Field notes from the long tail

The RentRoll Blog.

Practical writing on small-portfolio property management — CAM reconciliation, percentage rent, the math behind owner statements, and the gap between spreadsheets and enterprise software.

Tenant Paid Owed Acme $12,400 $12,108 Bayer $8,900 $9,512 Carlow $15,200 $14,890
CAM

CAM reconciliation explained — without the spreadsheet pain

Year-end CAM doesn't have to be a week of manual math. Here's how pro-rata math actually works, why most landlords get it wrong, and what a clean reconciliation looks like.

June 2026 · 8 min read
A B C D !
Operations

The rent roll spreadsheet trap (and how to escape it)

Most small portfolios run on a spreadsheet that's slightly out of date and quietly mistrusted. Here's why it breaks down, when to give up on it, and what to replace it with.

June 2026 · 6 min read
Breakpoint Tenant sales over time
Commercial

Percentage rent, demystified

Natural breakpoints, stated breakpoints, and the math that determines what your tenant actually owes when they have a great quarter. With the formulas you'll actually use.

June 2026 · 7 min read
R RentRoll INVOICE #1042 Acme Coffee Due July 1, 2026 Minimum Rent $4,250 CAM $840 Total $5,090
Statements

Tenant statements that look like you charge enough to send them

The compounding effect of a Word-doc invoice vs a properly branded statement. Why polished beats functional when you're collecting commercial rent.

June 2026 · 5 min read
QB $25/mo RR $29/mo all-in YARDI $400+/mo Built for the gap
Comparison

QuickBooks, Yardi, and everything between

A frank comparison of where each tool fits — and why neither end of the spectrum serves the 80% of landlords who manage between 5 and 50 units.

June 2026 · 9 min read
OPEN DONE IN PROG
Maintenance

Work orders without text messages

What "Bob, did you ever fix the toilet?" actually costs you. A simple workflow that keeps maintenance requests, vendor status, and tenant comms in one place.

June 2026 · 6 min read