Keeping track of expenses

[Carrie A.]

How do you keep track of your expenses? I got an email from Cozy saying they offer a tracking service.... anyone familiar with it?

[John Thedford]

@Carrie A.

I file  everything alphabetically. I use an accordion file. That way everything is in one place. 

I have everything set up in Quickbooks for records. As an example:
Under fixed assets I have an account for properties. Under properties, I have a sub acct for each one. Under each property, I have sub accounts for various depreciation purchases such as roof, refrigerator, etc. When I make a major purchase for any one property, I simply add a sub account under that property.

For expenses, I have an account called rentals. Under that, I have a sub acct for each one. When I write a check for expenses for a certain property, I attach it to that property. I can print a report that shows all expenses for that year for each property. 

I like QB. It is inexpensive and easy to use. There is more to it than just tracking expenses. Got a mortgage on your rental?  QB makes it easy. I have accounts set up for mortgage loans as liabilities...all set up under one master mortgage account, and on the expenses I have a master account called mortgage interest, and under that each payee. When I write checks, I credit the liability account so I know EXACTLY how much I owe any month, and debit the interest account when I write a check to each lender. This makes it super easy to 1099 them at the end of the year. I also have a manilla folder for each mortgage with an amortization schedule so I can easily look up how much of the payment goes to principal each month.  This is how I know the breakdown on P&I to put into QB. 

This may not be the best system...I am no bookkeeper...just what I started with and have used for years.