All Forum Posts by: Ragan Manning

@Greg Soon I work in QuickBooks online with only Real Estate Investors. :) 

@Adam Orr Yes, obviously QBO is going to state you have to use plus and everything but you can use customers instead of classes. As mentioned in the previous comment, I have not done this myself. I'm actually about to start this with an old client of mine who just started a new entity. I'll be using customers instead of classes for him to keep his QBO subscription lower. You can run reports by customer, still use tags, and assign expenses/deposits to customers just like you would classes. 

Hope this helps! If not, message me and maybe I can explain a little better :) 

@Shawn Morrow sounds like you already have an extensive portfolio, congratulations on your success! Since financially you're were you don't have to worry then taking a step back makes since. I would take this time to get a team in place so when y'all are ready to hit the ground running again, you're not as involved with the day to day. Stop working the business and start running the business. Higher people to work it so you can be the great investors y'all are and scale the business. (REI Bookkeeper, REI CPA, property management, CFO, etc) Like mentioned above, short term it will cut into profits but long term, you're setting yourself up for a bigger success. Good Luck!

@Shawn Sopic If you only have 1 property, excel should be fine! QBO, if you want to pay for it, is a little advanced. You really don't need to have it unless you have 5 or more properties unless you want a professional to handle it. If you want a professional (accountant/bookkeeper) then excel should be fine. 

@Brooklyn Taylor Hey Brooklyn, I'm right outside Houston in Cypress/Magnolia area so hello neighbor! I'm also a REI bookkeeper and can help with this. :) Do they have a certain template they want you to follow or just a normal P&L breakout be fine? Do you currently use QBO or how do you keep up with all your transactions?

@Jerry Hollifield I'm an REI bookkeeper and have experience with this. I can also recommend some CPAs/EA to help with taxes. Please let me know if you would like to talk more :)

@Jalen De Leon congrats on your first property! Yes, you need to open a seperate bank account for all your income and expenses for this property, especially if it's in an LLC. Even if it's in your personal name I would do it for tax purposes. You don't have to have a bank account per property as you grow but make sure to keep good records. Good luck!

@Kyle Daniels Hey Kyle, I own my own REI bookkeeping business and I agree with @Michael Plaks, it’s easier to find a tax prepare then bookkeeper sometimes. But there are a lot of great recommendations on BP so you’ll find someone qualified! I’d love to throw my hat into the ring and talk to see if we’d be a good fit! 

@Gayle Eisner I've worked with great REI CPAs and I've also worked with CPAs that don't understand REI at all. I have clients that are currently amending taxes because their previous CPA didn't understand this industry. It's going to cost you more if you're wanting your CPA to do your books and your tax filing instead of hiring a REI bookkeeper. The bookkeeper is supposed to get your finances in order to hand over to the CPA so it's a faster and less expensive process. So it will definitely save you time and money in the long run. Hope this helps, and good luck! :)

@Daniel Villarreal I have clients that use multiple PM companies for different areas their rentals are at. You may be able to find one that does it all but my clients haven't had the best experience with that. I would think about outsourcing the PM and bookkeeping to two separate companies. If you find the right bookkeeper it will help keep the PM accountable. I've caught numerous mistakes the PM have done that my client had to address. If it's under all the same company you I've no one checking things. Then obviously if you find a REI CPA then they will make sure the bookkeeper is doing things right as well. Kind of like checks and balances. Getting a good team Is important especially if they ever plan to scale.