From my experience, the most important thing when choosing bookkeeping help for real estate is to find someone who:

• Understands rental income and expenses, including Schedule E for taxes

• Can track each property separately (or each LLC, if you have multiple entities)

• Provides reports that make it easy for you or your CPA to see cash flow and profitability

• Communicates clearly and responds promptly

Even if you go with a freelancer, virtual assistant, or full-service bookkeeper, those are the key things I’ve found make the biggest difference.

@Sean O'Keefe- none of the referrals I got from my internal network have REI experience.

Just Pm'd you with my recommendation

if you're a small business, would recommend to use excel sheet or online QB, if many rental, we can assist, thank you.

Hi Chi,

I saw your post about looking for bookkeeping services — that’s great. Bookkeeping is the number-one thing most real estate investors overlook, even though it’s the foundation for everything else.

Accurate books don’t just help you file your taxes correctly and on time. They give you the financial clarity you need for real tax planning, decision-making, and maximizing your tax savings throughout the year. Without solid bookkeeping, most investors end up overpaying in taxes without even realizing it.

Feel free to reach out to me directly. I might know someone who can get you high-quality bookkeeping services at a great price — and get the work done quickly and correctly.

Happy to help however I can.

@Chi Sastry

Finding a good REI bookkeeper really comes down to making sure they understand real estate accounting, not just general bookkeeping. Look for someone with experience in rental property workflows, capital improvements vs. repairs, security deposits, and the software you use. It also helps to choose someone who provides consistent monthly reporting and explains numbers clearly.

A few good questions to ask when you’re interviewing bookkeepers:
How many real estate clients do you currently handle?
Can you walk me through how you separate capex from repairs?
What is your process for handling security deposits and trust accounting?
What software do you use, and are you familiar with mine?
How quickly do you deliver monthly financials, and what does communication look like?

I am willing to help and just messaged you.

Hi @Chi Sastry, there are quite a few bookkeepers who specialize in REI here in the BP forums these days.

Here are the top ones I recommend in no particular order:

@Jake Baker

@Craig Hobbs

@Markus Shobe

Just make sure to get a detailed list of what they offer (deliverables, communication, portal access, transparency, collaboration with your tax pro, etc).

100% of our clients are REIs, so if you have any questions about what should be offered or how to pick a good one, let me know. I'm happy to help.

- Time Capital Bookkeeping (REI since 2019)