RentGuard vs Spreadsheets: Why Not Both?

This is the most important page on our site. Because most of the landlords who use RentGuard don't think of it as an alternative to their spreadsheet. They think of it as the thing that makes their spreadsheet actually work.

If you're a spreadsheet landlord, you already know the drill. Google Sheets. Rent roll with due dates. Conditional formatting for overdue payments. Maybe a separate tab or sheet for maintenance. It's clean. It's flexible. It's free. And it works great.

Until it doesn't.

The Spreadsheet Problem (That Isn't the Spreadsheet)

Your spreadsheet is not the problem. Let me say that clearly. I've managed 12 units in Google Sheets for 4 years. The spreadsheet handles data beautifully. Custom columns, formulas, conditional formatting, monthly tabs. It does exactly what I need it to do.

The problem is me. And it's probably you too.

Spreadsheets are passive. They sit there with data, waiting for you to look at them. If you open your rent roll every day after the grace period ends, you'll catch every late payment immediately. If you scan your maintenance tracker every Monday, you'll spot aging requests before they become emergencies.

But do you actually do that? Every day? Every week? Even when work is slammed, the kids are sick, you're on vacation, or you just plain forget?

I didn't. And it cost me.

The $1,400 Story

March 2024. Unit 4B. Rent was $1,400. Due on the 1st. Grace period through the 5th. I checked my sheet on the 3rd. Everything looked fine because we were still in the grace period.

Then I didn't check again until the 15th. My tenant was 10 days overdue and had already spent the money on a car repair. We ended up on a 3-month payment plan. I waived the late fee because I felt guilty for not catching it sooner. Total cost: about $300 in waived fees, collection time, and stress. The full breakdown is in the real cost of missing a late payment.

My spreadsheet knew. The conditional formatting had turned that row bright red on March 6th. But I didn't open the spreadsheet between March 3rd and March 15th.

The 11-Day Maintenance Request

Same year. Different problem. A tenant texted me about a leaking kitchen faucet. I was driving, read it at a red light, and told myself I'd deal with it tonight.

I added it to my maintenance tracker that evening. Priority: Medium. Status: New. Then I didn't look at the maintenance sheet for 11 days.

What would have been an $80 faucet repair turned into a $400 job because the leak warped the cabinet floor. The data was in my spreadsheet. The conditional formatting was showing yellow (Medium priority, aging past 7 days). But I didn't look.

Why "Just Check Your Spreadsheet More" Doesn't Work

After the $1,400 incident, I tried all the discipline hacks. Calendar reminders on the 6th of every month. A morning routine that included checking the rent roll. A weekly maintenance review every Monday.

It worked for about 2 months. Then I started dismissing calendar alerts because I was in meetings. The morning routine broke during a busy work week. The Monday review slipped to Tuesday, then to "sometime this week," then to "I'll catch up next week."

The problem isn't discipline. The problem is that checking a spreadsheet is a manual action that competes with every other thing in your life. And some days, other things win.

What RentGuard Actually Does

RentGuard connects to your Google Sheet. You tell it which columns are tenant name, rent amount, due date, grace period end, and date paid. Takes about 5 minutes.

Every day, RentGuard reads your sheet. If today is past the grace period and the "Date Paid" column is empty for a tenant, you get an email. Optionally a text. The alert tells you which unit, which tenant, how much, and how many days overdue.

You can mark it paid right from the email (it updates your sheet). Or snooze the alert if you've already talked to the tenant.

For maintenance, same idea. RentGuard reads your maintenance tracker. If a high-priority request has been open for more than 2 days (or whatever threshold you set), you get an alert. Medium priority past 7 days? Alert.

Your spreadsheet stays exactly the same. Same columns. Same formulas. Same conditional formatting. RentGuard is just reading it and doing the one thing a spreadsheet can't do: reach out and poke you.

Spreadsheet Alone vs Spreadsheet + RentGuard

Data tracking. Identical. Your spreadsheet handles this either way. RentGuard doesn't add or change data unless you use the "mark paid" feature from an alert.

Customization. Identical. Your spreadsheet is still yours. Add whatever columns you want. Use whatever formulas you want. RentGuard just needs to know which columns to watch.

Cost. Spreadsheet alone: $0. Spreadsheet + RentGuard: $15/month. That's $348/year. Less than one missed late payment typically costs. (I calculated the real cost at $300+ per incident in my breakdown.)

Alerting. Spreadsheet alone: zero. You must check manually. Spreadsheet + RentGuard: daily automated monitoring with proactive alerts. This is the entire difference.

Reliability. Spreadsheet alone: depends entirely on your discipline. Spreadsheet + RentGuard: automated. Works even when you're sick, busy, traveling, or just forgot. It doesn't forget.

Why Not Just Switch to PM Software?

You could. Buildium, TenantCloud, Rentec Direct. They all have alerting built in. But they also require you to:

1. Migrate all your data into their platform. Every unit, every tenant, every lease.

2. Learn their interface. New dashboard, new workflow, new clicking patterns.

3. Get tenants onto their system. Tenant portals, online payment setup, etc.

4. Pay $45-175/month for features you mostly don't need.

5. Give up the flexibility of your spreadsheet for their rigid structure.

For some landlords at some scales, that tradeoff makes sense. I compared the options in spreadsheet vs PM software. But for most self-managing landlords with under 20 units, it's using a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame.

You don't need a new system. You need your existing system to poke you when something's wrong.

Who This Is For

If you love your spreadsheet but have been burned at least once by not checking it, RentGuard is for you.

If you've ever caught a late payment more than 3 days after the grace period because you forgot to look, RentGuard is for you.

If you've ever had a tenant follow up on a maintenance request you forgot about, RentGuard is for you.

Your spreadsheet is the best tool for tracking your rental data. It just needs a partner that watches it when you can't.

That's RentGuard. descoshop.com. 5 minutes to connect your sheet. Free forever. Your spreadsheet stays exactly the same.