What does the bond lodgement Excel template calculate?

It calculates Bond Amount ($) by multiplying Weekly Rent ($) by Bond (Weeks). It also calculates Lodgement Deadline by adding 14 days to Date Received, and Days to Lodge from Date Lodged minus Date Received.

Is the 14-day deadline correct for every Australian state?

No. The workbook uses a 14-day tracking assumption. Bond deadlines and processes are controlled by each state's residential-tenancy rules and authority, so verify the applicable 2026 requirement before relying on the date for compliance.

Which Australian bond authorities can I record?

The Bond Authority column can record the body handling the tenancy, such as the NSW Rental Bond Board, RTBA Victoria and RTA Queensland. Enter the actual authority and keep its lodgement reference in the same row.

How is a bond amount worked out in the spreadsheet?

Enter the weekly rent and the agreed number of bond weeks. For example, $550.00 per week multiplied by 4 weeks produces a calculated bond amount of $2,200.00.

What should I enter in the Status column?

Use it to show the practical stage of the row, such as awaiting lodgement, lodged or requiring follow-up. Update it when the authority confirms the submission, and enter the receipt number rather than deleting the row.

What records should I keep with a bond lodgement?

Keep the lease, payment evidence, bond details, authority confirmation, lodgement reference and receipt number with the tenancy file. The ATO generally requires tax records to be retained for five years, while state tenancy and trust-account rules may require a longer or different period.

Personal Finance

Bond Lodgement Excel - Free Template

Track rental bonds by property, tenant, state, authority, deadline and receipt number across Australian residential tenancies.

2026-07-29

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Screenshot 1: Bond Lodgements tab - Excel template bond lodgement tracker excel template australia

This bond lodgement tracker is an Excel spreadsheet for Australian property managers, landlords and office administrators to record each tenant bond from receipt through to authority lodgement. It includes 14 columns for property, tenant, state, authority, amounts, dates, deadlines, status and receipts.

The Bond Lodgements sheet calculates the bond amount from weekly rent and bond weeks, then works out the days taken to lodge. The Dashboard gives you an at-a-glance view, while the Instructions sheet explains how to maintain the file. Image 1 shows the teal data-entry table, image 2 shows the dashboard, and image 3 shows the instructions.

The key benefits of this Excel template

Calculate bond amounts automatically by multiplying weekly rent by the number of bond weeks.
See the calculated lodgement deadline beside the date the bond was received.
Track properties, tenants and lodgement references in one 14-column register.
Record the relevant state and bond authority, including examples such as the NSW Rental Bond Board, RTBA Victoria and RTA Queensland.
Compare the date received with the date lodged and calculate the number of days taken.
Keep receipt numbers alongside each lodgement so you can find proof of payment quickly.
Use the dashboard to spot incomplete or outstanding lodgements before your next reconciliation.

Step-by-step guide

Open the Bond Lodgements sheet and start with one row per residential tenancy bond.
Enter the property address, tenant name, state, bond authority and lodgement reference in columns A to E.
Enter weekly rent and the agreed bond period in weeks. The Bond Amount column calculates the result, such as $620.00 multiplied by 4 weeks equalling $2,480.00.
Enter the date the bond was received and the date it was lodged. The spreadsheet calculates the lodgement deadline and days to lodge.
Complete the Status and Receipt Number fields after submitting the bond to the relevant authority.
Review the Dashboard for the overall position, then use the Instructions sheet if you need a reminder of the intended workflow.
Save a dated copy after each regular review and retain the authority receipt with your tenancy records.

Screenshot 2: Dashboard tab - Excel template bond lodgement tracker excel template australia — Figure 2: Worksheet "Dashboard"

What is included

A Bond Lodgements sheet with columns for Property Address, Tenant Name, State, Bond Authority and Lodgement Reference.

Weekly Rent ($), Bond (Weeks) and a formula-driven Bond Amount ($) field.

Date Received, Date Lodged and a calculated Lodgement Deadline.

Days to Lodge calculated with an IF formula so an empty lodgement date does not show a misleading result.

Status and Receipt Number fields for following up unfinished submissions.

A Dashboard sheet for reviewing the tracker without working through every row.

An Instructions sheet, teal headers, pale input cells, borders and alternating row shading to make data entry easier.

Who uses a bond lodgement tracker in Australia

A bond register is useful wherever several residential tenancies move through the office at once. A property manager may receive bonds for 40 apartments in a month, while a landlord with two houses may only need it at the start of a new lease. In both cases, the risky point is the gap between money arriving and the lodgement being confirmed.

Property managers and landlords

A property manager can enter the address, tenant, state and authority as soon as the bond is received. For example, a Melbourne tenancy with weekly rent of $550 and a four-week bond produces $2,200 in the Bond Amount column. The receipt number can be added once RTBA Victoria confirms the submission.

A private landlord can use the same row-by-row process for a new tenant, a top-up or a transfer. Keeping the lodgement reference beside the address is more reliable than searching an email inbox months later, particularly when a tenant changes property during a busy leasing period.

When the spreadsheet earns its keep

The practical review point is the daily or twice-weekly trust-account routine, not just end of month. An office administrator at a four-person property agency can filter for blank Date Lodged cells before the next property-management meeting and hand a short follow-up list to the manager.

Image 1 shows the main register: the address and tenant fields run across the left, financial fields sit in the middle, and dates, status and receipt details finish the row. Image 2 provides the dashboard view, and image 3 sets out the intended instructions. Use the file as an operational register, while keeping the actual authority confirmation and trust records as supporting evidence.

Screenshot 3: Instructions tab - Excel template bond lodgement tracker excel template australia — Figure 3: Worksheet "Instructions"

Australian bond authorities and lodgement deadlines

Bond rules are set by the state or territory, not by one national rental-bond system. The relevant authority may be the NSW Rental Bond Board, RTBA Victoria, RTA Queensland, the Bond Administration service in Western Australia or the equivalent body in your jurisdiction. Select the correct authority for the tenancy rather than relying on the property manager's usual state.

Do not treat the spreadsheet date as the law

The template's Lodgement Deadline formula adds 14 days to Date Received. That is a useful tracking assumption and makes an example received on 14/01/2026 display 28/01/2026, but it is not a universal Australian deadline. NSW, Victoria and Queensland have their own prescribed forms, online processes and timing rules, and the exact obligation can depend on who received the money and the tenancy circumstances.

Before using the deadline for compliance, check the current residential-tenancy legislation and the authority's 2026 guidance for the state involved. Keep the authority name and lodgement reference in the row so the source of the confirmation is clear. A spreadsheet reminder is not a substitute for submitting the bond through the official portal.

Amounts and supporting records

Enter the actual agreed bond weeks rather than assuming every tenancy is four weeks. A $480 weekly rent and four-week bond gives $1,920; if the agreement records a different lawful amount, the sheet should reflect that amount or the correct weeks used to calculate it.

Keep the lease, bond receipt, payment evidence, authority confirmation and any tenant signatures with the tenancy file. If you are holding trust money, your state property-agent and trust-account obligations still apply. The ATO record-keeping rule of five years relates to tax records; state tenancy and trust requirements may require a different retention period, so follow the longer applicable period for your file.

Where bond records fall apart in property offices

The most expensive mistakes usually happen in the handover between reception, the property manager and the person making the online submission. A payment arrives with a tenant's surname only, the row is created under the wrong address, and the authority receipt later cannot be matched. Fixing that can take an hour of emails for a transaction that took two minutes to record.

Wrong amount or wrong tenancy

One common error is typing $2,480 into the bond amount while leaving weekly rent at $620 and bond weeks at 3. The figures then disagree, and the next person cannot tell whether the error is the payment, the lease or the spreadsheet. The formula-driven amount in this template gives you a visible cross-check: $620 multiplied by 4 equals $2,480.

Another is copying a previous row and leaving the old lodgement reference or receipt number. That can attach a new tenant's money to an old record. Check the address, tenant, reference and authority as a single group before marking Status as lodged.

Missed follow-up and weak evidence

Leaving Date Lodged blank is easy to overlook when the register is sorted by property address. A bond received on 03/03/2026 may sit behind completed rows until a tenant asks for confirmation. The Days to Lodge formula helps identify the gap, but only if the row is reviewed and the status is updated.

Do not delete an incomplete row to make the dashboard look tidy. Correct the entry, record the actual submission date and attach the receipt. A clean register with no evidence is weaker than a register showing a delayed lodgement and the follow-up taken.

Making the tracker part of your weekly property routine

The easiest way to keep this file alive is to attach it to an existing trust-account or new-tenancy task. Set aside 15 minutes at the end of each day that a bond is received, then do a second review every Friday for blank dates, unusual amounts and missing receipt numbers.

A simple review rhythm

Enter the row when the money is received, not when someone remembers it at month end.
Check the formula result against the lease before submitting the bond.
Update Date Lodged, Status and Receipt Number immediately after the authority confirmation arrives.
Save a dated backup after the weekly review and restrict editing to the staff who maintain the register.

For a small portfolio, one workbook can work well. For a 300-property agency, split the workbook by portfolio or reporting period only if that makes ownership clear; a single giant file with several people editing it at once is more likely to produce duplicate rows and overwritten references.

Useful Excel habits

Keep the existing headings unchanged so formulas continue to work, and use filters on State, Status and Date Received. If you extend the register, copy the last formula row carefully and check that the references move from row 4 to row 5 rather than continuing to point at the first tenancy.

Move to dedicated property-management software when you need tenant portals, automated authority integrations, audit trails, trust accounting or several users working simultaneously. Excel is a sensible register for a landlord or small office, but it should not become the system of record once manual controls are taking longer than the lodgements themselves.

That point also marks the move from a simple register to rental cash flow tracking, where ongoing income, expenses and arrears need their own routine outside the lodgement log.

Frequently asked questions about this template

It calculates Bond Amount ($) by multiplying Weekly Rent ($) by Bond (Weeks). It also calculates Lodgement Deadline by adding 14 days to Date Received, and Days to Lodge from Date Lodged minus Date Received.
No. The workbook uses a 14-day tracking assumption. Bond deadlines and processes are controlled by each state's residential-tenancy rules and authority, so verify the applicable 2026 requirement before relying on the date for compliance.
The Bond Authority column can record the body handling the tenancy, such as the NSW Rental Bond Board, RTBA Victoria and RTA Queensland. Enter the actual authority and keep its lodgement reference in the same row.
Enter the weekly rent and the agreed number of bond weeks. For example, $550.00 per week multiplied by 4 weeks produces a calculated bond amount of $2,200.00.
Use it to show the practical stage of the row, such as awaiting lodgement, lodged or requiring follow-up. Update it when the authority confirms the submission, and enter the receipt number rather than deleting the row.
Keep the lease, payment evidence, bond details, authority confirmation, lodgement reference and receipt number with the tenancy file. The ATO generally requires tax records to be retained for five years, while state tenancy and trust-account rules may require a longer or different period.