How do you make purchases and manage receipts for your rentals?

[Jason Turo]

How do you make purchases and manage receipts for your rentals?

[Michele Fischer]

This can be all over the spectrum of options, I would think.  We keep things pretty simple.  

We have a separate rentals bank account and checks that we try to use for as much activity as we can.  When we make a purchase, by any means, the receipt gets thrown in a paper bag hanging on the wall near my desk.  Each week I go through the receipts, write on them what the purchase was and what property it related to and it goes into a folder for the end of the month.  Monthly we reconcile our accounts and match up the receipts.  I have two big envelopes, one for rental improvement receipts and one for rental normal receipts, by year.

Weekly we also gather up the miles traveled for rentals and log it so we have it readily available at tax time.