March 2025
Maintaining accurate records of clients' trust accounts is a fundamental responsibility when managing rental real estate. A receipts and disbursements journal serves as the financial backbone of your property management operations. It is a chronological record that tracks all money flowing in and out of your clients' trust accounts. A check register can serve the same purpose.
Understanding the requirements is necessary for compliance and accountability.
Basic requirements
Every time you receive or disburse funds, you must record the transaction in the receipts and disbursements journal. The account balance must be adjusted after each entry.
Record of Receipts
For each receipt of funds, you must have an entry containing:
- The date received, unless the date is recorded in a separate document with an established audit trail that shows when the funds were received and deposited.
- The amount.
- The purpose of the funds and identity of the person who tendered the funds.
- The date deposited.
Records of Disbursement
For each disbursement of funds, you must enter:
- The date disbursed.
- The amount disbursed.
- The check number and payee of the disbursement.
- The purpose of the disbursement.
Multi-property accounts
Each transaction you record in the receipts and disbursements journal for a multi-property clients' trust account must have a corresponding entry in the individual owner or tenant ledger.
Each transaction must include the owner identifying code for the applicable property management agreement.
Maintaining clients' trust account records helps you build a foundation of trust with both property owners and tenants. Proper documentation helps you protect the financial interests of all parties involved. If you have any questions about maintaining your clients' trust accounts, contact the Oregon Real Estate Agency at
orea.info@rea.oregon.gov.