All Forum Posts by: Max Emory

Hey @Eric Rich, you can absolutely get a credit card per subsidiary LLC. From a bookkeeping standpoint, this makes everything a lot easier as long as each financial account is used the way it is supposed to be used (no commingling).

I would just caution you to think about the functionality of that structure within your day-to-day business operations before pulling the trigger on it.

Make sure you're keeping things as simple and efficient as possible.

Hey @John Carr, yes. I'd recommend getting an REI-savvy tax pro so you guys make sure you're maximizing your tax strategy as well as when it comes time to file.

An REI-savvy tax pro is worth their weight in gold.

Hey @Mann Phan, I hate to hear you're having a rough time. But, to be honest, we see this a lot with newer REIs.

Did you account for the CapEx timelines for each rental prior to purchasing? That usually gets worked into the numbers for the deal.

And, just a general note about rentals, they are great for building long-term wealth if the cash flow is there. But, at the end of the day, rentals are usually a high CapEx / low cash flow business model. However, you can conduct a proper analysis and due diligence prior to purchasing that will mitigate cash flow losses.

From a management standpoint, are you charging enough for rent? Can any of your rentals be converted to an MTR or STR?

And, do you have accurate and up-to-date bookkeeping records in place so you have the appropriate data at your fingertips to be able to make strategic decisions for each property?

Hey @Daniel M., see below!

1. 1) How should I set up my account to reflect all the real estate activities like rental income, expenses, and distributions? Is this in reference to setting up your QBO account or something else?
2. 2) My Owner Disbursements aren’t the total rent amount because of the expenses the property management company handles. What’s the best way to track this in QuickBooks? See the answer for #3 below.
3. 3) Has anyone successfully integrated AppFolio reports with QuickBooks? If yes, how did you do it? Nope. We receive the monthly owner statements from AppFolio (and every other PM software) and manually "translate" those into QBO via a JE. Then, match the JE to the bank feed transaction so all property-specific transactions are accounted for in QBO.
4. 4) What’s the best way to set up QuickBooks to make handling multiple LLCs easier in the future? If your entities are disregarded, you may be able to have them within the same QBO and keep up with each using the location/business feature. This will ultimately depend on your entity structure.

@Brandon Heimsoth, this is why we charge what we charge to manage rentals at our bookkeeping firm haha. Some items can go either way depending on tax strategy to further complicate things.

Thanks for laying this out, @Michael Plaks.

Hey @Katherine Stanislawski, I know a few bookkeepers who have substantial experience with Rentec. I'll DM you so we can get you connected with them.

Hi @Grace Widdicombe, I have a fully customized REI COA I can point you towards. I'll DM you.

Hi @Mary Ho, join our Bookkeepers for Real Estate Investors Facebook Group! It's a great support group for exactly what you are pursuing. Come on over!

That's so cool, @Alecia Loveless! Thanks for sharing!

Hey @Mark Torrefiel, once you have more than a few properties, you'll want to consider a software. But, Excel is totally fine in the beginning (in addition to your PM software to capture transactions outside of the properties).

We use QuickBooks Online exclusively for all of our REI Clients. I use it for my personal portfolio as well. We've found it has superior reporting features, integration features, and is overall more efficient to work within than other REI-specific software.

The downside is QBO is not set up for REI so you'll need to do that or work with an expert to ensure it is set up for your business appropriately.

Something else to keep in mind is your entity structure and how your entities file tax returns. As a general rule, each entity that files a separate tax return (partnership, s-corp, c-corp, etc) will need its own QBO subscription. If entities are disregarded, you can keep up with more than 1 in a single QBO account using the location/business feature to keep track of them separately. This will save you on subscription costs.

If you want to discuss any of this further, I'm happy to answer questions and help walk you through it.

Best of luck!