Bookkeeper Advice Needed

[Benjamin Larabee]

Hi all,

My wife and I have worked over the last 7 years to build a rental portfolio and are getting to the point where the bookkeeping/data entry tasks are becoming too time consuming. Would love to have a reliable person to help free up some of our time to focus on growing the business. We currently use a mix of apartments.com/Rentmanager to record transactions. Free ACH rent collection on apartments.com and Rentmanager for the accounting elements. I have heard mixed reviews on virtual bookkeepers and would be open to hiring a domestic bookkeeper as well. Any suggestions on where to look? I have searched fiver/upwork and posted in RM forums.

Thanks so much!

[Jake Baker]

@Benjamin Larabee

I'll be honest - most bookkeeping companies are not worth the money, so vet them carefully. However, if you partner with the right one, they will be instrumental to your real estate growth.

As @Angie Keefe mentioned, your bookkeeper needs to specialize in Real Estate or thoroughly understand the industry because it is very balance sheet-heavy. I recommend staying away from companies that outsource bookkeeping overseas. Many firms will offer bookkeeping, but they outsource overseas and mark up the price. Most of the time, quality is sacrificed. I recommend finding a US-based bookkeeper who specializes in real estate and doesn't have too much on their plate.