Bookkeeping as a Solo Propriater

[Jared Baker]

Hello BP.  Not sure if this is the right place for this post or not but seems close.

I just bought my first rental property, a triplex.  It needs some work, but one of the units is already rented so I'll have that income and I plan on renovating the other two units and getting those rented out asap.  I will be living in the property as a owner occupied.  So I have a two part question here regarding how I need to keep track of the money.

Question 1: Do I need a special account for my rent money coming in?  Since everything is under my name, rent checks are made out to me.  Since I will be using the rent to pay the mortgage, do I need to have a special account, separate from my personal, where money comes in to and then I write checks from that account as well or can it all be just put in one personal account? (I also have to chip in a small amount from my personal accounts to cover the mortgage) 

Question 2: What is the best way to keep track of the rent coming in and the expenses going out?  I plan on finding an accountant this year to help go through everything, but is a simple excel file good enough or do I need something more robust?

Thanks BP :)