Tracking arrears and sending reminders: spreadsheet or software?
Short answer
Yes, a spreadsheet can track arrears and your reminders, as long as it is built from a reliable list of balances and one person sends the reminders. It stops working when the balances themselves are kept by hand, when reminders go out one at a time every month, or when you cannot show who was asked what and when.
Someone is behind on dues and you need to know who, how much, and whether you already asked. A sheet answers that for a while.
The task: see who is behind, ask them at the right time, and keep a record of what you asked and what they promised.
An arrears sheet you can copy
The sheet is only as good as the balances it reads. Pull the balance from your dues sheet, and use this one for the follow-up: who was reminded, when, and what was promised.
| Unit | Owner | Oldest unpaid period | Amount overdue | Reminder 1 | Reminder 2 | Promised date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12B | B. Owner | 2026-09 | 45 | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-20 | Open | |
| 14C | C. Owner | 2026-08 | 280 | 2026-09-05 | 2026-10-05 | Second reminder sent | |
| 21A | D. Owner | 2026-10 | 95 | New |
Paste into cell A1 of a new sheet (tab-separated):
Unit Owner Oldest unpaid period Amount overdue Reminder 1 Reminder 2 Promised date Status 12B B. Owner 2026-09 45 2026-10-05 2026-10-20 Open 14C C. Owner 2026-08 280 2026-09-05 2026-10-05 Second reminder sent 21A D. Owner 2026-10 95 New
Add a column for the date of the last contact and sort by Amount overdue. Decide your own sequence in advance, for example a first reminder after the due date and a second after a set number of days, and write it above the table so every reminder follows the same rule.
Signs you have outgrown the sheet
Arrears are where a sheet hurts first, because the cost is money not collected.
- 1
The balances are not trustworthy
If the overdue amount is typed or copied from another file, the reminder goes out with a wrong figure, and the owner disputes the figure instead of paying it.
- 2
You send reminders one by one
More than a handful of messages a month, written and sent by hand, means the sequence depends on your memory and your free evening.
- 3
Two people chase the same owner
Without one shared log, a board member and the manager both write, or nobody does. Everyone assumes someone else already asked.
- 4
You cannot show who was asked what
When an owner says nobody told them, or a board asks about a case, you need dates and wording. A free-text note column is a weak record.
- 5
Owners cannot see their own balance
If the only way to learn the figure is to ask you, many owners will not ask until the amount is large.
- 6
Part payments and promises pile up
Once a debt has a payment plan, with several part payments and dates, a flat sheet row cannot show it clearly.
The same task in Unitify
Start on the Free plan ($0 / apartment / month). A plan, not a trial. No card, no expiry. Arrears follow from the charges and payments kept in the billing module, an add-on you can switch on in any plan.
- 1
Balances come from the record
Unitify keeps a balance per unit from the charges and payments on its record, so the overdue amount is not typed in anywhere.
- 2
A running view of who is behind
The manager sees who is behind at any time, instead of reconstructing it at month end.
- 3
One reminder to everyone behind
From the building map you create one announcement for every unit in debt. Each unit gets its own overdue amount in the text, in the resident app, and you can schedule when it goes out. You write the message once, not once per owner.
- 4
Owners see their own balance
Every owner sees their own charges and payments in the app, so fewer questions reach you.
Billing is an add-on at $0.5 per invoice, included on Pro ($3 / apartment / month). Base costs $1 / apartment / month. Prices follow the live pricing page, which shows euro excluding VAT in Europe.
What Unitify does not do here
- Unitify does not take legal steps. Letters from a lawyer, collection agencies and court claims stay with you and your counsel.
- It does not decide what late charge or penalty you may apply. That comes from your governing documents and local law.
- Reminders reach owners who use the resident app. Owners without it still have to be reached by letter or the way your rules require.
- Residents pay in the app only where a payment rail is connected in your market. Where none is, they get the PDF invoice and pay outside the app, and the payment is recorded against the unit.
- Billing is not an accounting ledger, and there is no live two-way sync with an accounting system out of the box.
Arrears and reminders: questions
Can I track delinquent dues and reminders in a spreadsheet?
Yes, with a follow-up sheet that lists the unit, the overdue amount, each reminder date, the promised date and a status. It works while the balances come from a reliable source and one person sends the reminders.
What should an arrears log contain?
Unit, owner, oldest unpaid period, amount overdue, the date of each reminder, any promised date and a status. Dates matter more than free-text notes, because you may need to show them later.
How often should I send reminders?
Set the sequence yourself and write it down: for example a first reminder shortly after the due date and a second after a fixed interval. The right timing depends on your governing documents and local rules, so Unitify does not impose one.
Does Unitify send reminders automatically?
Not on a schedule of its own. You start the reminder: one announcement to every unit in debt, each with its own amount, sent to the resident app at the time you set. The amounts come from the billing record, so nobody types them.
Does Unitify collect the debt for me?
No. It shows who is behind and lets you remind them in one go. Legal steps and collection stay with you and your counsel.
Keep reading
Try it on one building
Sign up for the free plan, add one building and move one task over. Or book a demo if you want to see it on your own building first.