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Rental Rate Optimizer Workbook — Instruction Manual
Instruction Manual · How to use this template
The Rental Rate Optimizer Workbook is a Google Sheets template designed for landlords, property managers, and real-estate investors who want to maximize rental income across their portfolio. It compares every unit's current rent against local market rates, calculates the dollar gap and annual revenue you are leaving on the table, and then helps you plan phased rent increases timed to each lease renewal. The workflow is simple: enter your properties, units, and current rents in the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet, add the market rate for each unit, and the workbook instantly scores every unit by priority, quantifies the upside, and rolls everything up into portfolio-level KPIs and charts on the 📈 Market Dashboard.
⚡ Quick start
1Step 1 — Open the workbook and read the Read Me sheet for orientation, color-coding legend, and any version notes.
2Step 2 — Go to the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet and enter each property name, unit identifier, number of bedrooms, current monthly rent, comparable market rent, unit status, and lease-end date in the left-side input columns (one row per unit).
3Step 3 — Review the auto-computed columns (marked with ƒ) that appear immediately: Gap, Gap %, Priority, Rank, Yr Upside, and Lease Drag tell you which units need attention first.
4Step 4 — In the right-side planning table of the same sheet, enter your Proposed rent, the Effective date for the increase, and mark the Approved column once a raise is confirmed. The workbook calculates the raise amount, annual impact, wait cost, and payback period automatically.
5Step 5 — Switch to the 📈 Market Dashboard to see portfolio-wide KPIs — total drag, annual upside, capture rate — and charts that break performance down by property.
6Step 6 — Revisit the workbook monthly or at each lease renewal cycle: update Market rates, mark newly approved raises, and watch the dashboard reflect your progress toward full market capture.
This is the primary data-entry and analysis sheet. It contains two side-by-side table sections: the left-side Rent Analysis table where you log each unit's current rent versus market rent and see auto-scored priorities, and the right-side Raise Planning table where you model proposed increases and track approval status. All unit-level KPIs, gap calculations, and ten detailed charts live here.
✍️ Step by step
11. In the left-side table, start by entering the Property name (e.g., 'Maple Court') and Unit identifier (e.g., '2B') for every unit in your portfolio — one row per unit.
22. Enter the number of Beds (bedrooms) as a whole number, then type the current monthly Rent the tenant pays (e.g., 1350) and the comparable Market rent for that unit type in your area (e.g., 1500).
33. Set the Status column to reflect the unit's lease state — for example 'Under Market', 'At Market', or 'Over Market' — so the dashboard can segment units correctly.
44. Enter the Lease End date in MM/DD/YYYY format; the ƒDays Left column will instantly count down the days remaining, and ƒPriority and ƒRank will auto-sort your units by urgency.
55. Review the auto-computed columns ƒGap, ƒGap %, ƒYr Upside, ƒ$/Bed, ƒMkt/Bed, ƒLease Drag, and ƒCapture to understand each unit's financial position at a glance.
66. Move to the right-side Raise Planning table. The Property and Unit columns should match the left side. Enter the Current rent (should equal the Rent column on the left), then type your Proposed new rent.
77. Enter the Effective date when the new rent would begin, and set Approved to 'Yes' or 'No' once a decision is made.
88. The workbook auto-computes ƒRaise, ƒRaise %, ƒDays Out, ƒUrgency, ƒYr Impact, ƒ% of Mkt, ƒWait Cost, ƒGap Left, ƒRounds, ƒNotice By, ƒGap Closed, and ƒPayback — use these to evaluate whether your proposed increase is aggressive enough and when you will break even.
99. Check the KPI cards at the top (Monthly Revenue, Capture Rate, Annual Upside, Beds, Rent, Market) and scroll through the ten charts to visualize your portfolio's rent positioning and planned actions.
📋 Column-by-column
| Property | INPUT — Type the property name or address that identifies the building or complex. Use a consistent short name across all units in that property (e.g., 'Oak Villa' or '123 Main'). This value is used to group data on the 📈 Market Dashboard. |
| Unit | INPUT — Enter the specific unit number or label within the property (e.g., '1A', 'Suite 200', 'Cottage'). Combined with Property, this creates a unique identifier for each row. |
| Beds | INPUT — Enter the number of bedrooms as a whole number (e.g., 1, 2, 3). Studios should be entered as 0 or 1 depending on how you classify them. This is used to compute ƒ$/Bed and ƒMkt/Bed so you can compare efficiency across differently sized units. |
| Rent | INPUT — Enter the current monthly rent the tenant is paying, in dollars, without a dollar sign (e.g., 1350). This is the baseline used for all gap and upside calculations. |
| Market | INPUT — Enter the estimated current market rent for a comparable unit in your area, in dollars (e.g., 1500). Source this from rental listing sites, comps, or a broker opinion of rent. Accuracy here is critical — it drives every gap and priority metric. |
| ƒGap | AUTO-COMPUTED — Gap equals Market minus Rent. It is the dollar amount by which the unit's current rent falls short of market rate each month. A positive Gap means you are under-renting; zero means you are at market; a negative value means you are charging above market. Example: if Rent is 1350 and Market is 1500, Gap is 150. |
| ƒGap % | AUTO-COMPUTED — Gap Percent equals Gap divided by Market, expressed as a percentage. It shows how far below market the current rent is in relative terms. A Gap % of 10% means the unit is rented at 90% of market. Values above 15–20% typically signal an urgent adjustment opportunity. |
| Status | INPUT — Enter a short label describing the unit's rent position relative to market: commonly 'Under Market', 'At Market', or 'Over Market'. This field feeds the Rent Status Mix chart on the 📈 Market Dashboard and the ƒCount/ƒShare breakdowns. |
| ƒCapture | AUTO-COMPUTED — Capture Rate equals Rent divided by Market, expressed as a percentage. It tells you what fraction of the available market rent you are currently collecting. A Capture of 90% means you are collecting 90 cents of every market-rate dollar. Aim for 95–100%; anything below 85% is a red flag. |
| Lease End | INPUT — Enter the date the current lease expires in MM/DD/YYYY format (e.g., 09/30/2026). This date drives ƒDays Left and ƒPriority, ensuring units with imminent renewals are flagged for action first. |
| ƒDays Left | AUTO-COMPUTED — Days Left equals Lease End minus today's date. It counts down the number of calendar days remaining until the lease expires. A low number (under 90 days) signals that you need to act quickly if you plan to raise rent at renewal. Negative values mean the lease has already expired or is month-to-month. |
| ƒYr Upside | AUTO-COMPUTED — Yearly Upside equals Gap multiplied by 12. It is the total additional annual revenue you would collect if this unit were brought to full market rent immediately. Example: a $150 monthly Gap produces a $1,800 Yr Upside. Larger values should be prioritized. |
| ƒ$/Bed | AUTO-COMPUTED — Dollars per Bed equals current Rent divided by Beds. It normalizes rent on a per-bedroom basis so you can compare units of different sizes fairly. For example, a 2-bed unit at $2,000 yields $1,000/Bed. Compare this to ƒMkt/Bed to see if larger or smaller units are more under-rented. |
| ƒMkt/Bed | AUTO-COMPUTED — Market per Bed equals Market rent divided by Beds. It shows the market-rate benchmark on a per-bedroom basis. Comparing ƒ$/Bed to ƒMkt/Bed reveals which unit sizes have the largest efficiency gap. |
| ƒPriority | AUTO-COMPUTED — Priority Score is a composite ranking metric that weights the unit's Gap %, Yr Upside, and Days Left to produce a single score indicating how urgently this unit should receive a rent increase. Higher scores mean higher priority. Units with large gaps and imminent lease expirations score highest. |
| ƒRank | AUTO-COMPUTED — Rank is the ordinal position of each unit when sorted by ƒPriority from highest to lowest. Rank 1 is your most urgent unit. Use this column to quickly identify your top 3–5 units to address this quarter. |
| ƒLease Drag | AUTO-COMPUTED — Lease Drag equals Gap multiplied by Days Left divided by 30, representing the estimated total revenue lost (in dollars) between now and the lease expiration if no action is taken. A high Lease Drag means the combination of a large gap and a long remaining lease term is costing you significant money. Reducing Lease Drag is the primary goal of timely rent increases. |
| Property (Raise Planning) | INPUT — Enter the same Property name used in the left-side table so the two sections stay linked. Consistency is essential for formulas and charts to work correctly. |
| Unit (Raise Planning) | INPUT — Enter the same Unit identifier used in the left-side table. Each row in the Raise Planning section should correspond to exactly one row on the left. |
| Current | INPUT — Enter the tenant's current monthly rent (should match the Rent column on the left side). This serves as the 'before' figure for calculating the raise amount. |
| Proposed | INPUT — Enter the new monthly rent you plan to charge at the next renewal or effective date (e.g., 1450). This is your target rent; the workbook will calculate the raise, its percentage, annual impact, and how it compares to market. |
| ƒRaise | AUTO-COMPUTED — Raise equals Proposed minus Current. It is the dollar increase per month the tenant will see. Example: Proposed 1450 minus Current 1350 equals a $100 Raise. |
| ƒRaise % | AUTO-COMPUTED — Raise Percent equals Raise divided by Current, expressed as a percentage. It shows the relative size of the increase from the tenant's perspective. Most markets consider 3–5% annual increases normal; anything above 10% may trigger pushback or regulatory scrutiny in rent-controlled areas. |
| Effective | INPUT — Enter the date the new rent will take effect, in MM/DD/YYYY format (e.g., 10/01/2026). This should typically align with the lease renewal date. The workbook uses this to compute ƒDays Out and ƒNotice By. |
| ƒDays Out | AUTO-COMPUTED — Days Out equals the Effective date minus today's date. It tells you how many calendar days remain before the proposed increase goes into effect. Use it to gauge how much lead time you have for tenant communication and notice requirements. |
| ƒUrgency | AUTO-COMPUTED — Urgency is a calculated flag or score that escalates as the Effective date approaches and the raise has not yet been approved. High urgency means you need to send a rent-increase notice soon or risk missing the window. Check this column weekly for any units flagged as urgent. |
| Approved | INPUT — Enter 'Yes' once the rent increase has been formally approved and the tenant has been notified, or 'No' / leave blank if the increase is still pending. This field gates several downstream calculations — ƒYr Impact and ƒGap Closed only fully activate when Approved is 'Yes'. |
| ƒYr Impact | AUTO-COMPUTED — Yearly Impact equals Raise multiplied by 12. It is the total additional annual revenue generated by this specific rent increase once it takes effect. Example: a $100/month Raise yields $1,200 Yr Impact. Sum all rows to see total planned annual revenue gain. |
| ƒ% of Mkt | AUTO-COMPUTED — Percent of Market equals Proposed divided by Market (from the left-side table), expressed as a percentage. It shows what fraction of full market rent the proposed new rent represents. Ideally this is 95–100%. If it is below 90%, you may need a second round of increases. |
| ƒWait Cost | AUTO-COMPUTED — Wait Cost estimates the revenue lost by waiting from today until the Effective date at the current below-market rent. It equals Gap multiplied by Days Out divided by 30. A high Wait Cost highlights that delaying the increase is expensive — consider whether an earlier effective date or a mid-lease adjustment is possible. |
| ƒGap Left | AUTO-COMPUTED — Gap Left equals Market minus Proposed. It is the residual monthly shortfall that will remain even after the planned increase. If Gap Left is zero, you are raising to full market in one step. If positive, you will need additional rounds of increases to close the gap completely. |
| ƒRounds | AUTO-COMPUTED — Rounds estimates the number of additional annual increase cycles needed to close the remaining Gap Left, assuming a similar raise amount each cycle. For example, if Gap Left is $200 and each raise is roughly $100, Rounds equals 2. This helps you plan a multi-year rent normalization strategy. |
| ƒNotice By | AUTO-COMPUTED — Notice By is a calculated date indicating the latest day you should send a formal rent-increase notice to the tenant, based on the Effective date minus a standard notice period (commonly 30 or 60 days, depending on your jurisdiction). Mark your calendar for this date to avoid missing legal notice windows. |
| ƒGap Closed | AUTO-COMPUTED — Gap Closed equals Raise divided by the original Gap (from the left-side table), expressed as a percentage. It shows what portion of the under-market gap this particular increase eliminates. A Gap Closed of 100% means you are closing the entire gap in one move; 50% means you are doing it in at least two steps. |
| ƒPayback | AUTO-COMPUTED — Payback estimates how many months the new higher rent must be collected to offset any vacancy risk or turnover cost associated with the increase. A shorter payback (under 6 months) means the raise is low-risk; a longer payback (over 12 months) suggests you should weigh the increase against potential tenant loss. |
📊 Reading the numbers
• Monthly Revenue KPI shows the total current rent collected across all units per month. Compare it to the Market KPI to see how much you could be collecting at full market rates.
• Capture Rate KPI is your portfolio-wide collection efficiency — current total Rent divided by total Market rent. Target 95%+; below 85% signals systematic under-pricing.
• Annual Upside KPI is the sum of all ƒYr Upside values across units — the total additional yearly revenue available if every unit were brought to market. This is your ceiling opportunity.
• Current vs. Market Rent chart shows paired bars for each unit: the blue bar is what you collect, the taller bar is what the market would pay. The visual gap between them is lost revenue.
• Priority Score by Unit chart highlights which units the workbook recommends adjusting first. Taller bars mean more urgent. Focus your next renewal conversation on the top-scoring units.
• Lease Drag by Unit chart visualizes the total revenue leaking away over the remaining lease term for each unit. Units with high lease drag deserve early-renewal negotiations.
• Wait Cost by Unit chart shows the cost of inaction for each planned increase — units with tall bars are losing the most money while waiting for the effective date.
• Days to Lease Expiry chart is a countdown visual: units near zero need immediate action; units with long bars give you planning runway.
• Rent per Bed by Unit chart normalizes performance across different unit sizes. Look for units whose ƒ$/Bed is far below their ƒMkt/Bed — those are your most inefficient renters.
⚠️ Avoid these mistakes
• Do not type into any ƒ (formula) column — these are auto-computed and will break if overwritten. If you accidentally edit one, use Ctrl+Z immediately to undo.
• Do not leave the Market column blank or enter zero — this will cause division errors in ƒGap %, ƒCapture, ƒ% of Mkt, and downstream calculations.
• Make sure the Property and Unit names in the Raise Planning section exactly match the left-side table, including capitalization and spacing; mismatches will cause the charts and dashboard to misattribute data.
• Do not enter rent values with dollar signs or commas — type plain numbers (e.g., 1350, not $1,350) to avoid formula errors.
💡 Tips• Sort the table by ƒRank (ascending) to see your most actionable units at the top, then work through them from Rank 1 downward each quarter.
• Use the ƒRounds column to build a multi-year rent normalization plan: if a unit needs 3 rounds, map out Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 target rents.
• Freeze the header row (View → Freeze → 1 row) so column labels stay visible as you scroll through a large portfolio.
• Color-code the Approved column (e.g., green for Yes, red for No) using conditional formatting to get a visual status board of pending versus confirmed raises.
The Market Dashboard is a read-only, portfolio-level summary sheet. It aggregates all unit data from the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet using COUNTIF, AVERAGEIF, SUMIFS, and COUNTIFS formulas to produce high-level KPIs and nine property-level charts. Use this sheet to get a bird's-eye view of portfolio health, identify which properties are most under-rented, and track progress over time.
✍️ Step by step
11. You do not need to enter any data on this sheet — everything is pulled automatically from the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet via cross-sheet formulas.
22. Ensure that the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet is fully filled out (especially Property, Status, Rent, Market, Gap, and Lease End columns) before relying on dashboard figures.
33. Review the Status breakdown table (Status, ƒCount, ƒShare) to see how many units fall into each category (Under Market, At Market, Over Market) and what percentage of your portfolio each represents.
44. Check the six KPI cards at the top: Total Units, Total Drag, Annual Upside, Gap/Mo, Yr Upside, and Avg Score for a quick health check.
55. Scroll through the nine charts to analyze performance by property: identify which buildings have the largest gaps, lowest capture rates, or highest priority scores.
66. Use this sheet in monthly or quarterly portfolio reviews — screenshot or print the dashboard to share with partners or stakeholders.
77. If you add new properties or units to the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet, the dashboard formulas will update automatically as long as the new rows are within the formula ranges.
📋 Column-by-column
| Status | AUTO-COMPUTED — This column lists each unique status category that exists in the 🏠 Rental Portfolio Status column (e.g., 'Under Market', 'At Market', 'Over Market'). It is auto-populated or referenced from the portfolio data. |
| ƒCount | AUTO-COMPUTED — Count is the number of units in the 🏠 Rental Portfolio that have each given Status, calculated using COUNTIF. For example, if 12 out of 20 units are 'Under Market', the Count for that row is 12. Use this to see the distribution of your portfolio across status categories. |
| ƒShare | AUTO-COMPUTED — Share equals Count divided by Total Units, expressed as a percentage. It shows what proportion of your portfolio falls into each status category. A healthy portfolio should have the majority of units 'At Market' (Share above 70%). If 'Under Market' Share exceeds 30%, systematic under-pricing is likely. |
📊 Reading the numbers
• Total Units KPI shows how many units are included in the analysis. Verify this matches your actual portfolio size to ensure no units were missed.
• Total Drag KPI is the sum of all ƒLease Drag values from the portfolio — the total dollars being lost across all units over their remaining lease terms. This is the cost of inaction. Lower is better; zero means every unit is at market.
• Annual Upside KPI is the total potential yearly revenue gain if every under-market unit were raised to market rent. This is the same total shown on the portfolio sheet but displayed prominently here for executive-level review.
• Gap/Mo KPI is the total monthly gap across all units — the sum of every unit's ƒGap. Multiply by 12 to cross-check against Annual Upside. Reducing this number month over month shows progress.
• Avg Score KPI is the average ƒPriority score across all units. A declining average over time indicates you are addressing the highest-priority units first, which is the optimal strategy.
• Rent Status Mix chart (pie or donut) shows the share of units in each status category at a glance. A predominantly green (At Market) chart is the goal.
• Monthly Gap by Property chart shows which properties contribute the most to your total monthly gap. Focus rent-increase efforts on the tallest bars first.
• Capture Rate by Property chart compares how efficiently each property collects market rent. Properties below 90% capture deserve immediate attention.
• Priority Score by Property chart averages the priority scores for all units within each property, helping you decide which building to tackle next.
⚠️ Avoid these mistakes
• Do not manually edit any cell on this sheet — all data is formula-driven from the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet. Overwriting a formula will break the dashboard.
• Do not rename the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet or change its tab name — the cross-sheet COUNTIF/SUMIFS/AVERAGEIF/COUNTIFS references will break and show #REF! errors.
• If your dashboard shows zeros or errors, check that the 🏠 Rental Portfolio sheet has data entered in the correct columns and that no columns have been inserted or deleted.
💡 Tips• Take a screenshot of the dashboard at the start of each quarter and compare it to the previous quarter to visualize portfolio improvement over time.
• Use the Capture Rate by Property chart to identify your worst-performing building and create a focused action plan for that property alone.
• Share this sheet (via View-only link) with investors or partners who want portfolio visibility without the ability to edit underlying data.
• Filter or highlight the 🏠 Rental Portfolio by a single property, then return to the dashboard to see how that property's metrics compare to the portfolio average.
📖Glossary — what every value means
| Gap | Gap is the difference between the market rent and the current rent for a unit (Market minus Rent). It represents the monthly dollar amount by which the unit is under-rented. A Gap of zero means the unit is priced at market; a positive Gap means money is being left on the table each month. |
| Gap % | Gap Percent is the Gap divided by the Market rent, expressed as a percentage. It measures how far below market the current rent is in relative terms. For example, a 10% Gap % means you are collecting 90% of what the market would bear. Values above 15% are considered significant. |
| Capture Rate | Capture Rate is the current Rent divided by the Market rent, expressed as a percentage. It is the inverse complement of Gap % — if Gap % is 10%, Capture Rate is 90%. It tells you what share of available market rent you are actually collecting. A healthy portfolio targets 95–100% capture. |
| Yr Upside (Annual Upside) | Yearly Upside is the Gap multiplied by 12, representing the total additional annual revenue you would gain if the unit were immediately brought to full market rent. It converts the monthly gap into an annualized dollar figure for easier financial planning. |
| $/Bed (Rent per Bed) | Dollars per Bed is the current Rent divided by the number of Beds (bedrooms). It normalizes rent on a per-bedroom basis so you can fairly compare units of different sizes. A 2-bedroom unit at $2,000 has a $/Bed of $1,000. |
| Mkt/Bed (Market per Bed) | Market per Bed is the Market rent divided by the number of Beds. It provides the market benchmark on a per-bedroom basis. Comparing $/Bed to Mkt/Bed reveals which unit sizes are most under-rented relative to the market. |
| Priority Score | Priority Score is a composite metric that combines Gap %, Yr Upside, and Days Left to rank how urgently a unit needs a rent increase. Higher scores indicate greater urgency. Units with large gaps and imminent lease expirations receive the highest scores. |
| Lease Drag | Lease Drag estimates the total revenue lost between now and the lease expiration if no rent adjustment is made. It is calculated as Gap multiplied by Days Left divided by 30. A high Lease Drag means a large gap compounded over a long remaining term, representing a substantial cost of inaction. |
| Wait Cost | Wait Cost is the estimated revenue forfeited by waiting from today until the planned Effective date of a rent increase. It equals Gap multiplied by Days Out divided by 30. It quantifies the price of delay and helps you evaluate whether moving the effective date earlier would be worthwhile. |
| Raise | Raise is the dollar difference between the Proposed new rent and the Current rent (Proposed minus Current). It is the monthly increase amount the tenant will experience. |
| Raise % | Raise Percent is the Raise divided by the Current rent, expressed as a percentage. It measures the size of the increase relative to what the tenant currently pays. Most markets consider 3–5% annual increases routine; above 10% may require careful tenant communication. |
| Yr Impact (Annual Impact) | Yearly Impact is the Raise multiplied by 12. It is the total additional annual revenue generated by a specific planned rent increase, once it takes effect. Sum all Yr Impact values to see the total planned revenue gain from all approved increases. |
| % of Mkt (Percent of Market) | Percent of Market is the Proposed rent divided by the Market rent, expressed as a percentage. It shows how close the new proposed rent comes to full market rate. A value of 100% means you are raising to exact market level; below 90% suggests additional future rounds may be needed. |
| Gap Left | Gap Left is Market minus Proposed. It is the residual monthly shortfall that will remain after the planned increase takes effect. A Gap Left of zero means the increase fully closes the gap to market in one step. |
| Rounds | Rounds is an estimate of how many additional annual increase cycles are needed to close the remaining Gap Left, assuming a similar raise amount each cycle. For example, if Gap Left is $200 and each raise is about $100, Rounds equals 2. |
| Gap Closed | Gap Closed is the Raise divided by the original Gap, expressed as a percentage. It shows what portion of the total under-market shortfall this particular increase eliminates. 100% means the full gap is closed in one raise; 50% means a two-step approach. |
| Payback | Payback estimates the number of months the new higher rent must be collected to offset potential turnover costs or vacancy risk associated with the increase. A payback under 6 months suggests low risk; over 12 months warrants careful consideration of whether the increase could cause tenant loss. |
| Notice By | Notice By is a computed date representing the latest day you should send a formal rent-increase notice to the tenant, calculated as the Effective date minus the required notice period (typically 30–60 days depending on jurisdiction). Missing this date may mean you cannot legally implement the increase on time. |
| Urgency | Urgency is a computed score or flag that escalates as the Effective date of a planned increase approaches and the raise has not yet been approved. High urgency means you are at risk of missing the notice window and should act immediately. |
| Total Drag | Total Drag is the portfolio-level sum of all individual unit Lease Drag values. It represents the total dollar amount of revenue being lost across the entire portfolio over all remaining lease terms if no adjustments are made. Reducing this number over time is a key measure of portfolio optimization progress. |
| Gap/Mo | Gap per Month is the sum of all individual unit Gaps across the portfolio. It represents the total monthly revenue shortfall — the difference between what you collect and what the market would pay across all units combined. |
| Avg Score | Average Score is the mean of all unit-level Priority Scores across the portfolio. A high average indicates widespread under-pricing; a declining average over time shows that you are successfully addressing the most urgent units first. |
| Days Out | Days Out is the number of calendar days between today and the planned Effective date of a rent increase. It tells you how much lead time remains before the new rent takes effect and is used to calculate Wait Cost. |
| Days Left | Days Left is the number of calendar days remaining until a unit's current lease expires, calculated as Lease End minus today's date. Negative values indicate the lease has expired or the unit is on month-to-month terms. |
Every template ships with an AI side-panel. Type in plain language — it fills rows, explains any cell, and analyses your data for you.
How to use it
1To open the built-in AI assistant, click the sparkle (✨) icon in the side panel on the right side of your Google Sheets window. If you do not see it, go to Extensions and look for the AI assistant option to enable it.
2Try prompts like 'Fill in the Market rent for unit 3A based on comparable listings' or 'Explain what the value in cell B7 means' to get contextual help with specific cells or concepts in the workbook.
3You can ask analytical questions such as 'Which 3 units should I raise rent on first?' or 'What is my total annual upside if I close all gaps above 10%?' and the assistant will reference your actual data to answer.
4The assistant can help you draft tenant communications — try 'Write a professional rent increase letter for unit 2B with a $100 raise effective October 1' and customize the output to your needs.
5You start with a set of free AI requests when you first use the assistant. After those are used, a subscription plan gives you a larger monthly allowance of requests — the exact number depends on your plan tier.
6The assistant works best for explaining formulas, summarizing your data, and suggesting next steps. It cannot modify protected formula cells or connect to external market-data APIs — you will still need to research and enter Market rents manually.