All Forum Posts by: Ragan Manning

@Ponni Carlin

There is a lot of information on this page, some I agree with, and a lot I don't. Regardless, your question about CC, I think it depends on you. If you are planning on growing significantly then I would get everything as clean as possible in the beginning even though it may cost more. In the long run, it will help you. If you plan on staying small then having 1 CC with multiple properties would be more cost-effective. When it comes to the bookkeeping/Accountant/CPA side that will look a bit different for each. You're going to pay more for a clean-up if you have 1 CC for multiple properties and don't keep good records. If you're able to keep good records then again, this is more cost-effective. A CC for each property would be a lot cleaner but it will cost more. If these are LTR with more reoccurring transactions then it won't be bad. If these are STR or Flips I would highly recommend the different CCs for properties. The more LLCs obviously the more money towards your CPA but more protection. If you have a holding company LLC, property management company LLC and then LLC per property or at least 2-3 per LLC you'll be in good hands. I love BP as well because of the honesty. Just remember what works for someone might not work for someone else. We all have different methods of what we believe is right. Good Luck :)

 Hey Simon, I use QBO for my business and I don't have a problem with it. I'm curious why you prefer Yardi and pretty much every other platforms out there. haha Just curious! :) 

@Anthony King Congratulations, that is a huge accomplishment! I own a bookkeeping business working exclusively with REI. Let me know if you'd like to set up a meeting :0)

@Tony Davis I would like to understand as well. I don’t know anyone who would “maintain” monthly books at $100. An accountant/CPA and bookkeeper are extremely important to your business. Especially taxes. 

@Travis W Condon As mentioned above, keep your business separate! You do not want to mingle your transactions, which makes everything very messy. LTR is very easy to keep up with since it has minimal transactions, usually very repetitive. You shouldn't need QBO Plus for this, I would think QBO simple would be easiest and put your properties under customers. It may be a little difficult because you can't do line items by customers but if you aren't going any renovating or a lot of expenses, it should work fine. You can run both businesses in QBO under two different subscriptions and keep it on the lowest subscription. 

Now all that is if you decided to use QBO. If you don't have a lot going on, you may want to use Stessa or Excel. Don't add another expense in there if you don't have to as long as you know you can keep up with each transaction. I've never used Stessa but if you do excel just use a new sheet for each business/property and there you go. Just make sure to keep up with all the other information needed for your properties not associated with your "normal" expenses and income. (land vs home value, depreciation, closing costs, etc.) Hope this helps :)

@Benjamin Knight I agree that QBO can handle a good size portfolio as long as it is structured correctly. I have clients that used Stessa but I think this is ideal for smaller clients that just want a handful of properties. I also have clients using Buidlium and they love it. I personally don't like it, it's not as accounting-friendly as QBO. I feel limited on the financial side but they enjoy it. I've heard appfolio is great but I haven't worked in that platform much. I think it really depends on if you want to keep doing your books or if you plan on handing them off to a bookkeeper. If you plan on handing it off once you get to a certain point, you may want to interview a couple and see what they use. It's going to be an extra penny when they have to move everything to their platform and set up all your properties. You may need to be planning a little ahead. Good Luck!

@Andrew Anderson It was smart to go ahead and get your entity structure done especially if you plan to grow into it quickly. With your entity structure, as long as you get a knowledgeable bookkeeper, you should be fine on transactions. I would watch a couple of videos to make sure whoever you invest in is qualified to do your books. It really doesn't make it that much more complicated as long as you set both of them up correctly. I know you could get away with QBO simple start for your asset holding company then QBO plus for the management company. BUT I only say this if you aren't going to do your books and you want to hire someone. With only having 1 property you can still do it and it shouldnt be a problem. Put it in Stessa or Excel and DIY it. Until you have enough properties to justify the expense of an experienced bookkeeper do it yourself. I would potentially partner with a CPA/Accountant to make sure the way you are planning on keeping track of things doesn't make either job more complex, you got this!

@Erica Cook I have clients with QBO and Buildium. I’ve also heard of people using Stessa or just plain excel. It’s whatever you feel most comfortable with and you can utilize the best 

@Ryan Moyer Tags are not going to be very beneficial. You need to utilize classes and locations. Classes will have your properties and locations would be best for multiple entities/types of properties. If you do different types of STR rather, CO-Hosting, Arbitrage, or you own the properties, this may also come in handy to sort out. You have to have QBO Plus to be able to use this feature though. QBO Plus easily integrates with his other platforms so you're not having to pull the information over yourself. You can't run your reports by tags but you can by classes. You can also make custom reports for ease of use for each property. I will say building your COA is almost as equally important as classes. If you get over a certain amount of properties, seeing everything horizontally becomes a nuisance. If you build your COA vertically it does make it easier to assess your properties and their productivity when trimming the fat. As a caveat, I use QBO daily so I enjoy and know this platform very really. I have not spent any time in Stessa so I don't know it's capabilities. Hope this helps :)

@Joe Doman I do bookkeeping for REI and I work mainly in QBO but have a handful of clients in Buildium. I agree with @Tim Delaney, Buildium is horrible for accounting and not worth the money. I haven't heard a lot about REI Hub which means a lot of bookkeepers probably don't work in it. If you are planning on doing the books yourself for a while then it may be a good option. But if you plan on hiring someone soon then I may look into getting into QBO. With you having 28 + doors it would be worth your time to start looking into help potentially so you can focus on growing the business.