Our real estate bookkeeping covers two different audiences under one roof: agents and brokers who need commission tracking and Schedule C-ready books for 1099 income, and real estate investors and landlords who need per-property P&L, rental income and expense categorization, and depreciation-ready records for Schedule E. Whichever side of the business you're on, a dedicated bookkeeper handles the monthly work and a US-licensed CPA reviews the close — US-quality real estate accounting services at offshore pricing.
Generic small-business bookkeeping doesn't fit real estate well, because "real estate" actually covers two very different income structures. An agent's income is commission-based 1099 work; an investor's income is rental cash flow tied to specific properties. We set your chart of accounts up around whichever one describes you.
Bookkeeping for real estate agents built around commission income: each commission check and brokerage split tracked as it lands, reconciled against your marketing spend, MLS and association dues, licensing fees, vehicle mileage, and continuing education — categorized so your books hand off clean to Schedule C at filing time, whether you're a solo agent, a team lead, or running a small brokerage.
Bookkeeping for real estate investors built around per-property tracking: rental income, mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, repairs vs. capital improvements, and management fees all categorized and tagged to the individual property they belong to — so you get a P&L per property, not one blended number, and records that are ready for Schedule E and depreciation.
If you own rental property — a single duplex or a growing portfolio — the difference between usable books and a mess comes down to how consistently income and expenses are tagged to each property. That's the part most small bookkeeping setups skip.
Class or location tracking in QuickBooks Online tags every transaction to the property it belongs to, so you can see which units are actually profitable — and roll them up into one portfolio view when you need it.
Rent, late fees, and reimbursements coded correctly; repairs separated from capital improvements — a distinction that matters directly for depreciation and deductibility.
A clean fixed-asset trail for each property — purchase price, capital improvements, and dates in place — so your tax preparer can calculate depreciation without reconstructing history from receipts.
Principal, interest, taxes, and insurance split out from a single mortgage payment instead of landing as one undifferentiated expense line.
Books closed and categorized the way Schedule E expects, whether we prepare your return or you hand the file to your own tax preparer.
Deposits held against individual units tracked as liabilities, not income — kept distinct from operating cash so your P&L isn't inflated by money that isn't yours yet.
Agent income doesn't arrive on a predictable payroll schedule — it's commission checks, brokerage splits, and referral fees landing whenever a deal closes. Our real estate accounting services for agents are built around that rhythm.
Solo agents, teams, and small brokerages who are 1099-based and need bookkeeping for real estate agents that actually understands commission income — not a generic small-business setup that treats every deposit the same way.
Need the tax return itself, not just the bookkeeping? See tax & accounting services.
This page is built for individual agents, brokers, and investors managing their own properties or their own commission income. If your portfolio has grown large enough to need dedicated per-owner reporting, or if you're a property management company handling tenants and disbursing funds to property owners who aren't you, the requirements shift — you're now dealing with trust accounting for security deposits, owner statements, and vendor payment tracking across properties you don't personally own. That's a distinct compliance area, covered on our property management bookkeeping page.
Real estate is a commission-and-cash-flow business: agents lose a chunk of every deal to splits and marketing spend, and investors are managing thin margins across debt service, vacancy, and repairs. Paying a US-market hourly bookkeeper to untangle per-property books or reconcile inconsistent commission deposits adds real cost on top of an already thin margin. Our model — a dedicated bookkeeper handling the monthly categorization and reconciliation, reviewed by Muhammad Abbas, CPA (Washington State), before it reaches you — delivers the same accuracy at flat monthly pricing instead of an open-ended hourly bill.
Pricing depends on transaction volume and, for investors, the number of properties being tracked separately. Packages are billed at a flat monthly rate — get your quote; catch-up work on prior-year books is quoted separately after a review.
Real estate bookkeeping sits alongside these related pages, depending on the size and structure of your business:
Both, and the two are handled differently. Real estate agents and brokers get 1099-income bookkeeping built around commission tracking and Schedule C-ready categorization. Real estate investors and landlords get per-property books built around rental income, expense categorization, and Schedule E-ready reporting. Tell us which one you are (or if you're both) during the free consultation and we'll set your chart of accounts up accordingly.
Yes. For investors and landlords, we set up class or location tracking in QuickBooks Online so income and expenses are tagged to each property, giving you a clean P&L per property in addition to a combined portfolio view — not just one blended number that hides which properties are actually performing.
We categorize rental income and expenses in line with what Schedule E and depreciation schedules require — capital improvements separated from repairs, escrow and mortgage interest broken out, and a clean fixed-asset trail your tax preparer or CPA can use. We handle the bookkeeping; final depreciation calculations and the tax return itself are a tax engagement, which we also offer.
If you're managing properties you own or personally invest in, this page is the right fit. If you're a property management company handling tenant security deposits, owner disbursements, and trust accounting for properties owned by other people, see our dedicated property management bookkeeping page — it covers the trust accounting and owner-statement requirements that general real estate bookkeeping doesn't.
Commission checks and brokerage splits are tracked as they land, categorized against your marketing, MLS, licensing, and vehicle expenses, and reconciled monthly so your books reflect true 1099 income — not just gross commission before your broker's cut and expenses are accounted for.
