What can you achieve with it?

• Clear month-by-month P&L per building — know which property makes money and which doesn't • Maintenance and operating expenses captured in real time, not reconstructed at year-end • Year-end accountant handoff takes minutes, not weeks — dramatically lower accounting fees • VAT output and input reconciled automatically — KRA filing backed by proper records • Balance sheet shows true equity position across all properties • Audit-ready records at all times — no scrambling if KRA requests supporting documents

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Residential LandlordsFamily-Owned Rental Property

How a Family Landlord Got P&L Visibility and Stopped Dreading KRA Filing Season

Who this is for

You inherited or built up a rental portfolio over years — a building here, a few units there. The properties generate income, but you've never had a clear picture of what's actually profitable after expenses. At year-end, you hand your accountant a bag of receipts and M-Pesa screenshots and wait weeks for a number. You know KRA rental income tax is due but the process feels opaque.

The problem

Without systematic bookkeeping, rental income and expenses exist in separate silos: rent is tracked roughly via M-Pesa, maintenance is paid from a personal account, and property taxes and insurance are filed in a drawer. Nobody knows the actual net operating income of any individual building, let alone the portfolio.

At tax time, the accountant reconstructs everything from fragments — it's expensive, slow, and the numbers are never quite right. You end up either overpaying because the deductions weren't captured, or worse, underpaying and risking an audit. The lack of visibility also makes it impossible to decide which property is worth keeping, which needs capital injection, and whether rents need to increase.

What you can achieve

Clear month-by-month P&L per building — know which property makes money and which doesn't
Maintenance and operating expenses captured in real time, not reconstructed at year-end
Year-end accountant handoff takes minutes, not weeks — dramatically lower accounting fees
VAT output and input reconciled automatically — KRA filing backed by proper records
Balance sheet shows true equity position across all properties
Audit-ready records at all times — no scrambling if KRA requests supporting documents

The Kokodi workflow

1
Step 1
Configure chart of accounts
Setup
Kokodi seeds 67 standard accounts on setup including income (4010 Rent Income), expense (5000s), and liability accounts. Customise for your specific expense categories.
2
Step 2
Set up fiscal year
Setup
Define your financial year (e.g., January–December or July–June). All GL postings will be mapped to this period for reporting.
3
Step 3
Record all income through Kokodi
Automated
Rent invoices and M-Pesa collections post automatically to the GL. Every shilling of rental income is recorded the moment it's received.
4
Step 4
Enter supplier bills for expenses
Action
Add plumbers, electricians, and other suppliers. Create bills against the correct expense account. GL: DR Expense / CR AP 2010.
5
Step 5
Run P&L statement
Report
Generate a Profit & Loss statement for any date range — per building or consolidated. See gross rent income, direct expenses, and net operating income at a glance.
6
Step 6
Generate VAT summary report
Report
If you charge VAT on any units, the VAT Summary report shows output and input VAT totals ready for KRA filing.
7
Step 7
Export financial statements
Report
Hand your accountant a Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, and P&L export at year-end — all in PDF or Excel. Reconstruction time drops from weeks to minutes.