Accounting, in the open
Every journal we post, published in advance
Most property software asks you to trust its accounting. Here is ours, in full, before you pay anything — the exact debit and credit for the sixteen scenarios an accountant should test before committing to any system.
The sixteen scenarios
Worked on one consistent example: an annual rent of AED 100,000 paid by four cheques of AED 25,000, a 5% management fee, and a 5% security deposit. Every line below is produced by a named voucher template — staff pick the template, never the accounts.
-
01
Rent received by post-dated cheque
The tenant hands over a cheque dated for a future month. Nothing has been banked yet.
Rent received by post-dated cheque Account Debit Credit 1003 PDC Held - Rent 25,000.00 2006 Landlord Funds Payable 25,000.00 Why: The cheque is an asset the office is holding, and an equal obligation to the landlord. No income and no VAT arises here, because none of this money is the office's.
-
02
Cheque banked and cleared
Cheque banked and cleared Account Debit Credit 1002 Bank Account - AED 25,000.00 1003 PDC Held - Rent 25,000.00 Why: One asset becomes another. What the office owes the landlord is untouched — it was already recognised when the cheque arrived.
-
03
Management fee deducted from rent
5% of the annual rent, the usual UAE arrangement: the office keeps its fee out of money it already holds.
Management fee deducted from rent Account Debit Credit 2006 Landlord Funds Payable 5,250.00 3002 Management Fee Income 5,000.00 2003 VAT Payable - 5% 250.00 Why: This is where the office finally earns something — and the only point at which output VAT arises on the rent cycle. What the office owes the landlord drops by the fee plus its VAT.
-
04
Paying the landlord
Paying the landlord Account Debit Credit 2006 Landlord Funds Payable 19,750.00 1002 Bank Account - AED 19,750.00 Why: The obligation is settled in cash. After this the landlord's balance is zero for the period — which is exactly what the Owner Statement report shows them.
-
05
Cheque bounced — before it was deposited
The office learns the cheque will not clear while it is still in the safe.
Cheque bounced — before it was deposited Account Debit Credit 1005 Accounts Receivable - Rent 25,000.00 1003 PDC Held - Rent 25,000.00 Why: The bank is never touched, because the cheque never reached it. A held cheque simply becomes a debt owed by the tenant.
-
06
Cheque bounced — after it was deposited
The bank credited the account, then reversed it. This is a different journal, and most systems only have one.
Cheque bounced — after it was deposited Account Debit Credit 1005 Accounts Receivable - Rent 25,000.00 1002 Bank Account - AED 25,000.00 Why: Because the money did reach the bank, the bank must be credited back. Posting the previous journal here would leave the bank permanently overstated — a reconciliation error that is very hard to find later.
-
07
Bounced cheque recovered from the tenant
Bounced cheque recovered from the tenant Account Debit Credit 1002 Bank Account - AED 25,000.00 1005 Accounts Receivable - Rent 25,000.00 Why: The debt clears. Because only accounts 1005 and 1006 ever represent money genuinely owed to the office, the Receivables Aging report stays meaningful.
-
08
Security deposit received
Security deposit received Account Debit Credit 1004 PDC Held - Security Deposit 5,000.00 2001 Security Deposits Payable 5,000.00 Why: Held separately from rent cheques, and recognised as a liability from the first day, because it must eventually go back to the tenant.
-
09
Security deposit returned at the end of the tenancy
Security deposit returned at the end of the tenancy Account Debit Credit 2001 Security Deposits Payable 5,000.00 1004 PDC Held - Security Deposit 5,000.00 Why: The liability and the held cheque cancel each other. Nothing ever passed through income — which is the point.
-
10
Security deposit banked after tenant default
Security deposit banked after tenant default Account Debit Credit 1002 Bank Account - AED 5,000.00 1004 PDC Held - Security Deposit 5,000.00 Why: Banking the deposit does not release the liability on its own — 2001 stays open until the office decides what the money is actually applied against.
-
11
Letting commission charged to the tenant
Letting commission charged to the tenant Account Debit Credit 1002 Bank Account - AED 5,250.00 3003 Letting Commission Income 5,000.00 2003 VAT Payable - 5% 250.00 Why: Commission comes from the tenant and is the office's own income, so it is booked separately from the management fee the landlord pays. Mixing the two is a common source of wrong revenue figures.
-
12
Paying the agent their share
Paying the agent their share Account Debit Credit 4001 Agent Commission Expense 2,000.00 1002 Bank Account - AED 2,000.00 Why: The split percentages are configured once per agent and employee, so the amount here is calculated rather than typed.
-
13
Repair carried out and recharged, contractor VAT-registered
A contractor invoices AED 1,050 including VAT. The cost is being recharged to the landlord.
Repair carried out and recharged, contractor VAT-registered Account Debit Credit 1010 Accounts Receivable - Repairs 1,000.00 1008 VAT Receivable - Input 50.00 2008 Accounts Payable - Vendors 1,050.00 Why: Recharged repairs deliberately use 1010, not the rent receivable 1005 — otherwise the Receivables Aging report, which exists to show bounced-cheque debt, silently fills up with repair costs. The input VAT is reclaimed rather than buried in the expense.
-
14
Paying the contractor
Paying the contractor Account Debit Credit 2008 Accounts Payable - Vendors 1,050.00 1002 Bank Account - AED 1,050.00 Why: Until this posts, the balance on 2008 is finished work the office has not yet paid for. One screen in the system shows nothing but that number.
-
15
An office expense with recoverable VAT
An office expense with recoverable VAT Account Debit Credit 4007 Utilities & Internet 1,000.00 1008 VAT Receivable - Input 50.00 1002 Bank Account - AED 1,050.00 Why: Expense templates that carry VAT split it automatically. Bank charges deliberately do not, because they are outside the scope of VAT.
-
16
Paying VAT to the Federal Tax Authority
Paying VAT to the Federal Tax Authority Account Debit Credit 2003 VAT Payable - 5% 200.00 1002 Bank Account - AED 200.00 Why: Output VAT collected, less input VAT recovered, is what actually leaves the bank. The VAT Report produces both sides of that figure for the filing period.
The scenarios that are not single journals
Some situations an accountant will ask about are not one posting but a behaviour of the system, and it is more honest to describe them that way.
Partial and split payments are handled by the invoicing module rather than by a voucher: payments are recorded append-only against an invoice, each one individually reversible, and each can be linked to the specific cheque that settled it. If that cheque later bounces, the linked payment reverses automatically.
Credit notes carry their own document sequence, as FTA Article 60 requires, and are never applied by editing the original invoice. Debit notes are one of the seven supported invoice types.
Advance rent, bad debt and rent discounts each have a dedicated account in the chart, posted through a general journal entry so that the office and its accountant agree the treatment case by case rather than having it forced by a template.
Contract cancellation and a tenant transferring between units are operational events, not accounting ones. They change the contract and cheque records; whatever money has already moved stays exactly where it was posted, and any adjustment is made as its own explicit, auditable entry.
Questions accountants ask
Can PropertyDesk replace a separate accounting package for a rental office?
For a rental office, yes. It has a full double-entry ledger with 31 accounts and 32 voucher templates, eight financial reports including Trial Balance, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and a VAT report, period locking, journal reversal and an immutable audit log. A dedicated accountant role keeps the books separate from day-to-day operations. Everything exports to CSV if your accountant prefers their own tools.
Why does rent not appear as income in the Profit & Loss?
Because it is not the office's income. Rent collected on a landlord's behalf is a liability to that landlord, credited to 2006 Landlord Funds Payable. The office's revenue is its management fee, its letting commission and its other service fees. This is what makes the Profit & Loss reflect the agency business you actually run.
Can a posted journal be edited or deleted?
No. A posted journal is permanent. Corrections are made by reversal, which creates an equal and opposite journal and flags the original as reversed, so the correction itself is visible rather than hidden. Both entries remain in the audit trail.
What stops someone posting into a period we have already closed?
Period locking. Once a period is locked, any attempt to post or reverse a journal dated inside it is rejected before it is written, including postings generated automatically by the invoicing, maintenance and legal modules.
Is the VAT treatment suitable for our FTA filing?
Output VAT is separated at the point it arises and credited to 2003; recoverable input VAT is split out of expenses and debited to 1008. The VAT report gives both sides for a chosen filing period, and exports to CSV. As with any system, have your own accountant approve the treatment against your specific circumstances before you rely on it.
Can we get all our data out if we leave?
Yes. Every one of the eight financial reports exports to CSV, the raw journal ledger exports in full, and the operational records — landlords, buildings, units, tenants, contracts and cheques — export as CSV from their listing pages. There is no stage at which your data is only readable inside PropertyDesk.
Test it against your own books
Bring your accountant to a demo and post these scenarios against your own portfolio. Twenty minutes is usually enough to settle it either way.
Book a demo