All Forum Posts by: Cliff Benner

@Derek Tuohy I would suggest start working on getting a Bookkeeper on your team and use a software, if you plan to grow it will be easier and cheaper to get into a software now rather than later and have to learn with 20 units rather than learn with the 3 you have.

I agree with @Jake Baker on his bare minimum suggestions. I use QBO for all my clients as well and use the Plus subscription for Real Estate clients, because they need the Class Tracking feature in order to properly prepare for their Tax Return. Plus a Tax Accountant can be invited to it and they would be able to look at all the details.

I set my clients up with a Box account, it is free for the first 10 GB, and allows them to scan receipts into the folder, sign pdfs from it, and other various document tasks to make it easy for them. 

Sounds like you are having some growing pains and you are in the right place to get the best advice for those!

@Jenny Milu I just noticed that you are located in Billings, MT. I grew up there before moving to CO.

My opinion, I don't think adding solar would be a good use of your resources there, with the new Rec Center being vetoed and all the sports teams not wanting to be a part of the old facilities that are there, I wouldn't do Solar. This veto demonstrates, again, that the city and its people are not that interested in bringing in things to attract citizens to move there. Billings needs more housing, that is for sure, and turning your resources to flipping or developing would be more advantageous. But since the city keeps choosing to not add activities, there will be a lack of younger people moving into the city from places where they value Solar. All the people I grew up and was around while there did not care about Solar.

Unless it will help replace your utilities bill, like I stated above, I don't believe you are in a market that values having solar enough to increase your house's value. You are in a market that grows very slowly because of their own decisions. 

I got solar on our Primary, we are in Denver, and basically i traded an electric bill for a solar bill, at the time. 3 years later it is actually cheaper than the electric bill and we do get a check every year.

I did hear that getting a battery bank helps make it more worth while. 

That might be something to consider, and we got a tax break as well. Dollar for Dollar credit.

Property Value wise, it probably added the same value as the cost, so we aren't ahead on Value wise. It more just makes our bills cheaper. In summer the only bill we are charged are account fees for the electric company allowing us to be hooked into their lines, how gracious of them.

 Yes it does, needing to keep the books and properties seperate for proper Tax Reporting and any 1099s you may need to file can be costly. Something I discovered recently is; if you have a QBO Accountant start your company and allow the Accountant to get billed, you will get a 30% discount even after one year, but if you create your QBO without a QBO Accountant you disqualify yourself from their Accountant discount. 

Even at 30% discount, the QBO Plus subscription most Real Estate investors have to have is still $63+Tax.

You may look at Xero, I heard they have the Class feature but it is cheaper, it's just not as commonly used as QuickBooks.

 Oh wow! That is unfortunate! I believe there was one called Golden Management that was #2 on my list. They didn't like my location in the Northeast area of Dayton though.

I have not tried Baselane but I did try Stessa for a few minutes.

As an Accountant, I need to be able to make Journal Entries and that is something Stessa does not have so I deleted it right away.

For all my clients we sign them up with QuickBooks Online. Yes the Class feature Cost a bit extra which is a bummer bet the support for it is amazing, and it is easy to allow access for Tax Accountants to pull the reports they need rather than my clients playing middleman.

Hi Michelle!

I use Bridgestream and they have been great for me since. I had a terrible PM before them but Bridgestream worked with me on getting my SFH Tenant Proof, gave me one contact person who knew my rental, and reports any issues monthly.

I will continue to use them when I am able to add more!

I was able to speak with the Owner Mike directly which was amazing!

I like Kevin's Idea, I would like into Relay for this. 

you can have around 20 Checking accounts and 2 Savings accounts, they allow you to pay with checks that they said and ACH Payments, both free, and it connects to QBO with ease.

They also allow you to have multiple EINs(LLCs) under one log in. 

you might have to make transfer, but having a Bookkeeper who is on board with your structure would allow you to not have to focus on that part as much.

This sounds like an idea I may use for future clients I would have.

Good Question!

@Adam Berlinberg You could find someone who wants or has the ability to do the work and you could partner with then to be the funds. It would be more Passive to you while getting the tax benefits and some Profit too!

Maybe look into purchasing a whole Portfolio or a bundle in one market from an investor whos looking to retire.

I see you are in Denver too! I will reach out and we could meet up to talk Real Estate!

@Scott Bogue

Sounds like you might be in need of a Bookkeeper soon, three at a time, receipt/job tracking, etc. That might not be the best use of your time if you don't have a financial background. A Bookkeeper can set up your Accounting system, sync your bank accounts and would be able to work with you to make sure everything is being tracked correctly and you can keep an eye on your balances.

Let me know if you need any help with your Books, I would be happy to have a chat.

Otherwise, QuickBooks is the most common Accounting Software and I set up all my clients with a BOX account for document storage, since it is free up to 10 GB.