The Best Accounting Tools for Rental Property Managers

When the topic of real estate investing and property management comes up, people are usually interested in house flipping, advertising vacancies, maintenance and evictions.

The less discussed but extremely important topic is accounting! Real estate investors and property managers need to use efficient, organized accounting systems. There must be a solid system in place for revenue coming in and out, reporting and tax preparation before a rental property is available for rent, rent checks are deposited and maintenance requests are addressed. Some of the tools used at Nexus Property Management Franchises help with efficiency and organization in all of these areas.

Property management companies and real estate investors are looking to receive a return on their invested time and money. They must be able to handle, document and organize revenue that has come in. Propertyware allows Nexus to organize all payments, bills, owner statements and tenant ledgers easily in one location. It also offers online and cash payment options for tenants, in addition to direct deposit payments for vendors and owners. These tools simplify the task of managing hundreds of owner accounts and thousands of different tenant ledgers.

Most people are happy to handle money coming in and less enthusiastic about tracking money going out. A good rule of thumb is to keep the minimum number of bank accounts and credit cards to be able to track expenses for your real estate investments. A comprehensive property management software like Propertyware will assist with tracking vendor payments and similar expenses with its built-in general ledger system and check printing. In addition, there are other expenses involved when using charge cards, subscriptions, etc. For these types of transactions, Nexus uses a single American Express account and syncs it with a business bank account on QuickBooks online. This allows for easy expense tracking and increased automation as common transactions are labeled.

At the end of the year, Uncle Sam will be interested in the profit remaining after all of the money collected is offset with expenses paid. For Nexus Property accountants, reporting and filing taxes is a very organized and straightfroward process due to the efficiency of Propertyware, and automated expense tracking. Nexus Property Management takes additional security measures by using cloud storage and retaining scanned copies of all check stubs and relevant tax documents. In the event of a computer failure, taking additional steps to backup information can prevent loss of data. It also provides ease of access to your information from anywhere.

Nick D'Agnillo is the CEO & Founder of Nexus Property Management™, A National Property Management Franchise with offices in Pawtucket, RI, Fall River, MA, and Destin, FL. D'Agnillo's company manages all types of rental property—from single family homes or condos to large apartment buildings and complexes.