Rental property and real estate bookkeeping.
Each door is its own business. The books should say so. Monthly bookkeeping for landlords and real estate investors with one property or twenty. Every property on its own books, rent and deposits tracked, and the repair-versus-improvement question answered before your preparer asks it.
Rental books are simple until they are not.
One unit and one bank account is manageable in a spreadsheet. The second property, the first big repair and the first LLC are where it goes sideways.
Property-level books
Each property gets its own profit and loss, so you know which one is carrying the others.
Rent, late fees and deposits
Security deposits are not income. Rent received in advance is not this month's rent. Tracked right, the report is true.
Repairs versus improvements
A furnace repair is an expense. A new furnace is depreciated. The difference matters at tax time and I sort it as it happens.
Mortgages and escrow
Principal, interest, taxes and insurance split out of the payment, so the interest and the tax are where your preparer expects them.
A monthly rhythm, and a January that is already done.
Rental books are mostly quiet. The work is keeping them quiet, and having year-end ready before anyone asks.
- Every month
Rent received matched to the lease, expenses to the property, mortgage payments split. Statements per property inside 20 days.
- When something breaks
Repair or improvement, decided and documented at the time, not reconstructed in April.
- January
Year-end by property, ready for the Schedule E or the LLC return. 1099s to any contractors who did work on the units.
- Before the next purchase
The real numbers on what the current properties earn, so the next one is bought with a clear head.
Usually one of these two.
One to three properties fits the first tier. More doors, an LLC per property, or a preparer who wants year-end handed to them clean pushes it to tax-ready books.
From $400/ month
For an owner who wants the books off their desk.
- Every transaction categorized
- Bank and credit card accounts reconciled every month
- QuickBooks Online included, with view-only access to your bank and cards
- Balance sheet and income statement in your inbox within 20 days of month-end
From $600/ month
For an owner who wants more of the accounting handled. Most people land here.
- Everything in The Basics
- Statements within 15 days, plus a cash-flow statement and a monthly management report
- Tax-ready books, and I work directly with your tax preparer
- Accounts receivable and payable managed and reported
- A monthly check-in on where you stand, and an annual budget
- 1099s handled, up to 20
Payroll is an add-on on The Foundation and The Partner, quoted by headcount and filings. All three tiers
What rental properties owners ask.
If yours is not here, the 15-minute call is where it gets answered.
Maybe. If the numbers fit in a spreadsheet and your preparer is happy, keep doing that. The 15-minute call is where I tell you either way.
Yes, that is the default. Each property is its own class in the books, with its own profit and loss and one report for the whole portfolio.
No. I get the books to where your preparer can file the Schedule E or LLC return from them without a cleanup project. If you do not have a preparer, I can point you to one.
Same structure, more transactions, and lodging tax to track. It fits, and the first call sorts out which taxes apply.
Fifteen minutes, before the next closing.
Tell me how many doors, how they are owned and where the books are today. I will tell you which tier fits and what it costs.