Bookkeeping for LLC business

[James Heacock]

Hi everyone. I am researching starting a real estate investing business where my LLC will own the properties and I will get business deductions etc. I will need to keep a set of books and was thinking to use Quickbooks. I just wanted to see if others were doing this and get some pointers on how they learned proper bookkeeping for this type of business. Was there a book they used that was helpful? Thanks for any help.

[Ben Day]

Hi James! 

Quickbooks is great for tracking your business. There's a lot of great material here on Bigger Pockets that can help you put together a DIY Bookkeeping plan. You'll want to focus on two things: 1) What does the IRS want? and 2) What makes the most sense for you. There's plenty of professionals here that can help you set up your books, learn how to do bookkeeping the "right" way, and help you understand financial statements as well. 

If I were you, I would start by making a scratch list of all the things you want to track and then comparing to the IRS Schedule C or Schedule E and seeing what things you missed. That list is what your bookkeeping should be based on. The BEST set of books is the one you can understand and helps you make decisions. 

Good luck!