
| Running balance per lease that survives partial payments | Automatic — every charge and payment in order, to the penny | Formula you maintain by hand — one sort breaks it |
| Bank deposits matched to tenants | Automatic from bank feed or CSV, with a review queue | You, squinting at memos on Sunday night |
| Lease dates, renewals, deposit tracking | Extracted from the lease PDF by AI; renewals draft themselves at 90 days | A column you have to remember to look at |
| Maintenance records with photos and timestamps | Magic link per unit — tenants file requests, you get the timeline | Text messages you'll never find again |
| Schedule-E-ready expenses at tax time | Categorized as you go; April is one export | The shoebox, but digital |
| Cost | $15/mo for up to 5 units after a free 14-day trial | Free forever |
Who should stay with Spreadsheets
- •You have 1–2 units, reliable tenants, and genuinely enjoy maintaining the sheet.
- •Zero budget beats every feature — free is free.
- •You never take partial payments and never charge late fees (lucky you).
Switching is an afternoon, not a project
You don't even need to clean the spreadsheet: upload your lease PDFs and the AI builds your rent roll from the source documents. Or export the sheet to CSV and import it directly — the reconciliation queue flags anything ambiguous.
Frequently asked questions
Is $15/month worth it over a free spreadsheet?
It pays for itself the first time it catches a missed late fee or a short payment — one recovered $50 fee covers three months. If your books balance in under an hour a month by hand, stay with the sheet.
Can I import my existing spreadsheet?
Yes — export it to CSV and import; the matcher builds leases and reconciles payment history, and anything uncertain waits in a review queue. Your lease PDFs work even better.
What do I lose by switching?
Total layout freedom — a spreadsheet can be anything. Software trades that for guarantees: balances that always add up, dates that alert you, and records you can hand a judge or a CPA.
Do I still get my data as a spreadsheet?
Always. Rent roll, ledger, and expenses export to CSV anytime — your data is never locked in.
See your rent roll build itself
14-day free trial. Every feature. No credit card.
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