Understand Rentari accounting terms
Find plain-language meanings for banking, loan, report, asset and bookkeeping terms.
On this page
An accounting entry records activity; it does not by itself move money. Report sources, selected dates and property scope determine which records a report includes.
Use the topic links in On this page to find a term, then open its guide for the actual workflow. Read the report source and selected property before interpreting a total.
Banking
| Term | Meaning in Rentari |
|---|---|
| Account register | An account-by-account view of recorded activity. In Rentari, Account register is a report; check its date range, account filters and source before comparing it with a bank statement. |
| Bank export | A transaction file downloaded from a bank. Rentari’s Upload transactions form accepts CSV, XLS, XLSX, OFX and QBO up to 5 MB. It imports directly; prepare the columns and compare overlapping dates first. |
| Batch booking | Applying a bookkeeping action to several selected imported rows. Review that the selected rows belong together before using a shared action; the selection is not a guarantee that their categories or properties match. |
| Booking a transaction | Turning reviewed activity into an accounting record with the appropriate type, category and scope. Importing a row alone is different from booking it; existing matching rules can book eligible imports automatically. |
| Depository accounts | Bank checking or savings accounts. In Accounting, a linked connection supplies import data and a manual account holds manually entered or uploaded activity. Neither choice changes a tenant’s payment destination. |
| Import feed | The workspace for reviewing bank activity brought into Accounting. To book opens this feed. Review the account, dates, possible duplicates and booking status before creating another record for the same event. |
| Import start date | The earliest requested period for bringing in activity. Provider history can be limited, and statement uploads also respect the default book’s Bookkeeping start date. A date selection does not guarantee that every earlier bank event is available. |
| Portfolio-level transaction | Activity recorded for the portfolio instead of one rental. Its inclusion and allocation depend on the selected report and filters; assigning it to a portfolio does not automatically distribute it across every property. |
| Reconciliation | Comparing recorded account activity and balances with a bank statement, then investigating differences. Rentari’s reconciliation workflow offers Lock the period for an account after the statement balances; review the statement before locking. |
| Transaction matching rules | Saved conditions and bookkeeping assignments applied to eligible imports. Rentari rules can immediately book matching rows. Review the description, account, optional amount and resulting records instead of treating a match as independent confirmation. |
| Transaction scope | Which book, portfolio, property or unit an entry or report applies to. Available filters vary by workflow. Check the selected rental and report source; a property group and a separate set of books serve different purposes. |
| Owner funds | Owner money recorded through equity rather than rental revenue or a bank connection. The chart can include Owner Funds and Owner equity. Use Owner contribution or Owner distribution for the actual direction of the owner’s money. |
Loans
| Term | Meaning in Rentari |
|---|---|
| Amortization | Paying down loan principal over time while recording interest separately. Rentari’s current loan-payment workflow uses the actual principal, interest and other components from the lender statement. A saved suggestion is not a verified lender calculation. |
| Current loan balance | The principal still owed at a stated date. Rentari’s dated loan tracker needs the statement balance and its date. The tracker and a general-ledger opening debt entry must be checked separately. |
| Monthly loan payment | The amount paid to the lender, potentially including principal, interest, lender escrow and additional principal. Record a loan payment records money already paid; its reviewed components must add up to the total. |
| Opening balance | A starting asset, liability or equity amount carried from prior records. Opening balances & journals separates submitting an entry from approving its posting. A journal entry does not itself update a loan or fixed-asset schedule. |
| Escrow accounts | For a mortgage, funds the lender holds to pay items such as taxes or insurance. Funding Lender escrow is separate from recording an expense when the lender pays it. This is also separate from tenant security-deposit handling. |
Reports
| Term | Meaning in Rentari |
|---|---|
| Balance sheet | A view of recorded assets, liabilities and equity at a date. The accounting relationship is assets equal liabilities plus equity. Read the report’s source and notes; a recorded balance is not a live bank valuation. |
| Cap rate | A performance measure using annualized net operating income and the property value recorded for the calculation. Rentari’s Cap rate depends on those inputs and the selected period; it does not independently appraise the property. |
| Cash flow statement | A report of recorded money coming in and going out over a period. Financing, owner movements and capital purchases can affect cash differently from profit. Check the report’s categories, dates and included records. |
| Cash-on-cash return | A comparison of cash flow with cash invested. Rentari’s Cash on cash return uses recorded property and loan information. Check those inputs and the report period before comparing properties. |
| General ledger | An account-organized record of accounting activity. Rentari offers General ledger export. Check the displayed source: a transaction-ledger export and a journal-based report can include different records, especially newly approved journals. |
| Net income (profit & loss) | Income less the expenses included in the report. Rentari’s Profit and loss (P&L) can use different report sources and property allocations. Net income is different from the cash currently available in a bank. |
| Net operating income | Income from operations less operating expenses, with financing and other non-operating items treated separately. In Rentari, open Net operating income (NOI) and read its notes and selected period before comparing it with profit or cash flow. |
| Operating cash flow | A measure of recorded cash activity for the report’s defined operating scope. Rentari’s view can include loan payments and optional asset purchases. Read its line items and options rather than assuming it equals NOI. |
| Schedule E | An IRS schedule used to report certain rental and other income and expenses. Rentari’s Schedule E report organizes recorded amounts for review. Its categories do not determine eligibility or file a tax return. |
| Sub-portfolios | Groups used to organize properties and reporting. When offered under Accounting settings, Sub-portfolios opens RentariIQ in the current workspace. A grouping is not by itself a separate legal entity or a guarantee of separate accounting records. |
| Return on investment (ROI) | A general investment-performance term whose meaning depends on the return, costs and period being compared. Rentari’s Cap rate and Cash on cash return are distinct measures with specific inputs; neither is a promise of future returns. |
Fixed assets
| Term | Meaning in Rentari |
|---|---|
| Basis | The recorded amount used to track an asset’s cost and adjustments. It can differ from its market value or remaining loan balance. Keep supporting acquisition and improvement records and distinguish land from depreciable amounts. |
| Capital expenditure | Spending that is recorded as an asset or improvement instead of an ordinary current expense. Classification depends on the facts and applicable tax rules; the amount alone does not decide it. |
| Depreciation | Allocating a qualifying asset’s depreciable cost over the applicable period. Rentari separates reviewing and posting depreciation. A proposal is not a posted deduction, and depreciation does not transfer cash. |
| Fixed asset purchase | An acquisition recorded in the asset workflow with its property and purchase details. An asset record, its purchase posting and later depreciation are distinct. There is no universal purchase-price cutoff that makes every item an asset. |
| Placed-in-service date | When property is ready and available for its intended rental or business use. This can differ from its purchase, payment or delivery date. Use the supported date from the asset’s records when reviewing depreciation. |
| Useful life | The period used to allocate an asset’s depreciable amount. Tax recovery periods and methods depend on the asset and circumstances. Review the schedule and applicable rules rather than applying one life to every asset. |
Accounting terms
| Term | Meaning in Rentari |
|---|---|
| 1099 form | A family of information returns. Form 1099-NEC reports nonemployee compensation; it is different from a payment processor’s 1099-K. Vendor records and Expenses by vendor help reconcile spending, while required filing and form availability need separate review. |
| Bookkeeping close date | A cutoff intended to protect a completed accounting period. Rentari’s Lock the period applies to account reconciliation; it is not the same as Bookkeeping start date or a universal close-date control for every workflow. |
| Bookkeeping start date | The saved boundary used for statement imports and journal posting in the relevant book. Accounting settings can show All history when no boundary is set. Review existing records before changing it; it is not a reconciliation close date. |
| Cash basis | Recording income when received and expenses when paid, subject to applicable rules. Rentari does not use one source for every report: read Report source and the basis notes, including whether unpaid entries or posted journals are included. |
| Chart of accounts | The categories used to classify income, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity. These accounting categories are different from a list of linked banks. Use Chart of accounts to review the relevant book and category structure. |
| Credit | The right-hand side of a journal entry. It usually increases liabilities, equity and income, and decreases assets and expenses. It does not always mean money arrived; a bank statement’s credit label has a different context. |
| Debit | The left-hand side of a journal entry. It usually increases assets and expenses, and decreases liabilities, equity and income. It does not always mean money left the bank. Check the account type and complete entry. |
| Double-entry accounting | Recording an entry with equal total debits and credits across its accounts. Balance checks help detect errors, but equal totals do not prove the categories, dates or underlying event are correct. |
| Equity | The recorded owners’ interest after liabilities are subtracted from assets. Owner equity and Owner Funds are equity categories shown in Rentari’s journal chart; they are different from rental revenue or an imported bank account. |
| Liability | An amount the business owes or holds for someone else, such as a loan or refundable tenant deposit. Paying principal or receiving a refundable deposit is different from recording an ordinary expense or rental income. |
| Manual journal | A directly prepared accounting entry with chosen accounts, sides and amounts. In Opening balances & journals, Submit for review and approval are separate. Read journal report availability: posting to the journal does not make every transaction-ledger report include the entry. |
| Net income transaction | A way to record a net deposit with its gross revenue and related deductions. Rentari’s Net income choice is different from the report total of the same name. Match the reviewed parts to the actual settlement without recording the deposit twice. |
| Owner contribution | Money supplied by an owner to the business. Rentari offers this transaction type separately from Revenue. Record the real account and scope, and review the legal entity and tax treatment before treating an owner movement as rental income. |
| Owner distribution | Money taken from the business by an owner. Rentari offers this separately from an ordinary Expense. Use the actual accounts and supporting records; the transaction label alone does not determine its tax consequences. |
| Security deposit | Tenant funds held for a later refund or permitted disposition. A refundable deposit is different from rent income; an amount intended as final rent has different treatment. Use the dedicated lease-deposit and return workflows, not a generic journal to move tenant funds. |
| Sub-account | A category nested beneath a parent in the Chart of accounts. It provides more detail while retaining the parent relationship. Check the book and parent category; a sub-account is different from a sub-portfolio or separate bank account. |
For tax definitions and requirements, use the current IRS guidance on rental income, deposits and depreciation, tangible property and safe-harbor elections, bookkeeping systems and Form 1099-NEC. Confirm the treatment appropriate to your records with your tax professional.
Check the result
- The term is understood in the context of the selected account, report or transaction.
- The relevant workflow guide and report source have been checked before editing, booking or posting.
FAQs
Does a glossary definition prove my transaction is categorized correctly?
No. Check the original record, actual money movement, selected property and applicable workflow. A matching label or balanced entry does not independently verify the event or its tax treatment.
Why can two reports show different totals for the same period?
Review Report source, payment status, property and book scope, date basis and included categories. Some reports include unpaid transaction-ledger entries, while journal-based reports use supported posted entries. Use the report and transaction guides before adding a correction.