Question to everyone

Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 914 votes

Anyone else find that the busier things get (more deals, more projects, more profit centers), the less anyone actually knows the real numbers until tax time sorts it out?

Happy to share what's worked for other active real estate businesses in that $300K+/year or $25K+/month range if it's useful, feel free to DM.

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Noah Laker
Real Estate Broker · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2021 · 523 posts · 411 votes
12h
Yes, a monthly close by property fixes that. Run a P&L for each property every month and reconcile the bank accounts, so tax time is just a summary, not a surprise. The tradeoff is an hour or two a month, but you catch a bad month early instead of finding it in April. I am a broker in Sacramento and manage 100+ Airbnbs, so I see the same thing with STR owners. DM me if you want to compare notes. Hope this helps.
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Noah Laker
Real Estate Broker · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2021 · 523 posts · 411 votes
12h
Yes, a monthly close by property fixes that. Run a P&L for each property every month and reconcile the bank accounts, so tax time is just a summary, not a surprise. The tradeoff is an hour or two a month, but you catch a bad month early instead of finding it in April. I am a broker in Sacramento and manage 100+ Airbnbs, so I see the same thing with STR owners. DM me if you want to compare notes. Hope this helps.
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Muyees Ayilara
Lender · Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2026 · 212 posts · 88 votes
7h
Jason, this hits home. I see it from the lending side all the time. The busier an investor gets, the more the numbers get blurred. They have 3 flips going, 2 rentals in lease-up, a draw waiting, and they are guessing at profit until tax time tells them the truth. The ones who stay clean at $300K+/year are usually the ones who know their numbers monthly, not yearly. They know what each project actually made, not just what hit the bank account.
Appreciate you sharing what has worked for active businesses in that range. That is the part most people skip until it costs them.
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James JonesPro Member
Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 696 votes
1h
Jason, at 236 doors I had the same problem, and the fix was boring: I track the numbers per property, every month. Rent in, and the all-in for that house, not a portfolio average. If a house stops clearing the 1% rule and a DSCR refi at 70 to 80% loan-to-value, I see it in that house's numbers, not in a big P&L. The portfolio total hides problems. One house at a time shows them. I run Section 8, 3 bedrooms and up, rents $1,395 to $1,950, so the rent side is steady. The leaks show up in rehab and maintenance, and those live at the property level. Do your monthly close by property, and the money stops disappearing. What are you using to track it now, one spreadsheet or something else?
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