Operators · turnover

Spreadsheet vs Deposit Desk

Google Sheets and Excel work for one quiet door. They break when three move-outs land the same week and each tenant needs a different surrender date and statute clock.

What searchers usually need

• Surrender date that starts the clock (not lease end alone) · surrender guide
• 30 vs 45 days (Illinois statewide vs Chicago RLTO · Indiana 45 · Ohio/Michigan/Iowa/Missouri 30 in the wizard)
• Line-item withholds, not one cell that says “cleaning” · itemization
• A filed packet you can mail or email when the tenant disputes · dispute guide

Where spreadsheets fail

• Wrong row after copy-paste · see Excel mistakes
• Photos in Drive · numbers in a tab · story in texts · nothing prints as one document
• No .ics deadline on the calendar you already use

What Deposit Desk adds

• Five-step wizard · move-in rooms · move-out lines · running total
• Deadline math from surrender · Chicago toggle on step 1
• Calendar and Sheets export on free tier · print unlock per turn or Pro at step 5

Start free packet · Per turn · Pro pricing

Not legal advice. Confirm facts and deadlines with qualified counsel.