Accounting for Vacancy and Repairs

[Jeff V.]

Let me say first,  this may be in the wrong forum but this seems to be the closest to the topic at hand.

The question is, "How does one account for Vacancy and Repairs?"  The question is specifically related to Quickbooks and is probably intended for a CPA or bookkeeper.

Some background information as to why I'm asking the question.  I read an article recently on budgeting for a major maintenance item such as a roof that will be needing to be replaced in say 5 years.  They recommend putting aside for a 5k roof replacement $1000 per year for 5 years.  What is the best way to track this and "earmark" those funds for that category in the Quickbooks program?

This got me thinking, most every "Deal Analysis" spreadsheet accounts for Vacancy and Maintenance as a percentage of the income generated.  Once the money comes in are you also supposed to tag that portion of the income to the underlying category "Vacancy" and/or "Maintenance" so that you know its reserved for those categories, OR are those numbers just used for a preliminary "Is this a good deal" check?

I have searched the forums for similar questions and haven't found any on this topic.  They all discuss the front end "Deal Analysis" ect but not the back end of the business or bookkeeping side.  

As a Recap the questions are:

1) How does one account for Vacancy and Repairs?

2) What is the best way to track this and "earmark" those funds for that category in the Quickbooks program?

3) Once the money comes in are you also supposed to tag that portion of the income to the underlying category "Vacancy" and/or "Maintenance" so that you know its reserved for those categories, OR are those numbers just used for a preliminary "Is this a good deal" check?

Any advice in this area will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff