All Forum Posts by: Max Emory

I apologize for all the text but I believe just asking a few of these questions will make you investors and small business owners some money this year (or, at least allow you to keep a little more of YOUR hard earned money)!

Just my 2 cents from my own experience as a Real Estate Investor and Bookkeeping Professional.

I hope this helps!

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As you fellow Investors and Small Business Owners approach the end of 2021 and may be considering outsourcing… 

-your monthly bookkeeping

-a full 2021 books cleanup

-or, even having your books professionally set up for the first time (I’ve been there) … 

Here are a few introductory questions to consider asking when interviewing a myriad of Bookkeeping Professionals to see who is the best fit for you and your business(s). 

I hope this helps! Good luck!!!

@Doug Spence, it really depends what you are getting for that $40/hour. But, I'd say that is a low/mid-level hourly rate for a professional bookkeeper. I charge a fixed rate for all of my services so my clients don't hesitate to reach out to me when they need help because they're trying to avoid racking up time for the month. There's no "weirdness" with us chatting frequently and them asking me questions. If you feel/know your bookkeeper is more valuable than what they are charging you I'd argue you are in a good position. 

If you have doubts about them being worth $40/hour to your business you may want to have a conversation with them to see how you can correct that as a team. You should feel like they aren't charging you enough for how much value they bring to you and your business.

1. Do they have a great relationship with your CPA?

2. Do they get back to you in a timely manner?

3. Do they produce timely and accurate financial statements for you on a consistent basis?

4. Are they interpreting and analyzing those statements? Are they advising you based on what your statements tell them and what your goals are (both personal and financial)?

5. Do they find answers to all of the questions you ask?

I hope this helps!

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Bookkeeping Professional | Real Estate Investor | USMC Veteran

Another great question from a young, small business owner/investor! I hope this clearly outlines some of the tasks a Bookkeeper does on a regular basis and how they can be very helpful to a business. Some do more and others do less. Make sure to verify before hiring!

One of many Examples: Prepaid expenses (insurance) paid at the beginning of the year. Cash basis shows a loss for January but in reality that insurance payment covers the entire year and should be spread across all 12 months.

@Matthew Reid, I 100% agree with @Jay Hinrichs. Hire a solid bookkeeper as a contractor for ongoing bookkeeping support to handle the day to day grunt-work in your books. This will save you a lot of money versus having a CPA do this at their hourly rate. If the bookkeeper is good they will also become a trusted advisor to your team on the financial side of your business. 

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Bookkeeping Professional | Real Estate Investor

@Leah Bates, I'm a fan of QuickBooks Online. I haven't tried REI Hub yet but I've heard good things. QBO and REI Hub are both double-entry bookkeeping systems. I have some experience with Stessa. It's a free single-entry bookkeeping system but it has some bank feed issues. As mentioned above, you can even use Excel/Sheets if you're willing to build out a good system to track everything in your business.

Give some thought to how quickly you want to grow your business. Excel and free software are great if you don't plan to grow very quickly or if you don't mind all of the manual data entry. If you plan to acquire properties at a fast rate you may want to consider a more robust software. 

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Bookkeeping Professional | Real Estate Investor 

Another excellent bookkeeping question from a real estate investor who has just begun their journey!

Bookkeeping is specific to the individual business and business owner’s needs. Ultimately, as long as you are following the expert guidance of your CPA (who is an expert in your specific industry) and doing what best serves your needs to fulfill your vision of what you want your business to be for YOU, I would argue you are in a great place in the bookkeeping/tax realm.

@Chris Gillam, I used Stessa for 2.5 years. It's great if you just have a few properties and don't plan to grow but Stessa doesn't facilitate growth. Stessa has issues with their bank feed breaking connection frequently (every day) so there is an unnecessary amount of manual data entry (once you get tired of constantly reconnecting and just go full manual). 

@Jennifer Nowak, I recommend QuickBooks Online (at least Plus) because: 

1) QBO can be set up/manipulated to track flips and rentals separately as well as each property and entity individually all under one subscription (Location = Entity; Class = Property; etc).

2) QBO has a better bank feed system than other software due to their secure relationship with a ton of banks. Some other software are made specifically for tenant management but it can be done in QBO if needed (minus maintenance requests, etc).

I hope this helps!