Bookkeeping for landlords and real estate investors, property by property.
Our bookkeeping for landlords keeps every rental property on its own books: rent and expenses by property, security deposits held as liabilities, mortgage payments split, and Schedule E-ready totals at year end. Fixed monthly fees start at $150, inside your own QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Fixed monthly fees from $150/month
Where rental books usually go wrong.
Once you own more than one door, the same few problems bend the numbers. Here is each one, what is really going on, and what we do.
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No way to tell which property makes money
Every property is blended into one set of numbers, so a good unit hides a bad one.
What we doTag every transaction to its property, with a profit and loss for each one and a portfolio total.
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The whole mortgage payment booked as an expense
A payment is interest, which is an expense, principal, which pays down the loan, and usually escrow for tax and insurance.
What we doSplit each payment using the lender’s statement, and match every loan balance to the lender.
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Security deposits sitting in income
A refundable deposit is the tenant’s money that you are holding, so it is a liability, not income.
What we doHold deposits as liabilities, tracked per tenant. They become income only if you keep some of one.
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Improvements expensed as repairs
A new roof or a remodel is an improvement, depreciated over years. A repair is deducted now. Mixing them up is a common error on rental returns.
What we doFlag larger jobs, note what the work was, and keep an improvements log for your depreciation schedule.
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Tax season spent digging for receipts
Receipts and statements get dug up in April, and none of them are tagged by property.
What we doKeep the books monthly, so year end is a package: income and expenses by property, the improvements log and contractor 1099s.
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Airbnb payouts that don’t match bookings
Payouts are net of host fees, include cleaning fees, and the platform may or may not have collected the occupancy tax.
What we doRecord booking income, cleaning fees, platform fees and taxes separately, for each property.
A year or more of receipts still in a shoebox? Catch-up bookkeeping rebuilds the books by property on a fixed quote, then monthly work keeps them current.
Together it made $400. One property lost money.
When properties are blended, you cannot tell which unit earns and which loses, and the tax return is built on a guess.
Per-property books give you a real read on each one, and a clean handover to whoever prepares your Schedule E.
Two properties, one month
ExampleThe same month, split by property.
| Line | Property A | Property B | Together |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent collected | $2,400 | $1,900 | $4,300 |
| Mortgage interest | −$900 | −$1,100 | −$2,000 |
| Property tax and insurance | −$400 | −$450 | −$850 |
| Repairs | −$200 | −$600 | −$800 |
| Other costs | −$150 | −$100 | −$250 |
| Net | $750 | −$350 | $400 |
Principal payments are not on this list: they reduce the loan, not your profit.
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Bookkeeping for rental properties, one property at a time
Each property gets its own class or tracking category in your QuickBooks or Xero file, so rent, repairs and every bill land against the property they belong to. Hold each property in its own LLC? We keep one file with a class per property or a file per LLC, whichever your tax preparer needs.
- Rent and fees recorded by property and by tenant
- Security deposits held per tenant as a liability
- Mortgage payments split into interest, principal and escrow, matched to the lender’s statement
- An improvements log kept apart from repairs, for depreciation
- Contractor payments tracked toward the 1099‑NEC threshold: $2,000 for payments made in 2026
- Schedule E-ready totals for each property at year end
Paying handymen and trades? Check the 1099 threshold for 2026 before January.
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Short-term rentals and Airbnb hosts
Airbnb and Vrbo pay out net of host fees, often with cleaning fees folded in, and may or may not have collected the occupancy tax for your city or county. Personal-use days matter too, because they change how expenses are split on your return.
- Payouts split into booking income, cleaning fees and host fees, by listing
- Where the platform collected occupancy tax, and where it did not, noted for whoever files it
- Supplies, furnishings and cleaning costs tagged to each listing
- Personal-use days noted for your tax preparer
- Each platform’s Form 1099-K tied back to your gross booking income
CPA or bookkeeper for your rentals?
They do different jobs. A bookkeeper keeps the year clean; a CPA advises and files from finished books.
| The job | Bookkeeper, every month | CPA or tax preparer, at year end |
|---|---|---|
| Records every rent payment and bill by property | Yes | PartlySome firms offer it as an extra |
| Reconciles bank, card and loan accounts each month | Yes | PartlyOften once, at year end |
| Holds deposits and splits mortgage payments as they happen | Yes | PartlyUsually fixed at year end |
| Prepares your tax return | PartlyBusiness returns on Growth. For rentals on your personal return, we send your preparer the figures | Yes |
| Tax planning: entity choice, depreciation strategy, a sale or exchange | No | Yes |
| Represents you before the IRS | No | YesCPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys |
| Best when | You want current books by property all year | You need tax advice, planning or representation |
Past a couple of doors, many landlords use both. We keep the books by property every month and send your CPA or tax preparer a clean year, with Schedule E figures for each property.
Property managers: operating books only
If you manage rentals for other owners, we keep the books of your management business: the fees you earn, your payroll, your overheads and your own bank and card accounts.
We do not do trust accounting. Client money you hold, owner statements and trust account reconciliations stay in your property management software, with whoever handles them today.
What we handle every month.
Everything runs inside your own QuickBooks or Xero for one fixed monthly fee. Each job links to the service that does it.
A small portfolio usually fits Starter, from $150/month. Growth, from $350/month, adds payroll, contractor 1099s and tax preparation for business returns. Cash-flow reporting is part of Scale, from $650/month.
- One named contact who knows your file
- A reply within one business day
- No long-term contract
Every month, for property owners
- Rent and expenses by propertyEvery rent payment, repair and bill tagged to its property.Monthly bookkeeping
- Deposits and mortgage splitsDeposits held as liabilities; payments split into interest, principal and escrow.Monthly bookkeeping
- Depreciation and Schedule EImprovements logged for depreciation, and Schedule E-ready figures for your preparer at year end.Tax preparation and filing
- Property P&LsProfit per property and for the portfolio. Cash after loan payments is part of Scale.Accounting and reporting
- Contractor payments and 1099sPayments to handymen and trades tracked all year, and 1099s prepared at year end.Payroll
- The next purchase or a refinanceWorking through the numbers behind the decision.Fractional CFO support
Reports you get each month
- Profit and loss for each property and for the portfolio
- Cash flow after loan payments, by property, on Scale
- Balance sheet with loan balances by property and deposits held
- An improvements log for your depreciation schedule
- At year end, a Schedule E summary by property
- Contractor 1099s at year end, on Growth
Numbers you can watch: cash flow per door, net operating income, rent collected and your expense ratio.
Free books review
What we check in a rental portfolio’s books. Free, in about 48 hours.
Add us as your accountant in QuickBooks Online, Xero or the software you use. You get a written list of what is misclassified or unreconciled, and how to fix it. Yours to keep.
Send the form
Two minutes. Your software, how many properties, and any short-term rentals.
Add us from your own account
Invite hello@remotebookkeepersllc.com as your accountant in your QuickBooks Online, Xero or other software. We only read the file, and nothing in it changes.
Get your findings
Within about 48 hours, in plain English.
No card. No sales call required. Nothing in your books changes.
What we look at in a rental file
- Lines with no propertyIncome and expenses that are not assigned to a property.
- Deposits counted as incomeSecurity deposits in revenue instead of held for tenants.
- Mortgages not splitLoan balances that no longer match the lender’s statements.
- Improvements on the repairs lineRoofs, remodels and big jobs expensed instead of depreciated.
- Personal spending mixed inGroceries, personal cards and transfers inside the rental books.
- Short-term rental payouts booked netAirbnb or Vrbo payouts as income, with fees and cleaning hidden inside.
Who we work with, and where we stop.
We would rather tell you up front than take on work we cannot do well.
A good fit if you are…
- A landlord with a few doors or a growing portfolio
- A real estate investor, with or without an LLC per property
- A short-term rental host
- A property manager who wants clean books for the business
- Someone who keeps the books in QuickBooks Online, Xero or other cloud accounting software
Probably not the right fit if you…
- Need trust accounting or owner statements for money you hold for clients
- Want a cost segregation study, a property valuation or legal advice on tenants
- Only want a once-a-year tax filing with no monthly books
- Are not ready to keep your books in cloud software
Works with the tools you already use
You keep your accounts, your apps and your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Nothing to switch, and your data stays yours.
QuickBooks
Xero
Stripe
PayPal
Wise- We also work with Airbnb payout reports.
Questions landlords and investors ask.
Do you keep books per property?
Yes. Every rent payment, repair, insurance premium and tax bill is tagged to its property, so you get a profit and loss for each one and a portfolio total, set up to drop straight into Schedule E.
A rentals-only bank account, or one per LLC, makes this much cleaner. If your accounts are mixed today, we sort out what belongs where.
My property manager sends a monthly statement. Can you work from it?
Yes. A manager’s statement shows rent collected and the costs they paid, minus their fee, so what reaches your bank is a net figure.
We record the gross rent, the management fee and each expense against the right property, then add what the statement leaves out, such as your mortgage, property tax and insurance, so every property’s books are complete.
How are security deposits handled?
As a liability, not income: it is money you are holding for the tenant. It becomes income only if you keep some of it for unpaid rent or damage. Last month’s rent paid in advance is different: that is income when you receive it.
How do you record a mortgage payment?
In three parts. Interest is an expense, principal reduces the loan balance, and escrow is money the lender holds to pay your property tax and insurance, which are property expenses. We match each loan balance to the lender’s statement.
How do you decide between a repair and an improvement?
A repair keeps the property in working order and is deducted that year. An improvement makes it better, restores it or adapts it to a new use, and is depreciated over time. We flag larger jobs, note what the work was, and keep an improvements log for each property, so your preparer’s depreciation schedule uses the right numbers.
Do you work with Airbnb and short-term rental hosts?
Yes. Payouts are split into booking income, cleaning fees and host fees, by listing. Occupancy taxes vary by city and state, and platforms collect them in some places and not others, so we note which applies to each listing and what is left for you to file.
Do I need a CPA or a bookkeeper for my rentals?
Often both, for different jobs. A bookkeeper records rent and expenses by property, holds deposits and splits mortgage payments every month. A CPA gives tax advice, plans around depreciation or a sale, and can represent you before the IRS.
With one or two simple rentals, a careful owner and a tax preparer may be enough. Past that, monthly books save your CPA hours of cleanup, and we send them each property’s year-end figures.
Which plan fits a small portfolio?
Starter (from $150 a month) suits a small portfolio: reconciled accounts, categorized transactions and a monthly profit and loss and balance sheet, by property. Growth (from $350) adds payroll, contractor 1099s and business tax returns. If your rentals sit on your personal return, we send your preparer the Schedule E figures.
The exact fee is confirmed after a short look at how many properties and accounts you have. If the portfolio grows a lot, we talk first, and any change is agreed with you in advance. No long-term contract.
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Other industries we keep books for.
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(906) 268-9778 hello@remotebookkeepersllc.com
Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm EST
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Free books review
We only read the file. Written findings in about 48 hours.
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