Real Estate Accounting

Street Smart® Real Estate Accounting™

This system is an educational tool designed for people involved in the purchase, management, and tracking of rental homes and/or apartments.  This system will aid you in your understanding and application of QuickBooks for a real estate investment company.

This narrows the vast possible uses of Quickbooks into the specifics needed for real estate owners. Others such as property managers, commercial landlords, or developers also use this system.

It is essential for you to have a strong understanding of the financials of your company, even if you hire a bookkeeper. This system helps you learn the terminology and processes, how to use QuickBooks to enter data properly and be able to analyze your business, make decisions using accurate financials, and save an enormous amount of time and money.

Start at the beginning to understand the underlying accounting principles. This applies if you plan to enter the bookkeeping data yourself, hire a third party, or train an employee to do it.

You will learn the common bookkeeping activities a landlord will encounter while dealing with properties, tenants, and sorting out financing.

Throughout this system, we use a sample data file of an LLC. Your entity, state laws, and individual needs may differ. Get a competent bookkeeper and attorney and go over what you need to do in QuickBooks.

Large public corporations keep two sets of accounting books: one for tax purposes, and the other for management decision-making and analysis purposes. This manual assumes you keep one set of books and use one QuickBooks file.

This system is not a replacement for a competent accountant. There are over 80,000 pages of tax law that change (increase) yearly. Find them via your other investor friends, Yelp, and your professional contacts. Interview many accountants/bookkeepers and choose a competent one with extensive experience using QuickBooks with real estate business owners like yourself.

Implement QuickBooks for your property management using an accountant that supports you and is familiar with Quickbooks. Most who deal with small businesses are and may even offer you a discount for using QuickBooks.

What’s Inside:

  • How to properly set up Quickbooks for your real estate business
  • The lazy way to set up a rental property in QuickBooks
  • The truth about why you need accounting as a Landlord or Investor
  • The importance of Cost and Adjusted Basis of Property and how to determine it
  • Tracking Capital Improvements versus Repairs
  • How to manage financing from another Property (or an Investor)
  • What to do when you use a Hard Money Loan or Line of Credit

Street Smart Investor is used by top real estate investors and professionals throughout the United States.

PACKAGE HIGHLIGHTS

What This Product Is

This manual was originally written for QuickBooks 2014 Pro. The principles are similar in newer versions of the program. Although some screens may look different, and there may be more or less functionality present. It is intended to aid you in evaluating QuickBooks and allowing you to get started using it for your residential real estate business.

Why You Might Want This Product

It will help you understand how a real estate rental business works and the associated
terminology. Ideally, you already either have your own corporate entity or be in the
process of forming one. It is essential for you to have a strong understanding of the
financials of your company, even if you hire a bookkeeper. We’ll help you learn them. Use
QuickBooks to enter data properly and you will be able to analyze your business, make
decisions using accurate financials, and save an enormous amount of time.

Suggestions For How to Approach This Manual

Ultimately, you are responsible for your own books. We highly recommend that you have your accountant look over the setup suggestions, and if you have not already done so, that you give QuickBooks a “trial run” early in the process. To ensure QuickBooks is configured optimally for your business, and that it will provide you with all information that you need, enter a small number of your routine transactions. Then try running all the reports you may eventually need.

What This Manual is Not

This manual is not a replacement for your accountant. The tax code runs 17,000 pages and contains a mind-boggling 5.5 million words. Please interview many accountants and choose a
competent one with extensive experience with QuickBooks and real estate business owners like yourself. Find them via your other investor friends, Yelp, and your professional contacts. When you’re ready to implement QuickBooks for your property management, make sure your accountant supports you and is familiar with the program. Most who deal with small businesses are, and may even offer you a discount for using QuickBooks. This manual is not a replacement for your attorney. Consult your attorney.

TESTIMONIALS

“Vey important to have complete system. Start and add parts as needed.”

Amos Burns, AZ

“This is a completed system. A complete business in box.”

John Russel, IL

“As always Lou Brown delivers!!”

Nina Irvin, MS

“Lou’s systems provided me with a solid foundation to buy my 1st property.”

Allison Hayes, TN

“This will definitely improve grow and enhance our Real estate Business.”

Tom Whitermore, NY

“I have purchased other trainings and was left with missing pieces of the puzzle. Not with Lou. He truly cares about our success.“

Catherine Joyner, FL