Real Estate
Every property needs its own financial story. We track income and expenses by unit so you know which investments make money and which ones drain cash.
Property by Property
Real estate investing generates complicated books. Multiple properties mean multiple mortgages, different tenants, various repair bills, and separate insurance policies. If everything flows into one general ledger without property-level separation, you have no idea which investments actually make money. A strong fourplex in Pasadena can subsidize a losing single-family rental in Alhambra for years before anyone notices.
We track every dollar to the specific property where it belongs. Rent collected, mortgage interest paid, repairs completed, utilities covered. This gives you an accurate picture of each investment on its own. You can see which units generate real returns and which ones need attention or should be sold off.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Landlords with multiple rentals, property management companies handling owner accounts, real estate investors building mixed portfolios, and short-term rental operators running Airbnb or VRBO units across Los Angeles County.
Why It Gets Complicated
Why It Gets Complicated
Each property carries its own mortgage, insurance policy, property tax bill, and maintenance history. Contractors get paid for work at multiple addresses. Tenants pay rent on different schedules. Without property-level tracking, your financial statements tell you almost nothing useful about performance.
What Gets Tracked
We handle the accounting elements specific to real estate. Income and expenses get tagged to individual property IDs. Security deposits are recorded as liabilities on your balance sheet because that money belongs to the tenant until the lease ends. Mortgage payments are separated into principal reduction and deductible interest for accurate tax reporting.
Contractor payments also get tracked for 1099 compliance. Landlords pay handymen, landscapers, plumbers, and cleaning crews throughout the year. We keep records of those payments and collect W-9 forms so you are prepared when January arrives instead of scrambling to find addresses and tax IDs.
Repairs vs Improvements
Repairs vs Improvements
Installing a new HVAC system is a capital improvement that must be depreciated over multiple years. Fixing the existing HVAC is a current expense you can deduct immediately. We make this classification correctly on every invoice, which directly affects your tax bill and financial statements.
Schedule E Preparation
Schedule E Preparation
Your accountant needs clean, property-by-property income and expense reports for Schedule E. We organize everything by address so tax filing is straightforward and your records are defensible if the IRS ever asks questions about a specific property.
Where Things Go Wrong
The most common mistake is treating tenant security deposits as income when they arrive. That cash is not yours to keep. It is a liability that gets refunded or applied to damages when the tenant moves out. Recording it as income inflates your taxable income today and creates accounting problems when those deposits are eventually due back.
Short-term rentals add another layer of complexity. Platforms like Airbnb and VRBO deposit money after taking their cut, and those net deposits do not match your actual rental income. Cleaning fees, platform service charges, occupancy taxes, and transaction commissions all need separate tracking. Many hosts believe they are profitable until they account for all the costs properly and see the real margins.
Mixed Property Records
Mixed Property Records
Owners with several properties often pay expenses from one account without noting which property the expense applies to. Months later, nobody can remember if that $1,400 plumber bill was for the Arcadia triplex or the Monterey Park house. Reconstructing this at year end wastes hours and often produces guesses instead of accurate records.
Misclassified Improvements
Misclassified Improvements
Expensing a kitchen renovation instead of capitalizing it looks like a tax win in the current year. But it distorts your financial statements, creates depreciation schedule problems, and raises audit risk. The IRS pays attention to landlords who claim unusually high repair expenses relative to rental income.
What Changes
You make portfolio decisions based on verified numbers. If a property consistently underperforms after true costs are counted, you can sell it and reinvest the capital elsewhere. If a unit generates strong returns year after year, you know to keep it and look for similar properties in the same area.
Tax preparation becomes straightforward. Your accountant receives organized records by property with proper capitalization and expense classification already handled. The conversation shifts from reconstructing what happened to maximizing depreciation strategies and planning for future acquisitions.
Lending Confidence
Lending Confidence
Banks want organized financial records when you apply for the next investment property loan. Property-level statements show lenders that you understand your portfolio and can handle additional debt. Clean books often mean faster approvals and better terms.
Exit Planning
Exit Planning
Many landlords eventually sell part or all of their portfolio. Whether you are ready now or thinking five years ahead, having clean books with organized records makes your properties attractive to buyers. We help prepare financials that answer buyer questions and support your asking price.
LA's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you're dealing with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a clear price for the work.