All Forum Posts by: Nina Casey

@Jennifer Shuler, if what you really want is a paper-based system, then you're definitely on the right track with looking for a class to take.  Check with your local library and see if it has any online accounting courses you can enroll in for free.  If they don't have any, see what reciprocal membership relationships they have with neighboring counties and check there too.  Lynda.com also has some good tutorials on accounting basics.   A good accounting class is going to show you how everything works on paper and it's great foundational knowledge for any business-person to have.  

In regards to how you ultimately track your expenses, computer/app-based systems are HUGE time-savers in terms of data entry and identifying/correcting mistakes.  I agree with @Mitch Messer that Quickbooks Online is a really great option. (I also agree with  his outline of what you need to get a your financial systems in order).  QBO allows you to create "classes" so that you can centralize all of your rehab records into one system and still be able to tag expenses based on project.  

If QBO is feeling too complicated or costly for just starting out, then I'd suggest looking at Xero.  The platform is a bit more limited, but the price tag is a little easier to swallow and they do have some limited tracking functionality available to help you break out costs between projects.

Congrats on closing your first deal, @Dave Garlick!

Echoing the experiences of @kevin schulz and @mitch messer, I would advocate setting up a full accounting system to track expense categories, rather than trying to do so primarily via bank accounts.

The work-arounds for dealing with split/overhead expenses are going to be equally time-consuming as dealing with record keeping within accounting software, but with a full bookkeeping system you get the added benefit of financial reporting at your fingertips. It's powerful information and provide you with insights into the financial health of your business that you won't be able to see by tracking bank balances. 

Bookkeeper chiming in:

@Sara Abernethy, since it sounds like you're already comfortable working with accounting software, maybe you could look for a bookkeeper you can bring in on a monthly or quarterly basis to clean things up for you.  It's not a long-term solution, but it may relieve some stress while allowing you to "try out" bookkeepers without placing the fate of your books entirely in their hands sight-unseen.  

Also, not all bookkeepers use a gross revenue/expenses to determine their fee structure. I prefer a flat rate model that increases when transactions exceed certain thresholds.  

I agree with the consensus, Quickbooks Online Plus is probably a good option for you. As @Daniel Hyman mentioned, class tracking is invaluable for managing multiple properties.  Although a common complaint of QBO is that it's too complicated, the feature set is actually really robust and can keep up with the complexity of your business.  

When figuring your anticipated revenue and expenses, don't forget to account for occupancy/transient taxes on both the state and local level.  Unless Airbnb has arrangements to collect on your behalf with your state and locality, you'll need to either add these charges onto your booking via the Resolution Center or calculate them into your listing price. (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/654/what-is-occupancy-tax--do-i-need-to-collect-or-pay-it)

 Yes, I wasn't very clear - "more often as needed" was intended to mean "on a more frequent basis if needed"

Bookkeeper chiming in: 
I'd suggest scanning/digitizing your documentation as it comes in and then doing data entry into your accounting software at minimum once a week, more often as needed.  

Matt, it sounds like you've got a well thought out system.  There's a couple of things I think you could tweak to save some time:

• Set up recurring bills in QB for all of your predictable/recurring expenses.  
• Validate your bills first.
• On your weekly bill-pay day:
  •  Login to QB
  • Verify your recurring bills match auto-generated record in QB
  • Enter your validated non-recurring bills
  • Go to the Expenses screen and sort by due date.    
  • Mark the payments you will make for the week. 
  • Login to your bank and submit the actual payments.

 QB does have integrated online bill pay, which would eliminate the need to login to your bank, which could be a fantastic time-saver.  And QB does support two-step login authentication which is the security standard these days for online accounts.  However, I completely respect not if the risk of connecting your bank accounts does not outweigh the benefits integration. 

Have you looked into bill.com?  Their services looks like it might address your immediate needs.  

That service also integrates with Quickbooks Online.  I'm completely biased, but my thinking is that if you're going to go to all the trouble of tracking your expenses, you might as well just set up accounting software.  The additional data entry will be pretty minimal and you'll get so much helpful reporting literally with the click of a button. 

My experience has been that Wave is great for single property (or business) ventures working on tight margins.  However, as the business gets more complex, the reporting limitations and sluggish nature of Wave starts to balance out the free price tag.  

Overall, I think it's a great app to start with, especially if you're new to double-entry bookkeeping, but plan on migrating to a more robust accounting system (I'd suggest Quickbooks Online) when the business begins to experience growth.  

I've recently been digging into a variety of online accounting softwares and testing functionality with property management in mind.  Although a few years ago I found QB Online really lacking, I'm very impressed with the improvements they've been making and I think it is the better option when compared to Xero. 

The QB Online screen load times are faster, reporting is more robust, and there is much more freedom to customize reports (this is my biggest frustration with Xero).  Additionally, QB Online offers the ability to add sub-accounts within a bank account, which is extremely helpful for my clients who are working within tight margins and/or want to keep a tight reign on budget management.  The big downside I see with QB Online is that the learning curve is a bit longer than Xero, but part of that is because it does offer such a rich feature set.