Looking for more affordable options for tax strategy and planning as new STR host

[Linda Rollins]

My husband and I Just purchased our first short term rental property near Akron, Ohio and have been looking into short term rental accounting/book keeping. We feel good about using a software to do our own book keeping but feel that we need an accountant to help us with tax planning and strategy as we're getting started. It seems like $4000-$5000 annually seems to be the going rate for an accountant that specializes in STR taxes. We understand that a good accountant can save us a lot of money in taxes but this seems like a steep initial price to pay before even starting operations. Are there more affordable ways/options to get the tax advise we need as we get started?

[John Underwood]

Quote from @Benjamin Louie:

@Linda Rollins Congrats on the new STR, Linda! 🎉 You don't have to spend $4–5K right away. Many hosts DIY bookkeeping with tools like Stessa or Wave, then pay a CPA $300–600 at tax time for filing and advice. You can also book one-time strategy calls instead of a full retainer. Start lean, then upgrade to an STR-specialized CPA once your income grows.

 This is what I was thinking.

I manage my books with Eccel.

My CPA says I am one of his most organized clients.