I only pay for BP leads and all other business comes from my sphere/referrals. 

I have experience investing (own 2 STRs and an assisted living home+business).

Keep personal and business finances separate to create less headache.You should also do the following to make your bookkeeping easier:- File all receipts in a dedicated Google Drive folder.

You need the right solution for your day to day operations.Your need is to make the management side easy, so that you can analysis your accounting, business and management all with only one entry.

Their business still needs to grow up. 

California needs businesses to start putting a lot of pressure on it.

It's been so bad here, that I bought an STR in Indiana with another business partner in 2024 because there are minimal opportunities here - unless you have the ability and budget to extensively source off market properties here.  

When you say "we," are you speaking about your business or your personal tax returns, or does your business flow into your personal returns because you file as a sole proprietor?  

It’s a bit intimidating since it’s outside my usual scope of business, but I’m committed to taking the time to learn how to be an effective landlord.

With an LLC, you may be able to deduct business expenses more effectively and avoid double taxation.