Bookkeeping for Property Management: 8 Best Practices

Therefore, it’s vital to establish the best bookkeeping practices to ensure your business remains profitable. By staying organized and keeping good records, you can help ensure a smooth-running operation – and avoid any potential pitfalls down the road. If you’re a landlord with poor bookkeeping practices, you could face some serious consequences. When it comes to rental expenses, there are a few different ways you can categorize them. FreshBooks integrates with lots of apps you already use (and some new ones you’ll be glad you found) to make running your business a breeze.

1. Furthermore, if the bank already recognizes you as a loyal client, it might be easier to open a business account.
2. With award-winning customer service, helpful support is just a quick phone call or email away.
3. That’s often the best course of action, especially if you’re happy with their service.
4. Xero is cloud-based accounting software for small to medium-sized businesses across numerous industries.

Tax Deductions

This can be as simple as keeping a separate bank account for your rental property or using accounting software. There are so many tools out there that can help you be better at rental property accounting. Some are designed specifically for real estate accounting, some are not. Here’s a quick list of some of the rental property accounting apps that will help you improve your tracking and automation on the financial side of your business. Make the billing process as simple as possible for you and your tenants.

Accurately keeping track of your income and expenses also makes it easier to plan for future expenses so that you have money in the bank when you need it. The cash method of accounting reports income at the time it is received and bills at the time they are paid. For example, if you deposit $2,000 in rent on June 1st and pay $1,500 in bills in the month of June, using cash accounting you have a profit of $500 for the month of June. Investor-focused features include editable charts of accounts, fixed asset schedules, and built-in Schedule E reports. Avail four temperaments is another online tool serving landlords and property managers.

In both of these examples you have a reported net income of $500, purchase assets in accounting but your actual cash flow for the month is different. In order to maximize the returns on your real estate investment, it’s important to understand how the accounting works. That’s because the buck stops with you, and not your CPA or accountant.

Invoicing Software and Time and Expense Tracking for Rental Properties

Not to mention, if you ever need to borrow money from a bank or other lender, they’re likely to request copies of your financial records. Good bookkeeping practices will help you stay organized and on top of your finances. By keeping track of your expenses, you can make sure that you are only spending money on necessary repairs and maintenance. Whether you’re a property owner, renter, property manager, or real estate agent, gain valuable insights, advice, and updates by joining our newsletter. While no real estate investor wants to be audited, it’s best to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Common mistakes landlords make with their rental property bookkeeping

However, Stessa’s unique features and user-friendly design, tailored to individual landlords and real estate investors regardless of portfolio size, help it stand out from the rest. Xero is cloud-based accounting software for small to medium-sized businesses across numerous industries. It has robust accounting features such as invoicing, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. Landlord Studio’s capabilities are more focused on day-to-day bookkeeping.

Create separate bank accounts for each legal entity or portfolio

Property management companies that use an accrual system must file financial statements to regulatory bodies. Most balance sheets carry the asset value of a rental property at the original cost. Over the years, houses tend to increase in value due to appreciation, so carrying the property at the purchase price understates the true amount of owner’s equity. Landscaping costs may be higher in the summer, but next to nothing in the winter. Or, you may need to install a new HVAC unit next year, so you can current ratio: definition, formula, and example set aside a small percentage of your rental income each month to fund a CapEx (capital expenditure) account.

Transactions are recorded in the general ledger in real time, allowing for up-to-date financial information to be available at any point in time. If you’ve decided to rent out your property as a side hustle to earn extra cash, FreshBooks can help you manage your rental business and collect your hard-earned rent payments. Organize and track your business expenses automatically each time you make a repair or upgrade at your rental property. Offer flexible payment options to your tenants so you collect rent faster — you can even accept recurring payments so tenants can pay automatically every month. FreshBooks makes it easier to handle the financial side of running a rental business so you can get back to your day job. FreshBooks ensures you get paid faster and spend less time balancing the books.

You can learn property management bookkeeping even if you have never read a financial statement. After signing up for a free account and entering basic property and banking information, Stessa begins automatically tracking income and expenses. There’s  little learning curve because the system uses intuitive features to auto-categorize charges to the correct accounts. Real estate investors use rental property accounting to track property financial performance at the property and portfolio level.