Accountant/CPA who is Stessa savvy?!?

Question

BP,

Stessa was once (maybe still is?) a platform advertised for on the BP podcast...

I have recently adopted it and am aggressively working through prior years' data to get the most out of the system. My question is if there are any Stessa savvy CPAs. To me it seems like an incredible pairing, someone who knows and understands to tools available and has the professional ability to leverage those tools not just for tax returns BUT also for tax planning and strategy.

I'm a Stessa Pro member and in talking with the pro support team they do not have any preferred CPAs/vendors at this time.

Does anyone know of CPAs who know the system? Are any BP members familiar with it?

Cheers,

James

David Orr · Answer

I've used Stessa with my own rental properties and I recommend it to my clients, and I think it's one of the best ways for rental property owners to track their income/expenses, collect rent, etc.  I've used Stessa and Baselane, and I think those are both great options.

Having said that, I don't know if you necessarily need a tax account to be familiar with Stessa in order to work with you.  The reports you can create with Stessa, such as an Income Statement, Balance Sheet, etc, are similar to the kinds of reports accountants are used to working with since other finance/rental software also generate very similar types of reports.

But I think it's great that you're using Stessa. David OrrTax Modern

Account Closed · Answer

Hard to find great CPAs / accountants. Even harder to find great CPAs / accountants on a platform like Stessa.

Simon W. · Answer

Unfortunately, the sync is a hit or miss. I only use it for my client do get the credit card feeds but here and there an account or two is completely out of sync and I didn't realize it until my client's assistant was questioning the other credit cards. I then had to resync it all over again.

Even QBO has sync issues but at the very least they make it very obvious that it isn't syncing lol

I think the issues is more of a 3rd party that they use like Plaid and others

Daniel M. · Answer

I’ve been using Stessa for a while and definitely appreciate the value of having a CPA who knows how to leverage the platform for tax planning and strategy. As a Stessa Pro member, I rely heavily on its features to manage my properties, and while sending over the tax package reports works well (since the Income Statement and Balance Sheet are standard for most accountants), my bigger challenge has been finding a real estate-savvy CPA who doesn’t charge more than my annual cash flow for their services!

But beyond the CPA issue, I've been dealing with some major frustrations with Stessa itself. The platform has persistent sync issues with financial institutions that just won’t go away, even after weeks of troubleshooting with their support team. It’s made tracking my finances accurately a real headache and has me questioning the platform’s reliability. The AppFolio integration works great, but everything else is hit or miss, which is incredibly stressful when you’re trying to stay on top of your property finances.

I’m curious if anyone else has experienced similar sync problems or if there are any recommendations for alternative platforms that might work better. It's definitely something to keep in mind if you're considering going all-in on Stessa.

Bill Hampton · Answer

@James Brand

I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation and tax planning. You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.

I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year. You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the consequences of the financial decisions you are making throughout the year.

Good luck.

Simon W. · Answer

I think you are overthinking about this. You are better off just finding an accountant (could be nonCPA) that is familiar with Stessa. Most CPAs has their own accounting platform to work with. Most of them only care about Balance Sheets & Income Statement. Anyone can figure out how to pull those reports in any PM software.

Jake Drum · Answer

I've had clients add me as a collaborator on their properties in Stessa, and some that just send me the tax package report, both work perfectly for preparing taxes. Being added as a collaborator can help more with strategy and bookkeeping questions.

In my opinion it is a great RE specific alternative to something like QuickBooks (especially with recent price increases to QB). I agree with other comments though, that it should not be the main criteria for selecting a CPA.

James Brand · Answer

Not having issues, but since Stessa ultimately is the tool I use to manage my books it seems like a natural connection would be an accountant familiar with the tool. From a strategy standpoint knowing the reports available could be quite helpful.

Basit Siddiqi · Answer

What issues are you having with it?

Accountant/CPA who is Stessa savvy?!?

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