All Forum Posts by: Gita Faust

 That is where we come in - educated in accounting and auditing, as in investors know real estate accounting in and out and know different software entirely. 

Instead of a bookkeeper, I would look for an accounting advisor who also offers bookkeeping services. Add one-second goal to the list to track your day-to-day operations, which will let you know your equity in the property and have your financials ready for partners, shareholders, and lenders.

QuickBooks Online one reason is you can:

- Budget

- Compare Profit and Class by Year

- Track your Assets and Liability

- Know your equity

QuickBooks Online has four different levels:

QuickBooks Online offers four plans—Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. These plans vary in the number of users and features included and are built for different purposes.  Learn which version is right for you in this detailed QuickBooks Online plans comparison guide:

- QuickBooks Online Simple Start: Have employees and issue invoices regularly
- QuickBooks Online Essentials: Assign hours worked to customers, track bills due, and provide access for up to three users
- QuickBooks Online Plus: Best for retailers, wholesalers, contractors, and other small businesses requiring property cost, inventory tracking, budgeting, and access for up to five users
- QuickBooks Online Advanced: Best for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) seeking fixed asset accounting, advanced reporting, custom user permissions, a dedicated support manager, and access for up to 25 users You can use it as a property management software to track lease dates, record maintenance request and more

Nothing is confusing to use if you learn it. Just watching YouTube videos gives you only part of the solution. 

We all talk about bookkeepers and accountants, then there are accounting advisors who offer pre-accounting and accounting services. And then there are tax planners, tax advisors, and tax preparers. A tax preparer can be an EA or a CPA (with an active license). Oh yes, we have Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payroll, Payroll, Controller, CFO, and the list goes on.

What you should look for is an accounting team. 

Select a software that has a double-entry system.

Find a bookkeeper who offers you an accounting solution. They should be able to tell you what is right and wrong and ask questions before they record an entry. 

- QuickBooks Online is a must as it is a double-entry accounting software. 

- Depending on the units, management software will differ

- Depending on the type of rentals, property management may differ as well

- Document Management: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and the list. You want to make sure it integrates with your accounting software, for eg Dext or Hubdoc

- Communication: all in one place CRM with your team

 You have a few options:

1. Create one JE and offset against each account and on PL post it to one account or

2. Create a new Balance Sheet account, name it something like offset, and use that account, which will end up as a negative amount, and the total amount will be zero on the BS.

What you want to do is create subaccounts, so you can pull a summary report and then collapse the rows in QuickBooks Online. That way, no one knows the details behind the scene.

As an accounting advisor, my goal is to customize the setup and reports per the needs of an investor, lender, or CPA, and anyone else who needs them. Many track details in different software by using features, and then there are those who take shortcuts and use Excel and accounting software such as QuickBooks Online duplicating their efforts.

 If AirBnB keeps track of your balances, why do you want to create invoices in QuickBooks? I would just at the summary at the end of the month. To simplify your process check out software that integrate with QuickBooks as well.

QuickBooks Desktop is not going away soon. It is still available from QuickBooks Solution Providers. 

I would recommend staying with QBD for property costing or switching to QuickBooks Online.