GUIDE
How to Choose a Real Estate Bookkeeper: General vs Specialist
Choosing a real estate bookkeeper means checking that their books can show what each deal made, not only what the company made.
This guide gives the questions to ask any bookkeeper, Flipper Bookkeeping included, and what a good answer sounds like. The examples use Demo Flips LLC and Demo Rentals LLC, which are sample companies. Every number is invented data.
A bookkeeper is 1 of 3 roles around an investor's money. We set out the CPA and the tax preparer in bookkeeper vs accountant vs tax preparer.
What should a real estate bookkeeper be able to show you?
A profit and loss for each deal, every month, with every bank and card account reconciled. For an investor, the company total matters less than the row for each property.
In the sample report for Demo Flips LLC, 7 projects sold and 6 of them made money. Together they made $102,297. Project 4 at 2200 Test Ct, Rancho Cordova, CA lost $6,469 after 216 days. A company total shows a good year. Only the row for each deal shows the loss.
In our experience, the flippers who know what every deal really made make better decisions on the next one.
What is the difference between a general bookkeeper and a real estate specialist?
Any bookkeeper should code transactions and reconcile accounts. The difference to ask about is setup: whether each property is tracked as its own project from the start, with closing statements, loans and draws recorded against it.
| Part of the work | Every business needs | A real estate investor also needs |
|---|---|---|
| Transactions | Coded to the right account | Each one tagged to the property or deal it belongs to |
| Accounts | Every account reconciled each month | Each loan balance matched to the lender as well |
| Closings | The money in or out recorded | Each closing statement recorded line by line |
| Loans | Each loan balance tracked | 1 loan for each property, with draws and the payoff against it |
| Reports | Profit and loss for the company | Profit and loss for each deal as well |
| Several LLCs | Separate books for each company | Transfers between them recorded on both sides |
Ask any bookkeeper whether they cover both columns, and whether the right-hand column is set up from the first month. The answers to the questions below tell you more than the label.
Which questions should you ask any bookkeeper?
Ask how they report profit by deal, record a closing statement, handle hard money draws, prepare contractor totals for 1099s, and keep each LLC separate. Then ask to see a sample report.
| Ask | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| How will I see the profit on each deal? | "Every property is its own project, and you get a profit and loss for each one every month." |
| How do you record a closing statement? | "Line by line from your column: price, buying costs, loan costs, the loan, the deposit." |
| How do you handle hard money draws? | "Each draw goes on that property's loan, and the rehab payment goes on that property's costs." |
| What do I get for 1099s? | "A total for each contractor and a W-9 on file. You or your CPA file the forms." |
| How do you keep my LLCs apart? | "Each LLC has its own books. A transfer between them is recorded in both." |
| Can I see a sample report? | "Yes, here is one." A real sample, with the numbers marked as invented. |
| Where do my documents live, and who sees them? | A clear answer: which folder or system, who has access, and what happens when you leave. |
Any bookkeeper, general or specialist, can answer these. The sections below show each answer on sample books.
How should a bookkeeper record a closing statement?
Line by line, from the buyer column. The price and the buying costs become the property cost. Loan charges go to loan costs. The new loan is a debt, and the deposit clears against the statement.
| Line on the statement | Recorded as | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Contract price | Project 1, property cost | $285,000.00 |
| Escrow fee, owner's title insurance, recording the deed | Project 1, property cost | $1,770.00 |
| Loan points, lender's title insurance, recording the deed of trust | Project 1, loan costs | $6,194.00 |
| New hard money loan funded at closing | Project 1, loan owed | -$242,200.00 |
| Earnest money paid Sep 22, 2025 | Clears the deposit asset | -$5,000.00 |
| Seller's share of the property tax bill | Property tax owed for the seller's days | -$850.32 |
| Cash to close, wired by Demo Flips LLC | $44,913.68 |
The property cost is $286,770.00: the price plus the buying costs. Demo Flips LLC is a sample company.
Recorded from the wire alone, the closing would be one $44,913.68 payment. The statement holds 6 different records. We go through each line of a statement in purchase closing statement bookkeeping.
How should hard money draws be recorded?
Each draw raises the loan owed on that property. The rehab payment it covers is recorded as rehab cost on the same property. Every month, total draws should match the rehab spending they paid for.
On Project 8 at 1500 Sample Pl, Folsom, the lender funded $374,000 at closing on Jun 10, 2026 and held $95,000 for the rehab.
| Date | Rehab payment the draw covered | Draw |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2026 | Electrical, Mock Electric Services | $6,903.93 |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Materials, on the business card | $11,306.87 |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Roofing, Example Roofing Co | $12,893.61 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | Plumbing, Sample Plumbing LLC | $1,240.00 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | Materials, on the business card | $9,895.59 |
| Total | $42,240.00 |
Loan owed on Sep 30, 2026: $416,240.00. Demo Flips LLC is a sample company.
The good answer is the one that ties out. The lender released $42,240.00, and the books show $42,240.00 of rehab paid on Project 8. The full method, from points to payoff, is in hard money loan bookkeeping.
What does 1099-ready reporting mean?
A total paid to each contractor for the year, with a W-9 on file for each one. The bookkeeper prepares the totals. You or your CPA decide which forms are due and file them.
Whether a contractor's total needs a form depends on the threshold the IRS sets for that tax year, in the IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC. You and your CPA apply it. The books supply the totals.
| Contractor | Paid in 2026 to Sep 30 |
|---|---|
| Example Roofing Co | $108,219.29 |
| Demo Drywall & Paint | $94,868.04 |
| Mock Electric Services | $90,682.07 |
| Demo Framing Crew | $40,800.05 |
| Test Flooring Inc | $36,827.16 |
| Sample Plumbing LLC | $27,979.22 |
The sample report asks the owner for a W-9 from Demo Framing Crew, paid $40,800.05 so far.
Flipper Bookkeeping delivers 1099-ready reporting. You or your CPA file the 1099s.
Why should each LLC have its own books?
Each LLC is its own company, so each needs its own accounts, its own close and its own reports. Money moved between your LLCs is recorded in both sets of books, as owed and as owing.
On Jul 8, 2026, Demo Flips LLC sent $40,000 to Demo Rentals LLC for the rehab on Property 2. Demo Flips LLC records $40,000 due from Demo Rentals LLC. Demo Rentals LLC records $40,000 due to Demo Flips LLC. Neither records income or an expense, and both balances agree at every close.
The good answer names both sides of the transfer. Which structure suits your LLCs is a question for your CPA. The books show what each LLC owns and owes.
When is a general bookkeeper the right choice?
When your books look like any small business, such as 1 long-held rental, or when a general bookkeeper you trust is happy to set up per-deal tracking. The answers to the questions matter more than the label.
- You hold 1 or 2 rentals for the long term and run no flips.
- Your books already sit with a general bookkeeper, and they answer the questions above well.
- Your real estate is a side part of a business whose books look like any other.
As deals, loans and LLCs multiply, ask the questions again. General or specialist, the same questions find the right fit.
How can you check the answers before you hire?
Ask for a sample of the monthly report, ask where your documents will live, and ask what the price covers. A good bookkeeper shows you each of those before you sign anything.
A sample report answers most of the questions at once. Ours is a real estate bookkeeping report example for Demo Flips LLC, with every number invented and explained.
Ask about documents too. Flipper Bookkeeping works from a folder you share from your own Dropbox or Google Drive. We set out what this website itself collects under website privacy.
The price should match the work.
Your company's performance, one deal at a time.
Flipper Bookkeeping keeps the books for real estate investors and sends you, every month, a profit and loss for each deal, budget against actual during the rehab, holding costs month by month and cash against profit. See real estate investor bookkeeping.
Want to talk it through for your own deals? Book a free call.