RentCaddie vs a spreadsheet for rent by the room
A spreadsheet is free, it is yours, and it does exactly what you type. The trouble in a rooming house is how much there is to type: six rents, six deposits, one bill split six ways, and a text to whoever has not paid.
Quoted material is from public pages, as of 09/30/2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.
The short answer
With one house and residents who pay on time, a spreadsheet is fine. Keep it.
Once you are chasing payments, splitting bills by hand and rebuilding the numbers at tax time, the spreadsheet is costing you evenings. RentCaddie does that work for $27 a month paid yearly up to 5 active leases, or $197 a month paid yearly for 6 to 25.
Side by side
Cost
$27 a month paid yearly up to 5 active leases; $197 a month paid yearly up to 25.
Free.
Collecting rent
Residents pay by bank or card from their own portal, or turn on autopay. Cash and checks are logged too.
You check Venmo, Zelle and your bank, then type each payment in.
Late rent
Rent reminders go out on their own, and the late fee the resident's lease sets is added on schedule.
You notice, then you text.
One house bill
Enter it once. Each resident's share lands on their balance, and the bill is booked as a house expense with its receipt.
You divide it, then request each share by hand.
Leases and deposits
Each resident signs their own room lease online. Each deposit has its own return deadline.
Leases live in a folder. Deposit deadlines live in your head.
Tax time
Profit and loss per house and a Schedule E report, ready to hand over.
You rebuild the year from bank statements.
The work a spreadsheet leaves with you
One BiggerPockets member explained why they stopped splitting utilities at all: "it's a lot easier than venmoing everyone $37.13 here, $7.59 there, $14.28 over there." Including utilities in rent is one answer. Having the split done for you is another.
A spreadsheet records what happened. It does not ask anyone for money, remind anyone, or notice a deposit deadline. In a house with several leases, that is where the hours go.
Moving off the spreadsheet
Bring your sheet in with the Smart Importer, which maps your columns to properties, rooms, residents and leases, and shows a preview before anything is saved. Or email hello@rentcaddie.com and we help you set up your houses.
When the spreadsheet is the better pick
- You have one house and every resident pays on time without a reminder.
- Utilities are included in rent, so there is nothing to split.
- You would rather spend the time than the money.
Common questions
Is a spreadsheet enough to run a rooming house?
For one house with reliable residents, often yes. It gets harder with every added lease, because a spreadsheet cannot collect, remind or split anything on its own.
Can I import my spreadsheet into RentCaddie?
Yes. The Smart Importer maps your columns and shows a preview before anything is saved. Check current balances and lease dates in the preview.
Will my residents have to pay extra to pay online?
Only if you choose that. Stripe's processing fee applies to online payments, and you decide whether you or the resident covers it. RentCaddie takes nothing from rent.
What happens to my data if I leave?
It stays yours. Ask support for an export of your workspace, and your Stripe account stays separate from RentCaddie. There is no contract, and you can cancel from your dashboard.
Sources
Prices and features change. Each link below was read on the date shown; check it before you decide.
- [1] BiggerPockets forum: Rent by the room strategy, utilities as of 09/30/2026