How to Record Tenant Rent - Prorate Rent - Security-Etc

BRETTB

I have allowed some one to move in with paying a years rent in advance.

He moved in on the Nov 18. When I calc move in I included a 2nd month prorated rent so when he starts paying again - rent will be due on the 1st and Late if paid after the 5th.

I usually collect security and full months rent and prorate 2nd month normally. Only difference on this is I'm collecting full year or rent besides the proration portion.

I realize I need to report the rent in year I receive being cash basis.

So what are the best steps and where to record and input info into Quicken Home Business Rental program (latest version)? Also note I took a deposit $1000 to hold prior to renting.

mshiggins

I'm assuming you have the Quicken "Home, Business & Rental Property" edition, and you're using the Quicken "Rent Center" and have already created a "Property" there and assigned your new "Tenant" to that property.

Create a Quicken "rent holding" account (type "cash" should work).

Assuming you received a check for one year's rent and deposited that check in your real-world checking account: categorize that single Quicken transaction as a transfer to the newly-created Quicken rent holding account. You can right-click that rent deposit transaction, choose "Tax Line Item assignments" and assign the appropriate Schedule E rental income tax line item.
In Tools > Manage Bill & Income Reminders, delete the Tenant rent income reminder that Quicken automatically created when you added a tenant to the property in the Quicken Rent Center.  

Also while in Manage Bill & Income Reminders, create a new rent reminder for that tenant.

The rent reminder you create should have the following characteristics:
- A "Due next on" date that falls on, or after the start of the rent period; and on, or before, the end of the rent period
- A Frequency that corresponds to the real-world rent frequency
- A "Pay to" name exactly equal to the Quicken "Tenant" name
- A "Category" that is an Income category with a Schedule E rental income tax line item. The out-of-the-box Quicken category, "Rental Property Income:Rent Income" works fine, for example.
- A "Tag" equal to the Quicken "Property Tag"
- An "Amount due" equal to the agreed-upon rent for the period
- A "From account" equal to the name of the newly created rent holding account described above
- You can give the rent reminder an "End date" of the last rent payment due for the current "lease", if desired (in the same dialog as that for "Frequency"). 

As needed, you can manually enter Rent Reminder transactions (adjusting any amounts as needed - for proration for example) until you are at a point where each subsequent rent transaction will be for the regular rent amount at the regular rent frequency. Then you can just let Quicken "remind" you to enter the rent.]


As to the Security Deposit: there's a Tab in the Rent Center Add/Edit Tenant dialog (*) named "Security Deposit": entering the security deposit amount there will create a new security deposit liability account (if it does not already exist), and record the security deposit there.

[(*) To "Edit" a tenant, you can either click the tenant name in the "Tenant" column in the Rent Center, or open the Tenant List (in the Properties & Tenants dropdown), choose "Show Tenant List", select the Tenant and click the Edit button.]

-JP