How to choose rent tracking software (UK, 2025)

Choosing rent tracking software should feel like switching on cruise control, not like learning a new accounting package. The aim is simple, know who has paid, who hasn’t, and what to do next, with clean, UK payment records. This article shows you how to shortlist tools quickly, what to look out for, and why many small landlords pick August for rent tracking that ties neatly into compliance and tenant management.

Start with outcomes, not features

Decide what a “good month” looks like. For most landlords it is full visibility of rent status, zero guesswork on arrears, tidy property-level statements, and prompts that keep certificates and notices on time. If you’re managing one to thirty units, prioritise clarity and speed over agency-grade complexity. You can trial all of this in August’s rent tracking in a single afternoon.

What great rent tracking looks like

Accurate matching without spreadsheets. Incoming payments should reconcile automatically to the right tenancy, even when tenants round figures or pay partial amounts. August shows a single, truthful ledger per tenancy and makes partials, overpayments and bounced payments obvious.

Predictable arrears handling. You need an at-a-glance arrears view, automatic tenant notifications to state when ad payment is due and chase when if it is late. August keeps the tone professional and links every nudge to the tenancy record for transparency.

Clean, UK-centric reporting (coming in November 2025). Your accountant wants property-level statements and CSVs that map neatly to tax returns. August’s exports are designed for hand-off no reformatting, no guesswork.

Works with your wider workflow. Rent status should sit next to compliance tasks and tenant onboarding, not float in a separate app. August ties rent tracking to the compliance journey and Tenant management so payments, documents and key dates stay in step.

Mobile that’s genuinely useful. Checking arrears, logging a rent note or attaching a screenshot should take seconds on your phone. August’s mobile experience is built for everyday landlord tasks.

AI Property Assistant (August Intelligence). Ask natural-language questions (“What’s outstanding for Flat 12?”) that understand your portfolio and get personalised, relevant and accurate answers.

Suggested reminders that prevent slip-ups. Set sensible defaults so the system nudges you before things go wrong: rent-due day confirmations, arrears follow-ups (day 1, 3, 7, 14), tenancy end notice points, deposit protection deadlines (within 30 days), gas safety (12 months) and EICR (typically five years or at change of tenancy). In August these live inside rent tracking and the compliance journey, so each reminder links straight to the task, document or message you need to complete.

Why Open Banking matters for rent tracking

Open Banking turns rent tracking from guesswork with spreadsheets into a near real-time truth. With a tenant’s payment landing by Faster Payments, a secure, consented bank feed pulls the transaction into your ledger without manual exports or screen-scraping. You get fewer typos, fewer missing statements and faster reconciliation, which means clearer arrears views and fewer awkward follow-ups. Because access is read-only and protected by Strong Customer Authentication, you remain in control and can revoke consent at any time.

In August’s rent tracking, Open Banking feeds power the live ledger and arrears dashboard, while August Intelligence allows you to ask any question about that data over time (for example, “when did my tenants at 12 Kensington Road pay late and by how many days?”). For more on how we handle data, see Security.

How transaction matching works under the bonnet

Every tenancy in August has an “expected payments” schedule (amount, due date, frequency) and a unique set of identifiers (tenant name plus address details, and a tenancy “nickname”). When a bank transaction arrives via Open Banking, the matcher scores it against those expectations using five metrics:

• Amount & tolerance. Exact amounts score highest. Small variances (rounding, bank fees) sit within a sensible tolerance.

• Date. Proximity to the due date boosts confidence; early or late payments can still match if other signals are strong.

• Reference. We look for tenant names, known standing-order references and property codes, including common misspellings.

• Feedback loop — full amounts. If you’ve previously confirmed a full-amount match from a specific sender, that history increases the chance of an automatic match next time.

• Feedback loop — partial amounts. If you’ve confirmed a part-payment pattern (for example, housemates splitting rent), that history increases the chance of correctly allocating future partials.

If you haven’t assigned any transactions against an agreement yet, the system uses only the core three signals (Amount, Date, Reference). And when feedback applies, it will use one of the feedback metrics (full or partial), but never both at once.

When confidence is high, the payment auto-matches to the correct tenancy and updates the ledger. Partials split cleanly, so a part-payment reduces the balance due without breaking the statement. Edge cases (ambiguous references, unexpected amounts) drop into a small review queue where you can confirm with one click.

Your decisions increase the chances of matching automatically in future, but we never assume it’s guaranteed, there are too many variables to promise a perfect match every time unless the pattern is unusually static (same day, amount and reference every month). Every action is logged for audit, and you can correct or unmatch entries without damaging the history. This keeps the ledger accurate while keeping you firmly in control.

Payments and reconciliation - questions to ask

• Will it reliably match Faster Payments with odd pence or references?

• How does it treat partials and split payments?

• Can you correct a mis-match without breaking the ledger?

• Does the arrears view update in real time?

You can test all of these in minutes with August by adding one tenancy and running a sample payment flow.

Data control, security and portability

You should be able to export payments in readable formats at any time. So you can read and review these on your desktop computer.

Pricing - avoid the common traps

Low sticker prices often exclude essentials like extra bank connections, multiple users or historical exports. Check what “per unit” really includes and whether arrears automation or document storage sits on a higher tier. August pricing is intentionally simple for small portfolios.

Rent tracking tools at a glance

Use this as a directional guide, then confirm the latest plans on each provider’s site.

Not ready to switch yet? Download the free Compliance checklist and other free templates

One-hour decision checklist

Add one live tenancy, record a payment, mark a partial, check on your property valuation.
Upload gas safety and EICR, then confirm you see renewal reminders in the timeline.
Ask August Intelligence any question on your mind about your property or tenancy.

FAQs

Do I need full accounting to track rent properly?
No. If you’re a small landlord, a clear rent ledger, arrears automation and tidy exports usually beat a heavyweight accounting suite. August is built on that principle.

Will tenants need to learn a new app?
They don’t have to. You can keep communications simple and in visit them to the app. See what tenants features are included.

How do I switch mid-tenancy?
Start with one property, its simple, quick and easy to do. Just sign up and upload for first tenancy document. August will find your property and suggest your tenancy. August is designed for a clean migration.

Disclaimer: This article is a guide and not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. August does not accept any liability for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained in this article. Always speak to a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information.