Getting Started with Porchyard

Welcome to Porchyard. This guide walks you through setting up your account and getting your portfolio organized. Most landlords complete the initial setup in under 30 minutes.

Step 1: Create Your Account

Sign up at porchyard.com with your email address. Every account starts with a 30-day free trial, so you can explore the platform before committing to a paid plan. No credit card is required to start.

After confirming your email, you will land on the dashboard. It will look empty at first -- that changes quickly.

Step 2: Add Your Properties

Click Add Property from the dashboard. For each property, enter:

• Name -- What you call the property, such as "Maple St Duplex"
• Address -- Street address, city, state, ZIP
• Property type -- Residential, Commercial, Airbnb, or Mixed Use
• Details -- Year built, lot size, and amenities
• Description -- Any additional context (HOA info, management notes, etc.)

Repeat for each property in your portfolio -- about a minute each. Your transaction history is the part that comes in bulk, in the next step.

Step 3: Import Your Transactions

This is where Porchyard starts saving you real time. Navigate to Transactions and click Import.

Export a CSV of transactions from your bank or credit card provider -- every major institution supports this -- and upload it to Porchyard. Bring in every account you use for rental property activity:

• Checking accounts where you receive rent
• Savings accounts for security deposits
• Credit cards used for property expenses
• Business accounts, if you have them

Porchyard maps the columns and imports your history so you can start categorizing right away.

Step 4: Categorize Transactions

After your transactions import, you will see them in the Transactions tab. Each transaction needs two pieces of information:

1. Property assignment -- Which property does this transaction belong to?
2. Category -- What type of income or expense is this?

Pick the category once and it stays with the transaction. For rent payments, mortgage withdrawals, and recurring expenses, working through a month of history takes a few minutes and gives every report something to group by.

Handling Split Transactions

Bought supplies at a hardware store for multiple properties? Use the Split feature to divide the transaction across properties and categories. For example, a $300 hardware store purchase might be $150 in repairs for your Oak Street property and $150 in supplies for your Maple Avenue property.

Step 5: Add Leases and Owners

Attach the details that turn a list of properties into a managed portfolio. For each property or unit, record:

• Lease terms -- Tenant names, rent amount, start and end dates
• Owner records -- Who owns each property, for portfolios you manage on behalf of others
• Documents -- Signed leases, insurance certificates, and other paperwork, stored per property

Keeping this in one place means the answer to any question about a property is a click away, not buried in email.

Step 6: Check Each Property's Financials

Once you have a few weeks of categorized transactions, open a property and go to its Financials tab:

• Pick a year -- the totals cover one calendar year at a time
• Income, expenses, and net -- what the property brought in, what it cost, and the difference
• The transactions behind them -- every transaction assigned to the property, with its share when a payment is split across several

The totals update as new transactions are imported and categorized.

What to Do Next

With the basics set up, here are a few things to explore:

• Upload property photos to build a visual record of each property's condition
• Add your team so everyone works from the same numbers
• Invoice the owners you manage for and see which invoices are paid and which are outstanding
• Review the FAQ if you have questions about specific features

The more consistently you categorize transactions as they come in, the less time month-end takes. Most landlords report that after the first month, daily management tasks drop to a few minutes per day.