If your budget will stretch to it initially, once you've found an investor friendly Realtor, Lawyer & CPA, (maybe a bookkeeper/financial planner too) - get them together in the same room, and talk through your goals over the next 6-12 months.It sounds extravagant, but you'll be AMAZED what comes out of sessions like this, and it often provides an insight as to how to get started and in which direction. 

Hi all -I recently hired a bookkeeper to setup Quickbooks for me for my rental business.  

I have recently gone from one rental to three (and one is a 4 plex) and need a better system to keep my book keeping as for as accounting goes.

If you go this route, I'd definitely recommend hiring a CPA to make sure your initial bookkeeping structure accurately reflects both your operational and tax situations.

Payroll, bookkeeping, etc can mostly be done remotely.Here is a great list of questions to ask a potential accountant:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/70447-questions-to-ask-a-cpaAlso check out the www.NAEA.org page in your search.

It's a mind bender, but it's pretty simple - they use what is called "double entry bookkeeping".

The fee varies from 5% to 10% of the rent.There are some remote bookkeepers who do quickbooks or some kind of accounting software but I know someone uses Bench.

Then add in maintenance, unit turn over, leasing expenses, management, city licensing fees, bookkeeping, utilities, reserves, etc.

From deal source, actual purchase, property management, bookkeeping, tax filing.

If a commercial property is underperforming, in need of repairs, showing negative cashflow, or has poor bookkeeping records, most self-proclaimed value-add investors will immediately walk away with nothing more than a glance.Obviously this isn't every value-add investor, I've just seen a trend, especially with newer investors, saying they want value-add and actually expecting turnkey.From my perspective, a property having obstacles should be expected with a value-add investment.