That said the bookkeeping is getting old.I'm curious to know from those who have hired a bookkeeper when they implemented the switch was it terribly costly and would you advise it for other Investor as we grow and scale up our business?  

Personally I believe that CA rental portfolio investing as a start comes mostly when you have a day job earning 150k/yr, and along the road have the ability to build and scale fast for you to have enough to replace the 150k, it is a lot of work and you will just be buying yourself out of a secured job to an unsecured job.

So for those that have scaled and gotten a property manager, how did you do it?

This is also why many people cap out at one or two properties.Due diligence with your own investments, systematizing it, and treating it like a business will help you scale much more efficiently

Depending on the state, this is either a misdemeanor or a felony... and the misdemeanor states scale to a felony offense after the first incident. 

Then scale up as your confidence grows.

No biggie to rent a while, just do it as cheaply as possible.Improvise, adapt and overcome high housing expenses when you buy in the form of manufactured housing, househacking, etc when you're ready. 

George Allen is the author of a number of books on manufactured housing communities and has two different monthly newsletters available as well as a Sunday blog.

Also, I haven't heard of liquidated damages for contractors of this small scale before.

If you want to scale your business excel is just not a feasible long term option especially when it comes to follow up appointments, diligent note taking, recording phone calls, tracking deal stages etc.