All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

You only need one company file, since you have only one LLC.

You use the class feature to designate what property generated it's income and expense, by listing each property as a an individual class.

When you use the class feature the class column appears on your transactions enabling you to link that transaction to the correct property in the class column.

You are making WAY TOO MUCH work for yourself. 

When you write a check for repairs on a property, link that expense to the property.

No need to setup a file for expense accounts.

One company file and the class feature makes using QuickBooks your very best friend.

Nancy Neville

Hello Jason:

Well, Jason, QuickBooks is only as good as the way one creates their own business.

You have a complicated scenario, therefore, you will have a complicated setup.

I most likely wouldn't be able to do any better setting you up than Gita and is why I prefer not to write books anymore on Property Management or for people who have such a complex Industry by being a "Jack of all trades".  It's just too complicated.  The questions are never ending!  What you are into right now, is just so confusing, one would have to really sit down with you, teach you the in's and out's and is why I suggest to people like yourself, to have your CPA or Accountant do it for you.  

Jason, the bottom line is that you are  going to have to pay the big bucks in order to have it done correctly.  But don't forget, whatever you pay your Accountant do this for you, is tax deductible.

Thank you for your question.

Nancy Neville

• QuickBooks Online is good for clients who have multiple locations
• Have traveling timekeepers and or decision makers
• Have relatively SIMPLE reporting needs
• Share bookkeeping responsibilities

I don't believe it has a Class Feature, which Landlords need to keep track of their income, less expenses per individual properties. 

It doesn't have a Fixed Asset list to keep track of your detailed information on your properties. 

In our Industry we need DETAILED information.  That means everything about our homes, depreciations, Mortgages, and more. 

So I guess the bottom line is what do YOU  want to do? 

We are an Industry like no other.  We are professional business people.  Therefore, we need a professional, loaded to hilt, software program that will grow with us, and let us enter in crucial data information that we need, that we can print out to give to our hard money lenders, bankers, most of all to US in order to know where we stand financially any time of the day.

Online will give most of this data, but it lacks the levels of the desktop. 

Nancy Neville

QuickBooks Pro allows up to 5 users to use QuickBooks, so you can install QuickBooks on 5 different computers

You can backup your company file and send it to each investor via e-mail. 

This is the procedure you could take

• The person entering in the data in QuickBooks, at the end of the day runs a backup copy of QuickBooks for your company
• At the same time, he or she, makes a backup copy, portable copy, and sends it via e-mail to your investors.
• In the morning they begin their work and they are up-to-date with all that's going on

Does that sound appealing to you?

Nancy Neville

John, your story is a sad one.  The things I write about on here, may seem "way over the top", to some readers.  "Oh, this will never happen to them' they think.   And then...one day...it happens to them and they say they wished they had listened. 

I have spent my entire landlord career trying to make a difference.  I try to educate other landlords to stand behind each other, to fight for injustices, but most of all to show the world that we are RESPECTABLE PEOPLE.  But in order to be respectable, we need to know how to BE respectable.

Once again, your story is so sad for this investor, but it happens more times than any of us know.   

When we are little we say to others….”When I grow up I want to be a….”

• Doctor
• Lawyer
• Banker
• President
• Etc.

Then when we grow up, we realize that in order to be all the above we need to have a plan. We just don’t happen to be a whatever- we- want to be just like that. It takes a plan.

• Do we attend College?
• How many years?
• What college?
• Do I need a college degree?
• Where will I get the money to fund my dream?

Yet in the Landlord Business (our Industry) people don’t view it as a business. The media, courts, tenants, family and friends, feel we are just money hungry people who care nothing about our tenants but only the money. Do they say that about Bankers, Grocery Store Owners, Doctors (well maybe doctors..bad example) plumbers, etc? Not so much. They view these industries as companies, businesses, but….. not us. And even some of us WE DO NOT VIEW OURSELVES AS A BUSINESS!!!

I have people contacting me all the time wanting me to help them solve all their problems because they didn't have a plan. And, I try to help them as much as I can, but there is only so much I can do. Which lead me to writing this blog.

Many investors, see a sale, hear about the landlord business from others, and they get excited and so they buy a house. But they don’t know anything about being a landlord. And...most of us fit into this group, when we first began as well.

So here is my tip for those who need, want it, and glad they have it. ( I wish I could have this posted some place where I wouldn't have to hunt and find it every time someone asks this questions on here, but perhaps the owners of this site might tag it, we will see)

So...here it is.

THIS IS THE PLAN

1.Location, Location, Location .

2. Check out the neighborhood before you buy. Is it a money maker neighborhood, or a bad one?

3. Check the area to see how much rent you can charge for this home in this particular area.

4. As a Realtor, when I sold properties to investors, I would tell them, from my own experience, how much money they could get in rent for this home. In return they would ask me….”Well what if I did this to the house and that to the house (spending thousands of dollars in extra’s to the house), how much could I get in rent then”, and it never ceased to amaze me, how they looked at me when I told them that they would still get $750.00 a month. They wondered how they could still only get $750.00 a month when they spent so much money on extra’s to make the house super special! The answer is this. Location, location, location. What is the market value in that area and neighborhood! It is just like buying a house. What is the market value in that area? What are they selling for?

5. Check your Landlord/Tenant Laws before you even buy a home! Very Important

6. Sit in some Landlord/Tenant Court Sessions to see what goes on.

7. Study the City Ordinances of where your properties are located. If you don’t …..be prepared to receive several tickets for things you didn't know your tenants were supposed to (you really since you are the landlord) do.

8. Get your OFFICE ORGANIZED!! I can’t believe how many investors are so focused on buying and not how to KEEP THEIR PROPERTIES or KEEP TRACK OF THEIR PROFIT AND LOSS. You can't possibly do that if you are not Organized or have an Organized Office!

9. Therefore setup a good filing system

Get a good answering system…Vonage Phone is one good example

Stamps.com is great for keeping track of letters you send your tenants.

QuickBooks is a Landlords best friend. Buy it and learn how to use it.

10. Keep in mind that this is a business of people management. You must get a feel for people and their personalities.

11. Learn what words are Legal to use in advertisements. There are many no no words. (See my blog on What you can say and not say) to avoid discrimination lawsuits.

12. Learn how to setup your properties to have good curb appeal

13. Learn how to do open houses. Plan for them. Makes applicants excited. Competitive

14. Prepare a legal and good application form. Set a criteria for qualifying applicants.

15. Prepare a legal and good Lease Agreement. Take pictures of the home prior to renting it out and have that day's paper somewhere int he picture to depict that the photo's are current.

16. Setup a website Wordpress.com is free to advertise your rentals- generates interest.

17. Learn now to screen your applicants.

18. Learn how to do a credit report and read them

19. Learn how to choose a tenant. Beware of Testers How you speak, words you use, how you choose an applicant will make you or break you. There are testers. Do things right and you won't have to worry.

20. Don’t allow applicants to pay for their application fee by check or money order. They can cancel the checks or money order if they don’t get the place.

21. How much money do you charge for an application fee (Credit Check) $25 per person is what I charged. If they qualified I applied it to their move in fees. If they didn't qualify, it was non-refundable. Have that on your application form.

22. Only accept cash or a Cashier’s Check for credit checks and if you choose them as a tenant, make sure only cash or Cashiers Checks are acceptable, Otherwise they can stop payment on checks and money orders once they move in. PACIFIC HEIGHTS!!!!

23. Don’t allow tenants to move into the property unless they have rent and security deposits PAID IN FULL!! NEVER give anyone the keys until you have all move in fees, money due you in your hands and utilities (if they are to pay them) placed in their names.

24. How much Security Deposit can you charge. Believe it or not, your State has a law for that. Michigan is one month and half plus first month rent. What does your state say?

25. If tenants pay for utilities. make sure they have them placed in their names on the day or prior to the day you sign the lease. Call the day you sign the lease to verify that has been done. If not, DON'T RENT TO THEM, they do not follow instructions.

26. If you are a Property Manager, make sure you are a Broker, or work for a Broker who does Property Management. About 3 states say you can be a Property Manager and not work for a Broker if you a Licensed Property Manager, not a licensed Realtor or Salesperson.

27. If you are a Landlord and have a Property Manager, either let them be a Property Manager 100% or you handle everything yourself, but not do both

28. IMPORTANT: Learn the forms of your STATE !

• How long do you keep your paperwork, your leases? Tenant files?
• What is a Notice to Quit?
• What is a Demand for Possession?
• How many days does your state law require you to send that Notice to Quit?
• What is a Termination of Tenancy?
• How many days does your State law require you to dent that Termination of Tenancy?
• What is the difference between a Notice to Quit and a Termination of Tenancy?
• How do you fill them out?
• How many copies do you need?
• How much do they cost?
• What is a Health Hazard Eviction?
• When can one be sent?
• What is a Writ of Restitution
• How do you fill out all these forms
• How many days are required for the process
• How do you handle an eviction in general?
• Do you change the locks on the tenants…ABSOLUTELY NO!
• How do you handle a tenant who hasn't paid their rent?
• How do you handle a tenant whose lease has expired?
• How do you handle a tenant who won't move out
• How do you handle tenants doing damages?
• What type of Pets are legal rental pets?
• How many people can live in a house
• What to do with too many Guests in the rental home?
• Unknown people on the lease?
• How do you evict someone not on the lease?
• How do you handle tenants doing drugs
• How do you handle noise complaints
• How do you handle vehicle violations
• How do you keep a tenant long term? See my blog on The Tenant Phase

To be a successful landlord, and maintain that excitement that you had when you first began, before you knew the ropes, you have to have all this in place, and you MUST AT ALL TIMES STICK TO THE RULES OF YOUR CONTRACT, YOUR LEASE AGREEMENT. Stick to the rules, and you will keep that excitement. You will keep not only your tenants happy, but you will be happy, making your family happy, and that’s what makes landlords still be landlords after 30 years in the business.

Nancy Neville

Actually Noah, your wife must be a Broker, and even though she is a licensed Realtor, (I am too,) I can't do Property Management on my own)  Plus....you can use QuickBooks to do all the things that you want to do. 

• You list the properties as a class
• Then You list the owners of the property as a Customer
• Then List the properties of the owners as a job of the Owners (Customers)
• Then List the Tenants as a job of the rental property.

Example:  If you are a Property Manager

Setup Class Section of QuickBooks as follows

Owner:  James Day  as a class

        12345 His rental Address   as a sub-class

        67896  His rental Address   as a sub-class

Owner:  Michelle Belle  as a class

        8942  Easy Lane Apartments  as a sub class  (The apartment Building)

        8942  Easy Lane Apartments Unit 1   as a sub class   as the unit

       8942  Easy Lane Apartments Unit 2    as a sub class as the unit

IN THE CUSTOMER CENTER you would set it up exactly the same way.  But instead of using the word sub class, in the customer center indenting means "Job"  make it a "Job" of the owner.  Make it a Job of the building.  Make the tenant a job of the building.

Sold Properties  as a class

      List properties that sold as a sub class

Purchased Properties as a class

     List all purchased properties as a sub class

Territory   as a class

      East Side Drive   as a sub class   

You would link all income and expenses to the property you entered in as a class.

You can turn the Estimate forms into Work Orders and link them to the properties (the building).

If you are buying and selling, you could set up a Class for sold Properties, and a Class for Properties Purchased.  You can even have a class called Territories. (If you want to keep track of what territory is making you money. 

You have to have two company files when you are a jack of all trades.  As a Broker you would need one company file for your Property Management Business.

Then you need another Company File to keep track of your investors, Landlords you manage properties for. 

You cannot mingle the two entities. 

So keep all this in mind. 

Nancy Neville

If you plan to be a Property Manager in the future, you will need to be a Broker, or work for one who does Property Management.  There are, I believe, only 3 states that says you only need to be licensed, so you will have to check with your state laws regarding that matter.

As far as the software, if you do become a Property Manager, QuickBooks is good, but not too many people want to use Quickbooks how it is supposed to be used, to be able to use it for Property Management, (managing other people's properties).  Since you have already taken a "test drive" of various programs, it will be up to you as to what you want to choose. 

But do check into the laws of your state in regards to being a Licensed Property Manager.

Nancy Neville

Each State has a law regarding how many days you are to return a Security Deposit so check your state law.

You will deduct whatever is owed to you from the tenants Security Deposit and send the Tenant the remainder of the money owed to him or her, along with an itemized list stating why you kept all or part of the Security Deposit.

Bottom line is you only get to keep what is owed you, per the Judgment, and nothing more. And you have so many days to return it or may triple the Security Deposit. (once again check your state laws regarding timelines)

Nancy Neville

You know, that QuickBooks Pro (Desktop) allows you to make a "Portable Company file" for you to take with you anywhere you go. 

Install QuickBooks on your Laptop, do what you have to do in the field, if this is why you want QuickBooks Online for, and then import what you did from your laptop back into your Desktop on your PC.

Or...just plain install it on a laptop and take your laptop wherever you go.

I have a SurfacePro2 computer, the size of an IPad.  It has it's own keyboard that attaches to it with a magnet and serves as a cover protection for the monitor of this little computer.

It is a real computer.  You can go online, etc.  I have QuickBooks installed on it.

I teach with it, use projectors with it, give speeches with it, write my books with it.  And it small enough to fit in my purse, well a purse the size of an IPAD

So you are still getting all the bells and whistles, and the ability to take it with you, and do things online. 

Remember, anything you buy for your business is an expense account that you can claim on your tax returns. 

Nancy Neville