From Excel to Scalable Systems: How Are You Managing Finances at Scale?

Question

Hello BiggerPockets community,

I own a short-term rental and have been managing bookkeeping & performance through excel. It works fine for now but it doesn't scale well.

I’d like to hear from those of you with five units or more, what tools or systems are you using to stay on top of your finances and monitor your portfolio performance?

Also, which features do you find essential for the five-unit mark and beyond such as cash flow tracking, automated expense categorization, KPI’s, etc.?

Thank you in advance!

Markus Shobe · Answer

A lot of systems can do the finances for you from Quickbooks to Xero to Buildium. Depending on what KPI's you want you more than likely would have to use excel for that.

Kristen Ambrose · Answer

Great question. Once you hit five units, especially with short-term rentals, the volume of transactions and complexity really starts to pile up. Cleaning fees, supplies, OTA payouts, dynamic pricing, and multiple platforms all create noise if you do not have a system.

Here is what I recommend:

• QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced
This allows you to track income and expenses by property using the Class feature. You can sync your bank and credit card feeds for automation and pull property-level profit and loss statements instantly.
• Custom Chart of Accounts for STRs
Set up categories that make sense for your business such as guest supplies, OTA fees, cleaning, and maintenance. Do not rely on the default setup. You will get much more insight when your books are structured properly.
• Receipt Management
Use a tool like Dext or Hubdoc. You can snap a photo of your receipt, tag it to the correct property, and push it directly into QuickBooks. It saves time and keeps everything organized for tax season.
• Key Metrics to Monitor
• Monthly cash flow per property
• Expense categories as a percentage of revenue
• Occupancy rate and average nightly rate
• Net operating income
• Owner distributions and reserve levels
• Portfolio Dashboarding
Once your books are clean and consistent, you can build a Google Data Studio or Excel dashboard using QuickBooks exports to monitor performance across your portfolio. You can also explore STR-focused tools like REI Hub if you want something ready to use.

QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced
This allows you to track income and expenses by property using the Class feature. You can sync your bank and credit card feeds for automation and pull property-level profit and loss statements instantly.

Custom Chart of Accounts for STRs
Set up categories that make sense for your business such as guest supplies, OTA fees, cleaning, and maintenance. Do not rely on the default setup. You will get much more insight when your books are structured properly.

Receipt Management
Use a tool like Dext or Hubdoc. You can snap a photo of your receipt, tag it to the correct property, and push it directly into QuickBooks. It saves time and keeps everything organized for tax season.

Key Metrics to Monitor
• Monthly cash flow per property
• Expense categories as a percentage of revenue
• Occupancy rate and average nightly rate
• Net operating income
• Owner distributions and reserve levels

Portfolio Dashboarding
Once your books are clean and consistent, you can build a Google Data Studio or Excel dashboard using QuickBooks exports to monitor performance across your portfolio. You can also explore STR-focused tools like REI Hub if you want something ready to use.

If you are doing the bookkeeping yourself, make sure your system can grow with your business. If you want help getting set up properly, I run a bookkeeping firm that works exclusively with real estate investors and STR operators. Happy to help or answer any specific questions.

Nicole Heasley Beitenman · Answer

I'm an investor and an accountant/bookkeeper specializing in real estate. I use Xero for my clients. I've been using Wave for my own properties and my bookkeeping business, but I'll be moving them over to Xero on the 1st of next year.

Nicole Heasley Beitenman · Answer

One, they cost less than Intuit/QuickBooks, and they don't raise prices as often. Two, some of the features I like most are available in Xero's basic plan, whereas you have to upgrade 1-2 tiers to get them in QuickBooks. Three, they function more like the accounting systems I'm used to from my corporate days--you can't delete things as easily, so there's a clearer audit trail. And last but not least, Intuit just isn't a company I feel good about partnering with to build my business, so I sleep better at night using Xero.

Patrick Valadez · Answer

Thanks for your response Nicole. What made you choose Xero over other options?

Patrick Valadez · Answer

Thanks for your response Chris. Are there any features that have stood out to you during your investment career?

Chris Seveney · Answer

I know some who use appfolio, some do it all in quickbooks and some use podio. Lots of options out there, its finding one that fits how you do business and your personal preference is what I have found as most can do almost everything you want them to do.