So much money coming in and going out of every direction, help?

Question

Hi all

We are worried about losing grip on our finances and need advice. There is money coming in, going out, receipts coming out of ears, bills to track, expenses, two businesses to run, taxes, etc.

We want to hire someone to help. BUT....not hire investors wanting to take our money and invest in the stock market.

Who should we look for ? A book keeper? CPA? Financial advisor? Quick books? We aren't experts and feel like we need direction from an expert.

Daniel Hyman · Answer

You'll inevitably need a CPA for tax prep and tax planning so I would start there.

If you can find a CPA that either has bookkeeping in house or can refer you to a competent bookkeeper, that is certainly preferable. Some firms offer to coach their clients on the basics of Quickbooks. If you can connect with a firm like that then you'll be in great shape.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

A cpa to start  .. they usually know small book keepers that can help with the day to day..

as for what to invest in.. since your on a real estate site I have to imagine your looking to buy some real estate

financial planners generally just advise on stuff they sell. UNLESS they are fee based and most fee based usually only work with those with pretty substantial protfolios to make it worth their time and their clients time.

They are commonly known as wealth managers.. BAnks have them.. as well as others.

then there are registered investment advisors that can sell away IE they search out alternative ( usually real estate of some kind) and they get paid by whoever is selling the deal.. and sometimes the fee's to them are quite large.

Basit Siddiqi · Answer

@Kim DurstIt is very important to keep track of your finances. Keeping track of your finances also is very useful.1) It will allow you to determine which business is making money and how much.2) It allows you to determine which business you should expand or eliminate.3) It also makes preparing the tax return at the end of the year much easier.I would take the following steps1) Separate each business into its own separate bank account.If you have 2 rental properties, its okay to keep 1 bank account for the rentals.However, if you also have a consulting business, I would separate the rental and consulting business.

2) I would consult with a bookkeeping to manage your books going forward. You can decide to learn quickbooks/bookkeeping, but it depends on how you value your time. Bookkeeping is normally a low-level task and you may find yourself better suited growing your business instead of doing back end items.3) If you have determined one business is more successful than the other, You may want to employ capital to increase your presence in that business.

Gita Faust · Answer

@Kim Durst

Here are few thoughts that come to mind:

• Know your needs, and depends on what your do hold or flip?
• Rentals are commercial, residential or vacation? Each one has different setup and reporting.
• You need to decided if you want to hire someone inhouse or outsource.
• Which software you are going to use for property management and accounting management?
• After you have decided your software - you need someone to set up your books, give you a process and procedure. By this time I am guessing you already have structured your business with your attorney and tax strategized.
• Process will depends on who is offering and tracking your financials.
• Before you go looking for someone - ask your self, what do you want out of it. What is your goal?

We can help you chart your course - give us a shout.

Jake Kinoshita · Answer

@Kim Durst

I use Beaver and manage bookkeeping and tax prep but i think using CPA is a good option too.

I also know Bench and wonder if it is a good option. Maybe you can check it out too.

Renay Reese · Answer

for tax purposes I always recommend starting with a tax lawyer that has book keeping services available. But the most important take away is that managing your finances is ultimately your responsibility at the end. The subjects that you don't like or maybe not interested in will be your greatest asset. When you walk into your meeting have notes from your research. Which is more important making money or saving money? So many times I watch American Greed show and I see people that worked there entire life just to get an investor to steal it. I recommend scanning your receipts and entering in bookkeeping program your tax lawyer or cpa recommends so that you can see first hand where your spending is going and to double and triple check your accounting firm. If you have the money hire two tax firms one to file and the other to double check the first firm. I truly feel what every investments you become involve in find a partner that is open to 24/7 communication and be involved as much as possible. real estate, real estate is a solid investment over time from appreciation of property, tax deprecation benefits, cash flow = residual income. hope this helps....

Allan Szlafrok · Answer

@Kim Durst quickbooks is great and I also recommend Stessa which is free and can help you track your income and expenses as well as having all your property data in one place. Worth taking the time to set up an account if you have more than a couple of properties.

Bryan Devitt · Answer

We got a bookkeeper for our business a few months ago and it is the best thing we have ever done. He comes in once a week, files everything, organizes receipts, runs it all through QuickBooks, cuts all our checks and gets everything ready for us. He gives us a call or leaves a note going over the bullet points and one of us has to go in and sign all the checks, put stamps on the envelopes, drop them in the mailbox for our subcontractors and mailman to pick up and this takes us all of 1/2hr a week and saves us more hours than I know (I've never been as organized as him so I don't even know where to start) and is a giant stress relief. Best of all, its about $200 a month at the highest. IMO start with a bookkeeper and if you need more help after that you can figure out the next step from there

Kim Durst · Answer

thanks everyone. We have a salon/spa and a brand new Airbnb that is doing very well!

I have an amazing cpa but have never handed over receipts!! It scares me. But, we just do t have the time to organize. We are so busy working in the businesses.

Our cpa offered to do book keeping. We also have the salon as an s Corp and Airbnb as an LLC. That part is handled it’s the back end stuff that is overwhelming.

Steve Vaughan · Answer

I separate my businesses by type and location.  Type to me means active SE income or passive.  What type of businesses do you have?

If I was a flipper for instance, that job, I mean business LOL would probably have an LLC taxed as an scorp that I would run all my flips through whether I owned the houses personally or not. Own bank acct, own check series (like the 3000s), own check colors, etc.  Separate it completely from your personal stuff.

Rental houses and plexes have their own thing under a mgt co. Commercial assets have their own thing under LLCs. Separate and conquer. I run nothing through my personal acct and would be lost in a mess if I did, too.

Simple free or low cost property mgt software should help a lot if you have rentals. Nothing quick about learning quickbooks IME. Good luck!

So much money coming in and going out of every direction, help?

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