Field Guide
Long-form, no-fluff guides on financing, accounting, and managing rental property. Written for independent landlords who do their own books.
Best Property Management Software for Small Landlords (2026)
Eleven platforms compared on the two things that actually decide the bill — accounting depth and true cost including per-transaction fees. Every price quoted from the vendor's own page and dated, including the ones we couldn't verify.
Rental Property Depreciation — How It Actually Works, and What It Costs You Later
Depreciation is the biggest deduction most landlords get and the one they understand least. What the 27.5-year clock actually does, how to split land from building, what happens to bonus depreciation, and the recapture bill waiting at sale.
Bank Reconciliation for Rental Property — The Monthly Habit That Catches Everything
If you only do one bookkeeping task a month, do this one. What reconciliation actually proves, the four discrepancies it catches, and why "the bank feed imported fine" is not the same as reconciled.
Cash vs Accrual Accounting for Landlords — Which One Your CPA Actually Wants
Most small landlords file cash basis and should. But your month-to-month reporting probably shouldn't match your tax return — and confusing the two is why your P&L says you made money in a month you didn't collect any.
Security Deposit Accounting — It's a Liability, Not Income
The most common bookkeeping error in small-landlord rentals, and the one most likely to cost you in court. How to book a deposit, hold it, apply deductions at move-out, and keep the trust math clean.
How to Legally Pay Little or No Tax on Rental Income
Rental real estate is one of the most tax-favored asset classes in the U.S. tax code — by design. Here's the playbook small landlords actually use to reduce or eliminate the tax bill on rental income, without anything cute or aggressive.
How to Finance a Rental Property in Louisiana — A Plain-English Guide
Conventional, DSCR, portfolio, FHA house-hack, owner-financed — and which one to actually pick. A Louisiana-specific walkthrough for landlords buying their first or fifth rental.
Rental Property Tax Deductions — The Full List, Plus What People Miss
Every deduction available to a small landlord, organized by where it lands on Schedule E. The line-by-line walkthrough, the gray-area items, and the deductions most independent owners forget to claim.
Tenant Screening — A Practical Guide for Independent Landlords
A step-by-step framework for screening rental applicants the way an experienced landlord does — what to verify, what to ignore, what's actually predictive of on-time rent, and how to stay on the right side of fair-housing law while doing it.
Landlord Insurance in Louisiana — What You Actually Need (and What's Optional)
Hurricane carve-outs, flood zones, named-storm deductibles, and the policy types that actually matter for Louisiana rentals. With real numbers from a 4-unit in Baton Rouge.
Schedule E for Rental Property — A Bookkeeping Walkthrough
How to keep books year-round so your Schedule E is a 30-minute job in February instead of a panic. The exact account categories, what depreciation actually does, and the four mistakes that trigger IRS letters.